Teft’s Blog

Recently, Judy (Mom) came back from a spiritual retreat. A lot of it focused on what messages mother Earth is giving to us (mankind). We had written this ambient track a while ago (last September) and shelved it because it didn’t fit the artistic vision of “Mimi & Teft”. When Judy got back, she was inspired by all these messages from Earth and had the perfect set of lyrics for this nearly forgotten song, titled “This Old Heart”. Take a listen …

Download Mp3 Here

In Judy’s own words …

The lyric on this song was inspired by a group of Shamanic Practitioners who gather together in circles to drum and meditate together.  Shamans have been around for thousands of years and are part of all indiginous peoples. They are the persons who act as healers for their tribe or group.  They were driven underground during the worst of the Religious persecutions, but have resurfaced in recent decades. Modern day shamanic practice does the same thing as it’s ancient counterpart, working on spiritual causes of illness and societal problems.  The shaman will enter a meditative state and journey to discover the needs of the person, tribe, or land where they live. 
This lyric was a message from Mother Earth about returning to these sacred practices which honor the land, air and water around us.

As “Mimi & Teft” we don’t plan on officially releasing this track, but we wanted to share it because it has a very powerful message behind it. Here’s the lyrics …

This old heart of mine is aching ,
for the children waking
in forgotten truth
For the ones who have forsaken
all the ways we taught them
Wind and earth and pool
they still know you
I’m cold now down inside my soul
find the symbols that you value
bring them to me
warm me
offer what is true

Tribal clan, I listen to you
When you dance I open my heart
give to you the songs that you once knew
i’m your guardian
don’t think your song is silent
to the high

And this old heart of mine is speaking
to the children listening,
who hear me in the cool
listen to them when they tell you
what the hills are saying
How much we love you
still loving you
we’re cold but we are loving you

find the pieces of your home land
take them with you
hold them till you know I’m true

Chief and priest, healer and sage
Ancient words new for this age
falling like the leaves into my hand
i’m your guardian
don’t think your cry is silent
to the high

Production Notes

Production wise, the song is drenched in reverb using ArtsAcoustic Reverb. All of the instruments came from digital sources (the drums were sampled), yet it has a predominant acoustic feel. Multiple synth pads were used (Logic’s ES2, Native Instruments’ Massive, Rob Papen’s Albino 3) to create an organic sense of the pad sound shifting timbre, much like dampening on guitar strings.

The kick and snare is a patch from Fxpansion’s BFD, and the percussion loops are from Stylus RMX. Native Instruments’ FM8, reFX Vanguard, and Rob Papen’s Blue software synthesizers were used to round off sections with texture. BTW, NI’s Massive is extremely cool, sounds amazing, and DRAINS my dual G5! Freezing tracks is an absolute must when using this software synthesizer.

Lately, my mastering chain has consisted of PSP’s Master Compressor, PSP Neon HR, and iZotope Ozone’s limiter. I kept the limiter light on this track, because it’s not meant to be loud.

This Old Heart mp3 is licensed under: