Halcyon Days - Definition and Overview

Halcyon Days (1996) is a collaborative album by the ambient musicians Steve Roach, Stephen Kent and Kenneth Newby. This album was recorded in the period from December 17 to 28, 1995. At that time most of the United States were experiencing severe winter weather, but the Sonoran Desert region, where this album was recorded, was enjoying a period temperate calm and clear skies.

While recording this album, Kent and Newby, along with their families, stayed at Roach’s home in Tucson. While there, the group enjoyed casual walks through the surrounding desert.

Halcyon is the ancient Greek name for a bird now believed to be the kingfisher. According to Greek myth, Alcyon was a kingfisher who was once human. In the myth, the seas are calmed during a two week period surrounding the winter solstice, when Alcyon’s decedents lay thier eggs on the still water. This period is known as the Halcyon Days.

The music is mostly acoustic percussion, didgeridoo and flute, with only limited use of synthesizers. On some tracks, Stephen Kent plays a sintir, a Moroccan plucked stringed instrument with a sound resembling an upright bass. This gives these tracks slight jazz overtones.

Track listing

1. ”Halcyon Days” (10:20)
2. ”First Day” (9:22)
3. ”Rainfrog Dreaming” (7:56)
4. ”Snake Brothers” (5:52)
5. ”Slow Walk at Stone Wash” (9:22)
6. ”Riding the Atlas” (5:28)
7. ”Calyx Revelation” (8:00)
8. ”Kingfisher Flight” (7:00)

Personnel

• Steve Roach (analog and digital synthesizers, percussion, ocarinas, didgeridoo on “Snake Brothers” and “Riding the Atlas”)
• Stephen Kent (didgeridoos, percussion, sintir, ocarinas)
• Kenneth Newby (treatments, samplers, percussion, p’iri, bonang)

See also

• Steve Roach
• Stephen Kent
• Kenneth Newby
• Ambient music
• Electronic music