Composed & Produced by Val Akey.
Thank you for listening!

Release date: 27 August 2025

A Romance Torn By The Wind

I decided to take another stab at this song (went down a rabbit hole for about 10 hours and completely re-played and re-sang the song).  I struggled with the vocals on my original version so I changed the key to E which made it easier to sing.   
****
Guitar:   strumming my Taylor 114CE
Organ: playing my midi keyboard with Native instruments clarinet organ
Wurlitzer 200A  Keys: playing my midi Keyboard with logic Wurlitzer sound.
Wurlitzer 200A:  EZ Keys 2
Bass: PG Music Real track
Drums: EZ drummer 3
****
Lyrics
In the planet of the ape’s movie in 1968
Astronauts crash landed on a planet that was in a sorry state
They stumbled across a society intelligent of apes who could speak
And there were humans, but they were mute and weak
They’d been asleep in their hibernation pods and 2006 years had elapsed
And somewhere during that time humanity had collapsed
And the astronauts didn’t realize they were on the planet where they’d been born as the apes hunted them and they hid in a field of corn
Just like Charlton Heston, we could be walking on that beach
To late to save our Lady Liberty, she’s been toppled sunk and breached
You maniacs you blew it up will we rant and rave like Chuck
Hope it’s not too late, who wants that monkey fate, hope we smarten up
I wonder what those apes are thinking as they’re sitting in their cages at the zoo
Are they biding their time, making plans for what they’re goanna do
Are they dreaming of the day when they’re on the other side of that glass wall
Are they patiently counting the minutes, waiting for humanities downfall
The apes killed one of the astronauts and they stuffed him and put him on display j
Just like trophy hunters do with animals today
The Astronaut named Taylor, he got shot in the throat
He was unable to talk, so he got a pen and showed the apes what he wrote
The apes realized he was intelligent, and it shook them to their core
And the forbidden zone was a place they weren’t supposed to explore
Taylor met a girl he named Nova, she couldn’t talk but she was pretty.
A couple of apes helped them escape to what used to be New York city
And they rode together on a horse on a beach that looked like the west coast
Until they found that statue and realized humanity was toast
Just like Charlton Heston, we could be walking on that beach
To late to save our Lady Liberty, she’s been toppled sunk and breached
You maniacs you blew it up will we rant and rave like Chuck
Hope it’s not too late, who wants that Monkey Fate, hope we smarten up
The planet of the ape’s is supposed to be science fiction
Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be an accurate depiction

Planet Of The Apes V 2.0

'Headlines and Other Distractions' a bright Jazz Fusion track inspired by the ceaseless noise and distraction on what is presented to us as "news". Lies, propaganda and spin. 
Alan
 

Headlines and Other Distractions

Original by Free  1970

Bass, drums & 2 voice in chorus : Little Man
All other instruments & vocal  : PdB Orchestra

All Right Now

You are better off without me. 


Verse 1: 

I'll never forget that last day I kissed your cheek. I never imagined that from that afternoon on I'd never see you again.

Verse 2: 

Everything clouded over in my heart. You were a part of my life, and in your absence, everything was lost. I cried trying to understand why you were leaving. Until I understood that I deserved it.

Bridge: 

Now I see clearly. I respect your distance. I even confess that it's fare what happened.

Chorus: 

You're better off without me. Your friends tell me so. That your lips smile more and you look fuller. You're better off without me. I saw it in your photographs. Your eyes shine brighter, and you even look more beautiful. I only pray for you every day, convinced that I loved you very much, but I didn't understand the meaning. And now that you're gone, I faint from your absence, and in my loneliness, for all I've done wrong, I beg for mercy. 

Verse 3: 

I remember your words, your laughter, your silences. Everything that made me happy, now everything is uncertain. I wonder if you'll ever think of me, or if I'm dead to you.
 
I wonder if you'll ever think of me, if you'll remember my name... and my existence


Español 

Estás mejor sin mi. 

Verso 1: 

"Jamás olvidaré, ese último día que tu mejilla besé.
 Nunca imaginé, que desde esa tarde ya no te vería otra vez"

 Verso 2: 

"Todo se nubló en mi corazón, 
eras parte de mi vida 
y en tu ausencia 
todo se perdió. 

Lloraba intentando comprender por qué te ibas. 
Hasta que entendí, que eso me lo merecía"

 Puente: 

"Ahora veo claro, respeto tu distancia, incluso te confieso que fue justo lo que pasa"

Coro: 

 "Estás mejor sin mí, me lo dicen tus amigas, 
que sonríen más tus labios y te ves más rellenita 
 Estás mejor sin mí
lo vi en tus fotografías, 
tus ojos brillan más
 y se te ve hasta más bonita.

Yo sólo rezo por ti todos los días convencido, 
de que te quise mucho 
pero no supe el sentido. 
Y ahora que no estás, 
desfallezco por tu ausencia, 
y en mi soledad, 
por todo lo que hice mal, 
te pido clemencia.


Verso 3:

 "Recuerdo tus palabras, tus risas, tus silencios. 
Todo lo que me hacía feliz, 
ahora todo es incierto. 
Me pregunto si alguna vez pensarás en mí, o si para ti estoy muerto."

Coro: 

"Estás mejor sin mi, 
me lo dicen tus amigas, 
que sonríen más tus labios y te ves más rellenita. 

Estás mejor sin mi, 
lo vi en tus fotografías,
 tus ojos brillan más, 
y se te ve hasta más bonita.

 Yo sólo rezo por ti, 
 todos los días convencido, 
de que te quise mucho
 pero no supe el sentido. 
Y ahora que no estás, 
desfallezco por tu ausencia, 
y en mi soledad, 
por todo lo que hice mal, 
te pido clemencia.

Me pregunto si alguna vez pensarás en mí, si recordarás mi nombre...y mi existencia.. 

Letra: Miguel Ángel Botello

D'mendo Boteli. Todos los derechos reservados D'mendo Boteli ©1994 ©2020 ©2021 ©2022 ©2025



Estás mejor sin mi - D'mendo Boteli.mp3

Strumming Guitar track (playing my Taylor 114ce)
Organ: (playing my midi keyboard) using Logic Pro Grand organ sound
Bass: PG Music Real track
Drums: Ez Drummer 3
MK1 Keyboard and piano  Ez Keys 2
****
Every night at ten o’clock, before I go to bed 
I doomscroll on my phone, and I see stories that fill me with dread
I know I should put down my phone and read a book, but I can’t control the urge
Things get stuck in my brain that I really wish I could purge
It’s a fine line between staying informed and doomscrolling
And it’s so hard to put down that phone once you pick it up and start that ball rolling
There’s a constant stream of bad news that never goes stale
Why can’t the world be more like a fairy tale
Forever chemicals in the water, pollution in the air
Global temperatures rising, and the oil companies don’t care
Russians making nuclear threats and our leaders they just shrug
Some nights it feels like I’m in a hospital bed and they‘re about to pull the plug
It’s a fine line between staying informed and doomscrolling
And it’s so hard to put down that phone once you pick it up and start that ball rolling
There’s a constant stream of bad news that never goes stale
Why can’t the world be more like a fairy tale

Microplastics your body
It’s bad to sit too long in your in your chair 
They say you can go sterile if you wear tight underwear
There’s an object heading towards us from deep in outer space
They say it might be an alien spacecraft on its way to destroy the human race
Too much information in the palm of your hand
Can make you just want to bury your head in the sand
Sometimes you’ve got to accept there are things beyond your control
Whatever will be will be.  You play an insignificant role 
It’s a fine line between staying informed and doomscrolling
And it’s so hard to put down that phone once you pick it up and start that ball rolling
There’s a constant stream of bad news that never goes stale
Why can’t the world be more like a fairy tale

Doomscrolling

A Huge Thank You to my dear collaborator Frans Beelaard. I had send him this song in my version and it came back like this… :)
He played a bass line, 2 guitars, one lead and one rhythm. Also included is an acoustic drum track with 22" Zildjian ride & crash cymbals & tambourine and an acoustic piano track.
On top of that he also mixed and mastered the whole thing.
A great honor and pleasure for me.

The lines (edited, translated, modified, revised, retranslated, reedited…) originally derived from verse shards by two German poets: 
Stefan George (1868-1933), „Albagal“, 1892 and 
Durs Grünbein (born 1962), “Porzellan: Poem vom Untergang meiner Stadt“, 2006 and „Bericht von der Ermordung des Heliogabal durch seine Leibgarde“, 1999
I glued these verse shards together with a refrain.

During my research on porcelain I came along Kin Tsugi, a Japanese form of art, putting broken porcelain back together again. The picture shows such a piece.

Smashed Porcelain

1
Descend once more into the air-raid shelter. 
Observe:
Your ancestors, crowded together, in their final attire,

Comrades, hostages to mass hysteria,
How they curse, sob, 
Just moments ago uninhibited,
When the Führer arrived in the Mercedes of the Messiah.

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Man…
How long ago was that, you ask ?

2
Oh, I’m descending a marble staircase.
A headless body lies in the middle. Once again.
There, the blood of my dear brother seeps out.
I gently gather up my purple train.

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Gee…
How long ago was that, you ask ?

3
Oh, oh, ohh…
Only 
Caesar didn't care ´bout anything. 
As he watched with glee 
When Rome sank to ruins 
Like a tourist from overseas…

How long ago was that, you ask ?
Well…
How long ago was that, you ask ?


4
Why complain, latecomer ? 
The city long gone before you were there 
Ahh, those teary eyes - 
They’re different from grey hair-air-air…

How long ago was that, you ask ? 
Gee…
How long ago was that, you ask ?
Oh folks, I can't say.						

The only Word
For „Gone Forever“
Is „Today“.

Smashed Porcelain (wt Frans Beelaard)

Foreigner's Double Vision .. 2nd Album..What was I thinking?.... Got me banned for life from Towers Department Store in St. Catharines way back in 1978.
Luckily I mended my ways but I carry this burden around and generally avoid listening to Classic Rock Radio as I am triggered by this song and that other one ... Hot-blooded ...check it n see...
Apologies to Mick Jones and Lou Gramm for stealing their music and rewriting their song to sing my truth....
opening clips from The Myth of Shoplifting film 1964
end clip from the movie High Fidelity

Shoplifting (The Double Vision  Foreigner Cassette Tape)

Feeling down and dirty, no financial means
So I shoved that cassette tape down my crisp blue jeans
Slinking down the aisle, bulge between my thighs
The abandoned eighth commandment
I was such a foolish child

Yes I stole from Towers
Foreigner's Double Vision
No surprise
They threatened me with prison
Ooooh, the floor walker grabbed a hold of me
Hot-blooded, tone-deaf to apology
My one-way ticket to delinquency 

Just a grubby little juvie back in ‘78
Big brother disappointed in my musical taste 
He said, “ You could have stolen Zevon, maybe Marley or some PiL
Now you're banned for life from Towers for that boring AM swill 

I kleptified, for that Double Vision
My Mom mortified at my bad decision 
Oooh, the police want to take a drive with me
Backseat of shame, the neighbors’ eyes on me
That Double Vision shopping lesson got the best of me
They arrested me 

Oooh Double Vision
A Foreigner filch
That brought me such derision 
Oooh Double Vision
Grounded and hounded
Parental supervision 
Oooh full frontal implant
The struggle to smuggle
Cassette tape covertly in pants
Oooh that cardinal sin
Shoplifting and grifting
My Fruit of the Loom I slipped it in

Shoplifting (The Foreigner Double Vision  Cassette Tape)

Every Now & Then

Cast of Characters:

Surfers Like Us– @user-411502040 –Artur–composition, arrangement, and Fender Jaguar delayed, foundational rhythm guitar
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – Yamaha Genos 2 Synthesizer
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson custom T model electric giutar, production, mix, and mastering
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl -- ovation acoustic guitar, vocals, and lyrics

This song began in Artur's jam room at his house, where he creates all of his amazing music on his Fender Jaguar, which is perfect for the surf sound, at which he's a master. He shared it with Josh, who shared it with the group.
  Before Josh could lay down a bass part to it, though, JJ came up with his elegantly moody synth and laid it down. The rhythm section, Josh and Ken, then did their usual dance, dialing it in with some back and forth. Stephen was next in line, adding a subtle duet with Artur's chords. Tez then played the ethereal lead throughout most of it. Stephen, after it was pretty much laid down, came through with the ripping wah solo towards the end.
  Once the music was all taken care of, Carl came up with some great lyrics for it, and sang them, as the newest member of the group. He also laid down an accompanying acoustic rhythm guitar part, too. After Carl did his thing, we turned it over to Stephen for a mix, which he did with his professional skill set.
  This is the latest in a long line of surf rock tunes Artur has shared with Eclectic Collective. If you dig the sound, he has plenty more great ones on his page, which are worth checking out, too. We tried to do this with a little nod to The Police, the band, not the profession. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. Thanks for listening.
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Who said we're different
We got our genes and our names
One human mission
Heart fused like fission
Real collective brains

Pure pine for pure
Pleased though holds hands
Reel in one love
Filter for our sands

I feel the same as you
No provocation ever making us blue
I feel the same as you
No provocation ever making us blue

I feel the same as you
Let music train our clue
No place like home we woo
I feel the same as you

I feel the same as you
Let music train our clue
No place like home we woo
I feel the same as you

I Feel the Same as You (Eclectic Collective with Surfers Like Us)

LAURIE: Vocals, Lyrics, Keyboard, Composition.
SANDERS: Guitar, Drums, Bass.

THE KING’S VOICE (Laurie Schubert and Sanders)

CUENTA OPERADA POR REPRESENTANTES 

La Biografía de D'mendo Boteli: Un Relato de Arte, Resiliencia y Misterio

D'mendo Boteli es un enigma viviente, una fuerza creativa cuya existencia se forjó entre la genialidad y la adversidad. Nacido el 24 de septiembre de 1974, su vida es una epopeya moderna, un viaje de transformación que lo ha llevado desde las cimas del éxito hasta las profundidades de la pérdida, solo para resurgir con una obra más potente y auténtica.

El Origen de un Prodigio

Desde sus primeros años, D'mendo Boteli se manifestó como un ser de talentos inusuales. A los ocho años ganó un concurso de poesía, y a los trece se convirtió en padre. Lejos de doblegarlo, estas circunstancias lo impulsaron hacia una búsqueda artística sin límites. De forma autodidacta, se convirtió en un pianista prodigioso, dominando las sonatas de Beethoven sin una educación formal, mientras incursionaba como oyente en la Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM, buscando respuestas en la ciencia.

Su talento musical floreció en la composición de más de 200 obras para piano y conjuntos de cámara. Como compositor neoclásico, Boteli desarrolló un estilo propio y auténtico que lo llevó a dar recitales privados en escenarios de Colombia, Chile, Brasil y Argentina.

Ascenso y Caída de un Visionario Empresarial

La creatividad de Boteli no se confinó al arte. Su mente de empresario lo llevó a la cima, donde se asoció con la prestigiosa firma Grupo Mores Tempora, proveyendo ropa de alto lujo a boutiques de élite como El Palacio de Hierro y Liverpool. Las marcas que manejaba incluían Aquascutum of London, The London badge & Button y Jean Baptiste Caumont. 

En 1999, invirtió en un ambicioso proyecto hotelero en Cancún con influyentes inversionistas judíos y libaneses, amasando un capital considerable.

Sin embargo, el destino tenía otros planes. Tras una abrupta ruptura sentimental, se vio obligado a huir del país. El fracaso de sus negocios culminó en 2004, dejándolo en la quiebra. Pero el golpe más duro llegó en 2007 con la trágica pérdida de su madre, un evento seguido por el saqueo y robo de sus bienes a manos de los hijos de su padrastro. 

Estos oscuros capítulos no fueron el final de su historia, sino el crisol donde se forjó su verdadera fuerza.

La Lucha y el Renacer de un Artista

La adversidad en la vida de D'mendo Boteli no se limitó a lo personal y financiero. En 2005, sufrió un atentado, y las peleas y en 2006 diferencias con otra ex pareja, sobrina de un jefe de la mafia, lo llevaron a abandonar la vida pública por completo.

Estos eventos, lejos de silenciarlo, canalizaron su experiencia en un acto de creación pura y un resurgimiento artístico imparable.

Volvió a la música, incursionando con pasión en el género popular, con canciones que se encuentran en plataformas como Spotify, Apple Music y Tidal. Entre sus títulos más conocidos se encuentran:
 

 * "Estás mejor sin mi"
 * "Más allá del miedo"
 * "Eres basura"
 * "Aunque el universo acabe"
 * "Si tú me hicieras falta"
 * "Esclavo de tus caricias" 

Además de la música, su pluma se ha vuelto más prolífica. Ha escrito novelas como "Isabella y el Peregrino", "El corazón de Fátima" y "Los niveles más bajos del alma", y actualmente está creando "El Gambito del Alma" en Wattpad.

Como artista plástico, pintó más de 200 obras que han adornado las paredes de coleccionistas de arte.

La negativa de Boteli a asistir a sus propias exposiciones lo envuelve en un aura de misterio, ganándose el apodo de "El artista fantasma".

D'mendo Boteli continúa su labor creativa, buscando colaboraciones y exponiendo su trabajo. Su historia es un poderoso testimonio de la incesante curiosidad y el compromiso inquebrantable con la expresión artística, demostrando que su legado se forja no solo a través de sus obras, sino a través de su propia capacidad para renacer de las sombras.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fuK5iu8p9VzDTwhwoYKMP?si=0IgFpjQdS7K69TyI8MQN4A
