Progressive rock (74)

The Music Of Poligraf : Uncoiling part I


(Tobyo from the Bakemono-Dukushi - Unknown Artist)

"Uncoiling I" was originally written in September 2002, elaborating on drafts dating back to September 2000, and a first version was published in 2004.

The title of this miniature fugue for quartet comes from Kundalini energy, one of my subjects of interest at the time. From Wikipedia :

(...) literally "coiled". In Indian yoga, a "corporeal energy" - an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti, envisioned either as a goddess or else as
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"Introspection II" is the fifth section, and second with vocals, of "The Chrome Lake." And as is the case for its almost-but-not-identical twin "Introspection I," the subject matter is pretty much self-explanatory.

Verse
I see you feel restrained, mechanized, dehumanized
I see you feel estranged, incomplete, dissatisfied
Anything for a refuge, an island for your mind, a flight, a break
No amount of diversion or substance will ever dissolve the lake

Low confidence, you can't make a move without a guide

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(Erie Steam Road Roller scanned by Andy Dingley from the "New Catechism of the Steam Engine.")

“Steamroller” is probably the most busy piece of poligrafic music that I’ve written up to now, and features my new personal record of odd meters with an organ riff in 23. It is intended to hit hard and convey a feeling of inexorable mercilessness. In the “Juggernaut” storyline, it represents the apex of pain, and the metanoia.

The Music Of Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have

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The Music Of Poligraf : The Dam part 7


("Between the waves" by Ivan Aivazovsky)

The seventh chapter of "The Dam" is entitled "Flow" and presents our protagonist/narrator having passed the test, overcome the obstacle, levelled the dam, and moving forward into the dream, responding to the calling of the ocean.

The lyrics are almost done, although I'm not completely satisfied with the choruses :

1st verse
Have I ever been here ? / Memories I'm recalling
Of similar currents / And one ingenuous starling
Only doing the things / That kept his hea

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The Music Of Poligraf : Stereoscopy


(Pocket Stereoscope by Joaquim Alves Gaspar )

“Stereoscopy” is the definitive title of a song which I used to refer to as “Point Of View.” I changed my mind about the title while writing and singing the melodies, thinking that the word doesn’t get the chance to be employed very often. Well, not around me that is. Until now.

The underlying idea of the song is that of the benefit of sharing perspectives, for instance to get rid of old oldness or discover new newness.

Stereoscopy means : three-dimensi

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("Introspection" by Alberto Baumann)

"Introspection I" is the third part, and first vocal section, of "The Chrome Lake," which itself constitutes the core middle chapter of the "Entering The Stream" trilogy.

The title of the whole suite was inspired by Voivod's "X-Ray Mirror" from their "Nothingface" album :

I can't believe I am the image
Within the mirror
Into the chrome lake
The glass is broken
But I look the same

The present part's subject matter is, as implied by its title, looking into oneself. Her

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The Music Of Poligraf : The Dam part 4


(Daniel-Johnson's Manic 5 dam in Quebec, Canada - photo by Pierre cb)


Part 4 of The Dam is entitled simply “Dam.” In the storyline, this is when the obstacle is recognized and the necessity of dealing with it is accepted.

Once again the lyrics are pretty much ready, so better let them tell the story.

1st verse
The feeling is getting stronger / I'm aware of a dam
Building internally / This is not who I am
Conflicting directions / Identity crisis
Time has come to make a choice
Quiet the fearful voice

Thi

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("The Winged Man" by Odilon Redon)

"The Winged Life" takes its name from the following verse by William Blake :

He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise

This piece is a singularity as far as the poligrafic repertoire is concerned. I didn't aim for innovation or cleverness as I usually do because I felt that the best way to let the message through was to keep the music simple. Thus the song is about 4 minutes long and

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The Music Of Poligraf : The Dam part 2

Clocking in at 22 minutes “The Dam” is my longest composition thus far. The piece uses the metaphor of water flowing from source to ocean to illustrate this mysterious process that we usually refer to as life. It comprises eight distinct movements, identified as follows :

  • 1. Source
  • 2. River
  • 3. Rapids
  • 4. Dam
  • 5. Immersion
  • 6. Surface
  • 7. Flow
  • 8. Ocean

As the title suggest, the focus is directed on one major obstacle/life-changing experience, symbolized by a dam on the river, which the protagonist/narrator ha

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(Globe of Integration by Eugen Hofbauer, Herbert Kalleitner, and Susi Müller. Photo by Manfred Kielnhofer)

“The Chrome Lake” is the core middle part of “Entering The Stream,” the trilogy which begins with "Into The Ashram" and is completed by "Leaving The Ashram."

Lasting a little over 12 minutes, the suite comprises seven sections identified as follows :

  • 1. Introversion
  • 2. Intervention
  • 3. Introspection I
  • 4. Introspectrumental I
  • 5. Introspection II
  • 6. Introspectrumental II
  • 7. Integration

“Integration” sta

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(The Wheel of Becoming - Symbolic Representation of Saṃsāra in Tibetan Buddhism)

Poligraf's first album is entitled "Samsara." Traditionally, the term refers to the Buddhist concept of the cycle of birth and death in which all beings in the universe take part and which can be escaped only through enlightenment. Personally, I agree with the view that it is rather that very same process of enlightenment, in which ups and downs are in fact the appearance of constant motion towards spiritual growth.
I
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Music has been an essential part of my life since the end of the 80s.
The adventure began during the second of my four years of studying electrical engineering at Université Laval in Québec City. Through various friends and contacts I reconnected with progressive rock, a form of music to which I had already been exposed to in my youth thanks to my older brothers and sisters. Hearing the music of bands such as Yes, Rush, Genesis, and King Crimson felt like meeting old friends, and quickly I knew I
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Poligraf has been an essential part of my life since its inception at the beginning of February 1998.
The adventure began after the collapse of a band that probably never really existed as it only had a handful of rehearsals, but for which I had already written a lot of material. Left alone at the helm, I connected with a group of experienced musicians via a co-worker friend and after agreeing on a general aim and formula, we raised sail and headed to the terra incognita of progressive rock.
Over
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(Buddha the Conqueror by Nicholas Roerich)

Buddhism has been an essential part of my life since the mid-90s.
The adventure began when I stumbled upon a feature in an encyclopedic dictionary that highlighted the Four Noble Truths. That finding immediately sparked my curiosity and a few days later I was buying a copy of The Dhammapada at a local bookstore. While slowly digesting the aphorisms in the weeks that followed, I found that its teachings were in continuity with a process of introspection
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