I had an all-around good time putting this album together, a big deal for me to finish. Because First Flight was an important part, and complicated for me to piece together, I decided to place an image of a crow’s silhouette inside the case, and also a raven’s silhouette in flight on the CD itself to really highlight this soundscape. I have built an appreciation for birds throughout my life, learning about them through books and watching them within my day to day experiences. I took these pictures myself and decided that I would personalize the show case even more by adding these images. The image of the crow was taken with my point and shoot camera around 2010, fortunately this young crow was no more than two feet away from my camera. I was pleased that the crow trusted me in its presence, so that I was able to get a few worthy pictures. The raven on the other hand was taken in Arizona on my trip to California in 2014 with a professional camera as it was flying overhead giving me a few great angles. I believe this experience with a family of ravens flying overhead showing awesome aerial shows inspired the composition of First Flight. Gladly I finished this piece last, and placed it at the beginning of my album.
First Flight is about a young bird, who is getting acquainted with its wings, flying through different obstacles, greater winds and heights. The more difficulties it comes across, the more lessons it learns, and the stronger the bird’s wings become. The piece starts off calm and serene and gradually builds with stronger sounds and a quicker pace. If you concentrate on the different background sounds you may imagine a few aerial shows as the bird gracefully conquers the winds in the sky. This composition definitely took me for a wild ride as I came across multiple writers blocks, having to put First Flight aside for another day or night, while I worked on other musical pieces.
Many of us have come in contact with Crows since they live across most continents. They normally are around wherever humans are, especially in the urban areas. Studies have shown that crows are one of the smartest birds, if not the smartest, belonging to the Corvid Family along with Ravens and Blue Jays. Yes the Crows and Ravens together both have received a few negative symbolisms however, let’s be real here, thanks to Hollywood and a few other sources, we have placed the crows and ravens in an unfortunate headspace throughout. Let’s not look at these birds as “negative symbols”, but as intelligent and witty survivors that can peacefully thrive alongside the human race.
As always, I hope everyone enjoys this soundscape.
Best wishes,
Edward