At the end of 2022 I was experimenting with the idea of mixing spoken word poetry with music. I’m not a pioneer in this regards, as many musicians have recorded or performed music using speech instead of singing. What I wanted to do, was explore the possibilities of the format. I don’t think the artists that have done spoken word pieces deeply explored the medium, as they were mostly singers who needed to sing. I can also sing, but decided to strictly sticking to speech, knowing this would allow the music to take on an unusual format and shape.
By using speech only with music, I am able to explore a different way of constructing music. Whatever rules that exist to “standard” music, doesn’t apply to this format. All of that being said, I’m not interested in making bizarre music at all. My motive is simply to make great music that will be accompanied by a great poem.
That is what The Poe Underground is all about. So, once I recorded and mixed the first track and was pleased with the results, I decided to make an entire album. The end result of this being 16 tracks of music and spoken word I would end up calling Neptune: Dreams of Venus.
From the album, came the podcast which is now a bi-weekly endeavor. As of this writing, the podcast has now completed 19 episodes and counting.
What can you expect from the podcast? You can expect music from many genres and moods. The poems, come from classical writers like William Blake, Percy Shelley, and Robert Browning. As a poet myself, I tend to include my own pieces that fit the song.
Music shouldn’t be limited and neither should poetry for that matter. This is where The Poe Underground comes into play. Bringing fresh air to poetry and music.