“Great Deceiver”

The greatest liar
You never knew
Hid behind your eyes
In every room

He’d weave a word
With fine half-truths
But tie-up the yarn
When threads hung loose

He’d warp with craft
Under your nose
You could never tell
‘Cause he never disclosed

But the greatest art
He ever wrought
Was you never knew
That he was you—

He was you
Great deceiver

Yes, you yourself
You never knew
Like a drunken man
By a mirror fooled

You sold your lies
And bought them, too
Laundering your shams
For a discount dupe

Your forked tongue
Thrust to point your lies
While its other tine
Stretched to spike your mind

Like a double spy
Doubled down in disguise
Your great fraud—
Was deep down you knew

Yes, you knew
You always knew

Fabricator
Decorator
You always knew

Manipulator
Collaborator
Great deceiver

---
Music by Corey Ball
Lyrics by August Lysy

Great Deceiver

Missing You

I got all wavy in my studio and built this dark blues track - it became an exercise in melancholia..

EDIT: I cleaned up the mix a bit, but I cannot replace the current file until the next subscription cycle. The cleaner mix can be found here: https://www.reverbnation.com/totemspectre/song/33950391-slipping

lyrics:

While I stand looking over the water
In the dark
With a handful of thoughts slipping
Into the dark

Faces from the present
From the past
Times now felt much deeper than then
Way back when

Make it count
Every moment
If even just a handful of thoughts
Slipping into the dark
Make it count
Every moment

Smell the roses
Touch your hair
Kiss your skin
For a handful of thoughts
Slipping
Into the dark
Much deeper then

Slipping

Thanks to Clive for reaching out and starting a first-time collaborative experience with him. It's always a treat for me to get to work on integrating a great vocal performance into music.

Vocals & lyrics: @winkandwoo
Music & production: Belial Pelegrim

The Spell Is Undone

The thorn on the rose
Blood spilled
The long sleep that followed
Instilled
The heart of the Kingdom
Cold stone
The will of the people
Unknown

We have become so dumb
Now is the time
The spell is undone
I have been praying
For everyone
Knowing it's time
The spell is undone

The Spell Is Undone | Belial Pelegrim & winkandwoo

Anthropomorphic Expressions – The Clouds Laugh 
May 2023
Duration: 2:15
Listen to the Anthropomorphic Expressions Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/bruce-klepper-1/sets/anthropomorphic-expressions
Special thanks to John-Marc Ventimiglia @john-marc-ventimiglia for his highly valued musical input and for creating the “clouds laughing” sound library used to compose this piece.

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, or emotions to non-human entities or objects. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Anthropomorphism is a common way humans perceive and interact with the world around them.

It is easy to forget that you live in the sky - not beneath it, but within it. Our atmosphere is an enormous ocean, and you inhabit it.  This ocean is made up of the gases of air rather than liquid water, but it is as much of an ocean as the Atlantic or the Pacific. You may think of yourself as living on the ground, but all that means is that you are a creature of the ocean bed. You still inhabit the atmosphere like a sea creature does the water.  From the book: "A Cloud a Day" Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Every cloud is unique, while clouds appear in infinite shapes and sizes they fall into some basic forms.
Cirro-form: the Latin word 'cirro' means curl of hair. Composed of ice crystals, cirro-form clouds are whitish and hair-like. There are the high, wispy clouds to first appear in advance of a low-pressure area such as a mid-latitude storm system or a tropical system such as a hurricane.

Cumulo-form: generally detached clouds, they look like white fluffy cotton balls. They show vertical motion or thermal uplift of air taking place in the atmosphere. They are usually dense in appearance with sharp outlines. The base of cumulus clouds are generally flat and occurs at the altitude where the moisture in rising air condenses.

Strato-form: from the Latin word for 'layer' these clouds are usually broad and fairly wide spread appearing like a blanket. They result from non-convective rising air and tend to occur along and to the north of warm fronts. The edges of strato-form clouds are diffuse.

Nimbo-form: 'Nimbus' is he Latin word for rain. The vast majority of precipitation occurs from nimbo-form clouds and therefore these clouds have the greatest vertical height.

For flute, clarinet, bass quenacho, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, pipe organ, marimba, “clouds laughing” samples and percussion

Anthropomorphic Expressions - The Clouds Laugh

Music, lyrics, vocal & ac. guitar : Grave
Other instrumefnts & mix : PJ Project

Possible Impossibly W/ Grave

Recorded in Modesto, Ca.   Featuring Steve Roy (Canada) Electric Bass. Fender Rhodes Rhythm. Gibson L5 Electric Guitar Rhythm. Godin Nylon acoustic Guitar Rhythm. Gibson SG Electric Guitar Rhythm. String Quartet, 1st & 2nd Violins, Cello, Bowed Acoustic Bass. Tenor Saxophone solo. Vibraphone solo. Gibson 335 Electric Guitar solo. Flute solo. Trap Drum set Full kit. Percussion Tambourine, Ago go bells. 22" Zildjan Ride & Crash Cymbal.

Release Me

Rain Flower 2

Number 19

It’s difficult for people to escape doubt. No matter how good things may seem at any point in our lives, there are always moments of concern, of counter-thought and worry that lurk in the shadows of our imagination. Few things are without blemish and most of us can be unforgiving in the presence of imperfection. Thus, the shadows and the darkness that seeks to stifle the light.

Copyright Daniels & Durgy 2023
Gentle Rain Records 
Available to Buy: danielsdurgy.bandcamp.com/
Written Performed & Produced by Nat Daniels & Craig Durgy
Nat Daniels: vocals, piano, organ, bass & percussion
Craig Durgy: vocals and guitar

Lyrics:
Shadows of Doubt by Daniels & Durgy

Love can come, through the wind and rain
But too much sun, burns it all away
What I thought was fun,
What I thought would stay
Is up and gone like a Christmas Day

You appeared and your lips were true
Through the fear, I was lost in you
It was all so clear, but the moments flew
Then it slipped away with the slightest clue

But I still want you, but do I dream
Is my judgment, too extreme
Am I searching for an excuse
Could I ever, really cut you loose

As love grows, time reveals
Everything it knows, coming off its wheels
Dealing blows, does it blow the deal
Does it show what my heart should feel

Just a couple words, did I read ‘em wrong
Cause the way I heard, hit me pretty strong
The doubt occurred, like a half-wrote song
Throw it all away and just move along.  

But I still want you, but do I dream
Is my judgment, too extreme
Am I searching for an excuse
Could I ever really cut you loose
No, I just can’t let you loose.

Shadows Of Doubt

Cast of characters:
Steve's Planet--@steve-vervaet—Steve—acustic guitar, vocals, lyrics, composition/arrangement
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman–Stephen–electric guitar, production, and mix
J.J. Terrell--@j-j-terrell—JJ—organ
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara–Ken–drums, percussion, and low vocal harmony
Llanpsych–@llanpsych–Tez–electric guitar 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1–Fender precision bass  

This song began as an acoustic guitar and vocals stem written and performed by Steve. He sent it to Josh, who added the undulating staccato bass line, with the help of Ken's always well-suited drums. They went back and forth a couple of times, as is their process, until it clicked. Tez added some really dynamic leads and fills throughout, and Stephen filled in the rest of the electric guitar in a Keith/Ronnie kind of way, which is very tasteful. JJ then added some perfectly complimentary organ. Finally, Ken pleasantly surprised us with the low vocal harmonies. 
  Stephen also mixed and produced this one for us. He's brilliant behind the board, and we're lucky to have him aboard. This one came together in a matter of a relatively short period of a fortnight, which is rare for the Eclectic Collective. But, when something is hot and already put together, it comes quickly. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Lyrics:

Fallin’
Wandering aimless
Couldn’t shoot straight
No ability
Not much to say
There was no sign of me
Good times, bad times
Leaving out the sad times
Easily
That’s what they’re telling me
Mend or break
Looking over rooftops
Coming to a full stop
Suddenly
On a sad height
Raging endlessly
Breakline, beeline
Picking up the freeline
Easily
Follow my way
Leavin’ the fast lane
My- My mind is fallin’
When I think about, losing out
There’s no doubt, you started fallin’ x2
And I – I’ve been going my way
One more time, only today 2x
My- My mind is fallin’
When I think about, losing out
There’s no doubt, you started fallin’ x2

Fallin' - The Eclectic Collective

Nadia Selvaggi, Voice & Piano
William Blake's 'London' set to an old English melody.

London (1794)
by William Blake
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear

How the Chimney-sweepers cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls

But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infants tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse

William Blake's London by Nadia Selvaggi

Two song writers, two kindred spirits... that found each other by pure happenstance and great fortune, to collaborate and create music together.
To see our separate artist pages, please click on the following links:
Nat Daniels   https://soundcloud.com/natdaniels
Craig Durgy  https://soundcloud.com/durge