nice this Byzantine psychedelic rock ✌️

Wonderful guitar soloing and a thinker of a song about us humans.

Lovely reflexive sound! Perfect vocals immersed in precious instrumentos and arrangements. Magical production.

Especially like the dual voices, & the bass working the whole way through.  A bit of an early psychedelic vibe too.  And I think you're talking drowning in decadence, blind to the approaching (Ottoman) beast....?

Related tracks: A Lightless Star

You Found Me

天女の舞

"A Love Like No Other"

Recollections of flowing memories from when you entered my life
Your long black flowing hair & those beckoning eyes that still call me
It was obvious that we were never through which is why I returned
And in this world, who could ever say they knew of romance like this?
A Love Like No Other

Am deeply sorry for the pain I caused from an addiction that destroyed me
You were always the one & I struggled to cope with all I could not say
As time slowly passes by, I know in my heart you will be back in my arms one day
A Love Like No Other, a girl that gave me a reason to smile
A Love Like No Other, the connection of two souls that become one

Shane Beck (The Last American Poet)

1 - A Love Like No Other - Shane Beck

Most of my songs come to me just before I fall asleep or just after I wake up. My brain's in a place of peace, quiet and openness at that time, I guess

Dream Come True


In a dream
she came to me
Claimed my heart
so easily

Sent me reeling
Barely breathing
Bedazzled me

Swept me up
in loving arms
with a dash of
magic charms

Helpless feeling
with no ceiling
God's majesty

I can't find
the words to say
to explain
that fateful day

The thunder rolled
All doubts did fold
Might seem a bit cliche

I was taken for a ride
I got to glimpse
the other side

A place of wonder
Unencumbered

It's true

Love came that day

You have made me happy Baby
Everything you freely gave me

Opened up my eyes
What a sweet surprise
You've blown me away

I will start this very day
to show you
in every way

All my love for you
For my whole life through

You're my dream come true

I love you!

You're the one. I always knew
I love everything you do

With you time just flies
Never cloudy skies

You're my dream come true

I am yours from this day on
We have found a magic bond

that no one here can take
A bond that will not break

You're my dream come true

You and I we got it all
River wide and mountain tall

We will find our way
and cherish every day

You're my dream come true

 All I know is
you have made me happy Baby
Everything you freely gave me

opened up my eyes
What a sweet surprise

You're my dream come true

I love you!

Dream Come True

Sorry folks,I posted this public accidentally because I hadn't finished tweaking. The track my change a bit in the coming days!

I see you coming after me
Always playing dirty
Your single mission in this life
Is to try to hurt me

You make me really want to hate you all the way
In my head under my skin
Everything you say

Too hot to handle but I can't let go
I'm afraid what you may be
I'm a rabbit in the headlights you know
You'll be the death of me

You make me really want to hate you all the way
In my head under my skin
Everything you say

Fire in your eyes no disguise
Going for my throat
You'll never be satisfied
Til you take everything I own

Everything You Say

The amazingly Valuable Friends joined me as we left the planet:

@rick-4-1 Earthquake Sofa Drums
@janinelevinson Interplanetary Dove Vocals
@phil-mcwalter The Other Burnt Launchpad Stuff

Drums recorded at Mickleton Studio, Coventry UK
Other instruments and vocals recorded at EPG Studios, Chelsea, London, UK
Janine's vocals recorded at The Levinson Sound Studio, LA, Calif, USA
Phil's additional vocals recorded at Anslow Gate Studio, Staffs, UK
ReMixed & ReMastered at EPG.

Thanks to Rob Campling for assisting with string theory.

RUNAWAY STARS - THE UNEXPURGATED CODE

We have a duty to be here
Without us
Who'd see the runaway stars
Who could walk along the beach
Look for seventh waves
And feel the wind up high
We sit and talk all
Through the night
Travel our world and share our castaway finds

We have a duty to be here
To hear the song
Feel the heart of forever
Burning holes within black holes

There is a reason
To turn the page
Quantum runes feed today’s exit phase
We burned new colours
On Launchpad Love
In earthquake sofas seeking twigs from the dove

We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars

Inside our bubble
We heard your tongue
Repeating echoes paraphrase the song

Break

We burnt new colours
On Launchpad Love
In earthquake sofas seeking twigs from the dove

And we have a duty to be here
Without us who would see the runaway stars

Solo

Without us who'd see the runaway stars

And we have a purpose
To exist to hear the song
Feel the heart of forever
Burning holes within black holes

Don’t lay down and rest now
Lift your head
The stars change colour as they drift past your bed
The Sun is expanding
Eternal night
May return to shield our escape flight

We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars
We are the runaway stars

And we have a duty to be here
Without us
Who would see the runaway stars
Who would see the runaway stars
Who would count the runaway stars

© Phil McWalter Aug 2020
Image: Photo taken by James McWalter at Beachy Head where the returning WWII planes knew they had made it back home. AI rockets layered on.

The Runaway Stars - The Unexpurgated Code

Runaway Stars - The Unexpurgated Code

drummers paradise

An homage to WS Merwin's "For the Anniversary of My Death." https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43118/for-the-anniversary-of-my-death

Influences: The Cure, Depeche Mode, Tom Petty

A Lightless Star

We all need moments to disconnect from everything and just breath.
Todos necesitamos momentos en los que desconectar de todo y simplemente respirar.

Day Break

In another time another place
We measure our progress through our disgrace
And danced in the halls knew who we were
Escaped the race and gave it away

Now we are set and running late
Hard to believe we lived so free
Bent in the way -the branch swings
Caught in the grace of the Byzantines

Mosaic of color helps escape
The beauty of art starts taking shape
Inspiring those from under its wing
this modern world is fleeting 
remembering days of creating
Byzantine dreams run through my head
Sometimes  I live there instead
 Beautiful locks of abstract gold
Perfect icons and frescos 

Living off the dreams of the Byzantines

Dreams of the Byzantines

Probably our last grand rock number as we start to wind down to finish our first collection of songs. Al took the reins with the lyrics on this one (and as always, the beautiful artwork) - inspired by a short story by Julia Armfield in Salt Snow and apparently an episode of Buffy! I just thought it sounded dead cool and really enjoyed singing her lyrics. Musically inspired by Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell.

Mantis

The Feathered Crown is a card of pride, loss, and the aftermath of hubris. It draws upon two rich veins of folklore — the Appalachian belief in a feathered crown found beneath a dying person’s pillow, and the ancient myth of the Sirens and the Muses. Together, these stories form a layered symbol of reckoning, the echoes of lost glory, and the burdens of victory.

In Appalachian tradition, discovering a tightly woven feathered crown in a pillow was often seen as a sign that the soul of the deceased had passed to heaven, a mysterious mark of spiritual judgment. In mythology, after the Muses defeated the Sirens in a singing contest, the Sirens were stripped of their wings as punishment for their arrogance. The Muses, triumphant, wove the plucked feathers into radiant crowns — symbols of their victory but also of the destruction they wrought.

This card stands at the intersection of triumph and regret. It speaks of victories that come at a cost, the spoils of conquest weighed down by lingering guilt or sorrow. The Feathered Crown reminds us that success without humility invites ruin. It asks whether our pursuits of recognition or superiority are worth the burdens we carry in their wake.

---------------------------------------
Drums, Percussion, Keyboards: Ron Thomas
Guitars, Bass, Banjo, Lyre, Vocals, Midi: PS Perkins

Mixed and mastered by Mystic Tape Deck
Dedicated to Josephine of the Mouse Folk

LYRICS
---------------------------------------
I saw your feathered crown, the one you keep under your pillow
Did you think that you could hide it from me?
As you don your supple plumage, tell me did you win it truly
From the fairest maidens of Persephone?
Are your songs of grief and woe, are they songs of deep regret?
With feathers plucked from silvery Sirens wings?
Or from the tails of rainbow ravens perching just outside your window
Waiting for the passing ships to hear them sing
Waiting for the passing ships to hear you sing

Dashed upon the rotten rocks of harpy limbed nightingales
Where tides resound with death inducing cries
As the sailors climb and clamor for a seat upon the razor
And a melody to cling to as they die
Rejoicing in the arts of their inglorious ease,
Freely frolic where the churning waters flow
Diving from the clifftops, splashing down into the seas below
Charming in both poetry and prose
Alluring in both poetry and prose

Whosoever dare to wear the feathers in their hair
Like the parrot and the magpie in a cage
That we may divert our stare from the circling of the bear
While standing proud upon the heavens final stage
When the starry sisters nine, with their bellies full of wine
Have bested you at your own foolish games
And the ships all passing by which now leave you there to die
Having never even known your given names
Having never even known your real names

I saw your feathered crown, the one you keep under your pillow
Did you think that you could hide it from me?
Oh, Josephine, you should have known better.

The Feathered Crown

(Dragging My Butt) Into The Sunshine

Music: Little Man & Janne Hennie
Lyrics & Vocals: Janne Hennie
Instruments & Mix: Little Man

Lyrics:

1
On a saturday night I feel a little restless, a need for something
And after a few glasses of wine, I think:
Rest can wait until another time
Don't want to be alone 
(So I call you)
Pick up the phone

Du du-dudu-dudu..
Hello?

Chorus:
Will you come and have some fun with me?
The night is young, the wine is strong
Will you come and say hello to my crazy side?
It's pretty wild!

Dudu-dudu-dudu..
Hello?

2
On a sunday night i feel anything but tired, can't sleep
And after twisting my mind, I think:
Sleep can wait until another time
Don't want to be alone
(So I call you)
Pick up the phone

Dudu-dudu-dudu..
Hello?

Chorus:
Will you come and have some fun with me?
The night is young, the wine is strong
Will you come and say hello to my crazy side?
Its pretty wild!

Dudu-dudu-dudu..
Hello?

Pick Up The Phone

drunk octopus wants to fight you

total recall live v1

Heavy Punk Rock 'n' Roll band turns into Synthwave nowadays! Brand NEW album "Ultraviolet Cosmos" available NOW!

My new album "Dreams of the Byzantines" is streaming June 13th, 2025. Please check out my new website darrencsullivan.com for videos and albums to purchase.

Thanks for the kindness and support.

Dreams of the Byzantines

Darren Sullivan

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