Under A Mediterranean Sky: Journeys Of Inspiration - Part Three
January 2021
Steve looking out over the Mediterranean from a balcony in Monaco
Photo © Jo Hackett
Steve and Jo in magical Petra, Jordan
On the journeys Jo and I have made around the Mediterranean, giving rise to this new album, we've been fascinated by the diversity of extraordinary cultures. This blog covers the last four tracks...
The Dervish And The Djin was inspired by spirit of the Middle East. In Egypt we've seen Dervishes whirling on two occasions. The dervishes emerged with the esoteric Sufis, centred around the Turkish city of Konya which Jo once visited on a 3000 mile trip around Turkey. The Djin is a supernatural spirit from Muslim tradition. Jo and I together experienced the Middle Eastern culture in Jordan, where you pick up on the pungent spices, colours, compelling music and carpets blowing in the breeze as if about to take off in flight... All this against a backdrop of rich history and mythology going back thousands of years.
Lorato was inspired by an African word for love. I see the Mediterranean as a meeting and crossing point for so many different peoples, many of whom fall in love. Love is the spirit of connection, compassion and tolerance, very much needed in this day and age...
A fantastic trip to the spectacular Moorish Alhambra Palace and the magical gypsy caves of the Sacromonte in Spain immediately awakened musical ideas for Andalusian Heart. The Alhambra with its ornate archways and sublime water gardens held an exquisite beauty and serenity, whilst the gypsies presented a riot of colour, with musical talent and wild dancing. The combination of these elements was extraordinarily compelling.
The final piece on the album, The Call Of The Sea, was inspired by the beauty of the Mediterranean, with its deep blue and turquoise waters, with sparkling waves reflecting the sun like a thousand sea horses. This sea is the mother of all those manifold cultures, forever beckoning us into her mysterious interior...
The gypsies of Sacromonte
Photo © Jo Hackett
Sunlit water garden, Alhambra
Photo © Jo Hackett
A Whirling Dervish in Egypt...
Photo © Jo Hackett
Extraordinary blend of cultures in the Middle East, shown here in Jordan
Photo © Jo Hackett
The sea, enticing with all its mysteries...
Photo © Jo Hackett
