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Rain man and woman
2:54pm Wednesday 27th June 2001
Re:Initiation Rhea's Obsession
(Metropolis Records)
There are many reasons why people make music, writes Stuart Moses.
But the reason that intrigues me most is when music is used to explore the nature of reality and the spirituality of the world around us.
It's the sort of music that is either literally spellbinding, or an unlistenable dirge. Luckily, this reissued debut by Rhea's Obsession falls definitely into the former category.
Opening song Memento Mori starts quietly, with a distant female vocal influenced from the middle East.
But it is the calm before the storm and soon the drums are beating and the guitars are wailing, urging the listener into a trance-like state.
This is a song about the journey of the dead into the afterlife and back again to birth.
There's another mystical journey to be had with the next song Waves which has esoteric vocals and tribal percussion which you could easily imagine in a temple ritual of thousands of years ago.
You have to have a questing personality to get the most out of Rhea's Obsession.
Although never wilfully obscure, the way in which this Canadian duo use drones, and experiment with sounds is different from the normal pop charts.
Using traditional instruments like bodhrans and rain sticks, and taking the time to learn how to play them rather than just using samples, means there is a soul to the aural delights on offer that might otherwise be missing.
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Prehistoric walk
The interesting brochure you can obtain from the car park at Foulshaw Moss says that more than several thousand years ago the Witherslack Mosses were part of an extensive wetland in what is now the Lyth Valley and on the flat ground west of the Kent Estuary. The Mosses - Meathop, Foulshaw and Nicols - are raised peat bogs brought about by sphagnum moss that draws up, acidifies, and holds water like a giant sponge, creating waterlogged conditions as it grows. Sphagnum grows from the tip, leaving the lower part to die. Waterlogging halts decay of these dead bits that build up and up over thousands of years, to form deep domed mounds of peat that are raised many feet above the surrounding ground. The Witherslack Mosses have dried out partly as a result of forestry and the invasion of scrub. Over time, drainage and peat cutting led to the loss of more wetland and now only significant fragments remain. Specialised peatbog flora and fauna have been unable to thrive because of the area being too shaded and too dry. Recently conifers have been removed and also masses of rhododendrons have been cleared. Hundreds of peat and plastic dams have been installed to bring about the ‘sponge’ effect of the peat. At Foulshaw, the remains of a 15ft to 16ft wide prehistoric trackway has been uncovered. This is believed to have been constructed in the mid-Bronze Age to allow people to cross the once huge wetland. Trunks of ash and birch were laid side by side and supported on logs. Foulshaw Moss is open to the public. Nichols Moss, a really squelchy one, is only suitable for a hundred yards or so before you encounter pathless very wet moss. It is a delight to stand and look ahead but as there is no walkway do not continue. Pause just on its edge from where you might spot red deer. Meathop is a lovely walk but only for those with a permit from Cumbria Wildlife Trust or if you are a member. The parking is difficult. After the first short grassy track, follow a wider track, left, that winds round right by a pasture and into fine conifer woodland. Beyond this a wide walkway takes you out some distance into the moss, from where you will spot all sorts of interesting lowly plants. To visit Foulshaw Moss, on the A590, it is best to approach the entrance from the direction of Kendal. If coming from the opposite direction continue on past the entrance and make use of the Levens underpass to make a U-turn and approach from the north. This avoids trying to make a right turn across a narrow section of the busy A-road. The entrance is not signposted until you have turned off the road. The entrance turn, a cart track, lies just before a large layby on a narrow section of the A-road. Just beyond the turn, stands a huge sign saying ‘Dual carriageway a mile ahead’. To approach the entrance, drive the dual carriageway at Levens until it ends. Continue a short distance along the two-way road and begin to signal your left turn. Watch out for the large sign ahead. If you reach the layby you have gone too far.
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