Checkerleaf Parade from Nodknots by Noddle

# About this track: Checkerleaf Parade

Dappled spring mornings have always given me that peculiar sensation—half-awake but somehow more alive than when fully conscious. We captured that exact feeling when recording "Checkerleaf Parade" during last April's odd weather spell. The toy piano you hear belongs to Morris's childhood collection, delightfully mistuned after his cat knocked it down the stairs. That happy accident became the backbone of the entire melody.

The track introduces listeners to Murmury's periphery, where reality thins and wobbles like heat rising from pavement. Those field recordings tucked beneath the harpsichord? Genuine watchface ticks we collected from an antique shop, paired with Penny's grandmother's teapot whistle. Something magical happened when we layered them together—they seemed to argue with each other in perfect rhythm.

We structured the song as a gentle dance between order and chaos, mirroring the squabbling Knots and Clockhoppers who can't decide on tomorrow's festival rules. The fingerstyle guitar pattern deliberately trips over itself every seventh measure—a musical representation of stumbling into a world where logic bends like grass.

The chorus emerged fully-formed during a 3AM jam session after too much hibiscus tea. Something about the way the Mellotron pads hover uncertainly behind the flute trills creates that sensation of standing at the edge of sleep but choosing to spin away from it, back into wonder.

This is our sonic invitation to wake up sideways into somewhere more interesting than plain reality. Listen for the leaf crackle in the bridge—that's actually Juniper walking on autumn leaves we'd collected and dried specially for this recording.

We're the dreamweavers who tumble through sonic rabbit holes with our kaleidoscope contraptions. Our music? Whimsical melodies dancing with off-kilter rhythms, while nonsense poetry drips from teacup harmonies. Lose yourself in our mismatched wonderland!