The ugly twin

A music-themed short story. Musical frequencies include future house, dubstep, nu-disco, future chill, electronica and is about the untold story of Sir Edmund Godfrey a extraordinary hero and the main character.

They are twin brothers Sir Edmund Godfrey and Sir Berry Godfrey born on the 6 April 1866 in a little village outside of Vienna. They have nothing in common except the genetic mother and father and growing up in the same family estate.

Chapter One: The birth and rise of the twins

The firstborn Sir Berry Godfrey is a deformed humanoid with the head of a hippopotamus and spectacles instead of fingers using a talkbox around his neck to amplify his voice. He is of high intelligence with a kind heart and spends most of the time adoring his twin brother who on the other hand is a perfect man. He rarely ventures outside the homestead because the citizens of Vienna despise and shun him for his appearance. When they were at a young age Edmund used to threaten his friends with Berry who he pretended is from hell only if they didn't want to obey and join his gang. At a later age, Berry only on notable occasions leaves the estate only taking part in watching and protecting his brother to support his novel acts in public.

Family Estate near Vienna

The second-born Sir Edmund Godfrey is a healthy powerful public figure acting the part of a superficial hero idly living off his family's fortune and the profits of his inherited conglomerate. Known as a celebrity socialite in public, he swore vengeance against crime, to help the unfortunate and fight poverty an oath he took as a result of his consequential father legacy. He promised his father, Baron Richard Godfrey, to become a champion to his community as he died in his bed surrounded by the family member including Sir Berry Godfrey.

Producers Note: Creating the representation of the birth of the twins and growing up together was exciting for obvious reasons filled with dark dubstep, trap, electronica, wonky wobbles, and dizzying melee of electrified sounds and screeching vox.

Chapter Two: The secret wish of a twin

Edmund follows the steps of his father, Richard Godfrey, to become a successful businessman and the community hero once his father was and imagined for him always to be. Edmund displays extraordinary discipline and intelligence throughout the years but deep down he is pretending a life to enjoy in respect to his father. Secretly wishing his brother and the firstborn of the twins was free of deformation and the conditions making him Berry the one he never wanted to be.

Producers Note: Creating the representation of Edmund's real feelings was a challenge but using the elements of moving collections of reversed synths, ambience with the beauty of imperfection a wave box drums, pitched-up vocal sentences and thick-edged, 808 beats - done.

Edmund hates Berry and from early days bullied him throughout his childhood until Berry started hiding away in the big family estate. One day Edmund leaves a note for Berry banning him from the living parts of the estate and to warn him if he ever shows in person to the family he will punish and threatens him with death thwarting Berry’s ambition to be ever part of the family again.

Sir Edmund Godfrey and Bride Loretta

Berry still admiring his younger brother only by six minutes and six seconds, grows up lonely surrounded by big fat rats and dark shadows dreaming of being loved by his brother together engaged in heroic adventures. In his early twenties, Edmund married a woman named Loretta, which he has a daughter with, Katherine, who seeks and follows all her father's noble actions through local papers and public speeches anticipating to be like him one day.

Berry loves Katherine from the moment she was born and his her secret angel when Katherine gets in trouble or needs any kind of help. He gets great entertainment when he plays funny tricks on her enjoying every moment. At dawn break, he slips into the butler's clothes to disguise himself just to tell her bedtime stories every night.

Producers Note: Creating the representation of Edmund internal conflicts to write his note to ban Edmund was a thrill-filled bass, dubstep, future house and vox an unusual experimental mashup.

Chapter Three: A pact between Baphomet and the twin

Many years passed by and Berry almost forgotten now by most family members but still being a resident behind the walls in darkness eating food from leftovers found in bins. Whilst he was growing up he was found by an entity not from this world or any human known parts of existence, acting by name of Baphomet. Part man, part woman, part goat, part, I dunno, crow or something, but all demon. A sinister lonely creature seeking company one day asks Berry to become a companion and offers him a deal which will grant Berry one wish, a wish which can not influence the past only the future, in respect for his friendship. Berry agrees and accepts the unusual offer on one condition that he can bring up his wish anytime any place. The rather strange arrangement worked exceptionally well over many years to come. Berry gained extreme knowledge about the world of Baphomet or the afterlife which we consider today being hocus bogus.

Artist Expression of the demon Baphomet

Producers Note: I enjoyed the producing the ghostly part of the story and the musical representation of rather unusual friendship and pact between Edmund and Baphomet, kicking off with some lush reversed synch on top of metal sounding drums morphing into a future house/chill hybrid and adding Opera, a synth-heavy powerful part of the production.

Chapter Four: Wishes come true

On a summer night, a big fire breaks out at the family residence at risk that all will be lost. The residence placed in the rural part of Austria far away from mainstream public services making a rescue of the building impossible. Within minutes the house is ablaze and Katherine clutching her doll unable to escape this madness. At the same time Edmund working his way throughout the old building trying to rescue the families fortunes knowing everything will be lost shortly. The potential loss of his social status is poor and greed made him forget about his wife and daughter still in a building surrounded by violent fires. Like a madman on a mission his only care about saving as many gold pieces as possible ignoring the screams of family members still in the building.

Loretta desperately trying to find a way out pumps into her husband urging him to leave it all behind and instead find his daughter to help out of the house. Berry aware of the situation dashes into the house to find and save the daughter his dear Katherine. The fire was everywhere; the roof was on fire, the doors and windows were on fire, the fire was even coming out of the house through various openings, looking like a fire-breathing dragon was inside the house, puffing away vicariously. Berry knowing every corner of the house like no other seeking ways through the fire. He arrives at the daughter's room racing to Katherine now unconscious gently picking her up and holding her as she is slowly dying in his arms from all the smoke realising it is too late for both of them.

Suddenly like a slap of a hammer remembering the one wish he was granted by Baphomet. Without a second of doubt and fear, he whispered his wish for Kathrine now to be saved and outside the building escaping the fire and death. Within a blink of an eye, Kathrine disappeared out of his arms and the fire was closing on him in quickly. Berry died that day and in a great deal of pain but surrounded by a last happy thought knowing Kathrine is alive.

Producers Note A dramatic ending and a polished approach of feverish beats and sounds. A head-rush of future house and lush melodies, emotive chord progressions, liquified drum loops. Almost the final curtain supplemented by great beats and sampled loops cede centre stage to the melodies.

Chapter Five: Berry one kind of a hero and his untold story

In a few minutes, the house had been reduced to a pile of rubble, ashes, and smouldering wood and items. The house had burnt down to nothing within a few hours, making Berry a true hero. Many family members and some house staff died in the fire and had a few days later a burial ceremony. Berry was not one of them and his ash left in the smoking ashes. Baphomet always changed his demonic mutation to a human in the presence of Katherine he didn't want to scare her when they had playtime in the house with Berry. He used his human camouflage one more time as he walks towards Katherine sitting in the grass staring at the black mist forming above the rubble. With a forced smile in his face looking at the crying child he whispered "...dying is just changing your appearance as simple as a light switch can change a room from the dark to light, two different views but still the same room...", he added, "don't be sad dear Katherine, my princess, my light we will always be around for you". One more he smiled walked away towards the forests nearby turning at the edge of the woods and waving goodbye.

Unfortunately, the story died that day with Sir Berry Godfrey and will never be told by somebody unless you had the pleasure to meet Baphomet. I met Baphomet and let’s say it was an offbeat coincident whilst feeding audio signals into the oscilloscope drawing pictures of sound.

To be continued...

I hope you enjoy the music-themed short story and thanks for listening.