Shivalya (with Martine Mussies)

Soundtrack to a hard time

This is actually the second song I started working on after making music as Mudbard. It began as a totally different song, but I just couldn’t get it right. It took me a lot of tries during more than two years, but I never got it where I wanted it. I must have started over a million times…

This was also the time period where I discovered that I am neurodivergent (AuDHD and giftedness). That shook things up quite a bit. At the same time both of my parents got sick. My wife was away for months, taking care of them, while I was at home because of my day job. When my parents eventually died, I ended up in a burnout that lasted for about a year.

Progression on this song was slow, but eventually I managed to get something that pleased me enough. I asked Elvya to record the vocals, and everything fell into place. She nailed the emotion perfectly. The vocals are not in an actual language, so everyone can give their own interpretation to this song. To me this song is not about the words, it’s all about the emotion. The strings of Sasha Luch and Martine Mussies added even more depth and emotion.

To me Shivalya became some sort of a soundtrack to this time, and means a lot to me. The release marks an ending of dark times and new beginnings.