This album is not based solely upon my fantasy, but is also about an actual Egyptian princess , Princess Nfrw, whose name was probably pronounced “Nafraw”. Egyptologists use the pronunciation “Neferu” deriving from the word “nfr”, which means “beautiful”. Princess Neferu was married to Sesostris I (also known as Senusret I), who was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of his era and his Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His own wife Neferu was also his sister. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II. For me, Neferu must have lived a lonely life as a Princess, since her husband Sesostris I was away for long periods of time, while he continued his father's aggressive expansionist policies against Nubia by initiating two expeditions into the region during his 10th and 18th years of life. He also organized an expedition to a Western Desert oasis in the Libyan Desert. His pyramid was constructed at el-Lisht, which suggests that his life was equally as lonely. Sesostris I is mentioned in the Story of Sinuhe where he is reported to have rushed back to the Royal Palace in Memphis from a military campaign in Asia after learning of the assassination of his father, Amenemhat I. I imagine Princess Neferu in her elaborate and ornate palace, surrounded by servants and court ladies, spending her days alone in love filled with activities like bathing, contemplating the stars in the sky, thinking about her husband being far away in distant lands, as she was much like a bird inside the proverbial gilded golden cage… Of course, these feelings of loneliness, sadness, emptiness, combined with sporadic feelings of happiness and love in ancient times, where emotional experiences that are exact mirrored reflections of men and women who live in contemporary times. When we reflect on those nations at war and the hurt that those on the battlefields as well as on the home front must experience...those feelings are endless, love is endless, the loneliness can be endless too…leaving the soul to collapse within itself to seek solace. In fact, the music in this album seeks to address the only constant story characteristic of the human race in all of its hues, languages, cultures, or conditions...it speaks to all of those deep feelings that spring from the wells of broken dreams, shattered hearts, and loves destroyed by circumstances outside the grasp of reasonable understanding but that lead to wonderful stories and inspire the artists of every generation. Lyrics on “Iner er Iner” Iner er Iner (Stone after Stone) Merut ( Hope, Wish) Ibet (Thirst) Nesch (Sand) Ahu (Pain) Nehet (Plea)