Exclusive interview with Celtic band – Myddle Earth
ShowMe Knysna had the pleasure of meeting up with Myddle Earth during the Celtic Festival held in Knysna on the 18th of February 2017.
Cliff West is the mastermind behind the band Myddle Earth – Cape Town’s leading fantasy rock outfit who love promoting great times and compassion among humans and others.
Here is an exclusive interview about the band, it’s sound and future ventures.
Who are the band members?
Cliff West (full time) and then primary Ad Hoc members; Dan Van Tonder, Ed Dumbell, Annette Roos and a few others from time to time.
What Does Your Band Name Mean?
Myddle Earth is an Anglicised archaic term for describing the physical world where humans as we know them dwell, as opposed to the places and dimensions occupied by angels, demons, giants, gods, discarnates, etc.
When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Myddle Earth was formed in 2006. The right people met at the right time in the right place… Cliff, the vision holder and songwriter had now found others (Dan and Ed), who were able and keen to channel the, shall we say, fantastical magical moods and inspirations coming through and pertaining to this our legendary and astounding planet. The goal – expansion in imagination captured in sound. Ahem.
Brief history of your band and accomplishments?
Accomplishments?… Hahaha… The founder members have repeatedly returned to make music together over the years, not an easy accomplishment for such a diverse artistically creative bunch of personality’s.
How would you describe your genre? Who Are Your Biggest Influences?
We seem to be our own genre, going towards, but not typical of neo folk or world. Perhaps if you were to hybridise a sound somewhere between Uriah Heep and Dead can Dance, i.e. a kind of mystic acoustic rock, and then throw in some esoteric medieval, Scandinavian, and eastern sounds, plus just a twinge of sci/fi seasoning.
Then there is the Celtic side to the band. We’ve been throwing a lot of Traditional Irish jigs and reels into the mix at performances, mainly because so many people seem to enjoy them so much, and this has led to us being asked to do weddings, functions, festivals etc with this material. It seems like the Celts are everywhere!
Do you write out your lyrics? What’s Your Songwriting Process?
As opposed to conjuring them up freshly at gigs? Hmm… interesting idea! Yes, they’re written in runes and duly translated by wizardry. Some songs arrive in the imagination virtually fully formed, ready for the scribe. Others are nebulous, and receive many hours of reworking and enhancement. And some seem to arrive in unknown languages, and are usually (though not always) reworked into English. The feeling or theme of the song is usually first inspired by a riff or sound texture, and the words follow, often promoting themselves from secondary to primary status!
Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
At the moment at gigs we seem to be throwing in a high proportion of Celtic jigs & reels, which would be classified as covers, being ye olde traditional melody’s that have long stood the test of time. And then we try to keep operational six standard set play lists of original material (a lot of songs!) which then get plundered and shifted around to form fresher play lists.
Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
We don’t have a record label, no contracts anywhere, but, as far as I can tell, we are SAMRO members.
Anything you would like share – upcoming shows/tours or songs/albums?
Regarding performances we’re happy to keep you posted. At present we’re based in Capetown, so if you’d like to be sent info on our (not overly frequent) upcoming gigs, drop us a line and we’ll put you on the emailing list.
If there are any offers to record out there, we’re keen!
Do you have any last words?
Eek… do I look that old!
But yes, I’d just like to put out there, there is space for more personal in the band, even if Ad Hoc, being as everybody seems to have such busy lives, so give us a shout if interested.
For more information on Myddle Earth:
www.soundcloud.com/myddleearth
Myddle Earth – Enchanted Glade