Inspired by a road trip through Yorkshire and the Peak District a week before Christmas, where we saw a dramatic temperature inversion from Holme Moss on the Derbyshire/Yorkshire border, with an amazing view above the clouds. We could see the top of Emley Moor transmitter poking up above the clouds just to the bottom right of where the moon was in the sky, hence the name “Emley Moon“.

Each track on the album was inspired by a different part of the road trip; the first six tracks reflect the drive to Holme Moss, and form a continuous mix; the final standalone track corresponds to where we got out of the car and looked across the clouds to Emley Moor.

“616” was inspired by reported sightings of ghost children dancing to “Ring-a-Ring o’ Roses” under an electricity pylon in the vicinity of the A616 Stocksbridge Bypass in South Yorkshire.

“The Monk in the Fog” was inspired by a drive through the fog (also near the A616 Stocksbridge Bypass), and the reported sightings of a mysterious ghost monk. The music has echoes of 1970s television horror soundtracks.

“Sunburst at the Lake” is a musical impression of the joy of seeing the sun appear, and the reflections of the sun on the water, when we drove past Winscar Reservoir after driving through the fog.

“The Electric Portal” was inspired by driving through Dunford Bridge, close to the eastern portal of the Woodhead Tunnel, which National Grid use for carrying electric power cables.

“Long Dale Lagoon” refers to the Woodhead Reservoir in Longdendale, Derbyshire, which we passed on our road trip through the northern Peak District. It is an experimental electronic track making use of the whole tone scale and polyrhythms.

“Ascent into Golden Light” reflects the deep spiritual sense of wonder and beauty that I felt while driving up from Longdendale to Holme Moss, and seeing the moorland become illuminated by beautiful golden light from the sun as we drove higher.

The pinnacle of our road trip, “Emley Moon” was inspired by the view from Holme Moss across to Emley Moor during a temperature inversion a week before Christmas. We were above the clouds, and could see the top of Emley Moor transmitter poking up, just to the bottom right of where the moon was in the sky.

Mastering engineer: K Thompson

Recorded, produced and mastered using REAPER 6.

Instrumentation: 112dB Mikron Orbiter, Kawai K4r, Kawai K5000S, Kurzweil K2000R, Modal Electronics Cobalt8, Radio Shack Electronic Reverb Control, Roland Alpha Juno 1, Roland JV-1080, Roland MX-1, Roland TB-3, Roland TR-8, Spitfire Audio LABS Choir, Spitfire Audio LABS Frozen Strings, Spitfire Audio LABS Granular Whalesong, Spitfire Audio LABS Siren Songs, Spitfire Audio LABS Strings, Yamaha TG77, Yamaha TX81Z