The Recording Process:

First Unit Recording and Production:
Casey Carney: drums
Billy Brown: Keyboards, programming
Recorded at Outpost Productions, New York, March, 1999
Engineered by Billy Brown

Second Unit Production and Recording:
Tony Garone - vocals and keyboards
Evan Keckta - trumpet
Recorded, engineered and mixed at Cow Pilot Studios, Arizona by Tony Garone

This was another one of those songs that Billy sent me on an ADAT tape. The original version had an entire section which I did not use for reasons of time constraints on the CD. That's why it fades in. When I listened to the verse section, I immediately heard the vocal melody in my head. I grabbed a microphone and put down a scratch vocal.

When I heard the synth part poking in and out of the verse, it just reminded me of the sea - almost submarine/sonar-like if you will. It just occurred to me that this should be the song that portrayed Gilgamesh's journey into the Abzu (the ocean). It just had that sea faring quality about it. I then added some keyboards and acoustic guitars to solidify the counter melodies.

I enlisted the talents of Evan Keckta for the trumpet parts. Evan was a real trooper, and completed all the parts in about a half hour. I was just singing the trumpet parts and he picked them up immediately and we recorded them to ADAT. He is a very talented musician. Thanks Evan!

Evan Keckta played the beautiful trumpet parts on "The Far Away".

William Brown at the console at Outpost Studios

Commentary by William

The Far Away/Gilgamesh Laments For Enkidu

These 2 pieces came to life after having played the CDI game “ Burn Cycle”. It was the pilot program originally slated to launch CDI (CD Rom for Television). The technology never really took off and the game was re-formatted for Mac & PC. It was a tale of software espionage that featured a pricipal character named ”Cutter”. Inspired by the story, I was moved to write some music that would lend itself well to similar media; perhaps, CD Rom games or other related software that called for evocative moods to accompany game-play. At the time, I had recently added some gear to my MIDI network and was anxious to give it a test drive. Using a Roland JV-880, R-5, & D-50, and a E-Mu Proteus fx driven by Motu Performer 6.0, I managed “Cutter” and “Mystics”. In “Cutter’s original state, it existed as 3 distinct movements, each reflecting parts of the story. “Mystics” rose from a rainy day into evening’s efforts designed to create a tranquil atmosphere condusive to deep contemplation of the universe and fractional divisions thereof. Did I succeed? I laid them on a slab and offered them as a sacrifice to Gilgamesh. They have since embarked on a perilous journey into the netherworlds of Gilbert, Arizona where they have come to fruition among the cactus. I still have yet to hear them in thier entirety!
WJB

What is this song about?

In order to attain immortality, Ziasudra/Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh with staying awake for seven days and seven nights. Thinking he is up to the challenge, Gilgamesh sits himself down on the beach and immediately falls asleep.Utnapishtim believes that Gilgamesh will argue that he did not fall asleep, so to verify that time has passed, Ziasudra/Utnapishtim has his wife bake a loaf of bread for each day that the king has slept. He reasons that the various forms of decay will prove to Gilgamesh that he has been sleeping, and it therefore unworthy of immortality.

Seven days later Gilgamesh awakens and insists that he only dozed off for a few seconds. When Ziasudra/Utnapishtim shows our hero the seven loaves of bread in their various stages of mold, Gilgamesh realizes that he did indeed fall asleep. He weeps bitterly knowing that he will is not worthy of godly status, and returns to the raft and the ferry man, Urshanabi.

As he casts off, Utnapishtim's wife feels pity for the king, and begs Ziasudra/Utnapishtim to give Gilgamesh one more chance. Ziasudra/Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a plant whose properties will bring youth to those who ingest it. Although this would not give Gilgamesh the eternal life he sought on his long journey, it does allow him another lifetime. Ziasudra/Utnapishtim tells our hero of a plant that exists deep below the ocean.

Hearing this, Gilgamesh sets off with Urshanabi to retrieve this "Flower of Life". He sails out to the Apsu (the Sumerian word for the fresh water that flows under the Earth), ties mill stones to his feet and sinks deep into the ocean. He retrieves the plant, unties the stones from his feet and floats back to the surface with the "Flower of Life".

Cuneiform for "The Far Away"

Dr. Pagan explains:

The signs are (from left to right): re-qú-um, a syllabic spelling of Akkadian rêqum, "distant," "far away" (as an epithet, "the distant one," or "the far away").