in the dark

Closer Than My Breath is an intimate worship song that captures the nearness of God in every moment — even in silence, fear, or uncertainty. It’s a gentle declaration that His presence isn’t distant or conditional; it’s closer than the air we breathe. With heartfelt lyrics and a tender acoustic arrangement, the song invites the listener into stillness — to rest in the truth that God’s love surrounds, sustains, and never leaves.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
When the silence feels too heavy on my chest
When the questions steal the comfort from my rest
You are near, You are near
Closer than the shadows I fear

[Pre-Chorus]
Even in the stillness
Your love is surrounding me

[Chorus]
You are closer than my breath
Nearer than the life within my chest
Every moment, every step I take
You are closer than my breath

[Verse 2]
When the darkness tries to tell me I’m alone
You remind me I am held, I am Your own
You are here, You are here
Faithful in the whisper I hear

[Pre-Chorus]
Even in the stillness
Your love is surrounding me

[Chorus]
You are closer than my breath
Nearer than the life within my chest
Every moment, every step I take
You are closer than my breath

[Bridge]
Nothing can separate
No power, no shame, no grave
Your presence will remain
Forever You will stay

[Chorus x2 with tag]
You are closer than my breath
Nearer than the life within my chest
Every moment, every step I take
You are closer than my breath
(Closer than my breath)

Closer Than My Breath

to Laugh, to Feel

It’s a Party!

New research reveals that the human brain contains a built-in pain map that activates in different regions when relieving pain in the face, arm, or leg.  Researchers at the University of Sydney have revealed a detailed map-like system within the brainstem that regulates pain differently depending on where it occurs in the body. Their discovery could help develop safer and more precise treatments for chronic pain that do not depend on opioids.


Verse 1
In the quiet core of thinking clay,
Where whispers rise and drift away,
They found the places pain will go,
A hidden map the nerves still know.

Chorus
Map of the mind, lines of relief,
Drawn through sorrow, joy, and grief.
Each aching limb, each wounded face,
Finds mercy's mark, its sacred place.

Verse 2
Not one road leads through despair,
Each pain a path that ends somewhere.
Face, arm, leg-each pulse, each cry,
Has its own star burning high.

Chorus
Map of the mind, lines of relief,
Drawn through sorrow, joy, and grief.
Each aching limb, each wounded face,
Finds mercy's mark, its sacred place.

Bridge
No pill can show the way inside,
But patterns bloom where neurons hide.
From Sydney's halls, the news runs clear-
Hope's design is written here.

Final Chorus
Map of the mind, lines of relief,
Healing traced in pure belief.
Pain's not gone, but it can be tamed
By knowing where it's softly named.

BUY ON BANDCAMP!

Mind Map

In the hush after the storm, the forest begins to breathe again.
Northern Soul: November Air is a collection of songs about that stillness — when the air clears, the work is done, and mercy feels like wind through pine.
Written and produced in the cinematic folk-soul language of THOCE, these tracks blend acoustic guitar, felt piano, brass, nyckelharpa, and strings into warm, human stories of endurance and grace.
Each song is a reflection of quiet strength: the sound of light returning to cold air, of hearts mending in their own time.
No grandeur, no noise — just the pulse of the North rediscovering its soul.
Listen slowly.
Breathe.
November air is enough.

The Sunset Song

I left the door open too long.
Light crawled in,
touched everything I couldn’t name.
Dust circled like old prayers,
too quiet to believe in.

Streets crack below,
each car another beat borrowed from your world.
I think of you in the reflection
not your face,
just how still the glass was after you left.

If I’m still somewhere,
it’s between stars,
in the pause between a sound and its proof.
A small, patient sound
forgetting who made it.

I walk until the sky erases the idea of destination.
Billboards speak in light I can’t translate.
The moon flickers,
as if buffering another planet’s thought.

I used to write lists of things to fix
now I just listen to silence,
wait for it to rhyme.

If I’m still somewhere,
it’s not for long.
Every error grows tired of spelling.
Every goodbye becomes a friend.

Night folds around me,
neither kind nor cruel.
Just enormous enough
to call it peace.

Still Somewhere

Loudness War

A Life Unseen
(c) J. Murdock McInnes Vasey

[intro]
[instrumental]

[verse]
How can we end like this
How can you walk away
Why don't we just pretend
I can dream and you can stay

It could always be Ok

It could be like yesterday
We could live a life unseen
Hide in places we ain't been
We could dance without a step
Glide across a moonlit scene
On a trapeze without a net
Fall forever, no regrets

[chorus]
Let it never end
Lets share a dream for two
You pretend
and I pretend

[instrumental]

[verse]
This end it isn't real
It is not what I imagined
I thought there would be passion
You would shout and I would cry
And once again at least would try
How can we just let go
This is not the end I know

This end it isn't real
It does not feel like the end
Why don't we just pretend
I can dream and you can stay
It could be like yesterday
We could live a life unseen
Dream those things that could have been
In my mind there's always time
In your mind things could be fine
Why don't we just pretend

[chorus]
Let it never end
Lets share a dream for two
You pretend
and I pretend

[instrumental]

Let it never end
Lets share a dream for two
You pretend
and I pretend

I could pretend
I could pretend

[verse]

[outro]



A Life Unseen (a 1 and a 2 at 3:47)

Tears

DINNER FOR TWO, ROOM FOR THREE

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Mind Map

Original, community-rooted independent music