This track features the ‘sound’ of whistler mode waves in the solar wind. These waves are electromagnetic plasma waves that are also observed ubiquitously in planetary magnetospheres. Near to the Sun they are observed to have large amplitudes and are narrowband. They are observed in regions where the magnetic field is more variable and are often associated with small increases in the speed of solar wind. The whistler mode waves we hear in this piece were detected by the Fields Experiment on the Parker Solar Probe.

The whistler mode waves provides a series of sounds that are full of movement surging in pitch and amplitude in a regular manner that is like a low pulsating siren. They have an implied drone like quality that were selected for this work. Originally titled 'She Moved through the Fair' this is a traditional Irish folk song in mixolydian mode, a subtle combination of notes that has elements or both major and minor scales within it (its quality is derived from the combination of a major 3rd and minor 7th). The song tells of tragic love and loss, our woman narrator sees her love move away through the fair, punctuated by the repeating refrain of “it will not be long love, till our wedding day”, sung by our protagonist both in life and as a ghost. This is a song that makes us lament the fate and the suffering of youth, and it was selected to symbolise the rapid entropy that all of our plans and dreams have in relation to solar time, which will see all of us turn to the ‘dust’ of Shakespeare’s verses.

Soprano Heather Lee is joined by Cunio playing the hurdy-gurdy, one of the most iconic of early music instruments. The hurdy-gurdy has a series of drone strings and a gut harmonic string that can create mesmeric drones, as well as two strings which are played by a keyboard, yet sound in the manner of a string instrument. The sound is created by the turning of a hand cranked rosined wheel, a little like the sound of a violin bow, which has a significant array of tonal colours available. The melodic intervals are tuned by small sections of wood called tangents – and the instrument is capable of pitch bending and parallel melody in the manner of the first Western harmony, the process of organum (parallel melodies played either up a 5th or down a 4th). While a Western lineage comes from instruments such as the organistrum (9th Century), the hurdy-gurdy also shares its sonic heritage with instruments such as the Afghan Rebab.

The abstract artwork by Scarborough is inspired by the narrative and the more traditional music embedded within the work. While retaining the simple flowing art style, created for the album artwork, it is a darker evocation of a night sky or an imagined heaven. The glowing light of one star becomes the symbol of love as a visual symbiosis of the music, the singing and the surging ‘sounds' of the whistler mode waves in the solar wind.