Upendo Tunayo - Live Acoustic

I adjure thee + In the love I bear - 28-03-2025.m4a

I hate people ( demo )

Improv at Wookiees: The COVID Demos is where it all started again — two cousins, decades apart, picking up where teenage jam sessions left off. Recorded through the thick humidity of Florida nights, half on a back patio strung with Christmas lights, half deep in the woods by the boardwalk, these sessions were pure instinct. No scripts. No plans. Just sound.

Captured during the chaos of COVID — when everything felt uncertain, when masks and mandates tore through daily life — these recordings became a kind of therapy. They’re rough, unfiltered, and sometimes fall apart mid-thought. But when they work, they catch something real: reunion after estrangement, grief tangled with laughter, memory colliding with noise.

This isn’t perfection. It’s history. It’s what happens when you sit down after twenty years apart and remember how to listen. These tracks are the roots — the ghosts — that still feed what Estranged Cousins makes today. The heart and the soul are all right here, on tape, under the oaks.

Silent Screams

"I know not, O my God, what the Fire is which Thou didst kindle in Thy land. Earth can never cloud its splendor, nor water quench its flame. All the peoples of the world are powerless to resist its force. Great is the blessedness of him that hath drawn nigh unto it, and heard its roaring." - Bahá’u’lláh

Chords: Em D Bm A

Heard Its Roaring - ISGP Sydney Dec 2015

"O SON OF BEING! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee"..."Ye are the saplings which the hand of Loving-kindness hath planted in the soil of mercy"
   -Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words and Epistle to the son of the wolf

O Son Of Being! Thou art my lamp

Baha’i Blog’s “Studio Sessions” is an initiative where we invite Baha’is and their friends from around the world to come into a studio and share the Baha’i Writings put to music.
 
In this Baha’i Blog Studio Session, we’re in Hluboka nad Vltavou, in the Czech Republic with Ethan Crofts who sings “Arise” based on the words of the Bab, as quoted in The Dawn-Breakers.
 
You can also watch the recording of this song on Baha’i Blog’s YouTube channel here: 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbv8PjZ26GQ
 
This song was filmed and recorded in Hluboka nad Vltavou, in the Czech Republic, December 2017.

Discover more Baha'i-inspired content on BAHAIBLOG.NET

Here are the quotations used for the lyrics below followed by the quotations and chords:
 
"... arise, and rest assured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed."

"Rejoice, the hour is approaching when, in this very city, I shall be suspended before the eyes of the multitude and shall fall a victim to the fire of the enemy. I shall choose no one except you to share with Me the cup of martyrdom. Rest assured that this promise which I give you shall be fulfilled."

"Had you believed in Me, O wayward generation..."

"I Myself will follow you, together with one of My loyal disciples, and will join you in the realm of eternity."

"O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory."

"Heed not your weaknesses and frailty; fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God, the Almighty."

"Arise in His name, put your trust wholly in Him, and be assured of ultimate victory."

- The Bab
 
----------------------
 
F#m A D

Arise and rest assured that you will be with me

F#m A D

Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed

F#m A D

Rejoice Anis, the hour is approaching in this very city

F#m A D

Rest assured this promise I give you will be fulfilled

F#m E D

Had you believed in me x2

F#m E D

I myself will follow you,

F#m E D

and will join you in the realm of eternity

F#m E D

Arise in His name x 2

F#m E D

You are the bearers of the name of God in this day. 

F#m E D

Heed not your weaknesses and frailty… gaze upon… the Almighty

F#m E D

And arise in His name

"Arise" by Ethan Crofts

Baha’i Blog’s “Studio Sessions” is an initiative where we invite Baha’is and their friends from around the world to come into a studio and share the Baha’i Writings put to music.

In this Baha’i Blog Studio Session, we’re in New York, USA with Nadia Affolter, Zaynab Affolter, Fritz Affolter and Earl Henrikson, who sing "Love Is Not..." from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha.

You can also watch the recording of this song on Baha'i Blog's YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jFOJ4-zKgc

This song was filmed and recorded in New York, USA, August, 2018.

Discover more Baha'i-inspired content on BAHAIBLOG.NET

Here is the full quotation taken from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha used for the lyrics, followed by the lyrics and chords below:

"...this love is not of the body but completely of the soul. And those souls whose inner being is lit by the love of God are even as spreading rays of light, and they shine out like stars of holiness in a pure and crystalline sky. For true love, real love, is the love for God, and this is sanctified beyond the notions and imaginings of men." 
- Abdu'l-Baha

LYRICS & CHORDS:

Am         F             C            G ; Am         F             C            G

Am                     F                                       C               G       Am
Love is not of the body but completely of the soul, the soul (4x)
 
Am                                                  F                                       
And those souls whose inner being is lit 

                    C                            G
by the love of God, by the love of God

                  Am                     F
are even as spreading rays of light 

                     C                            G
by the love of God, by the love of God

Am                     F                                       C               G       Am
Love is not of the body but completely of the soul, the soul (4x)
 
            Am          F              C          G
For true love, real love is the love for God (2x)  

    Am          F              C          G
For true love, real love is the love for God (4x)  

    Am                     F                                       C            G       Am
Love is not of the body but completely of the soul, the soul (4x)

Am                     F                                       C               G       Am
Love is not of the body but completely of the soul, the soul (2x)

"Love Is Not..." By Nadia, Zaynab, Fritz & Earl

Unity will be found Sina,Ruby feat. Hari

'Music inspired by the Heroes Teaching Conference' is a collection of songs inspired by and recorded in light of 'The Heroes Teaching Conference' (6-7 April, 2019). The conference was an historic gathering of over 1,000 Baha'i and like-minded friends from all over Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales, Australia.

Organised by the Regional Baha'i Council and Board of Counsellors, the program aimed to help its participants find their place in service to Baha’u’llah and humanity, by drawing on the heroism of the past, inspiring them to arise, through humble service, and become heroes of the Faith for this age.

Aspiration - Music inspired by the Heroes Teaching Conference

'Music inspired by the Heroes Teaching Conference' is a collection of songs inspired by and recorded in light of 'The Heroes Teaching Conference' (6-7 April, 2019). The conference was an historic gathering of over 1,000 Baha'i and like-minded friends from all over Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales, Australia.

Organised by the Regional Baha'i Council and Board of Counsellors, the program aimed to help its participants find their place in service to Baha’u’llah and humanity, by drawing on the heroism of the past, inspiring them to arise, through humble service, and become heroes of the Faith for this age.

Here are the lyrics and chords for this song:

[intro]:
F#, D#m7, Bm6
F#, D#m7, Bm6
F#, D#m7
There was a Man from far away
F#, D#m7, Bm6
He was the Son of the Greatest Name
F#, D#m7, Bm6
He taught us all how to love each other
F#, D#m7, Bm6
He showed us all the righteous way
F#, D#m7, Bm6
The Perfect, Perfect Example
F#, D#m7, Bm6
The Greatest, Servant of all
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7
Like a flame burning in the dark
F#, D#m7, Bm6
He lit the way, He showed me the path
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Everywhere He went He showed love to all
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Attracted the hearts of men to heed His Father’s call
F#, D#m7, Bm6
The Perfect, Perfect Example
F#, D#m7, Bm6
The Greatest, Servant of all
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#
He taught me how to love, He taught me how to teach.
D#m7, Bm6
He’s everything that I look up to, everything that I need
F#
He taught me how to love, He taught me how to teach.
D#m7, Bm6
He’s everything that I look up to, everything that I need
F#
He taught me how to love, He taught me how to teach.
D#m7, Bm6
He’s everything that I look up to, everything that I need
F#
He taught me how to love, He taught me how to teach.
D#m7, Bm6
He’s everything that I look up to, everything that I need
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
F#, D#m7, Bm6
Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha
[outro]:
F#, D#m7, Bm6
F#, D#m7, Bm6

Abdu'l-Baha - Music inspired by the Heroes Teaching Conference

Welcome to Baha’i Blog’s SoundCloud channel!

We are an independent initiative for Australian Baha’is and likeminded friends to connect with personal stories, inspiration, arts and media about the Baha’i Faith, its ideals and transformational impact. 

Here on SoundCloud we feature Baha’i-inspired music, resources, talks, and perspectives on the Baha’i Faith. Be sure to subscribe to support the channel and stay up to date. 

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha’i Faith. The official website of the Baha’i Faith in Australia is: Bahai.org.au, and the global website for the Baha’i Faith is Bahai.org