Pronounced SHEN-ka mp3 album

Description

About Pronounced SHEN-ka

The title, “Pronounced SHEN-ka,” comes from the fact that over the years people have seen my name, Sencha Skene, and wanted to pronounce it like the Japanese tea, SEN-cha instead of the Gaelic SHEN-ka. The title came from my desire to let people know how it’s pronounced.

Here’s a bit about each of the songs on the album:

01 Cry to the Raven

For followers of the Morrigan, this song speaks for itself.

02 White Horses

I started this song back in 1980 and kinda got stuck on it until 2015. A bad version of it was released when I was with the band Taibhsear, and I was never happy with that version, so I re-recorded it for this release. It’s a post-apocalyptic song with a Pagan twist in which the white horses are psychopomps conducting the chosen ones to Avalon.

03 Werewolf Blues

A fun little blues song about the dangers of partying all night. Ever notice how many blues songs start out with, “I woke up this morning?” This song was born with the idea, “I DIDN’T wake up this morning, I woke up this afternoon.” From there, it just wrote itself.

04 Spirit Weaver

I originally wrote this for my previous album, The Shadow Mountain Fae, but there wasn’t enough room, so it was saved for this album. Spirit Weaver was the drummer for my previous band, Elder Tribe, and a good friend.

05 It’s Not All Love and Light

Over the years as both a psychotherapist and an elder in my spiritual tradition, I’ve often heard well-meaning people tell those who are suffering, “It’s all love and light.” Well, pardon me, but it’s NOT. This song was written to address that fact. After I wrote it my wife Teresa pointed out that I’d just written a biographical tale of our teenage years before we found each other and our happily ever after. I swear, that was totally subconscious and not intentional on my part!

06 Dark Eyes

I started writing this one way back in 1976, and got stuck on the last verse. It just seemed to fit on this album. Although not strictly a “Pagan” song, it WAS about a Pagan woman, so I included it on this album. I was never much of a Bob Dylan fan, so I didn’t know until years later that he also had a song with this title, but since the two are totally unrelated, I kept the title for my song as well.

07 The Ancient Mariner

I come from a long line of ne’er-do-wells, from pirates to Vikings to border reivers. While there’s something romantic about the idea of sailing the seas for adventure and glory, there’s a downside to it as well. This song is about that.

08 Coming Home Again

There’s a long tradition of indigenous peoples writing “death songs.” Once you get to be of a certain age, the thought of death is a constant companion. This is my take on my own “death song.” Hopefully, this doesn’t come across as morbid. Having found the love of my life, and having a personal belief in reincarnation, I believe that we will continue on in the next life. This song is my attempt to capture that optimistic spirit.

09 The Reindeer God

Almost as far back in time as you can look, there’s been some sort of antlered or horned god. The Romans called him Cernunnos. In my studies, I came across something called the “Reindeer Shaman of Trois Freres,” a cave painting that depicts what scholars believe to be a shaman dressed in reindeer garb and engaged in an ecstatic trance dance. This painting probably dates to the mid-Magdalenian Period (about 14,000 years ago). There’s been a revival of horned-god shamanism throughout the Pagan communities around the world, meaning that the Reindeer God or some version of him has been around for at least 14,000 years. This song celebrates that fact.

10 Faerykin Castle

Among my other interests, I’m also a puppet builder and a puppeteer. I’m currently working on a Youtube-based children’s television series that will be released in 2025 called Faerykin Castle. It will be a show for children and families who follow a nature-centered spiritual path. This is the theme song for that show.

11 The Stillness

I don’t want to say too much about this song. It came to me in a dream, and like all my instrumentals, I’d rather leave the interpretation up to the listener. Let’s just say it’s about the Void…that place of no place, and time of no time.