Captured Fragments

15-year-old Andriy recounts to CNN's John Berman the moment his family was forced from their home at gunpoint in Chernihiv, Ukraine, and the attack that claimed his mother's life. 

V1
right
It ain't right
It ain't right
It ain't right

When fifteen year old ripped from his life
When his towns on fire and his mother just died
It ain't right
It ain't right

you see
It's strange
That just a week before
Andriy was playing guitar with family
dark night
Dark night
He just want play his guitar now
And get through this dark night

Ch
And he just wanna go home
And he just wanna go home
And rebuild a city

{post ch}

V3
He's the same age as my son
to see what he has been through.
it is just,
heart breaking
He said
I was supposed to be playing with my band at a concert…
instead I am here.
heart breaking
heart breaking
And I wanna go home
And I wanna go home

{instr}

Ch
And he just wanna go home
And he just wanna go home
And rebuild a city

Bridge
And want you to know that my mother was a beautiful woman
And want you to know that my mother was a beautiful friend

Ch
And I wanna go home
And I wanna go home
Heart breaking

Outro
And I wanna go home
And I wanna go home
Heart breaking
And I wanna go home
And I wanna go home


Watch the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELX1Rf6t4cM

The situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking and incomprehensible……it ain't right.

I saw one specific example (of many) in a news article that really got to me about the effects of this senseless war on ordinary people.  People just trying to live their ordinary human lives in peace, coming from towns probably similar to the one you or I may have grown up in.  Instead, they are ripped from this existence because a psychopath decides he needs to acquire a new piece of dirt and a bigger crown.  He will level cities and mow down innocent people to get it.  

I recently watched a news feature covering a shell shocked 15 year old boy who had lost his mother in an awful attack.  He was still obviously stunned and coping.  Towards the end of the interview it became clear that one of his coping mechanisms was just wanting to play his guitar for awhile to get through the dark nights ahead….to hold on to a strand of something normal.  This hit me quite hard as it is probably a characteristic I too would have fallen back on as coping mechanism (a keyboard in my case)

 The other powerful thing that came through was his un-questioned determination to still go back and rebuild the city one day. This seemed to be just a given.  This was going to happen. This steadfast resolve and heroism in the Ukrainian people in general is moving and inspiring and probably has a lot to do with what they went through and achieved in the 2013/2014 timeframe when they ousted a Putin placed dictator the first time.  The Netflix documentary called Winter on Fire captures this struggle for independence very well.  They will not give up this hard won independence easily.

This all influenced my latest song creation.  

Thank You for your courage Andriy and I wish you strength, resilience and resolve to keep moving forward.  This song is dedicated to you and your family.

V/r
Dave

David Husted is a singer/songwriter from Maryland. He creates original music on a regular basis for you.

If you enjoy any of Dave's music catalogue please like, share, subscribe, purchase or donate at any of the websites below.  This helps:   Thank You!
Home Website:  https://davidhusted.com for more music
Youtube Artist Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoY7...
FaceBook Music Page:https://www.facebook.com/David.Husted.Music/
Spotify Artist Page: https://open.spotify.com/artist/526lH...
Bandcamp Album Page: https://davidhusted.bandcamp.com/

Andriy

Safe Corridor

Youtube Video Link: https://youtu.be/fUNMcnzG7Yo

This song is about that dividing line between reality and the in-between. That space where your chattering mind continues to chatter but that wise essence speaks just beyond the still harbor breathing; allowing your loud to be just a little bit softer now; floating down near that water line. You can paint your masterpiece from there too; perhaps along a quiet beach. Muddle the fresh mint leaves my friend; yes, Sugar and Lime, stirred easy.

Groovy Mon; I want to go there dude

Paint With No Color
by David Husted

The ocean doesn’t mind, mind, the ocean doesn't mind, mind
Drifting down from the water line,  down from the water line
Your loud's a little softer now, Your  oud's a little softer now
Floating down, floating, floating, floating, floating down 

Muddle the fresh mint leaves; yes
Sugar and Lime, stirred ea…………sy          
White………………… Rum………………, 
Hot……………………. Sun……………….,  

The beaches of Shoal Bay East;  yes 
Beyond the still harbor, brea………..thing out 
Mind's…   rush ………………………..
Fear's…crush……………………..

Paint with No Color

Shoal Bay East

Paint With No Color

Here is a link to the youtube video for the song! https://youtu.be/sXd5B2iSWck
I looked back at the few notes I collected during this Photo Op's song development time-frame and concluded I did not have much to go on after a two year lapse.  The lyrics were not fully documented in my notebook. I must have been using lyric ideas and ad-libbing them into the song. I do not know my state of mind and wish I was better at capturing this closer to the song's conception point.

Life was still fairly locked down due to Covid, Trump was still in-office and the George Floyd protests were ongoing. The song was created without any direct outside musical influence driving the creative direction. This was me inside my studio starting from ground zero and evolving the song over the course of probably several weekends by playing around with sounds, rhythms and textures until a fuzzy shape of cohesion slowly emerged.

Listening back, I suspect, I smashed together two fairly divergent musical ideas. Bold move Dave and perhaps disastrous from a song gluing perspective. I like it anyway. Lyrics were influenced by what was going on around me and one of those things was a narcissist clutching a bible and clearing a peaceful protest with tear gas to enable his next photo op in front of the church.  A holy moment indeed. 

Lyrics
Photo Op
by David Husted

Dew drop dreams
Silly games
Buy some more stuff
Throw it away
Is it me?
Where did I go?
When we turn our backs
let them take it away.

They say it's gonna rain again
I don’t have an umbrella
They say its time to hate again
Photo ops and killing

Is it really so improbable?
State news and oligarchs selling fools
Make lies a game, and fear predominant 
Shake the base of our democracy

Photo Op

The Sanctuary

As Halloween approaches, my next song offering will take the listener on a magical sonic journey into a phantasmagoric past. Close your eyes and put out your hands, you have just received the Duke's invitation to visit the mysterious estate of Bridgerdoom of Brigadoon. Out of the foggy bogs of the western marshes approaches a lantern lit horse carriage with a black tuxedoed driver in a tall top hat. He beckons you to step aboard and suggests it is best if you strap in tightly. 

This piece was created all "in the box" so it is fairly synth heavy and electronic.  It formed up mostly through creative playing around on my Ableton Live Push for percussive rhythms and using my Kurzweil Synth for attempts at more organic and melodic features.  Suffice to say the song grew out of mostly creative layering of sounds and rhythms until something clicked and I went into "the zone" musically.  

Word of caution, everything may not be quite as refined as it first seems within this awaiting castle of opulence and restraint. The music will spin you into a world full of court intrigue, ball rooms, perfumes, potions, colorful gowns, operatic drama, side long glances and steamy ribald ghostly romance.  Enjoy the ride. There are plenty of curves and bumps to this adventure. 

I experimented with arpeggiated sounds using controlled randomness (if that makes any sense). Ableton Live has several cool new tools in their latest S/W version to enable this.  I also played with samples and sample friendly plug-ins. I was on a steep learning curve at that time into the art of slicing, chopping and transposing sounds. I know this can get boring for those not interested in the weeds of production so I will stop now : )    


No one ever said true love was easy. The movie sound-track adaptation may be hitting Netflix or a Hall Mark Movie Channel any day now. Disclaimer: If you actually can't hear the storyline I have relayed you may also have to apply a sprig of your own active imagination too.  Good Luck.

So, the song called Ghosts of Bridgerdoom was formed and is now presented to you for your own ghostly entertainment.   As usual, it was a blast to create. I'll bid you farewell ladies and gentlemen with a deep bow of gratitude. Happy Halloween…..Enjoy the famous Ghosts of Bridgerdoom Ball and the music.

The Ghosts of Bridgerdoom

The Estate

Link to cool Youtube Music Video of the song here: https://youtu.be/XT0Gdy9s4lU
Link to my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoY7Kh-Ok7KMue0NnNBRRjQ
Link to my Home Website: https://davidhusted.com/welcome

The lyrics seem to be about my general aversion toward the momentous amount of shitty events that took place in 2020.  Perhaps a psychoanalyst would see even more in them. The lyrics are a bit esoteric.  My sub-conscious was definitely spewing on this one.  I kneaded the words and phrases against the texture and flow of the driving pulse of the  musical content. What emerged is something special. A real rocker!  The song slowly builds, creating an incredible sonic vibe with many subtle aural sweet spots.

Lyrics
Chugging down the Qi
by David Husted

V1
Stained glass windows broken
The shit upon, plain folk, discarded and forgotten 
 The sea of swelling slogans
 And sky that always follows the long sleep of exhausted
Chugging down the Qi, waking underneath a park bench
Manhattan calves, a butterfly laughs at a snowflake

Ch 
Now where would you have me go?
And who is this I'm talking to?
Let's erase,  2020s face,
 this year's a disgrace I think I'm better off  without you          

{Verse bare}

Ch
Now where would you have me go?
And who is this I'm talking to?
Let's erase,  2020s face,
 this year's a disgrace I think I'm better off  without you        
{instr}

Bridge

V3
Lonely bird you make me smile
So smeared across the day I think I'm bending in straight spirals 

Come on mon, mop the ground
Out beyond the hobbit hill, I can prove the Earth is round

Ch
Now where would you have me go?
And who is this I'm talking to?
Let's erase,  2020s face,
 this year's a disgrace I think I'm better off  without you        
{instr}

Chugging Down the Qi

The Hobbit Hill

Chugging Down The Qi

Youtube Video of Moonbeam Blue: https://youtu.be/B9_n4zahcZU
Happy New Year and even more importantly, Happy Martin Luther King weekend.  

We continue to move forward.  The world can be difficult, frustrating, complex and sad. Yet……(queue long pause as we look up at the starry sky together) it can be quite beautiful despite this reality. A reality inside a reality. I catch glimpses of this world in the spaces in-between my chattering, worried, planning, catastrophizing incessant thoughts. It is the feeling that sits behind the other ones. It is the faintest echo of peace and happiness that can't quite be articulated without sounding corny.  Some of you know what I am talking about.  Music can tease this feeling out from hiding too. Life is so short and it seems to speed up with each passing year. A summer in child time can last years. Years in adult time can feel like moments.  We are star dust. We are myth makers. We are ………something that is very good.  You are something very good and my wish is for you to see this my friend for this New Year and the ones to follow. In your darkest corner, may you see a little light; Moonbeam Blue.

**************************
some details about the actual song below:

What's all that plucking about anyway Dave? This song captures that state of mind between awake and dream; sanity and madness. A place perhaps you have encountered yourself at times in life. It happens to be one of my personal favorite musical offerings of the year and the year is still so young. I hope you enjoy.   

Lyrics

Moonbeam Blue
Words and music by David Husted

I  
Ride
Moon Beam's
Blue
And I'll
Follow you
home

In the night
In the night

In the night
By the light
Of the fire
I lost my
Mind

near the pools
Along the sand
World between the do and don't
Of the mad

Hello
In the darkest corner
I can see a little light
Moon Beam Blue

Hello
In the darkest corner
I can see a little light
Hello,     Moon Beam Blue

*********************

This song has a sweet laid-back arpeggiated Hawaiian ambiance counter-balanced by a reversed sampled pad effect that creates a more surreal edgy vibe that hints at the story to follow. This pad was created using recorded samples of reverb tails created from the very instruments playing in the song itself. This sample is then reversed and carved up a bit. This texture adds a strange, yet familiar feel and gluing effect that I liked. 

The percussive sweetener details and the push and pull of room space as the song progresses were strong artistic design focus areas. They help to create and solidify the moonlit beach fire atmosphere. This crucible helped the luminosity of the vocal story-telling to come to life. Later I add a Chinese Yangqin instrumental section just because I could.

Moonbeam Blue

Home

The video for Drawbridge can be found here: https://youtu.be/RXHflm14XGI
Thank You for listening.  I appreciate.

Dave

Believe it or not:
DRAWBRIDGE was created at my home studio and referenced a hugely popular pop song called Driver's License by Olivia Rodrigo. The song sounds nothing like Driver's License but drew inspiration from this song's sound textures and arrangement. DRAWBRIDGE was crafted to deliver an emotional tension and buildup in a similar fashion.

Draw Bridge
By David Husted

V1
The universe gives up her memory
As time goes back to sleep
The Vast so relatively small before
The still begins to dream
Gravity reach out and compose               
A new cosmos, a new symphony
 
We presuppose our stories while we craft our little biographies
Shutting out infinities inside little rooms of quantum suffering
and who could have dreamed that our heart beats in everything
And this new beginning is an old song received
 
V2
Without my thoughts this pen still writes
I will travel to the end 
Where time is running out, 
without traces , without breath
We dance between the atoms 
With the Shamans and Ignorance.    

We presuppose our stories while we craft our little biographies
Shutting out infinities inside little rooms of quantum suffering
and who could have dreamed that our heart beats in everything
And this new beginning is an old song received

ch

somehow I knew, I knew, but I could not cross that Bayou
This castle is magic please lower down that Drawbridge 
Space slept with time so fine just before the Big Bang
Then gravity and light beams exploded on the main screen

Star dust, black holes, white dwarf super nova
Then planets, imagine they somehow even managed to make us
Trees, this breeze, this miracle of life seething
Madly, so madly love lowered down that Drawbridge

outro
We presuppose our stories while we craft our little biographies
Shutting out infinities inside little rooms of quantum suffering
and who could have dreamed that our heart beats in everything                    
And this new beginning is an old song received  received
From before the next heart beat begins

Drawbridge

The Castle

Youtube Video of Take That Hill:  https://youtu.be/RlmJ9GWTYHI

What's this song about Dave?

This song is in the indie-electronic domain but has a certain jazz vibe with the bass. It has a not easily defined yet original flow and feel. It speaks to our societal and work related anxieties; always asking us to do a bit more, move a bit faster. We will Take That Hill the first time and maybe even the second..... but after that it's time to consider options.

I provide a more detailed peek into my lyric creation process for this song in my Blog at https://davidhusted.com/welcome Check it out!

Take That Hill

over the hill

Youtube Video Link of Pilgrim: https://youtu.be/8AN6Y_lshh8

Lyrics:
Pilgrim
By David Husted

V1
And there's a moment of reason you see
Hidden behind days and days of misery
PreVs
V2
A kind of freedom that's greeting pain
There's a season to face that long, long tale of love and hate
Ch
Pilgrim 
you still crawling on your belly?
Soothing Moon hold back the tide tonight
Post Ch
PreVs
V3 
Still Dancing on tea Leaves I see
Going home with that laughing Buddha remembering
Aiming high beyond that saffron robe there billowing
Broken open, the road twists, that's when the Crone and the Shaman give
Ch
Pilgrim 
you still crawling on your belly?
Soothing Moon hold back the tide tonight
Post Ch
Ch
{Instrumental}
Ch
Pilgrim 
you still crawling on your belly?
Soothing Moon hold back the tide tonight
Post Ch

Song Background and More Detail for the Deep Divers:
I have recently been enjoying a podcast called This Jungian Life. I am not a rabid listener but the episodes I do hit I find interesting enough to stay tuned in. Three good friends, who are Jungian analysts, talk about the world and its many issues as seen through the lens of Carl Jung. I am sure this is not for everyone but it hits the spot for me. They also breakdown a dream of the day at the end of the show which is always entertaining. 

Why do I bring this up? Well, my song lyrics often tend toward a sort of introspective explorative flavoring. My soon to be released song called Pilgrim is no exception. In addition to the word Pilgrim, the words Shaman, Crone and Buddha turn up which seem to conjure up archetypes that resonate with me. Figures that embody strength, resilience and wisdom. I reference winding roads and tides in the song that perhaps point to how we move towards or against life's gifts, challenges and hidden truths with grace and authenticity. I have said this often before, I never really know what my lyrics are about, but this description feels right for me today so I am going with it. 

My premiere team of graphic designers just completed the cover art for Pilgrim and it is provided in this blog photo.  I take part of the chorus section to the very limits of my vocal range which is not very wide. Looking back, it always seems there is some pain and beauty going on at the same time. The reflections do not often provide pointers to specific content. I have no problem with this. 

I remember the guitar rhythm borrowed heavily from a Stones pattern. See if you can guess which one when the song is released. Songwriting and production have enabled me to meet, interact and network with so many music loving folks whether it is through other music/social platforms, other bands, songwriters, good friends and/or family. I am very grateful for these connections and the opportunities they have opened up. 

I have a soft place in my heart for new music from relatively unknown artists (I wonder why?).  I tend to like/lean toward the “indie” rock genre more than others but really I like them all if the music is creative and well produced. There are so many talented artists and songwriters out there (published and unpublished). The music industry tends to funnel only the smallest 1% of good music to us but, rest assured, if you look more carefully there are many more gold nuggets out there. Deep Bow to those music forums and platforms that continue to help discover them. Panning for the gold never gets old for me. 

Thank You for your support. I appreciate. 
thx....Dave

Pilgrim

The Waypoint

Lyrics

Noble Mammoths, Sabered Cats; evolved
a million years inside cauldrons vats

Thousand's of species thrived and shared
A diverse world teaming, a diverse world bared 

before……those Sapiens     
Here Come the Sapiens

70,000 years ago humans left home base
Wandering north and East seeking different tastes
Auroch, Megalodon, the giant kangaroo
Millions years of evolution ,wiped out in a few

Oh No…….Here Come the Sapiens
Oh No ……Here Come the Sapiens


Are we a serpent
Eating its tail….

Are we a serpent
Eating its tail….

{animals refrain}
The ones who know
Gonna take us all down
The ones who know
Can't figure it out

Sapiens

Africa-Asia-Oceania

Visit davidhusted.com to encounter my music in a deeper way.

Deep bow of gratitude to you for giving my music a listen, for liking, for commenting and/or for sharing when any given song resonates with you.  You help create a community that lifts music out of the nooks and crannies and allows it to be heard a little bit more than it otherwise might have been.  Thank You sincerely for that. Gratias tibi ago; Pax!

I love to create music.  It is really that simple.  

Dave