“Tarkine Sunset” Revisited

In December 2017, Steve had the huge privilege of his music being chosen by Dr Bob Brown, Australia’s most respected environmentalist, as the backdrop to a collage of Bob’s photos that formed the Christmas message of the Bob Brown Foundation (click here to view the video).

Steve’s music hoped to capture the beauty and fragility of a sunset from a beach on the wild coast of North-West Tasmania, an area known as takayna / The Tarkine of rare natural beauty and deserving World Heritage protection - though it is not even granted National Park status. Patagonia outdoor company has recently joined with the BBF to help push, worldwide, for recognition of, and legal protection for, this unique and treasured environment, see: http://www.bobbrown.org.au/global_corporation_backs_tarkine

“Tarkine Sunset”, described as “hauntingly beautiful”, and “stunning”, and “impossible to get out of my head!” has been heard by over 1,200 of Bob’s supporters around the world as well as being played at the Cygnet Folk Festival “Earth Celebration” in Tasmania in January 2018. Inspired and proud of this response, Steve decided to “revisit” the music by gathering a few friendly local musicians to tease out some of the underlying melodies and counter-harmonies he could hear in his head, but are impossible to perform solo on the piano.

Under the watchful ear and eye of Steve, with Zarven Kara on the soundboard at his unique “Reel to Reel” studio in the hills south of Hobart, Ben Brinkoff added double bass, Pete Costello added violin and Terry Mead added soprano sax, counterpointing each other as well as Steve’s piano in a luscious and sensitive interpretation, capturing the feeling Steve searched for as he composed the piece.

Steve's piano was recorded by Heath Cullen at Woodstack Studios in 2017, and mastered by Mick Wordley at Mixmasters.