Click to ready our interview from 2009 with Medwyn Goodall about the Medicine Woman series. Here he tells about the inspiration behind the series.
NewAgeMusic.nu has interviewed Medwyn Goodall about his highly popular Medicine Woman series. The fourth album entitled Medicine Woman IV: Prophecy 2012 has just been released. The interview is done by BT Fasmer.
BT Fasmer: The Medicine Woman series contains some of your most popular and beloved songs, like Temple Journey, Invocation (all parts) and Farewell To The Darkness. When you recorded the first Medicine Woman in 1991, it was the beginning of something entirely new in your discography. To quote the cover: Rhythmic, celebratory, nurturing. Today these are the words many fans would use to describe your music. Please tell us what the Medicine Woman series has meant for you as an artist.
Medwyn Goodall: During my career I’ve developed some personal favorite themes and styles that I enjoy returning to and Medicine Woman is one of those themes. It is a sound that is very me, very natural to me and is like an old friend. Whilst I might try out different ideas and do different projects, fans know that at some point I will always return for a period of taking these theme another step. It’s become a trademark of my career that every 5 years or so Medicine Woman will be re-born.
BT: The Medicine Woman series is inspired by the ancient Mayan culture, and this is even more apparent in the latest installment: Medicine Woman IV: Prophecy 2012. Tell us about your interest for the ancient Mayan culture, and the enigmatic year of 2012.
Medwyn: I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t interested in myths, legends, mysteries and native cultures, and the Mayans stand out as being one of the most unusual civilizations there have been. The Mayans were amazing astrologers and keepers of time, so much so and so accurate were they that today’s scientists are still debating theories on how the Mayans had such knowledge. The ultimate conclusion of the Mayans knowledge of time and astrology was their creation of what is known as the Mayan calendar which tells of periods, eons of time each having its influence on humanity.
What is immediately noticeable about the calendar is that it stop very precisely on the 21st of December 2012. It does not predict a doom and gloom end of the world scenario, but more mysteriously hints and foretells of much upheaval as we pass from a period of difficulty in to a time of re-birth and enlightenment. What is truly interesting is that many other cultures all have similar predictions for the same time and date. 2012 to many ancient civilizations seems to indicate a massive change and that is what the CD is referring to. To sit up and take notice and look into the details for oneself.
BT: This series is one of the most successful in new age music history. Are you nervous about making a sequel?
Medwyn: I was very nervous when I made Medicine Woman II and a little less so with CLAN II – the Scroll, because they were the first time I had written a definite sequel. I am not nervous these days, I thoroughly enjoyed making Medicine Woman IV and was perfectly relaxed and content whilst making it, which show I think. It sounds as if I was confident and relaxed.
BT: The Medicine Woman series albums have been accompanied by some wonderful cover art by American artist Lisa Iris. I guess it is right to say that she too has given life and identity to the Medicine Woman?
Medwyn: Yes Lisa is a very good friend of mine and she added her own flare giving Medicine Woman a visual style and identity. With Medicine Woman II and Medicine Woman III we very much collaborated on ideas for the cover so that I could echo them in the tracks, making the albums that much more integrated. However Lisa couldn’t join me for the 4th new album and so I designed the cover myself.
BT: The Medicine Woman was the first of several magical women in your discography. Like Priestess: Return To Atlantis, Moon Goddess and Earth Goddess. The celebration of the Feminine is central in your music. Do you see yourself making more Medicine Woman albums in the near future, or will the other powerful women mentioned here get their sequels first? A new Earth Goddess album perhaps?
Medwyn: I do plan to sequel The Sorcerers Daughter next year with Rune Caster. The Sorcerer’s Daughter was always planned to be a mini series or trilogy and I have settled on it being a trilogy, as it has a linked story. I’ll return to Medicine Woman every few years for as long as fans want me to and if I feel I have something fresh to say on the subject. I don’t feel as though it’s over yet so there could be a 5th in the years to come.
BT: You also run the MG Music label. Still you find the time to be an artist yourself. Can you do both at the same time, or do you take time off from the label to create music?
Medwyn: It’s impossible to do both at once. I choose periods where the label doesn’t need me personally too much to escape into the studio. It was harder in the earlier years of the label and my music suffered a bit as a result of the clash. Since the Sorcerer’s Daughter, 2006, I can find the time to focus on just being an artist and I feel as though I have really found myself again as an artist, having gone through the transition to owning a label.
BT: Thank you Medwyn for the interview, and good luck with your new projects!