Music by Ben Barden
Twice Midnight
Twice Midnight is Ben's fourth album. It was originally going to be Album 3 until The Unravelling of Travelling came along. The final title was the original title but Keeper of the Stars was used as a working title at one point. The original concept was to have an album with tracks that went from midnight to midnight, but this didn't work out as the second half of the album never really came together.
The "Midnight Theme" features in several of the tracks, including: Midnight 1, Twilight Tide, Prosperity (but on piano), Midnight 2, and Take Me Downstairs (which was later moved to The Unravelling of Travelling - thereby creating an unusual link between the two albums). Moon Eclipse and Solar Eclipse share the same theme and structure, but in a different style.
There is a gradual progression in the first 11 tracks, ending with Forever Field. This was the point where a new track, To the ends of the earth, was inserted. This track creates a bridge in the piece, with the final four tracks representing the finale.
Several tracks were dropped from this album or moved to other albums. High Noon was going to be the centrepoint of the album, but was never written. Later, Midpoint 1.5 was used as the "middle track", but once again this was dropped. Take Me Downstairs and Step Outside were originally written for this album, but they moved to Album 3. Deep Clouds was dropped, then rewritten as part of Climbing the Peak, which has yet to be released.
Finally, this was the first album to include bonus tracks: a remix of Gravity from Besidewalk Plight; Circumference, the original version of Radial Circumference; and Night Lights, a short tune that didn't fit anywhere else.