Extract V5

Greetings and good afternoon to my SC friends. This is the 10th and final song intended for my upcoming album ‘What Color Is Your Paradox’. It is also my 7th mind-blowing collaboration with our dear friend Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com). 

This piece was highly entertaining and challenging to work on. We started with clearly defined regions (mine being the more techno sounding stuff… Carlos building the traditional instrument sections). I then mangled the whole thing, and tried to blur the lines more as the song progresses, until both worlds felt fully merged by the end. At least, that was the goal. I’ll let you decide if the structure succeeds in that regard. :)

The title is also quite significant to me at this point in my life; based on the idea of ‘masking’, and our growing inability to do so. 

If you aren’t familiar with the term ‘masking’, one Mental Health Care website I found defines it this way: “Masking often involves suppressing or hiding true emotions, which can lead to a buildup of unresolved feelings and contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional turmoil in the long-term. In the context of mental health and neurodivergence, masking refers to the actions or coping strategies that individuals use to conceal their genuine thoughts, emotions, or challenges.”

It didn’t really occur to me at first that I was masking when I was younger. I guess that idea doesn’t resonate when you’re deeply lost in the illusion; at least, until something makes it obvious. But in hindsight, I’ve worn many masks over the course of my life (Art Director, Technician, Pre-Press Specialist and Graphic Artist would be some of my professional masks. And I would even go so far as to include Husband, Father and Son, since I was on auto-pilot during the earliest stages of those as well). 

As my life progressed, I felt more and more insincere in those roles. I felt something was wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Then COVID (something that actually required us to wear real masks. What irony!) came along, and miraculously changed that for all of us. We gained the necessary space we needed, to finally see the illusion more clearly. Now, that illusion grows more fragile and transparent by the day. So while I’m still in the early stages of trying to figure out the new paradigm… I suspect the really critical takeaway at this point is just recognizing when we’re being our genuine selves, and when we’re lost in a role; especially if that role is debilitating to our personal growth and well being.

Another thing I’m thinking a lot on these days…. Society is dependent on me playing those roles. And society doesn’t really care whether I’m happy or not (as long as I keep paying my bills, and buying their products, and believing their lies). So maybe, just maybe, society doesn’t have my best interests at heart (as I had originally hoped). Maybe… just maybe… we’re going to need to redefine who we are personally, as we stop playing along with this globally unconscious and ultimately destructive agenda.

Thick and chunky topic, I know. But that’s the way the world feels to me these days… like we needed a brisk slap across the face to wake us all up. COVID was that slap (and probably just the first of many still to come). It’s time to prioritize our own self interests; because if we don’t, they certainly won’t. So rip off those masks, and let your freak flag fly. It’s our life, and we’ll be the ones sitting on our deathbed, asking ourselves if we lived life true to ourselves…. or if we just fulfilled the role demanded by this illusion.

We hope you enjoy “Cracks In The Surface”; and it inspires you to think about what aspects of your reality are cracking. Keep in mind… if you still have a pulse, there is always time to change things up. :)

Paradox?

Cracks In The Surface | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

Lyrics and Vocals by FRAWSTAKWA
@frawstakwa
Produced by Chief Red Squirrel, Cosmic Keanu

Ambush Of Tigers (FRAWSTAKWA & Cosmic Keanu)

About time Lou and I turned it up a little bit.  Such a tremendous musician in every way - listen to Lou's deep appreciation for the blues - tasty fire.  Always laying it down so well.   Check out and follow Lou's wonderful music, albums and releases:  

https://soundcloud.com/louis-taverna



Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your  likes, comments and shares

Inner City Jive -- Lou Taverna / Jamie Rhind

Well ….. synths, composition 

https://on.soundcloud.com/n1u9HxZB74wW7FYv6

Surfers like Us ….. guitar, co-composition

This time our duo invites you all again into space. We suggest you chase the comet, which sparkles with colors and escapes from us to the unknown territories of the galaxy. We hope you will enjoy this atmosphere. See you aboard our spaceship 🌔💫

Chasing a Comet (w/ Well)

Heaven Adjacent

Flaying Angels Alive

■概要(overview)
最近、部屋で線香を焚くのが大好きです。とても煙いです。
だからそんな感じの歌詞にしてみました(^^)
曲はいつもと変わり映えないですが(^^)
Lately, I love burning incense in my room.It's very smoky.
That's why I tried to make the lyrics like that (^^)
I guess the song is similar to the usual (^^)

■更新情報(Update)
2024.5.19：最後のところにギターを追加(人生は足し算だ！) / Added guitar at the end (life is about addition!)

■歌詞
日々は潸潸と流れて
好きなものも変わっていく
同じ景色を見ていたはずなのに

つながりを大切にして今を生きていくだけで
振り返ることもしなかったから

あなたは私を忘れているでしょ？
毎日の電話　LINEの返信
忘れているでしょ？

黒く重くて厄介なものが
こみ上げてきたわ
線香に火をつけた

白檀の煙
黙々と語りだして
私の心を鎮めてくれるわ・・


時の流れはいたづらに
花の色はうつりにけり
同じ景色を見ていたはずなのに

かわらない　夕焼けの空　どこかのお寺　鐘が鳴る
ため息のように　繰り返している

あなたは私を忘れているでしょ？
正直な話　私も同じよ
忘れていたのよ

黒く重くて厄介なものを
解明してくれない？
線香に火をつけた

白檀の煙
黙々と語りだして
最後はうやむやに消えてしまうわ・・


雄島に架かる橋　あなたがくれたこの線香
火をつけて　先に渡ったあなたに会いに行くわ

煙に問う　あの橋の向こう　何があるの？
鳴り響く鐘の音はいつになれば鳴り止むの？と

あなたは私を忘れているでしょ？

■lyrics
The days flow by in a hurry
What I like also changes
We should have been looking at the same scenery

Because I only cherished connections and lived in the present without looking back.

You forgot me, right?
Daily phone calls LINE replies
You forgot, right?

Something black, heavy, and troublesome
I'm welling up
lit the incense sticks

sandalwood smoke
Start speaking silently
It calms my heart...

I feel like time is passing in vain
The color of the flowers fades
We should have been looking at the same scenery

The unchanging sunset sky, the bell of a temple somewhere rings
repeating like a sigh

You forgot me, right?
To be honest, I am the same way.
I forgot.

About black, heavy and troublesome things
Could you please clarify the cause?
lit the incense sticks

sandalwood smoke
Start speaking silently
In the end, it just disappears...

Bridge over Oshima, this incense stick you gave me
I'll light a fire and go to meet you who crossed first.

I ask the smoke
"What's on the other side of that bridge?"
“When will the ringing bell stop ringing?”

You forgot me, right?

Flaying Angels Alive

moth