For Earth Day, an electro hymn at a chill 70 bpm

In praise of water 
Created before we 
of land and sea came to be 
Glory to water 
Magic elixir 
Life sustaining 
Half of it containing 
My body 
Fills oceans rivers lakes 
And thirsty tree
Fatefully 
Where it chooses 
Water never loses 

Sacred aquifer
Whose travels blaze 
the paths we sail
To raise a glass of wine
To water!
To living well 
To drink of grapes that streams 
Feed over time 
To the majestic flow 
On and on and on we go 
Like a slave’s escape to liberty 
Wade in the water, children
Set yourself free 

With props to Ramsey Lewis, Wade In The Water, 1966.

…………………….
 DAW: Apple Logic Pro X 
MIDI: Akai Professional Keyboard 
E-INSTRUMENTS: Concert Grand piano SoCal Ballad Piano
Mexican Guitarron
South African Singers  Momentum synth Lunar Strings synth  Deep Round Synth Bass 
E-DRUM KITS: Drum ‘N Bass Remix  Trip Hop Remix  Trip Hop Remix Phaser Trance Remix
2-Step Remix  African Kit Latin Kit

Audio of running water recorded live on April 20, 2025.

COVER ART is original CGI by SUNNYBECK using a composite derived from AI-generated images rendered as original CGI, then retouched and designed in Photoshop. ………………..
.

Water Hymn

My latest composition with vocals, piano, bass, percussion, erhu and synths. 
Mastered by my lovely Sander. 😊❤️🎶❤️

Not A Moment Too Soon

Drifting - where you wanted to be. Lay back and let the current take you down. Lounging on the floaty that is life while the world unravels underneath. An homage to vintage summer horror flicks and the absurdity of modern escape - brought to you by The Day Afters. 

Drifting

This was my third time working with the Eclectic Collective on a track. Unlike the other couple of times that were based around ideas that I came up with, this time I was just along for the ride! I was happy that Ken reached out and invited me, figuring I could help add some 80s style synth nostalgia to this fun piece. 

Cast of characters:
K2 and the Three [and the Four] -- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, acoustic guitar, song and vocal melody composition
Joseph Shenton -- @joseph-shenton -- lyrics
Gaz Brownie — @user-755327533 — Gaz — vocals, vocal harmonies, and lyrics
one man verity show – @one-man-verity-show – Scotty – electric guitar intro
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Les Paul Custom electric guitar, mix, production, and mastering
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar
Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – low synthesizer
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Fender Precision bass and high synthesizer

This song began a few months ago as an idea Ken had to make the quintessential Gen X song. He structured the chords, beat to appeal to anyone of a certain age group, of which most of the folks in the band are a part. He even played wrote it on his acoustic guitar and came up with the vocal melody, which Gaz put a shine on for the final version. Once he had the form of the song down, he tapped the incredibly talented Joseph Shenton to write the lyrics. Gaz not only superbly sung four part harmonies for this, but the came up with the lyrics for the break parts, too. 

When he first envisioned it, Ken thought it would be fun to invite as many musicians as we could onto it. However, for whatever reason, it stalled out and sat untouched for a couple months, with just Stephen's foundational guitar, Scotty's thrilling guitar intro, Terry's lush, low end synth, and Josh's bass to hold it down. Then, Ken had the great idea to invite Gaz to sing it for us. His awesome vocal track inspired us to heat up the kiln again, and put some real effort into bringing it to life. On that note, Josh redid his bass part to match Ken's rocking drums, as well as added the high, melodic synth you hear throughout. Tez came in last with the fiery guitar fills and solo, which you can hear throughout, as well. 

Once it was all in the bag, we tapped Stephen to produce and mix it, which he did in his always pro manner. 

This is the first collab Eclectic Collective has done with Gaz, but we all hope it won't be the last. He is one of the finest singers on the Cloud, and we're honored that he would sprinkle his magic on this song with us. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Joseph Stenton:

Where were you on those days gone by
Were you out by the tracks where the lone train whistle cries
Or kicking up rocks on those dusty roads of dirt
Or skating on streets paved with gold
Or wrestling upon the grass beneath endless sky

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
Were you tugging at the stars too
In an attempt to release their light
Bonded by hours
To a brotherhood we believed would never die

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
From within this dull petrification of time
Comes a crystalline memory
Of those long lost moments, now born free 
Of come what might, come what might be

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
With a tape in the walkman
Playing the soundtrack of passing time
To these moments of our lives
That once burned bright but never died

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Generation X - with Eclectic Collective ft. Gaz Brownie

This is an old traditional Malagasy song,
we did for you 

Kitana on vocals 
Rina on piano

Mifankatiava ihany
Raha mbola velona aina
Tsy misy toy izany ny mampifaly saina

Ny maty efa lasa
Tsy azontsika antsoina
Isika no mikasa
Ny ratsy hadinoina re

Ny maty efa lasa
Tsy azontsika antsoina
Isika no mikasa
Ny ratsy hadinoina

Koa raha tsy fotoana ela
No hipetrahana eto
Andeha re
Andeha re mba hifamela
Andeha hifamela mba tsy harahin-tsento
Mba tsy harahin-tsento
Andeha re(Andeha re)
Mba hifamela
Mba tsy arahin-tsento

tranlation:
Let’s love one another
While we are still alive
There’s nothing more joyful than that for the soul

The dead are already gone
We can no longer call them back
It’s up to us now
To let go of the wrongs

The dead are already gone
We can no longer call them back
It’s up to us now
To let go of the wrongs

So if our time here
Is not for long
Let us go
Let us go and forgive each other
Let us forgive, so no sorrow remains
So no sorrow remains
Let us go (Let us go)
To forgive
So sorrow won’t follow

Cover Solika - Mifankatiava ihany | by Kitana and Rina

Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — acoustic guitar, vocals, lyrics, and compostion
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, and Roland organ
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitrar, mix, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – triangle, and ancillary vocals

This song began when Carl, who is always making connections on the Cloud, was inspired to write a song about our bandmate, Mark. As you can tell from his lyrics, Carl shares our appreciation and respect for our resident Canadian singer and multi instrumentalist. So, when he had the chords worked out on his acoustic guitar, and a great vocal track, he recorded them and started a project, to which the rest of Eclectic Collective were invited.
  First up to bat was Ken, laying in his always clever, essential beat for the rest of us to work with. Stephen was the next person to lay down a track, which was his essential, but subtle electric rhythm track. Later, after it was almost done, he also added a fiery solo in the firt part of the ending section. Josh came along right after Stephen, laying down his signature fretless bass. He also added the organ shortly after, as well. Tez entered the fray next, adding the lightning, Gilmore-esque final solo in the end section. 
  We considered what to do with this song for a minute, too. The thought was whether to present it to Mark as a gift, or to include him in the mix. We decided to go with the latter, and he added the awesome vocalizations towards the end, as well as some cool triangle.
  Once we had it in the bag, we turned it over to Stephen for the production, mix, and mastering, which he always does in a very pro manner.
  This is our second of hopefully many songs with Carl. If you have good music on your page, there's a good chance that he'll hit you up to collaborate. Like the moon, he's everywhere, and he's a damn fine collaborator, too. We hope you enjoy hearing this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Carl also wanted to share this message about Mark, as well.
  "This song is written for our Canadian friend Mark. Mark is a pivotal member of the Eclectic Collective who as a band and equally Mark as an individual I'm discovering are phenomenal to work with. I was particularly struck how multiple generations of Mark's family enjoy music and creating together. Thanks for your music man. You really do show a unique approach and I look forward to making more really enjoyable songs like this one with you buddy. In my head lyrically Mark is whoever you focus the love on. Rock and Real!" ----TBD

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:
You are the Mark
Mister Lark
Pedigree Bark
Stunning musical stark
Meet Mistermark

From Wondr to Bossa
All from I' Spy
Projecting your best
Proud human melody cry

May 2019
Maybe some fear became esteem
Soft bands in garage channel a way
Internal dreams in sound found light this day

So Dad was a seed
Kudos big man
You do good breed
In music we learn with proper concern
I think now you found Josh the EC

So onto Collective
You expand their perspective
With you and your music
Now Earth gets more fuses
Because of your music
It's a better blue ball
I know I certainly love hearing Marks call

We pressed the remote
We having those jams
Let's get it on and get more brain tan
We singing to clan
Wham bam thank you man

Miss No Mark (Eclectic Collective with The Beautiful Dark)

'Three Nibs. ....an "alternative" fusion track and mixed genre. Inspired by my time spent in London as a music copier/transcriber. transcribing the individual parts from a score to the relevant parts for individual musicians. tHis was all done by hand and pen and ink. I used three indivdual pens with different nib sizes. hence the name of the piece, (Three Nibs). Scores could be anything from big bands  to smaller bands and genres varied from score to score. I've attempted to emulate the varied contents of the scores in this piece. Hopefully it makes sense to you when listening.
Alan

Dont Smudge The Ink

Three Nibs

'In An Altruistic Manner' An Alternative Acid Jazz track.

In An Altruistic Manner

When Noobly sent me the instrumental I was blown away with its beauty. My instant thought was that I have to come up with something as equal and meaningful. I had to write from the heart and I have always had a vivid memory of the last time I spent with a close friend a week before his passing.
 I’ve tried to paint the picture from my head into the lyrics.
There’s not a day I don’t think or mention him as it’s the third anniversary this year of his death.
He died of liver cancer that took him swiftly from this world. He left a Wife  and two beautiful young adult daughters. 
Rest in peace Andy my friend and I will never forget the laughs you gave me and support over our long 
Friendship.
Conscience of Kings gives you ….

The last time

V1 
You  opened the door 
With me containing the shock 
You lead me down the garden path
To where the sun shone on the evening grass
Giving warm to our last time and past

Ch 
I just knew 
Its the last time with you 
You made it easy just being you 
A paragon of virtue 

V2 
You offered me a non alcoholic beer
Like it was the way forward from here
So we touched glass and said our final cheers ……
Me in my T-shirt & shorts you layered up to contain the warmth 
We drank we laughed we reminisced about our stupid past.
I will always be grateful for memories that always last

I just knew it was the last time with you……repeat

Ch 
I just knew 
Its the last time with you 
You made it easy just being you 
A  paragon of virtue 

Cover picture a Noobly original taken by himself, what a shot.

The Last Time ~ Conscience Of Kings

on your mark

get ready to

cannonball

into the blue



after swimming

sparkle all around you

catch the sound

breakers breaking



stop the boat

get ready to

pick a spot

to slip into



after swimming

as the sunlight bakes you

summer sips

on a sand dune



after swimming

after swimming

come swimming

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

image by Leandro Crespi via Unsplash

After Swimming

Moon Never Runs (7/8) (2011)

PLEASE STOP SENDING ME OFFERS OF MUSIC PROMOTION.
 
AI is not an option I use or intend to in the future. All of my music is composed, played and produced using the following equipment:
Cubase 14 Pro on Windows PC
Arturia instruments (full suite) some FX
Native Instruments - Instruments and FX
Toontracks -Superior Drummer 3 and Percussion
Korg Triton Synth
Roland RD800 Piano
Native Instruments - Komplete Control S49 and S61 keyboards
Icon Mixing desk
Yamaha & KRK active monitors
Congas and various  LA percussion instruments.
Various String libraries including: Spitfire/ IK Multimedia/labs/Orchestral Tools and The Crowhill Co.
Orange Tree Samples - Guitars and Flute
Musiclabs Guitars
Spectrasonics Trilian Basses
Soundpaint: Strings/Brass/Wind/Guitars/Percussion/ and a multitude of other things.
Various FX from a multitude of companies.
Various Programs from the Spitfire Original range
My trusted "Drum Stool"
Fridge (for Guinness)!!!!



Now retired from a life 'on the road' as a freelance keyboard player, I compose and record in my home studio, situated in the Carrick Hills in Southern Scotland. My music is mainly instrumental in nature and is a reflection of my life experience, sometimes real and sometimes imagined.
My influences are many and I have quite probably been shaped by listening to the very many "giants" of music, both players and composers. From classical to contemporary jazz and everything in between. My main instrument is the keyboard, whether that be piano, organ or synth. But I also play banjo, flute and percussion. I have a special relationship'with bass, whether upright or electric and use virtual and synth basses from numerous sources, but mainly Trilian by Spectrasonics.


https://music.apple.com/us/artist/alan-hamilton/119498445/see-all?section=full-albums
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2j38dJ8YVPX2nVQcUjaAYx
https://music.apple.com/us/album/time-travel-and-other-journeys/1651782098

Three Nibs

Alan Hamilton