Elysium Strand - Paul Courtnage & Carol Courtnage

In addition to their filming and production work, Courtney & Carol Courtnage have their own band, Elysium Strand. They write and record the soundtrack music for their video productions in their well-equipped music studio using state-of-the-art digital and analogue music technology.

Elysium Strand also produce music CDs, aiming to record one album each year, ranging in style from modern, alternative rock to classical. The MP3 player to the right of this block has a few of their tracks to listen to while you read this page - click on any track to jump to it. Descriptions of the pieces are below; many of these are from soundtracks.

Courtney, Elysium Strand Courtney, Elysium Strand

Elysium Strand's music is a mixture of electronic and acoustic, often with relentless, moving riffs, subtle or extreme effects and a wide range of vocal styles. Elysium Strand's work frequently entails a clash of genres and it ranges from experimental music to a more conventional style. They write the vast majority of their own music, but also produce their own arrangements of some classical pieces. Elysium Strand manage their own music recordings at their Magrathea Studio in Buckinghamshire. They also do collaborative work with some excellent musicians; check out one in particular, Laurence Grant.

Elysium Strand's Music

These are the tracks on the MP3 Player (top right on this page)

01: Pandora (Pandora Element 1) - NEW!!! The first part of Courtney's new concept album, Pandora. This is a 'work in progress', but we thought you might like to hear how it's coming along. Used in our Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Video Diary. Recorded by Paul Courtnage (Courtney), Elysium Strand.

02: Upland (Pandora Element 2) - NEW!!! The second movement of Pandora. Used in our Expedition Ocean Vision 5 Video Diary. Written by Courtney, recorded by Paul Courtnage (Courtney) Elysium Strand.

03: Thistlegorm - Written and recorded by Courtney after Expedition Ocean Vision 3 to the Red Sea in 2009 and revisiting the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm. Arrangements of parts of Thistlegorm form the soundtrack for the Expedition Ocean Vision 3 Video Diary. Recorded by Paul Courtnage (Courtney), Elysium Strand.

04: Time Runs Away - Elysium Strand's signature piece. Beautiful vocals by Carol set to a rhythmic guitar backing with lots of gentle, but flowing percussion by Courtney. Time Runs Away is a colourful piece of music that will become a new video in 2011. Live version at Track 10. Recorded by Elysium Strand.

05: Expectations - early cut of the title track for Elysium Strand's second album written for a short movie and later adapted into this shorter version. Atmospheric vocals from Carol and Courtney and very rhythmic sequences fused with more traditional backings, illustrating their diverse style. Recorded by Elysium Strand.

06: Mystic - music written by Carol. Inspired by memories of the Highlands, this was to be the title track for the Elysium Strand album that eventually became Nemesis. Recorded by Carol Courtnage, Elysium Strand.

07: Bourrée - from J S Bach's Lute Concerto. Interesting rhythmic devices. Arranged & recorded for Project Ocean Vision's promo video about Buckinghamshire. Recorded by Paul Courtnage (Courtney), Elysium Strand.

08: A - written and performed by Carol Courtnage; the soundtrack for Project Ocean Vision's underwater conservation documentary on Coral. There is a story behind the title, A, but that's for another time.

09: Nemesis - This was one of the Band's earlier works, branching into electronic music. Listen out for a guest appearance by the Elysium Strand dog at the end! Quite long as it was written for an underwater documentary. Incidentally, the title should really be nemesis, without a capital N. Recorded by Courtney.

10: Time Runs Away Live - Elysium Strand Live - 2009. Faster and simpler than the original Time Runs Away, but good! Recorded by Paul Courtnage (Courtney) & Carol Courtnage, Elysium Strand.

11: Song for Autumn - music written by Courtney in 1976 and the original version was purely vocals and guitar. After the piece had been left to languish for 31 years Elysium Strand decided to record it.

12: Winter's End - think North American plains, the end of Winter, a march towards Spring and misty dawns.

13: Voices in the Storm. - the idea of voices in the thunder has been in Courtney's mind since watching a hurricane while living in Florida in 1989. Somewhat out-of-the ordinary music, but creative and interesting with some good storm soundscapes. Recorded by Courtney, Elysium Strand.

14: River's Edge - written as the soundtrack to an underwater video in 2008. Recorded by Courtney.

15: Movement One - originally released as Movement 1, a shorter and less complete work; an experimental piece combining electronics with Gregorian chant and ethereal vocals. This is not the final version of this music.

16: Neo - another soundtrack piece written by Elysium Strand for a marine wildlife video.

17: The Day Before - a live recording of one of Elysium Strand's earliest pieces - thoroughly hated by Courtney from the day he wrote it. Written for a collaborative project and featured in "The Wild".

Elysium Strand's Album Art

Elysium Strand's Photographs