Sweeney Astray - The Rooks of Kathmandu official music video

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Relax and unwind with this heartfelt indie-folk song about mountains, forests, nature and love written by singer-songwriter Mike Kneafsey and inspired by looking back at a life review or NDE (near death experience) in the Himalayas. Perfect as coffee shop music, journey music or road trip music while on a music journey of self-discovery and personal growth, reflecting on memories and life meaning. Soft vocals, harmonies, magic and nostalgia all combine in this acoustic studio track. All feedback is welcome and there's more songs where this came from!
English trio Sweeney Astray first released this single The Rooks of Kathmandu on CD in 2014...and it's real. A true story.
Whimsical, poetic, mystical, mother nature, sweet, sincere, melodic and totally totally original. Fits into the genre of folk but it's not trad. Fits into indie but it's more gentle and gimmick free. Acoustic but they're a band. Unfashionable but likeable. Only familiar with a small bunch of original musicians in Preston and friends. They have played on BBC breakfast shows to tens of thousands and festival goers in Lancashire but that's it... and they're still going because they love music.
Double bass, guitar, vocal harmonies, drums, mystical experiences, deer, rooks, a farm cottage in Northumberland, scenes from Kathmandu and the Himalayas, festival stages and life in Preston. The Rooks of Kathmandu.
The Sweeney Astray line up on this recording is Mike Kneafsey - guitar/vocals/words; Hannah Dacey - double bass/vocals; Anna Ashworth drums.
To download this track for a minimum fee or free stream visit the Sweeney Astray Bandcamp site and follow us on Facebook.
mikekneafseyguitar.com
Mike Kneafsey Songwriter Bandcamp
Mike Kneafsey Songwriter KZbin Channel
STORY OF THE SONG
We made it to Everest Base Camp, my sister, myself and two friendly New Zealanders that we met up with, plus our Nepalese guide. I was 19 at the time and my mind was buzzing with all the new experiences - swing bridges over ravines, giant hornets, monkeys, yaks, stone huts, high altitude, in the shadows of the highest mountains in the world. It was on the way back down that I became seriously ill with stomach cramps and the rest...the worst possible evacuation of your body you can imagine. By the time we reached Kathmandu I was seriously unwell. The world was spinning and my temperature was roaring. I found out later that I could easily have died with the salmonella, giardia and dysentery combination before they put me in an isolation ward in Leeds. I was delirious, hallucinating, down to nine and a half stone. It took another year to recover and I was never the same.
Thing is , back in Kathmandu there was an hour or so when my whole being ran through every detail, emotion and decision I had ever made in my entire life, in vivid detail. It was a mystical experience no doubt. The most important thing being the knowledge that we have a right path to be on in terms of being in harmony with a benevolent force, a flow, every decision we make about every moment. And you don't have to make the right choice but you always know that it's you making it. However much you layer it.
I can away with a few things. Bastards choose to be bastards including myself. It's easy to die. I was horribly miserable between the ages of 4 and 16 in my family home and there was no way I wanted to end my life at 19. Plus, if you get on the right path the universe really does work with you. You've got to want to do the right thing though - and be honest with yourself. You either go with it or your lost. There's no way round it.
What I really remember is the sound of the rooks in Kathmandu while I was lying on a bed delirious. The same sound I heard again and again while living in a farm cottage in Northumberland. I put these two experiences together and wrote the song."