Train of Mind is the first release by Mythopoeic Mind and is taken from the upcoming debut album ” Mythopoetry”. The single Train of Mind is scheduled for a December 21st release through Norwegian label Apollon Records Prog.
Mythopoeic Mind is the brainchild of Steinar Børve, a founding member of the Norwegian RIO-/Cantebury-inspired instrumental band Panzerpappa. Train of Mind is the first single taken from the upcoming debut album Mythopoetry, which represents a move towards symphonically styled progressive rock. Børve was joined by 8 well-established Norwegian prog musicians for the recording of the album during the spring of 2018. The theme of the album is myth making, story telling and reflections on human frailty.
The origin of Mythopoeic Mind can be traced back more than 20 years, to the summer of ´97. A young student of astrophysics, Steinar Børve, was both a lover of progressive rock as well as an ardent fan of fantasy literature (not an uncommon combination one might say). This led Steinar to write music to accompany selected scenes and lyrics from the monumental Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The nearly two-hour long piece, entitled Songs from the Red Book of Westmarch, was performed only once, at the 2nd Nordic Tolkien festival held in Oslo that summer. Although the piece was well received, early attempts at recording the music never came passed the planning stage. During this short-lived project however, Steinar got to work with drummer Trond Gjellum. A direct consequence of this collaboration was the formation of Panzerpappa which has since recorded 7 albums (the latest is due for release this spring).
Steinar has always been fascinated with the scope of human imagination, and since many of the musical ideas originated from the old Lord of the Rings project, this newborn project was entitled Mythopoeic Mind. The name is partly taken from Tolkien’s poem Mythopoeia in which the author argues that myth-making has great value, even in a modern era. “Mythopoeic thought” is also a scholarly term which signifies a way of thinking very common in the pre-scientific age, where myths are used to explain the world rather than scientific theories. Being a researcher by profession, Steinar regards music as a perfect counterweight to science.
This release is in the classic, two-track singles format. The “A-side” is the song Train of Mind from the upcoming album Mythopoetry. Musically, the song is unique in this context since it elaborates on a theme which Steinar wrote for Panzerpappa’s second album, Hulemysteriet back in 2001. Steinar has been toying with the idea to extend the theme into a separate song with vocals ever since. The lyrics describe a surrealistic, never-ending train journey. The main character wants to get off the train, but his nerves fail him every time he gets the chance.
The “B-side” track is exclusive to this single and will not appear on the album. Musically however, the idea behind the song can be traced back to the old Lord of the Rings project dominating of the music on the album. The lyrics is once again inspired by the books of Tolkien. The title of the song, Cottage of Lost Play, is taken from the first chapter of the book Unfinished Tales published posthumously. It represents a frame story to his earliest written accounts of his mythological world and describes the sea voyage of Eriol to the Lonely Isle where elves live. Rather than focusing on what Eriol heard and saw on the island, the songs focuses on what might have caused him to embark on such a dangerous journey.
While the album tracks, including Train of Mind, was recorded with a 7-piece band. Cottage of Lost Play were recorded only with the involvement of two people. The drums were recorded 6 years ago by Erik K. Jøkling as part of an old recording session. Erik is best known as a jazz/crossover drummer and has played with trumpet virtuous Tine Thing Helseth and keyboard guru Chick Corea (will do so again for two exclusive shows in Norway next summer). More recently, his focus has been his involvement in the quartet MonicaZ Vals which focuses on the music of Swedish singer and actress Monica Zetterlund. Apart from Erik’s excellent (and almost vintage) contribution to the song, all the music on Cottage of Lost Play was recorded by Steinar himself. A truly experimental move for Steinar.
Track list:
A. Train of Mind
B. Cottage of Lost Play
Line-up:
Paal Selsjord Björseth: Trumpet and keyboard
Ola Mile Bruland: Bass
Arild Bröter: Drums
Steinar Börve: Soprano saxophone, vocals, synth and programming
Trond Gjellum: Percussion
Kjetil Laumann: Vocals
Jarle G. Storlökken: Accoustic guitar
Torgeir Wergeland Sörbye: keyboards
Links:
https://www.facebook.com/MythopoeicMind/
https://www.facebook.com/apollonrecordsprog/
