Hiraeth is a Welsh word that has no direct English translation, likens it to a homesickness tinged with grief and sadness over the lost or departed.

Personally I would consider myself to be apolitical and generally I am not one for expressing my opinions about situations that arise which I feel are beyond my scope of truly knowing all of the facts.

However, when innocent people are thrown into a war it greatly sadness and angers me. The sense of helplessness is overwhelming, knowing that as one person, nothing I say or do can make a difference in changing the personal plight of so many, yet the sad irony is that it's usually one person who creates such awful plight for so many and the innocent on both sides ultimately suffer.

Watching the events in Ukraine unfold on media as families are forced to leave behind loved ones, the homes, the lives, the communities they've built and not knowing if they may ever see such precious and deeply valued parts of their lives again is something I cannot even begin to comprehend.

I began to think of ways I could perhaps help by utilising my artistic gifts?

So, I thought to myself that the next piece of music that I create I will donate all profits to the much-needed aid support agencies. Maybe pick two key agencies and split the profits between them.

The artistic challenge was how do I even begin to convey all the emotions that come with such a scale of human tragedy in a single piece of music?

I kept coming back to the emotions of leaving a life behind, loved ones and close friends a country you loved, your home as it gets destroyed and so much more.

I started with a blank canvas over the weekend and created some dark and ominous layered drones as a starting point, there's rather unsettling low frequency undercurrent that runs through the piece which suggest a sense of uncertainty and fear but as it progresses more tones and shifting pads & string elements rise and fall which I hope creates an important sense of hope.

I recorded a live take and then mixed and arranged it into what is now a long-form Ambient piece which is very much in my own personal style of expression and I hope that I have created something that conveys the human side of this tragedy and that you my valued supporters may wish to contribute to my gesture of giving something to those who need it very much right now.

I'm aware that I'm a niche artist but I'm happy that I can make some little difference through the help of my valued follower's & supporters.

I'm setting the track at €3.00 or name your price.

I will keep you all up to date on sales made and provide screenshots of both sale reports from Bandcamp and then most importantly the donation receipts.

Any support will be greatly appreciated!

Mick