The Skryer from Dissonant Creatures by Aaron Kerr

The original name for this song was "Go Into the Woods with Sticks." I got the idea from watching a class of children I taught head out into a woodsy area near a nature reserve. We had just played a concert at a nursing home, and they were all dressed up in nice pants, shirts, and dresses; yet they wanted to head out into the woods. Pretty soon they came marching back in their nice clothes, but they were all holding these long sticks, like they were on a hunt. It was a great image. Jeff came up with the alternate title, "The Skryer". We had both just read a book about a 16th century philosopher named John Dee, who was also an occultist, mathematician, and spiritual council to Queen Elizabeth I. Interestingly, people at that time still believed in the supernatural, despite the Reformation (and then counter-reformation) being in full swing. A "Skryer" was what they called a medium back then. People like John Dee hired Skryers to look into crystal balls and tell them what they saw, which was then interpreted by people like John Dee. Some of the images the Skryer saw (or supposedly saw) were pretty intense--like angels and demons battling in the sky, or strange creatures that were half human and half animal. Jeff did a great job adding weird noises and effects to this song, as well as creative editing, to make those supernatural images come to life.

aaronkerr.com
emperorpenguinrecords.com