'Ars longa, vita brevis.' - ‘Art is long, life is short.’

A favourite quote of Ryuichi Sakamoto, a famous and fantastic composer and pianist, who died a week ago at the age of 71. 
I have always loved his music, being often nostalgic and melancholic, film scores and solo work as well as collaborations with many great artists.
I chose to cover one of my favourite pieces of him, Bibo No Aozora, Beauty of a blue Sky. Most know this piece from the movie ‘Babel’, a 2006 psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga, starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael García Bernal.

Rest In Peace, maestro…

-Dan

Original music written by Ryuichi Sakamoto, arrangement for three classical guitars by Daniel van den Berg, April 2023.

Guitar: Joan Cashimira, modelo 145, spruce top w/ cocobolo sides and back, Gata de Gorgos (Alicante), 2015 Recorded using an Apogee MiC. Mixed in Auria, masterered in Auria and Final Touch

In memory of Ryuichi Sakamoto | A Tribute by Dan van den Berg (cover)

This song began one morning while I was "noodling" on the guitar, key of G, 5th fret capo using D shapes, (for the guitarists out there:), and thought it the beginning of a promising recipe for a song; but it sounded a little thin.  It needed some extra seasoning and a little protein, so I sent it to Debra Buesking for her culinary expertise and she supplied all the lovely touches it needed.  It's now ready to serve, our version of "Noodle Soup". Enjoy:)  
Listen to more tasty treats Debbie has cooked up @debra_buesking

Noodle Soup (with Debra Buesking, piano)

Collaboration with ahimsa Monika and Michael (luke74 - git) https://on.soundcloud.com/8YjA8
Lyrics: The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
oṃ tryámbakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhíṃ puṣṭi-vardhánam
urvārukam íva bandhánān mṛtyor mukṣīya mā 'mṛtā́t

Jai Ram - collab with Monika ji & Michael

This track is my recognition and thanks to all my musical friends . As you listen ,I hope that you will experience the peace and solitude and distance your mind from all the negatives around the world.
Enjoy.

Distant Souls .

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest in all the land? “ Then the mirror replied: ”Madam Queen, you are the most beautiful here, but Snow White over the seven mountains with the seven dwarfs is a thousand times more beautiful than you...

Mirror, Mirror...

(Composed June 4, 2024)

Painting (detail) by Isabella Wiegele, "Voodoo" (November 1993)

Figuration

Dichotomy

Voici ma composition pour piano.
J'interprète au piano "Acharné".
"Acharnés" : Des mecs et des filles qui vont au bout de leurs rêves et les réalisent.

Lien YouTube : https://youtu.be/b4SrK6oHIeQ?si=3_Om001jjdMOyLu7

Acharné – Original emotional Piano

Wonderful Epic Music MEGA MIX (199)

ChatGPT said:

🕊️ A Symphony of Light and Resolve – Epic Cinematic Soundscapes

Wings of Solace soars through emotion and grandeur, a masterwork of cinematic storytelling and orchestral majesty. 🎻🔥 With sweeping strings, bold brass, and ethereal choirs, each composition unfolds like a moment of triumph born from silence — a journey through struggle, hope, and transcendence.

The music carries both power and tenderness, balancing thunderous percussion with delicate melodies that rise like dawn through the clouds. Perfect for filmmakers, dreamers, and anyone seeking sound that moves the soul and ignites the imagination. 🌅🎬✨

The Last Sunrise

A combination of work from Keith Secola and Randy Kemp (Native American flutes), Vanja Grastic, guitars, and Susan Odella, Keyboards, production, and mix.

Mystic Journey

A small note on my own behalf: I have noticed that my playback figures have dropped dramatically. The statistics show that the number of playbacks has dropped from 2000 per week to just under 200.
On the one hand, this is frustrating, as everyone sees this as an indicator and confirmation of their work. On the other hand, figures are not particularly important, but one wonders what is wrong. In my opinion, SC has changed a lot, uploading tracks has become more complicated and constant security queries are annoying.
In addition, great artists are disappearing from the platform, partly by their own choice, partly because they have been banned, the algorithm has “recognized” them as spam and mercilessly deleted their account. I'm still a paying member, but my attitude towards this has changed...

Please let me know your experiences and impressions.

😮‍💨😔


When I don't have the time to actively listen to my favorite artists on soundcloud, I just leave the stream running...while washing up in the kitchen, for example 😆

By the way: this user-92853963 was my old link address and leads to the empty.... I AM NOT A ROBOT!

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A long, long time ago, there was an organ in the Christmas-decorated living room in his parents' house, where Frank grew up. Originally bought by his father for his two older siblings, they showed no interest in playing the organ. Frank, however, did. White and black keys and giving off strange sounds. 

So at the age of 9 he began to let his fingers circle on this instrument, searching for the right keys like on a typewriter. And another 9 years would pass before he could buy his first own instrument. Already at the age of 13 he made notes about the then current synthesizers, bought one magazine after the other and visited music fairs in Frankfurt, Germany.

His first keyboard was the Yamaha DSR-2000, which he bought in a music store near his hometown Biebertal. In installments! Finally he could develop himself further - away from the limited tonality of the small organ. The built-in 8-track sequencer helped him to reach unimagined heights. 
Little by little his equipment expanded and his ambition to create music like that of Jean-Michel Jarres came closer. Influenced by this and countless other musicians of the time, his interest grew, but he taught himself everything. Not even having attended a music school or being able to read music at all, he wrote one song after another and recorded them on the only medium available to him at the time: audio cassettes.
Many of these recordings are unfortunately lost forever, because cassettes are and were not the best recording medium. He has to try to play many of his songs from memory. 

In 2007, he fulfilled a long-awaited wish: to buy a KORG. He had always wanted to own one, but with the latest synthesizers at the time of their release having a purchase price of over 6000 D-marks (the currency of the time in the 1980s and 1990s), that dream of owning one was far away. So in 2007 he bought a used KORG 01W/FD at ebay. And as before with the purchase of the Yamaha keyboard, a completely new world opened up to him.

In addition, there were expanders and sound modules from Kawai, Roland and Yamaha (K1m, SC-55, QY10). Six years later his enthusiasm for making music ebbed and rediscovered his hobby (which it always was and still is). In 2018 in April he decided to present his music to a wider audience and uploaded his first song on the platform soundcloud. Since that time, thanks also to the ever-evolving software, he continues to evolve, experiment and relive his times through music.

Mirror, Mirror...

Frank Mehl