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bee Group: Members Posts: 1227 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 08:41 Does anyone see colour when listening to the music of Mike Oldfield? I'm thinking of the same kind of sensation as when I look at the paintings of Kandinsky, I "hear" or sense sound. It's difficult to put into words. I believe it's called synaesthesia or something. Maybe I'm just very strange. For me Ommadawn is every shade of blue, purple and some reds, and is very smooth. Hergest Ridge is full of earthy browns and greens and yellows. And then Amarok- superb, everything- explosions of colour in clever combinations. Any others? Just curious!!!!!! -------------- ....second to the right and straight on till morning.... You heard me before Yet you hear me again Then I die Till I call me again Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 12:47 Is it just Mike's music you see like this, or all music? Having tru synaesthesia wouldn't make you 'very strange' but it's not something everyone has by any means. I'd personally say I feel sounds more as shapes and textures, it's a rather abstract thing, something that words could never really explain, and if I describe the sounds in terms of how I percieve them, people don't have a clue what I mean! It works for me though... Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 12:55 Ommadawn is blue to me, and yes some purple too; I think that's mainly due to the color of the back cover and to the association I get with what David Bedford (or was it Tom Newman) said about Mike only ever wearing a pair of purply flared jeans Hergest Ridge, definitely would agree with the Green / Brown / Yellow thing. Amarok to me is black! Again this might have something to do with the back cover, but at the same time black symbolizes purity, freedom and multitude of possibilities to me. I know most people don't associate that with black but I feel very strongly about this. Tubular Bells is also black. Well, thinking of it, I guess the colors I associate with different albums really have a lot to do with the covers (e.g. QE2 black / white / red / blue, but then there's another association I have with that combination of colours which fits in nicely with the music - it's not a secret but too complicated to tell here); synaesthesia also plays a role though. Guitars is mostly brown I would say. But then, perhaps I just associate it with the colours of acoustic guitars... Back to top

maria Group: Members Posts: 928 Joined: July 2002 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 17:59 tsode is deep blue for me and so ommadawn, but this darker with strokes of green from the trees in that forest that it's always there. crises is also very blue, that's why i think the colour of the cover doesn't fit the music (for me anyway), though the drawing itself is very suggestive. when in this site i found hans claesson's view of it i was really pleased that someone had played around the idea and turned it into blue. (congratulations for that image. i had it for a long time on my desktop btw ) and i definitely agree with u about the green feeling in hergest ridge. walks on fresh hills, late summer and peaches. -------------- ...morning and evening i'm flying, i'm dreaming... Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 18:24 The colours I picture are pretty much influenced by the covers. But I'll go through them anyway. Tubular Bells- black/silver Hergest Ridge- green Ommadawn- a kind of greyish light blue Incantations- same as ommadawn but more grey Platinum- black/blue QE2- red/white (canadian colours! Five Miles Out- hmm...black, red, and blue...maybe.. Crises- sorry, maria, but I see this as green Discovery- blueish Killing Fields- red/yellow/black Islands- pinkish/purple/blue Earth Moving- red/blue Amarok- black/'golden brown' Heaven's Open- black/white/red Tubular Bells II- purple and gold! The Songs Of Distant Earth- Deep blues. Voyager- burgendy Tubular Bells III- greenish-grey/white Guitars- a kind of empty black Millennium Bell- multicoloured Tr3s Lunas- gentle colours Tr3s Lunas II- blueish Tubular Bells 2003- Deep blues/white Maestro- same as TL2 so far Yeah....pretty much descriptions of the covers lol. But that's what comes to mind when I listen to the music, or am thinking about it, or looking for it. The covers of the albums. -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 18:28 This is how I see it: TB is very sharp black and white; Ommadawn is cyan; QE2 is deep ocean blue [of course ];The Killing Fields is light brown in some points and darker brown in some others; Amarok is the rainbow ;TB 2003 is a hazy shade of gray. All the others just don't evoke any particular colour in my mind. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 19:01 Very interesting results so far I'll try and go through them all as well, though as I said above I suspect the results to be pretty much a representation of the front / back covers and (also very important since it's what you see most of the time) the back of the CD or record. - Tubular Bells: black - Hergest Ridge: green / brown - Orchestral TB: black (but not quite the same black as TB - sort of a more restricted, 'rigid' black perhaps: black that tends more towards grey than towards any sort of colour... oh dear ) - Ommadawn: blue... but a special kind of blue, perhaps cyan-ish like Ugo said - Incantations: pretty much the same as HR... I've always felt HR and Inc were more similar to each other than to Ommadawn, if that makes any sense - Exposed: well, white I guess. But I think it's not just because of the cover but because live albums always have a kind of 'blank' status to me. I don't like them in general, though Exposed is something of an exception. - Platinum: black - QE2: the black / white / red / blue combination just fits perfectly IMO. - Five Miles Out: mostly green. A bit blueish perhaps. - Crises: definitely green, yes - Discovery: blueish / purple - The Killing Fields: black - Islands: purple - Earth Moving: red and some black - Amarok: black - Heaven's Open: black - Tubular Bells II: blue - The Songs Of Distant Earth: dark blue and some black - Voyager: hm... no idea. Whiteish perhaps. - Tubular Bells III: white / silver, yes the cover fits - Guitars: brown, maybe some black but not really - The Millennium Bell: blue - Tr3s Lunas: black (but I think only because of the cover) - Tubular Bells 2003: blue and white: not black! Back to top

Jammer Group: Members Posts: 641 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 21:04 I'm afraid I can't truly see colours in Mike's music. Instead of colour though, I often think of particular scenes. Perhaps it could be that I encountered these when I first heard the music but every time I hear it I am reminded of the same scene. Here's a selective list: Opening to TB Part 2 - a clear morning on a beach. Overcast but bright with the sun faintly rising. I see mostly white/blue colours at this point Ommadawn - an enclosed waterfall, dark but mysterious. However, the guitar tune and ulelian pipes section in Ommadawn Part 2 conjures up the image of an open glade with bright greens and yellows most predominant Incantations Parts 1+2 - usually a sunset during the quiet sections. The Hiawatha poem in Part 2 usually heralds the beginning of a new scene - a vast and barren landscape Platinum - mostly dark colours, purple and black. Looks like I'm influenced by the cover too, but this is definately conjured up by Woodhenge Crises - During the instrumental, it's the scene of the night sky and passing light that goes across it. This is conjured up perfectly in the section following the 'Watcher and the Tower' song. The rest of the album is more a dark green progressing to bright blue especially in Taurus 3 and Foreign Affair Discovery - Light greens and blues of the sea. The quieter sections of The Lake conjure up images of overcast weather on the open sea Amarok - Far too many images to list, but definately the section with the water glasses and the toothbrush depicts a stary sky. I'm pretty sure Mike envisaged this as well. Usually more than one colour is present at a time resulting in blankness. I told you I couldn't see any colours... Tubular Bells II - A solid purple. A much-refurbished and defined form than on earlier albums Voyager - Complimenting blends of orange and purple like a sunset sky. Mont St Michel is the most effective for conveying an image of a sunset. In my opinion, more than any other of Mike's instrumentals All other albums don't really depict anything for me. Notice that I couldn't find anything in the song-orientated albums Back to top

MagicBrowser Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: Feb. 2004 Posted: Feb. 13 2004, 23:10 The Bell - A lightish blue, like an oasis, especially at the part at the very beginning right when the organ comes in at that one part where it goes down, too hard to explain exactly where Sentinel - Definitely yellow with a little orange sun mixed in, a few birds chirping (too hard to explain exactly where the birds are ) Weightless - A deep forest green mixed with ocean blue, calm, relaxing, a gentle breeze in the air, perhaps snow? Dark Star - A whole mix of colors, but specifically red and purple Tatto - A fairly dark green Though I don't actually see these colors, rather I feel them, if you can understand Back to top

The Big BellEnd Group: Members Posts: 971 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Feb. 14 2004, 11:42 Pink -------------- I, ON THE OTHER HAND. AM A VICTIM OF YOUR CARNIVOUROUS LUNAR ACTIVITY. Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Feb. 14 2004, 12:30 Pink....for.........what? -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Feb. 14 2004, 14:42 I hate to think! Innocent is quite a 'pink' song... Back to top

The Big BellEnd Group: Members Posts: 971 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Feb. 14 2004, 17:43 Pink = Innocent Daring Subtle Flamboyant Bold Tender Raw Fragrant Exotic Childlike Soothing Humourous Romantic New Life Comforting Relaxing Honest Warm  Not wishing to push the point, but how many things in the natural world, such as in the flora, fauna, sealife, mineral and the whole atmosphere that surrounds us contain the colour pink.  PS, Isn't Mikeys Fender a shade of pink. -------------- I, ON THE OTHER HAND. AM A VICTIM OF YOUR CARNIVOUROUS LUNAR ACTIVITY. Back to top

bee Group: Members Posts: 1227 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Feb. 17 2004, 02:25 Quote (Korgscrew @ Feb. 13 2004, 12:47) Is it just Mike's music you see like this, or all music? [QUOTE] I am very aware of colour when listening to MO but to differing degrees with other music- so I'm not sure if I have true synaesthesia. Recently I have been listening to Air, the French duo, and feel similar sensations. The colour thing and music is something I have been aware of for a very long time. I was about 8 or 9 when I discovered the music of MO and instinctively knew that this music was for me. No one told me about it, I just heard it on the radio. I think that I encountered it at a key stage in the development of my sense of music appreciation - how lucky was that?!! My brain was mapped! Since then, nothing has come as close or is as long lasting for me (maybe some classical, Schubert, Beethoven, Satie and Pink Floyd and JMJ ). The sensation has something to do with the combinations of sounds that give the colour,not the individual notes themselves. And this is where the genius of Mike Oldfield lies. Some people's voices have the same effect, like the girl in Curved Air, there's something about the way her voice weaves through the music that makes me freeze. And in 2000 I went along to the Milennium Dome and was captivated by the Peter Gabriel performance of Ovo. I had to watch it twice - I had no idea it would effect me the way it did. I  also bought the CD and it still has the same impact every time I put it on. I haven't ventured into more of his music but I might give it a try. Progressive  Rock, I read somewhere, can be described as Art Rock, and this does make sense to me. It would explain what's in my head! I have no idea whether some or all of Mike Oldfield's music could be classified as such and I'm not sure I like to put music into categories, but it does make it easier to talk about. On the arty side, I always prefer the grey tones of pencil drawings and when I try to use colour, I'm never happy with the result. It's as if the colour needs to be in my head, when it's on the paper it's out of control and far too loud! I plan to work on this in the future, as I love to look at the use of colour in other stuff. It was good to read of other people's colour experiences, by the way! -------------- ....second to the right and straight on till morning.... You heard me before Yet you hear me again Then I die Till I call me again Back to top

ally Group: Members Posts: 21 Joined: June 2002 Posted: Feb. 25 2004, 06:43 Ommadawn is dark blue like night sky and part two like sunrise, first - light pink and all colors to yellow sunbeams.. TB are silver and blue... T3L silver and light blue, light green... for me all music is colour, colours and imagines.. Back to top

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