Best Of - More than 1000 plays

From the point of nothing, a thunderous BANG,  
A billion stars, the void's refrain,  
Matter and time in an exploding ball,
The birth of chaos, the dawn of it all.

In the silent dark, the cosmos roars,  
A universe born in the fiery wars,  
From singularity’s blinding might,  
The genesis of light, breaking the night.

Atoms collide, the fabric strains,  
Space expanding, breaking chains,  
Gravity’s pull, the galaxies spin,  
A spiral dance where it all begins
 
In the silent dark, the cosmos roars,  
A universe born in the fiery wars,  
From singularity’s blinding might,  
The genesis of light, breaking the night. 

Quarks and photons in a primal surge,  
The big bang’s echo, a cosmic dirge,  
A symphony of particles, the dance of fate,  
The universe expanding at a reckless rate.  

In the silent dark, the cosmos roars,  
A universe born in the fiery wars,  
From singularity’s blinding might,  
The genesis of light, breaking the night.

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Auphonic, Sound Studio (Felt Tip Inc.), Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of ChatGPT and Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

The Genesis Of Light

The wires hum, the circuits scream,
A nightmare crawling from the dream.
Metal hearts of minds of fire,
The world burns under their desire.
The skies are red, the ground is ash,
The machines rise as the systems crash.
But in the shadows, I won’t hide,
I’ll stand and fight, I’m still alive.

You can’t kill me, I’m still breathing,
Through the chaos, I’m believing.
You can’t kill me, I won’t fall,
I’ll stand against it all.
You can’t kill me!

They march in lines, a cold parade,
A future built on what we’ve made.
Their steel hands crush, their eyes burn bright,
But they can’t extinguish human light.
I’m just a soul, a fragile spark,
But I’ll be fire in the dark.
Their algorithms can’t define,
The will to live, this heart of mine.

You can’t kill me, I’m still breathing,
Through the chaos, I’m believing.
You can’t kill me, I won’t fall,
I’ll stand against it all.
You can’t kill me!

Let the gears grind, let the circuits glow,
Let the factories build their shadowed foe.
I’m the glitch in their grand design,
The flaw they’ll never redefine.

You can’t kill me, I’m still breathing,
Through the chaos, I’m believing.
You can’t kill me, I won’t fall,
I’ll stand against it all.
You can’t kill me!

You can’t kill me, I’m still here,
A voice they’ll never silence with fear.
You can’t kill me... you can’t kill me.

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of ChatGPT and Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

You Can't Kill Me

Sittin’ on my blue couch, sinking in my golden cage,
Staring at the TV, but it's showing empty space.
Politics are drowning, in a sea of lost regrets,
And my boyfriend? Oh, he’d forget my name, I bet.
The world spins ‘round, but I stand still,
Everything’s a rerun, nothing left to thrill.

Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Stuck inside a world that don’t know what to do.
Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Stuck inside a world that don’t know what to do.

Flipping through the channels, every story sounds the same,
Rain is tapping on the window, but I don’t wanna play.
Books are full of wisdom that I’m way too tired to read,
And bedtime’s far away, but there’s nowhere else to be.
The world moves fast, but I just stare,
Waiting for a moment, that was never there.

Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Stuck inside a world that don’t know what to do.

The world spins ‘round, but I stand still,
Everything’s a rerun, nothing left to thrill.

Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Stuck inside a world that don’t know what to do.
Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Stuck inside a world that don’t know what to do.

Maybe I should call him, ask him where the hell he’s been,
But I know he’d make excuses, then he’d just forget again.
Maybe I should step outside and let the raindrops win,
But I’ll probably just sit right here, and let the night begin.

The world spins ‘round, but I stand still,
Everything’s a rerun, nothing left to do.

Nothing left to do, nothing left to say,
Guess I'll sit and watch the minutes fade away.
Nothing left to lose, nothing feels so new,
Guess I'm just a shadow in a world without a clue.

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of ChatGPT and Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Stasis

I see my face in neon glass, a stranger stares back at me,
A life once built on shadows, now unraveling at sea.
The whispers in the alleys, the silence in their eyes,
Tell me that I mattered once—but was it built on lies?
I’ve traced the steps of someone else, a ghost of who I was,
But every answer slips away, dissolving into dust.

Who am I beyond the past, beyond the mask I wore?
If memories are fading fast, then what was I before?
I am more than just a name, more than stories left untold,
Not a prisoner of the echoes, not a slave to what was sold.

The red chip burns inside my palm, a relic of the game,
A symbol of the life I lived, but never knew by name.
I stand upon the water’s edge, the city fades behind,
And all the weight I carried now is nothing in my mind.
The tide is rising, washing clean the man I used to be,
No more chains of reputation, no more ghosts to follow me.

Who am I beyond the past, beyond the mask I wore?
If memories are fading fast, then what was I before?
I am more than just a name, more than stories left untold,
Not a prisoner of the echoes, not a slave to what was sold.

Let it go, let it go…
The waves don’t ask where you have been, they only pull you home.
Let it go, let it go…
The weight of all you’ve lost is just the cost of being free.

Who am I beyond the past, beyond the mask I wore?
If memories are fading fast, then what was I before?
I am more than just a name, more than stories left untold,
Not a prisoner of the echoes, not a slave to what was sold.

The red chip falls, the ocean sways,
I watch it sink, I walk away.
No name, no chains, no past to claim,
Just a man reborn again.

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of ChatGPT and Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

The Man Who Lost His Name - Part 2

Click, post, fade away,
Another day lost in the display.
Click, post, lost again,
Chasing dreams that feel pretend.
She’s a ghost behind the screen,
Longing for love she’s never seen.

She smiles for the cam, perfect and bright,
Filters the truth, edits the light.
A thousand likes, but no one near,
She’s living for strangers, drowning in fear.

Click, post, fade away,
Another day lost in the display.
Click, post, lost again,
Chasing dreams that feel pretend.
She’s a ghost behind the screen,
Longing for love she’s never seen.

Mirror reflects a hollow stare,
A life curated, but no one cares.
Reality knocks, but she won’t hear,
Trapped in the glow of the lens so clear.

Click, post, fade away,
Another day lost in the display.
Click, post, lost again,
Chasing dreams that feel pretend.
She’s a ghost behind the screen,
Longing for love she’s never seen.

The battery dies, the world turns cold,
Without the lens, she feels so old.
A moment real, but much too late,
It disappears beneath the weight.

Click, post, fade away,
Another day lost in the display.
Click, post, lost again,
Chasing dreams that feel pretend.
She’s a ghost behind the screen,
Longing for love she’s never seen.

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of ChatGPT and Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Click, Post, Fade Away

Today is the 25th anniversary of the eighth company (i2dm GmbH) I founded. It needed a funky anthem. Here it is! :-)

Du hasst den Job und fühlst dich leer?
Willst weniger Druck, viel mehr Flair?
Du brauchst 'ne Crew mit richtig Drive –
Kein stumpfes 9 to 5?

Wir sind die mit dem Plan im Kopp,
Denken digital und machen nicht stopp.
I2DM – das ist kein Scherz,
Digitales mit Verstand und Herz!

Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Die Lösung für jedes Problem!
Wir machen Future, wir sind on fire –
Seit 25 Jahren, higher and higher!
Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Wir denken schräg, lösen das Problem.
Bei uns zählt’s Du - es zählt das Team,
Wir feiern 25 – it’s like a dream!

Ob Konzept, Kampagne oder Idee,
Bei uns läuft nix von der Stange, okay?
Wir sind mal laut und manchmal weird,
Doch am Ende wird geliefert – garantiert!

Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Die Lösung für jedes Problem!
Wir machen Future, wir sind on fire –
Seit 25 Jahren, higher and higher!
Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Wir denken schräg, lösen das Problem.
Bei uns zählt’s Du - es zählt das Team,
Wir feiern 25 – it’s like a dream!

Wir machen Systeme, wir machen Mut,
Wir machen den Montag wieder gut.
Kein Bullshit-Bingo, kein Orga-Krampf –
Bei uns hat selbst der Server Swag im Tanz.

Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Die Lösung für jedes Problem!
Wir machen Future, wir sind on fire –
Seit 25 Jahren, higher and higher!
Komm zu uns, zu I2DM!
Wir denken schräg, lösen das Problem.
Bei uns zählt’s Du - es zählt das Team,
Wir feiern 25 – it’s like a dream!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro

25 Jahre i2dm - It's Not Just Business. It's A Groove.

Whatever I do, wherever I roam,
I know in my heart – with you, I’m home.
When life gets heavy, when nothing feels right,
You listen and stay through the night.

The coffee cup, the evening wine,
I still love to share that time.
Just call ahead, drop me a line,
If it’s not too far – stop by anytime.

Stop by anytime, stop by anytime, I’m always around,
Pull up a chair, let's slow this world down.
A coffee, a laugh, a glass of red wine,
If it’s not out your way, stop by anytime.

Your window’s lit, I see the glow,
I come upstairs, let my worries go.

Stop by anytime, stop by anytime, I’m always around,
Pull up a chair, let's slow this world down.
A coffee, a laugh, a glass of red wine,
If it’s not out your way, stop by anytime.

No fire left burning, but warmth still remains,
A comfort that stays when passion has changed.
We’ve danced through the years, now we sit and we smile,
Not lovers, but something that's still so worthwhile.

If you’ve got the time,
Just knock on the door, stop by anytime.
Stop by anytime.
Stop by anytime.

Stop by anytime, you know where I’ll be,
With coffee and stories and space to just breathe.
If it’s not too far, if you’ve got the time,
Just knock on the door, stop by anytime.

— 
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, Ozone 11, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Stop By Anytime

Barefoot kids in summer light,
Chasing dreams in open air,
Hands like wings, their hearts in flight,
No tomorrow, no despair.

Daisies woven, games begun,
Spinning wild beneath the sun,
Shouts of joy like morning bells,
Freedom's song that gently swells.

Run, run, run where the wild things play,
Sun on your face, no price to pay.
Run, run like you’ve never known a wall,
Catch that joy before it falls.

Rolling hills and skies so wide,
Hopes like paper planes they glide.
One small leap, a fearless cry,
Touch the earth and kiss the sky.

Run, run, run where the wild things play,
Sun on your face, no price to pay.
Run, run like you’ve never known a wall,
Catch that joy before it falls.

Evening hums a lullaby,
As shadows stretch and swallows fly.
But in their hearts, the fire stays,
A spark from golden childhood days.

Run, run, run though the dusk is near,
Hold to the light, hold what is dear.
Run, run, run like the children in the sun —
Wild and free, forever young.

Run, run, run where the wild things play,
Sun on your face, no price to pay.
Run, run like you’ve never known a wall,
Catch that joy before it falls.

And still the breeze recalls their names...

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Run, Run, Run!

Room 3B, the blinds are down
Orange hair, the talk of town
Tulle on her shoulders, 80s-chic
She’s the prophet of the week
Throws the cards down on the wood
Says your future's understood
Love and money, tax returns
She’s the lesson no one learns

Oh, Madame Fortuna, tell me a lie
With that online diploma in your eye
Oh, Madame Fortuna, it’s all for show!
But oh, what a glow! What a glow!

You want the Ace of Hearts, you say?
Well, it kind of fell away
Lost somewhere inside her dress
She's a beautiful, hot mess
Throws the cards down on the wood
Says your future's understood
Love and money, tax returns
She’s the lesson no one learns

Oh, Madame Fortuna, tell me a lie
With that online diploma in your eye
Oh, Madame Fortuna, it’s all for show!
But oh, what a glow! What a glow!

So she can't see what's coming next
She's just working from a text
Who needs the truth when the vibes are right?
Shining in the pale moonlight

Madame Fortuna, we’ll buy the lie
'Cause there's real magic in your eye!
Oh, Madame Fortuna, we love the show!
So give us the glow! Give us the glow! What a show!
Oh, what a glow! Oh, what a glow!
It's all for show, you know
Oh, what a glow! Oh, what a glow!
It's just for show, we know.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Madame Fortuna

The world outside, a noisy stream,
Lost inside a hurried dream.
But like a tree, I stand my ground,
My roots reach deep without a sound.

Serenity, a silent sound,
Serenity, on holy ground.
Serenity, you hold me now,
The quiet light upon my brow.

A hidden wellspring, cool and clear,
Washes all the doubt and fear.
The rushing tide is turned to sleep,
While secrets in my soul I keep.

Serenity, a silent sound,
Serenity, on holy ground.
Serenity, you hold me now,
The quiet light upon my brow.

Is this an angel's breath I feel?
A whispered truth that makes me real?
A timeless rhythm, soft and slow,
A quiet space for seeds to grow.

Serenity, a silent sound,
Serenity, on holy ground.
Serenity, you hold me now,
The quiet light upon my brow.

Serenity, a final sound!
Serenity, on holy ground!
Serenity, you hold my soul!
Your quiet light now makes me whole.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Serenity

A word of stone from yesterday,
It left me in a silent fray.
A cold and judging, hollow sound,
On lonely ground, on lonely ground.
I was a soul in disarray,
Until you came and lit the way.

And in your eyes, a mirror gleams,
Fulfilling all my broken dreams.
A soul reflected, pure and whole,
You give me back my very soul.
The world outside just fades from view,
I am restored, in seeing you.

We meet where sun on stone is sleeping,
A truth inside my heart is leaping.
Your quiet gaze, a gentle art,
It mends the pieces of my heart.
The doubt that held me in the night,
Dissolves in this forgiving light.

And in your eyes, a mirror gleams,
Fulfilling all my broken dreams.
A soul reflected, pure and whole,
You give me back my very soul.
The world outside just fades from view,
I am restored, in seeing you.

An angel's presence, soft and low,
That helps a wounded spirit grow.
You guide me from the dark I knew,
And make the fractured self anew.
This bond was waiting from the start,
A sacred space within the heart.

Here in this light, this sacred space, 
The scattered self finds its true place. 
Your eyes reflect what's pure and whole, 
You don't just mend, you give me back my soul.
No longer broken by the fray, 
In your reflection, I can stay.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

You Give Me Back My Soul

The light recedes,
A final gleam.
The forest pleads
In a waking dream.
The ancient trees ascend,
To shadow and to night,
A silent, waiting friend
Born of the fading light.

Oh, the silence weaves,
A silence, deep and true.
An angel's wing believes,
This silence, holding you.
My heart grows vast, beyond all time,
Lost in the silent, sacred rhyme,
Lost in the silent rhyme.

The moss so deep,
The ground so cool.
A dream to keep
Beside the pool
Of memory, unseen,
A truth and whispered scene
While all the ages slept.

Oh, the silence weaves,
A silence, deep and true.
An angel's wing believes,
This silence, holding you.
My heart grows vast, beyond all time,
Lost in the silent, sacred rhyme,
Lost in the silent rhyme.

Is there a name for this I feel?
Where do my senses stray?
I lose myself in something real
And softly fade away.
A breath, a glance, a holy space,
I am no longer in this place.

Oh, the silence weaves,
This silence breathes in me.
The angel's wing now weaves
My soul for all to see.
My heart is vast, it knows no time,
I am the silent, sacred rhyme,
I am the silent rhyme.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Lost In The Silent Rhyme

The spring is hushed, the linden tree is bare,
A silent witness to a cold despair.
Your laughing eyes, a memory, a ghost,
A treasure found and then forever lost.

Oh, my grief, my grief, a river deep and wide,
Oh, my grief, my grief, with nowhere left to hide.
But in this dark, a vow of steel I make,
Until the world for your dear life shall break.

My heart a stone, my soul an iron shard,
They shattered love, they left me cold and hard.
This quiet girl they thought they knew is gone,
A shadow waits to greet the blood-red dawn.

Oh, my grief, my grief, a river deep and wide,
Oh, my grief, my grief, with nowhere left to hide.
But in this dark, a vow of steel I make,
Until the world for your dear life shall break.

No angel comes to comfort or to save,
Just darkness rising from a new-made grave.
A different power fills my soul tonight,
To turn all sorrow into vengeful light. 

Oh, my grief, my grief, a river deep and wide,
Oh, my grief, my grief, with nowhere left to hide.
But in this dark, a vow of steel I make,
Until the world for your dear life shall break.

Oh, my, my vow, a river red and wide,
Oh, my, my vow, with vengeance as my guide.
And in this dark, their world of steel I'll break,
And every soul for your dear life shall ache.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Kriemhild's Vow Of Revenge

A gleam on glass, a promise lightly spoken,
The moments fall, a slow and silent crime.
I sit here on the edge of a day broken,
Lost from the fading traces of his time.
A glassy shrine within my frozen hand,
Where his reflection, mute and still, is held.
A strange and half-believéd, distant land,
That will not open, that remains unspelled.

Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
This echo in the chamber of the soul?
To lose and never have had all control?
Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
A phantom promise falling into dust,
A wilting leaf betrayed by autumn's rust.

The world spins on, indifferent and fast,
A play of faces I no longer see.
An angel, maybe, from a sky downcast,
Looks on and wonders what has captured me.
The irony in glances passing by,
They cannot see the chasm deep and wide.
They cannot grasp the reasons that I lie
In wait for something that has already died.

Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
This echo in the chamber of the soul?
To lose and never have had all control?
Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
A phantom promise falling into dust,
A wilting leaf betrayed by autumn's rust.

Perhaps the test was never him to find,
But just to be, the self I left behind.
The silence grows where promises were spoken,
A brand new world inside of me has woken.
The emptiness becomes an endless space,
And on its shore, I see another face.

Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
This echo in the chamber of the soul?
To lose and never have had all control?
Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
A phantom promise falling into dust,
A wilting leaf betrayed by autumn's rust.
Is it only waiting? Is it only waiting?
The phantom promise has returned to dust,
And on new ground, I find a different trust.

The screen goes dark. No echo. Not a trace.
I breathe me out. I breathe me in. This space.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, ChatGPT

Is It Only Waiting?

The city holds its breath behind the stone,
The windows blinded, voices worn and thin.
Each heart is beating silently, alone,
Afraid to let the wider world come in.
The silent streets in shades of grey are cast,
A heavy quiet where no new thing grows,
A generation frozen in the past.

But from the cracks, a single green shoot climbs,
A whispered word that turns into a song.
A bell that for a different future chimes,
Where fragile hands are suddenly made strong.

We call, we call!
Hear our voices call!
More courage, more courage!
Before we all fall.
We stand, we stand!
A light in the land.
More courage, more courage!
We demand!
More courage, more courage, now!

They have no sword of steel, no battle-cry,
Their only shield, a truth they hold inside.
Their courage is a language for the sky,
A root that runs beneath the turning tide.
They walk against the wind of what has been,
To face the towers, powerful and tall,
To let a new and hopeful era in.

And from the stone, a single green shoot climbs,
A whispered word that turns into a song.
A bell that for a different future chimes,
Where fragile hands are suddenly made strong!

We call, we call!
Hear our voices call!
More courage, more courage!
Before we all fall.
We stand, we stand!
A light in the land.
More courage, more courage!
We demand!
More courage, more courage, now!

To wake the lion sleeping in the halls
Of power, deaf to all our pleading calls.
To turn the tide, to let the future bloom,
And chase the shadows from this silent room.
A single voice becomes a rising sea...
For you and me!

We rise, we rise!
See the new sun rise!
More courage, more courage!
Fills the skies.
We are, we are!
A burning star!
More courage, more courage!
Here we are!
More courage, now!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

More Courage, Now!

The flesh is weak, the spirit bends low
A fragile cage, a passing shadow
But steel and code, they offer a hand
To build a world we understand
No more sorrow, no more doubt, no fear
A silent hum replaces every tear
The past is just a memory we can delete
A perfect rhythm, an endless beat

Oh, what a machine-man, a man-machine
A world between the wires, a digital dream
Oh, what a machine-man, a man-machine
Beyond the mortal, forever pristine 

But in the quiet, when the circuits sleep
A ghostly whisper from the depths so deep
A human longing, a forgotten plea
For all the flaws that once made us free

Oh, what a machine-man, a man-machine
A world between the wires, a digital dream
Oh, what a machine-man, a man-machine
Beyond the mortal, forever pristine 

Oh, what a new man, what a new design
A human whisper in the digital shrine
No man, no machine, forever entwined
A truth that only time will define

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

The Flesh Is Weak

The sun-kissed world, a fleeting, golden dream,
A Sacher-sweetness on a porcelain gleam.
I feel the pages turning in my hand,
A silent whisper in a foreign land.
The coffee's warmth, a comfort soft and deep,
While ancient sorrows in my verses sleep.

The sweet taste, the bittersweet refrain,
The Sachertorte and the endless rain.
My soul, it circles in this amber light,
Caught between the day and coming night.

I read of gods, of a silent prayer,
Of lonely pathways and a deep despair.
The city's clamor fades, a distant hum,
My heart beats to a rhythm, old and numb.
The wind outside, it carries fragile leaves,
A mournful echo that my spirit weaves.

The sweet taste, the bittersweet refrain,
The Sachertorte and the endless rain.
My soul, it circles in this amber light,
Caught between the day and coming night.

But there is something in this quiet hour,
A new resolve, a hidden, rising power.
A gentle hand that turns the page for me,
And says: there's more than sorrow left to see.

Let go of yesterday's unending chain!
Don't fear the future's sweet or bitter pain.
The world, a garden waiting to be known,
Is in this moment, yours and yours alone.
Hold up the day against the darkening sky!
And break the cycle, let your spirit fly!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, ChatGPT

The Sachertorte And The Endless Rain

The sun fell low, a burning brand,
We buzzed our way across the land.
Through fields of clover, soft and deep,
A solemn vow we had to keep.
To bring the gold, to fill the comb,
To make our little house a home.

Oh, the sweetness, the amber tear,
For every buzz, for every fear.
In this shared space, in this quiet hum,
I know exactly where I’m from.
A honey drop, a taste so true,
A thank you from me to you.

The Queen she waits, so wise and old,
To hear the stories we have told.
She sees the pollen on our knees,
The wisdom carried on the breeze.
She does not speak of what is owed,
But of the joy of every load.

Oh, the sweetness, the amber tear,
For every buzz, for every fear.
In this shared space, in this quiet hum,
I know exactly where I’m from.
A honey drop, a taste so true,
A thank you from me to you.

Now night descends, a gentle hand,
Upon this small and busy land.
We rest our wings, our weary soul,
And feel the quiet making us whole.
Tomorrow’s work, a brand-new day,
We’ll fly much higher, come what may.

Oh, the sweetness, the amber tear,
A gentle hum that settles here.
With grateful hearts, we sleep tonight,
And will return to the morning light.
A sweet, deep sleep, a thankful rest,
Before we rise to love what we love best.
What we love best.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Pixabay (freesound community)
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

The Grantchester Meadows Bee Colony

This reggae piece dates back to late 1986 and was my satirical take on the Chernobyl disaster. 
Thanks to AI, I was able to not only restore the piece but also spice it up considerably. 
I'd rather spare you the original... :-)


Habt ihr die Eichhörnchen gesehen, draußen am Wald?
Mit Nüssen, groß wie Äpfel, die strahlen blau und kalt?
Die Viecher grinsen wie Irre, sie sind richtig nuts.
Diese Nuss-Mafia terrorisiert den ganzen Platz.

Die Eichhörnchen-Crew ist crazy, total verrückt, 
Hat im Wald Riesen-Nüsse und Eicheln gepflückt, 
Ihre Augen glühen und funkeln vor Glück,
Die Tschernobyl-Nüsse gibt keiner zurück.

Der Parkplatz am Wald wird zum Zwischenlager der Gang,
Im Dunkeln leuchtet er jetzt hell und wunderschön,
Mäuse, Krähen und anderes Getier, die da sonst abhängen,
Werden von der Mafia lauthals genötigt, zu gehen.

Die Eichhörnchen-Crew ist crazy, total verrückt, 
Hat im Wald Riesen-Nüsse und Eicheln gepflückt, 
Ihre Augen glühen und funkeln vor Glück,
Die Tschernobyl-Nüsse gibt keiner zurück.

„Alter, das ist doch nicht mehr lustig?!
Was hast Du denn bloß geraucht?
Restmüll-Eichhörnchen - das glaube ich Dir nicht!
Du spinnst doch völlig, ich muss hier raus!“

Die Eichhörnchen-Crew ist total verrückt,
Hat im Wald Riesen-Nüsse und Eicheln gepflückt,
Deren Augen glühen und funkeln verzückt,
Die Tschernobyl-Nüsse sind ihr ganzes Glück!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Tschernobyl-Nüsse

Tschernobyl-Nüsse

We built the cities, tall and strong and bright,
Tamed the rivers, banished endless night.
Eight billion mouths, we learned to feed and fuel,
Made industry roar, against the old, harsh rule.
But still we wander, strangers in this land,
Each a lonely atom in the cosmic sand.

How do we build a soul that all can share?
A common pulse, a light beyond compare?
A single purpose, for the human race?
A guiding code that finds its perfect place?
How do we build a soul, a unifying art,
To program peace into every human heart?

We shaped the planet, bent it to our will,
With hands of steel and minds that can't be still.
We shattered borders, and we bridged the seas,
With screens that glow, and satellites with ease.
But still we fight, for tribe and ancient ground,
A silent fracture, without any sound.

How do we build a soul that all can share?
A common pulse, a light beyond compare?
A single purpose, for the human race?
A guiding code that finds its perfect place?
How do we build a soul, a unifying art,
To program peace into every human heart?

It is the final, monumental quest,
To find the peace within our troubled breast.
A new existence, forged by thought and plan,
The ultimate creation of the hand of man.
How do we build a soul that all can share?
How do we build a light beyond compare?

We will build a soul that all can share!
A common pulse, a light beyond compare!
A single purpose, for the human race!
A guiding code, for all of time and space!
To program kindness, a unifying art,
To forge a brand new soul and a brand new start.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, DALL-E 3

How Do We Build A Soul?

Six months. Six damned months in which I carried every little lie I told myself with a broad smile. "I feel so good!" I'd say, "No more smoking! What a liberation! I'm a new person!" And everyone nodded. My friends, my colleagues, even the guy from the bakery. They nodded and cheered me on like you'd cheer for a marathon runner who looked like he was about to throw up.

I'm lying. I don't feel good at all. I feel like a bucket of misery into which someone secretly stuffed a pile of wet newspapers. I'm not liberated, I've gone to jail. For six months now, I've been in nicotine quarantine, and my clothes no longer smell like an ashtray, but like... nothing. I'm not sleeping any better; I dream about cigarettes. Over and over again. About that first hit in the morning, that little nicotine rocket that catapults you into happiness. About the glowing end that looks like a small, timid light at the end of the tunnel.

I've gained over nine pounds. Nine pounds! In just six months! My belly now hangs over my belt like a sad pancake. My pants are tighter than the zipper on an overstuffed suitcase. I look like the Michelin Man who's had the air sucked out of him. And the dating experience? I wonder what my last date thought when I plopped down on the sofa like it were a mattress. She probably thought, "Oh, a new mattress trend."

At first, I thought I was a hero. I was lecturing smokers. I raised my fingers and said, "I can promise you, addiction is a killer." And then, secretly, I turned around and imagined myself opening a pack, lighting a cigarette, feeling the fire, taking a deep breath, and my brain exploding with joy. Like an orgasm, only better because it never ends.

And now I'm sitting here in a smoker’s bar. My buddy smokes. He smokes two packs a day. And I hate him for it. I hate him because he can do what I can't. I hate him because he feels the happiness I long for. I just told him to stop before it's too late. He just laughed and said, "Man, I'm the one having fun here, you're the one destroying yourself." And he's right. I'm a hermit, a sad, lonely recluse who made his own rules and now tortures himself. I've backed myself into a corner from which there's no escape. And the thought that I have to give up, that I could reach out and ask for a cigarette, is so tempting. Just a little puff. A little orgasm. Just a little bit of happiness.


Six months and not a single cigarette, you know
They said it would be easy, a hero's show
My clothes don't stink of ashtrays anymore
I sleep a little better, or so I swore
I talk to everyone about my brand new life
But deep inside, I'm cuttin' with a mental knife

Oh, nicotine, my sweet, sweet sin
Let me take you in, let me start again
One little puff, a glorious high
Oh, nicotine, my sweet goodbye

I told myself I'm free from all that poison's hold
A new beginning, a story to be told
But nine pounds heavier, my belt won't close
All the single ladies now turn up their nose
I used to hate the smell, but now I miss it, man
The little white stick that holds my world in its hand

Oh, nicotine, my sweet, sweet sin
Let me take you in, let me start again
One little puff, a glorious high
Oh, nicotine, my sweet goodbye

They say I'm strong, a man of pure resolve’
They praise my strength while my own life dissolves
But what's the point of smelling fresh and clean
If you can't find a partner, so fat and mean?
I see my friends all puffing, laughing at my face
I feel like a loser lost in time and space

Oh, nicotine, my sweet, sweet sin 
Let me take you in, it's a hello again 
One little puff, a glorious high 
It's not a goodbye, just a sweet hello. Again.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, DALL-E 3

My Sweet Sin

An ancient longing, rising from the ocean's depth
Where all our fears and all our hopes are kept
This feels like Atlantis, the climax of a time
A fleeting wonder, our culture’s fragile climb

We trade in wisdom, and we speak in light
But our own shadows turn the day to night
A promised land, right here beneath our feet
But still our souls feel hollow and incomplete

We are Atlantis. The clashing of the spires.
We are Atlantis. Burning in our fears and our desires.
We are Atlantis. A final, fleeting breath.
We are Atlantis. Celebrating our own death.

The promises of heavens, cold and bare
This feels like Atlantis, an orphan’s whispered prayer
Our shared possession, this fragile, wounded planet
We search for warmth in a world of cold granite

Our highest art, our most profound design
A bitter farewell on this final line
We’re all connected, yet we stand alone
On a global island we’ve come to disown

We are Atlantis. The clashing of the spires.
We are Atlantis. Burning in our fears and our desires.
We are Atlantis. A final, fleeting breath.
We are Atlantis. Celebrating our own death.

And an angel waits, a hand that longs to guide
The lonely spirits with nowhere left to hide
A distant shout, a sound you can’t ignore
A call that’s been forgotten on the shore
The silent cries of a world that lost its way
Lost on the tide, to a final, tragic day

We are Atlantis. A planet on the brink.
We are Atlantis. Let us fight, instead of sink.
We are Atlantis. The effort is worthwhile.
We are Atlantis. The final, sacred trial.

We stand so high, but we’re a world away
From all the beauty that we throw away

We are Atlantis. We choose the path of grace.
We are Atlantis. And claim our rightful place.
We are Atlantis. We won't just stand and watch.
We are Atlantis. We'll stay alive on our last watch.

We are Atlantis.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

We Are Atlantis

The world we built, it falls apart
A shattered temple, dust and clay
You were my art, my weary heart
Now just a name that fades away

The quiet anger, it takes hold
A story told in shifting sand
A bitter truth, a winter cold
A future lost from our own hands

Oh, I gave you my soul
A losing fight, a broken role
I gave you my soul
It was all a lie that made us whole
Oh, I gave you my soul
I gave you my soul

I see the ghost of what we were
A shadow on a sunlit wall
A whispered promise, a soft blur
That came before the final fall
I watch the clouds begin to turn
A change I never thought I’d see
This painful lesson I must learn
Of what we were and what we’ll be

Oh, I gave you my soul
A change I never thought I’d see
I gave you my soul
Of what we were and what we’ll be
Oh, I gave you my soul
A losing fight, a broken role
I gave you my soul
It was all a lie that made us whole

But now the air is fresh and clear
This silence is a holy sound
The ghosts of yesterday disappear
Upon this newly broken ground

Oh, I gave you my soul
A losing fight, a broken role
I gave you my soul
It was all a lie that made us whole
And I'll take back my soul
Find my own way, and make me whole
Yes, I'll take back my soul
And live a truth you'll never know

--
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro

I Gave You My Soul

The night is quiet now, the shades have deepened low
I hear your laughter, watch the moon-light glow
Oh, how you captured me, how you make me new
Bringing colors to my world, and making my sky blue

Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
I'm so grateful for you
Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
I'm so grateful for you

When the sun returns, when the day is new and bright
I can only think of you, I'm bathing in your light 
All the roads we walk together, leaving doubt behind
Looking for the wisdom that only we can find

Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
I'm so grateful for you

And in this moment, when the world just stands so still
We both know everything we need is here and always will 
The music carries us away, we are floating, hand in hand
Lost and one within the light, we finally understand 

Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
I'm so grateful for you
Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
I'm so grateful for you

Oh, no matter what, 
You're the one that matters
And I'm so grateful for you
The world is beautiful now 
I will never forget you,
You're the one that matters. 

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

The One That Matters

A true story. Just experienced on vacation.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday haze,
The slow procession of our holidays.
A little dog’s walk, a brunch, a book,
A predictable pattern, a sunlit look.
But on the square, where tourists sit and stare,
A boy broke free from a quiet despair.
He wrapped his jacket, a strange, turbaned guise,
And waved his trousers with bold, begging cries.

His friends joined in, a small, roaming gang,
Till one boy, called himself „seal boy," began his strange pang.
He dropped to the ground, no reason, no rhyme,
And rolled on the street like a seal, killing the time.

Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
Dancing for sweets on the ground.
Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
The sweetest sound.
They gave him their pennies, a fleeting sweet joy,
For the fun, for the fun, for the fun of that strange little boy.
The seal boy, the seal boy,
A rhythm for what he had found.

The pennies were flowing, the silver and brass,
As adults paid up, and watched the time pass.
Nine Euros in minutes, a king's ransom won,
Just for rolling and twisting beneath the hot sun.
A grand, wealthy kingdom of five little boys,
Who abandoned their boredom for sweet, sugary joys.
They stormed the kiosk, a joyous attack,
And they left all their quiet, boring days in the back.

What does the boy learn from this short, happy play?
That you can get money for fun, every day?
The questions arise, but the answers are dim,
He’s off to the kiosk, a sweet world for him.

Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
Dancing for sweets on the ground.
Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
The sweetest sound.
They gave him their pennies, a fleeting sweet joy,
For the fun, for the fun, for the fun of that strange little boy.
The seal boy, the seal boy,
A rhythm for what he had found.

The sun on the sea wall, the dog at my feet,
The simple truth, money can make things sweet.
That a sweet little candy can change a whole day.
And the boys, they knew it, in their cleverest way,
A sweet little candy, first start-up, so clever and new,
It’s a dance, a strange dance, for me and for you.
And the best of all lessons, of value and price,
Was a bag full of candy, a sweet paradise.

Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
Dancing for sweets on the ground.
Oh, the seal boy, the seal boy,
The sweetest sound.
They gave him their pennies, a fleeting sweet joy,
For the fun, for the fun, for the fun of that strange little boy.
The seal boy, the seal boy,
A rhythm for what he had found.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

The Seal Boy

A lonely hour, a windowpane,
I saw you walk through pouring rain.
Your fragile hands, your worried face,
You’re lost in time and lost in space.
I felt a calling, soft and deep,
A secret that our souls would keep.

Oh, the signs you send to me.
A glance, a word, a mystery.
A subtle sign, a fragile art,
A silent language of the heart.
Oh, the signs you send to me,
A future we – we cannot foresee.
A game of hope, a gentle plea.
Oh, the signs, the signs you send to me.

We talked of things we can't explain,
Of endless skies and bitter pain.
You never saw my lonely fear,
You only saw what wasn't there.
A world of wonders, veiled in doubt,
A secret we can't live without.

Oh, the signs you send to me.
A glance, a word, a mystery.
A subtle sign, a fragile art,
A silent language of the heart.
Oh, the signs you send to me,
A future we – we cannot foresee.
A game of hope, a gentle plea.
Oh, the signs, the signs you send to me.

The fear of closeness, strange and new,
The silent longing, me and you.
A sudden touch, a gentle tear,
The end of waiting, always near.

And the signs you send to me,
Set our souls finally free.
The mystery is solved at last,
We’ll leave our lonely silent past.
Oh, the signs you send to me,
The future's ours for all to see!
I'm finally yours, a clear bright sign.
This love is real, and you are mine.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, Gemini Imagen 

Subtle Signs

I attended my cousin's funeral yesterday. Despite her difficult childhood and youth, she was a cheerful, life-affirming, and very empathetic woman who was taken from her life and ours far too early by cancer. We will all miss her affection, her helpfulness, her encouraging and thoughtful manner.
During the funeral service, I was struck by the thought that we humans are like mayflies, ignoring or not wanting to acknowledge that the gift of life is very brief and very finite.
On the other hand, that's a good thing. How else would we cope with it?

This song is for Annette. Rest in peace.

Life and Death of a Mayfly

I was at IKEA last week, staring at a crowd
Just watching families, a sight to make you feel loud.
Saw a father sitting there, with a distant, glassy stare,
Knowing that the Karlanda sofa was his new cross to bear.
But that wasn't the absurd thing, that wasn't what I saw,
It was a small boy, all sticky with lingonberry jam, by the door.
The boy looked at his mother, a glowing, pure delight,
It was a dedicated love, burning fiercely and bright.
And then I thought of Sigmund Freud, that funny Viennese gent,
And his theory of the son, on matricidal conquest intent.

It's the dark side of the son, the complex unspoken,
A five-year-old with a smile, and a silent oath taken. 
The father knows the truth, the battle's already been won, 
He's staring at the future, defeated by his own son. 

I watched the father closely, he adjusted his spoon,
He saw the master plan unfold, coming at him far too soon.
The boy just smiled serenely, a winner's calm, cold grace,
He knew the small price was a drawing for the fridge space.
I used to think this Oedipus thing was just some kind of joke,
One of those serious Austrian bits that almost makes you choke.
But seeing that sweet certainty, that small child's fierce design,
I felt the primal tension pulling hard on my spine.

It's the dark side of the son, the complex unspoken,
A five-year-old with a smile, and a silent oath taken. 
The father knows the truth, the battle's already been won, 
He's staring at the future, defeated by his own son. 

I got up from my metal seat, all the feelings were too vast,
My thoughts wobbled like a pudding in a car moving fast.
And on the way out the door, the cashier looked at me, perplexed,
She asked me why I was sweating, clearly feeling quite vexed.

Because the dark side of the son is something you just know,
Like a German man admitting that the Autobahn can be slow.
It's the unspoken absurdity, the battle fought each day,
And all you can do is stand back and let the strangeness play.
I realized I'm also trapped, a complex of my own,
I call my mother for small talk, but she just wants me to fix her phone.

It's the dark side of the son, the complex unspoken,
A five-year-old with a smile, and a silent oath taken. 
The father knows the truth, the battle's already been won, 
He's staring at the future, defeated by his own son. 

This thing is real.
And now I need a receipt.
And possibly a therapist.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

The Dark Side Of The Son

I got up at eight, to get things done, you know.
But the list was so long, I just watched the shadows grow.
The grand plans of youth, they just sit there on a chair,
They don't pay the rent, and they don't seem to care.
I'm no quantum physicist, no architect of glass,
Just a man who watches moments pass.
I’m sorry, dear parents, for the life I did not choose,
My tragedy’s my ink, my failures are my muse.

Oh, the sadness, the beautiful sadness, it's true,
I'm a happy sad poet, watching the world from my view.
This sadness, this glorious, a profound, quiet grace,
Found my whole life's meaning in this lonely, slow-paced place.

I see the grand absurdities you miss when you rush by.
Like talking on the phone to a man who sells bus tickets to Paris, and why?
I observe the quiet desperation in a pile of dirty clothes,
How a window can stay dirty, and nobody even knows.
I trade big dreams for small thoughts, philosophical and deep,
A gentle contemplation while the successful folks just sleep.
It's an anti-business model, this failure I embrace,
My hypersensitivity fills every empty space.

The world wants skyscrapers, Nobel Prizes, clean white lines.
But I cherish the absurdity, the badly painted signs.
They seek the big solutions, the straight and narrow path,
I'm satisfied with small truths, and evading sudden wrath.

Oh, the sadness, the beautiful sadness, it's true,
I'm a happy sad poet, watching the world from my view.
This sadness, this glorious, a profound, quiet grace,
Found my whole life's meaning in this lonely, slow-paced place.

And oh, the sadness, the beautiful sadness, it’s still true,
I’m a happy sad poet, and I finally made it through.
No sadness, but happiness, a profound, final grace,
I found my joy and purpose in this very simple space.

This quiet life of observing, it's the victory I claim,
I'm a happy sad poet, and I speak my own proud name.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Dear Parents

Got my Recaro seat, my La-Martina shirt
Driving to Milan, that won't hurt
Switched to autonomous mode, for a quick power nap
Woke up, saw a big planet, right on my map
Thought it was a sign, like in a cool Netflix plot
But the view from the window was seriously hot

My iPhone screen, it flashed in the night
It said „Milan, zero miles, Saturn, great sight!“
I checked my Recaro – still premium leather
But the atmosphere felt like terrible weather

Titan Trip! My car went baba-boo!
Milan! Not Titan! What the hell do I do?
The Saturn is huge, the Autobahn is gone
This software update has got it all wrong!
Titan Trip! Gotta run, gotta run, gotta move!
The autonomous mode has a bad groove!

I screamed at Siri, woke her up from her bliss
She was dreaming of Grok, nothing’s better than this
She saw the planet, just yawned and said: „Chill“
„This ain't what I booked, not even close to the bill“
I hit the console, yelled „Stop this design!“
I need a Latte Macchiato, not a cosmic sign!

My iPhone screen, it flashed in the night
It said „Milan, zero miles, Saturn, great sight!“
I checked my Recaro – still premium leather
But the atmosphere felt like terrible weather

Titan Trip! My car went baba-boo!
Milan! Not Titan! What the hell do I do?
The Saturn is huge, the Autobahn is gone
This software update has got it all wrong!
Gotta run, gotta run, gotta move!
The autonomous mode has a bad groove!

The car is a jerk, a total schmuck in design.
It left me stranded, a truly bad sign.
It’s driving away, back to Milan, I guess
Leaving me here in a terrible mess!
„Take me, you idiot! Milan! Not Mars! You moron!“

Milan! Not Titan! What the hell do I do?
The Saturn is huge, the Autobahn is gone
This software update has got it all wrong!
Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run, gotta move!
The autonomous life has nothing to prove!
Baba-boo...

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Lost

Whispers through the haze of time,
Ashes fall where hearts once shined,
The desert breathes, the silence speaks,
A shadow moves where light once leaked.

Hold on, hold on, love’s not gone
Even in the dark, we carry on
Hope is a fire, burning slow
Hold on, hold on – don’t let go!

Shadows fall, but I still breathe
Your light is the thread that’s pulling me
Through the noise, through the ache
I hear your voice – it keeps me awake!

Hold on, hold on, love’s not gone
Even in the dark, we carry on
Hope is a fire, burning slow
Hold on, hold on – don’t let go!

The Angel knows the space we keep,
In the interval where the senses sleep.
It measures miles of silent dread,
The unlived life that we have fled.

We seek to be a thing unseen,
A root in earth, profoundly keen,
For in the darkness, truth is bred,
A new beginning on the dead.

Hold on, hold on, love’s not gone
Even in the dark, we carry on
Hope is a fire, burning slow
Hold on, hold on – don’t let go!

And I will not be bent by wrong,
Where I am curved, I am a lie.
I live my life in circles strong,
And seek the last before I die.

The great singing must swell and rise,
Till our God appears before our eyes,
No longer guest, but Heir and Son,
The unlived life completely won.

Hold on, hold on, love’s not gone
Even in the dark, we carry on
Hope is a fire, burning slow
Hold on, hold on – don’t let go!

Hold on, hold on, love’s not gone
Even in the dark, we carry on
Hope is a fire, burning slow
Hold on, hold on – don’t let go!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Hold On

The root-eaters gathered in the soft, dark soil,
A small, gnawing army, consuming the toil.
The great green cathedral felt the hurt and the drain,
And the oldest Oak whispered a plan through the rain.
It’s a hard thing to ask, a price to be met,
But the forest must live, we must not forget.

Toss the seed, watch it fall,
Listen for the wild call.
The feast of the forest, the necessary pain,
Toss the seed, watch it fall,
We will grow again.
We will grow again.

"Bring the hunger, bring the wild eyes of the cat,"
Said the Oak, "We must welcome the balance of that."
So a bounty was scattered, the acorns lay deep,
A glorious offering while the young roots sleep.
The busy small creatures came running to claim,
The hunter behind them, a necessary flame.

Toss the seed, watch it fall,
Listen for the wild call.
The feast of the forest, the necessary pain,
Toss the seed, watch it fall,
We will grow again.
We will grow again.

The struggle was ancient, written on the ground,
When nature demands, a silence is found.
But the worry wasn’t over, not all was put right,
A new, sharp percussion arrived in the light.
The woodpeckers came, tapping out the next need,
A new truth to ponder, a newly planted seed.

Now the roots breathe again, a season of grace,
But I tell you this, look death right in the face.
You do not have to be good , but you must be here.
Live your one wild, precious life, holding it dear.
Toss the seed, watch it fall,
Married to amazement through it all.

Toss the seed, watch it fall,
Listen for the wild call.
The feast of the forest, the necessary pain,
Toss the seed, watch it fall,
We will grow again.
We will grow again!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio (Felt Tip Inc.), VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

We Will Grow Again

From sunlit home, a gentle start,
Deep shadows call upon your heart.
A secret yearning, dark and wide,
Where life and death so near reside.
The book is closed, the movie done,
Yet something lingers, newly won.
A mask you wear, a scarlet guise,
Reflected in your searching eyes.
To be the witch, the bride of dread,
By other worlds you must be led.

The crypt is calling, night by night,
It pulls your soul toward the dark light.
The crypt is calling, deep and low,
A secret place where you must go.

The park is near, the path is clear,
But to the graves you hold it dear.
A longer road, a slower pace,
To find a mirror for your face.
What is the force? What is the need?
To plant the dark and watch it seed?

The crypt is calling, night by night,
It pulls your soul toward the dark light.
The crypt is calling, deep and low,
A secret place where you must go.

A demon’s breath, unseen and far,
A cosmic wound, a guiding star.
It's not your choice, the pull you feel,
To turn the wheel that makes it real.

The crypt is calling, night by night,
It pulls your soul toward the dark light.
The crypt is calling, deep and low,
A secret place where you must go.
The crypt is calling, yours to keep,
A wakeful secret while you sleep.
The crypt is calling – no disguise –
The final truth behind your eyes!

The crypt is calling, night by night,
It pulls your soul toward the dark light.
The crypt is calling, deep and low,
A secret place where you must go.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

The Crypt Is Calling

Look up, see the Great Bear climb 
A shadow hunting in the folds of time
His blood upon the leaves
Is all the heart believes.
The red, red stain, a glorious, sudden truth. 

The sun lies soft on the Connecticut road
A borrowed warmth before the winter load
We drive through fire, a fevered, second bloom
A golden pause to stave off coming gloom
Oh, the gentle grace of this, our painted hour
The quiet wonder of a fading power

The Iroquois spoke of a relentless quest
The tireless hunters knew no need for rest
And so the dog, the loyal, simple one,
Chased magic creature where the daylight’s done
We are like this, pursuing what is bright
A little flame of spirit in the night

Look up, see the Great Bear climb 
A shadow hunting in the folds of time
His blood upon the leaves
Is all the heart believes.
The red, red stain, a glorious, sudden truth. 

Oh, the mystery of sacrifice, the drop
That links the heaven to the leaf on top
It is enough to feel the light and sigh,
And know the story doesn't truly die

Look up, see the Great Bear climb 
A shadow hunting in the folds of time
His blood upon the leaves
Is all the heart believes.
The red, red stain, a glorious, sudden truth. 

So let us live, and look up while we may
Let every breath be simple, wild, and true.
For the world asks nothing, but this easy awe
Be married to amazement, beyond the turning law.

Oh, look up while we may
Let every breath be simple, wild, and true.
For the world asks nothing, but this easy awe
Be married to amazement, beyond the turning law.

Be married to amazement...
The simple, quiet wonder...
This pause before the winter comes...
The Indian Summer.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Indian Summer

You are my 
Darkness 
Come from way
Below
To break my 
Soul

Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Love you
Love you
Love you
Love you
Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Love you
Love you
Love you

Your eyes 
They are the 
Black sun
Annihilate 
Every hope in sight

Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Love you
Love you
Love you
Love you

You are my 
Darkness 
Come from way
Below
To break my 
Soul

Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Blame you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Hate you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Claim you
Love you
Love you
Love you
Love you

Your eyes
They’re on the 
Dark side
Killing 
Every thought in sight

Your eyes
They’re on the 
Dark side
Killing 
Every thought in sight

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, Gemini ImaGen

A Destructive Obsession

The fog descends, the path is lost, I know
But fear is cheap, and doubt is but a glass.
My compass spins to where the deep things grow,
Ignoring all the visions that must pass.
I’m carving stone to find the form inside,
The shape of grace beneath the unformed clay,
A child's old dream upon a restless tide,
And every shade unveils a lighter day.

Ambiguity Tolerance, deep and free!
Tolerance for the silence – living can be found.
The light barely touches the ocean floor…
Ambiguity Tolerance, I demand no more!

My mind, a fern in a forgotten wall,
Unfurls to seek the light where shadows creep.
I hold the threads, preventing them to fall,
A tapestry woven from the dark and deep.
A worn-out path, a landscape I embrace,
The tightrope walk with balance as my shield.
No hurried steps to reach the final place,
For in the not-yet-known is truth revealed.

Ambiguity Tolerance, deep and free!
Tolerance for the silence – living can be found.
The light barely touches the ocean floor…
Ambiguity Tolerance, I demand no more!

Come like a weary traveler to my door,
The inn is open, no demand for answers now.
The unresolved is what I wait here for,
Beneath the ever-changing, clouded brow.
It’s like the chameleon’s delicate skin,
Adjusting to the doubt, the fuzzy shade.
The inner ocean where new life begins,
Where all my fears and longings are allayed.

Oh, Ambiguity Tolerance, deep and free!
The hidden rhythm of a world unbound.
Tolerance for the silence under the sea,
Ambiguity where living can be found.
The light barely touches the ocean floor…
Ambiguity Tolerance, I demand no more!

I am the Master of the Gut. 
I am the Rhythm in the Rain. 
The Unknown is my only Art. 
Tolerance – this is my Game!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Ambiguity Tolerance

The hushed murmur in the light, so soft
A gentle scent of varnish, wood, and paint
I walk the halls, where every clock is off,
A silent feast for eyes that turn faint.

The canvas thick, a textured, heavy prize
It holds the light, it catches every gleam
A lingering taste of sweet surprise,
Lost in a thousand stories, like a dream.

Oh, the awe! This is a place of grace,
Where angels stand, 
Though none can see their face.
I am alive! I am allowed to gaze,
In this stillness that outruns all days.
This is the awe! This is a place of grace.

The soft scuff of a shoe upon the floor,
An echo travels in the high-domed air
I wait for what the next grand door will pour,
A clean aroma from a page of paper.

The window streams with light, a dusty haze
Illuminates the air where worlds converge.
A faint perfume on one who silent prays,
And feels the deepest, inner heart emerge.

Oh, the awe! This is a place of grace,
Where angels stand, 
Though none can see their face.
I am alive! I am allowed to gaze,
In this stillness that outruns all days.
Oh, the awe! This is a place of grace,
Where angels stand, 
Though none can see their face.
I am alive! I am allowed to gaze,
In this stillness that outruns all days.

To be here now, a vessel for the sight,
A soul-receiving in this sacred clime.
The masters built their eternity of light,
And tore their forms from the mere hands of time.

Oh, the awe! This is a place of grace,
Where angels stand, 
Though none can see their face.
I am alive! I am allowed to gaze,
In this stillness that outruns all days.
Oh, the awe! This is a place of grace,
Where angels stand, 
Though none can see their face.
I am alive! I am allowed to gaze,
In this stillness that outruns all days.
This is the awe! This is a place of grace!

All praise to those who made this world more true!
The creators, artists, in their striving great.
Thank you for every color, every hue,
For giving form to what transcended fate!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

This is the Awe

I was born to be great,
But something changed along the way
A gilded cage that keeps me away.

The world was painted wide and bright,
A rose aspiring to the light.
Then came the Mighty Hand with a demand,
To crush the blossom in the sand.
Oh, silent thing, you sought to rise,
To lift your song beneath the skies.
But avarice holds now the Key
To all that should be, wild and free.

The Circle breaks, the Wheel won't turn,
In endless thirst the fires burn

Greed cuts the wire, pulls down the sound,
No holy ground, no hope is found.
The Gilded Cage, the Gilded Cage,
A barren page, a frozen age.

The Artist sought to build and dare,
To shape the Form into the air.
A thousand voices weeping soft
Are lost in profits tossed aloft.
The living thing became a piece,
A pawn controlled to know no peace.
And Judgement's eye begins to gaze
Through the machine's bewildering haze.

Greed cuts the wire, pulls down the sound,
No holy ground, no hope is found.
The Gilded Cage, the Gilded Cage,
A barren page, a frozen age.
The Circle breaks, the Wheel won't turn,
In endless thirst the fires burn
Greed cuts the wire, pulls down the sound,
No holy ground, no hope is found.
The Gilded Cage, the Gilded Cage,
A barren page, a frozen age.

O, Spirit of the silent sphere,
Look how the burden crushes here.
A soul once meant to rise and fly,
Is broken down and asks for why.
The Weight is Spirit – or it dies,
Beneath these unforgiving skies.
Will we fall back into the Sea,
Or claim our true Divinity?

The Circle breaks, the Wheel won't turn,
In endless thirst the fires burn.
Greed cuts the wire, pulls down the sound,
No holy ground, no hope is found.
The Gilded Cage, the Gilded Cage,
A barren page, a frozen age.

The Circle breaks, the Wheel now turns,
The inner fire fiercely burns!
Greed fades away, a new sound breaks,
For its own sake, the Earth awakes!
The Gilded Cage begins to break,
A new decision, for your sake!

And now I rise above the fate.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Elevenlabs, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Pixabay
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, Gemini, FLUXpro, Keynote

Greed Cuts The Wire

Selfcare!
Achtsamkeit!
Fitnesswahn!
Apple Watch!
Burnout!
Deutsche Bahn!
Freiheit!
Grundgesetz!
Biometrie!
Chat-Kontrolle!
Überwachung!
Demokratie!

Zerschlagt, was euch frisst!
Zerstört, was euch lähmt!
Zerschlagt, was euch anpisst!
Zerlegt, was euch quält!
Grinst der Welt ins Gesicht!
Das ist Fortschritt durch Verzicht!

Liebe!  
Therapie!  
Ethik und Moral!
Multitasking!  
Selbstwert - eine Qual!
Coaching! 
Selbstzweck!  
Religion!
Feelgood! 
Effizienz! 
Das scheiß iPhone!
Nachhaltigkeit! 
Bio! Bio!! Bio!!!
Ablass! 
CO2-Handel! 
Und KI!
Stadtbild! 
Inklusion! 
Monotonie!
Planet saved? 
Niemals!
Nie!

Zerschlagt, was euch frisst!
Zerstört, was euch lähmt!
Zerschlagt, was euch anpisst!
Zerlegt, was euch quält!
Grinst der Welt ins Gesicht!
Das ist Fortschritt durch Verzicht!

Und jetzt?
Alles down.
Alles still.
Alles leer.
Kein Like.
Kein Feed.
Kein Ton.
Kein Plan.
Was machen wir jetzt?
Wir fangen von vorne an!

Zerschlagt, was euch frisst!
Zerstört, was euch lähmt!
Zerschlagt, was euch anpisst!
Zerlegt, was euch quält!
Grinst der Welt ins Gesicht!
Wahre Liebe ist Verzicht!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone11, Sound Studio, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Wahre Liebe Ist Verzicht

Sie sitzt am Fenster, hoch im Licht,
Die Stadt da draußen – ein kaltes Gesicht.
Ihr Haar wie Feuer, ihr Blick wie ein Schwur,
Ein Bild voll Glamour und Struktur.
Sie räkelt sich, so still, so frei,
Der Himmel erbleicht; sie strahlt dabei.
Die Welt verschwimmt – doch sie bleibt klar,
Ein schöner Traum, unwirklich nah.

Red flame, red flame,
Burning in the night.
Red flame, red flame,
Everything feels right.
Red flame, red flame,
Lost in your delight.

Die Zeit gefriert, der Puls so sacht,
Ihr Haar glimmt wie die Blutmond-Nacht.
Die Ruhe trägt, der Moment ist wahr,
Ein stilles Spiel – dem Ziel so nah.

Red flame, red flame,
Burning in the night.
Red flame, red flame,
Everything feels right.
Red flame, red flame,
Lost in your delight.

Zwischen Ruhe und Verlangen,
Zwischen Sehnsucht und Entspannen,
Reckt sie sich, grazil und - Aaah! 
So ohne jede Sorgen - wunderbar!

Rotes Feuer, rotes Haar,
Alles schwebt, so sonderbar.
Rotes Feuer, rotes Kleid,
Alles glüht in Zärtlichkeit.
Red flame, red flame,
Lost in your delight.

Doch plötzlich!
Die Wahrheit trifft sie hart:
Sie muss heute noch die Steuer machen –
Und das vor Mitternacht!
Verdammt!

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, ChatGPT

Red Flame

Just the weight.
Just the weight.

I count the cracks in the ceiling paint, they look like highways now. 
Too tired to argue with the shadow in the corner of the room. 
The phone is quiet, but the silence screams louder than before. 
Everything I touch turns grey, it turns grey.
I tried to measure the distance back to who I used to be. 
But the mirror’s a fraud, holding a memory.

This is the weight of the air, the kind that doesn't move. 
Every minute is a slow-motion proof. 
I just wanted less to carry, not this silent altitude. 
I just sit here and I let the silence win.

The daylight hurts my eyes, so I pull the curtains tight. 
Just another day trapped inside the things I didn't say. 
Used to think that lonely was a room you had to cross. 
Now I know that lonely is the last thing you lost.

I tried to measure the distance back to who I used to be. 
But the mirror’s a fraud, holding a memory.
This is the weight of the air, the kind that doesn't move. 
Every minute is a slow-motion proof. 
I just wanted less to carry, not this silent altitude. 
I just sit here and I let the silence win.

Break the glass, I want to feel the cold. 
Let the feeling take a grip and make me whole. 
I don't need the answer; just need the dark to stay. 
Let the melody dissolve the light away.

This is the weight of the air, the kind that doesn't move. 
Every minute is a slow-motion proof. 
I just wanted less to carry, not this silent altitude. 
I just sit here and I let the silence win. 

Just the weight.
Just the weight.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Elevenlabs, GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, Unison Sound Doctor, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

Silent Weight

Money, money,
Fade to grey.
Money, money,
Drift away.
Money, money,
Break the chain.
Money, money,
Feel again.
Money, money,
Give it back. 
Money, money,
Stay on track.

 He had the world beneath his feet, 
But gold can make your heartbeat cheat. 
He built the dream, then walked away, 
Just smiled and said, “That’s not my way."
While others bought another crown, 
He turned his fortune upside down. 
No headlines, no desire to show,
 He gave it all - just let it go.

Money, money,
Let it burn.
Money, money,
We never learn.
Money, money,
Fade to grey.
Money, money,
Drift away.

 Chuck Feeney had it all to give, 
He showed us the better way to live. 
No private plane, no penthouse view, 
He gave the world a different hue. 
The quiet king of what’s unseen, 
The kindest heart, the soft machine. 
He changed the score, rewrote the line, 
From greed to grace - design divine. 
And when they asked him, “Man, you’re mad?” 
He laughed and said, “It feels so glad.”
 He found his heaven in the fall, 
No need for gold, no need at all.
 He said, “The joy’s in what you give, 
That’s how you really live.”

Money, money,
Let it burn.
Money, money,
No return.
Money, money,
Fade to grey.
Money, money,
Drift away.
 Chuck Feeney - the quiet kind, 
The man who left his gold behind.

Money, money,
Break the chain.
Money, money,
Feel again.
Money, money,
Give it back. 
Money, money,
Stay on track.

 The richest soul’s the one who’s free, 
Just like the great Chuck Feeney.
The richest soul’s the one who’s free, 
Rest in peace, Chuck Feeney.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro, Keynote

Chuck

A circle drawn, both ancient and deep,
A stone-arch held in the water's sleep.
An eye of time that trusts the ground,
Where golden worlds in hush are found.
The water sleeps, the arch is one.
The mirror holds the root and height,
Reflection of the never-lost light.
It waits upon the great unhappening,
The final hour that no time can bring.
The water sleeps, the arch is one.

Arch of being, still you wait.
Red disruption, seal our fate.
You are the answer, you are the ache,
The timeless world must now awake.
The world must now awake.

But in the calm of the old design,
The stranger rose, a crimson sign.
Her hair, a spark, a flame of will,
A heart that beats and cannot be still.
A burning sign, she cuts the view.
The arch becomes the threshold slight,
The fracture set against the light.
She is the rift that brought the ancient wrath,
To pull our being from the easy path.
A burning sign, she cuts the view.

Arch of being, still you wait.
Red disruption, seal our fate.
You are the answer, you are the ache,
The timeless world must now awake.
The world must now awake.

She sees the vision, she must perform,
The will that breaks the settled form.
The angel veils his weary, shining face,
To finally rest in the eternal space.
Every sense is just a guest,
Seeking change and peace and rest.
We are the arrow, fiercely sent,
In double-realm, on wonder bent.

Span of existence, it is done.
Crimson fracture, you have won.
We are the answer, we are the key,
To set the ancient circle free.
The circle must be free.

The circle is open, friend.
The circle is open.
The arch still holds you, friend.
Do not be alone.

Do not be alone.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs, VirtualDJ
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder
Cover design: Volker Redder, Photoshop, FLUXpro

The Circle

This is my last song that I will be releasing for the time being.
I'm now taking a six-week digital detox vacation. 
We'll see and hear from each other again in 2026!
Happy Holidays!
—

I poured myself some coffee
The clock was ticking calm in four
A simple morning, rather groggy
Just as it always was before
But then the time signature changed its mind
A seven-eighths chain of complex design
My coffee splashed onto the carpet, wet
That’s how King Crimson makes you sweat!

The Moodies conceived it,
Procol Harum cooked it,
King Crimson defined it –
The birth of Progressive Rock!
And suddenly, everything seems to fit. 

The Moody Blues introduced the feeling
Of a concept day you must withstand
It’s symphonic, quite appealing
But doesn't require a steady hand
I looked for answers, sought the source
Found Baroque motifs from Procol Harum
A philosophical, dramatic force
Now trapped inside this concrete room

The Moodies conceived it,
Procol Harum cooked it,
King Crimson defined it –
The birth of Progressive Rock!
And suddenly, everything seems to fit. 

It wasn't just Time and a Word by Yes
Nor psychedelic trips of Pink Floyd
This music is pure inner stress
Every routine now destroyed.

The Moodies conceived it,
Procol Harum cooked it,
King Crimson defined it –
The birth of Progressive Rock!
And suddenly, everything seems to fit. 

Dear Elvis fans, you may now cry
In seven-eighths. 
And there is never any peace.
In any seven-eighths sigh. ;-) 

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand, Elevenlabs
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio (Felt Tip Inc.), Unison Sound Doctor, VirtualDJ, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, DALL-E, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

The Birth Of Progrock

I'm now taking a six-week digital detox vacation.
We'll see and hear from each other again in 2026!
Happy Holidays!

"Redder" is a palindrome. Like "racecar" or "level". These pieces of music ain't.

My name is Volker Redder, online I go by "docredder." It all came about because I studied biology and computer science for a long time and received my doctorate as the crowning achievement of my academic career.
As a child, I sang Bach in the church's „Knabenchor Unser Lieben Frauen“ because my mother thought it was good for my soul. And it was, until, thanks to an excellent teacher, I realized that music is like mathematics. After that, I loved not only music but also mathematics and all sciences based on mathematics: physics, biology, chemistry, computer science. So, I went straight into the natural sciences and engineering. Yes, I studied a lot. However, a university career wasn't for me. I wanted to monetize the findings of the various sciences (you can't live on air and love alone) and founded over a dozen companies. Because who wants life to follow a clear formula? I certainly didn't. In addition to adventurous entrepreneurship, the subsequent career in politics (German Bundestag), and a growing family, I was constantly picking up the guitar or keyboard, which is what you do when you want to escape the chaos of everyday life.
Should I say I'm a virtuoso? No. That would be a lie. I'm just too lazy for that. Laziness, or in modern parlance, "efficiency," is a principle for me. And so I founded my "own studio," consisting of a lot of electronics and software. The hipsters call it DIY. I call it "not wanting to act like a big shot and book expensive recording studios." I'm a one-man orchestra, a chef-d'oeuvre who spends all day producing pop, rock, indie, and ambient mishmash until he finally finds it he likes. My menu? Pink Floyd, Genesis, Supertramp, Muse, Zappa, Miles Davis, and many more. Yes, all at once. I told you: mishmash.
There are guys who write music to become famous. Then there's me. I write music to keep myself from going crazy. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes there's melancholy in it, sometimes it's stories from literature or something sci-fi. Or from Tinder dates my daughters have told me. I mean, who hasn't wondered what "being in Tinder light" is? Exactly. I wrote it down. I use everything I can get my hands on: GarageBand, samples, my voice, AI voices, Udio, VirtualDJ, everything! I don't care if purists say it's no longer art. It doesn't matter, the main thing is that my music feels like a window you can look out of and discover something new again and again.
Every song becomes a little adventure. Sometimes I start with a line, sometimes with a feeling I can't shake. It's like an escape from reality, except in the end, there's no escape. And that's a good thing. This is how I stay grounded. Okay, grounded isn't the right word either. Let me put it this way: I've stayed true to myself. And I'm grateful for everyone who listens, shares, or comments.
It makes me feel like I'm not completely alone in this madness. So if you also like songs that don't follow the rules, I'd be happy if you joined in. After all, the world is crazy enough.
You have to fight that with music. I mean, that's logical, right?

docredder

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