UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Tradacoustic series no. 285

Music, mostly recent, a few days, a few months...

created on: 2023/12/09

hk_tradacoustic_285

One tune, 10 tunes, even 20 tunes, says nothing about the extent and diversity of an artist’s creativity, and that is why I am understandably dismissed; it’s the VOLUME of my work that SPEAKS VOLUMES, not one, 10, 20 tunes!

No one will conclude my creativity is anything exceptional based on hearing one or two tunes, there are many musicians who have created a handful of great tunes, that on a one to one basis, may even sound superior to mine; I can think of thousands of tunes that I am envious of, in a healthy way, wishing I could come up with something like that, so I'm not deluded as to think anything of mine is better than anything out, that would be ridiculous, but I do think its my whole catalogue of creations that speaks volumes, the endless diversity, the off-the-wall, no rules, no boundaries, invention, and my lyrics, that all suggest I'm dismissed, underrated, overlooked, too easily.
Unfortunately, it's the way it is, who has time or the inclination to explore a whole library of music by an unsigned, unknown, musician!

ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE ARTISTS ON SOUNDCLOUD, but no one will ever know!

Wonderful Art On The Cloud

A   036

Accompagnement guitare : Simon Chenet.                                                       

Image: Marie-Ange Lambrun.

JOJO SANS TOIT.

revisiting an old favourite with new & improved sound quality, mixing and arrangement. This is basically a repeating chorus, which is pretty catchy, but I’d love to eventually compose the rest of this tune, and have it played by jazz musicians with live instruments one day. This is probably still one of my top 3 favourite tracks, but there’s a couple other versions I’ve posted on here - one with a saxophone playing lead melody: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/jazzy-ditty-new-med-quartet?in=user-432503709/sets/bestest-ones

and a slower extended version:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/jazzy-ditty-belle-curves-blues?in=user-432503709/sets/bestest-ones

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Jazzy Ditty (trio - piano)

https://youtu.be/3fHo4B1x_BY

Seems to be an endless repeated theme for me ~ running away to the countryside, and in recent years this has been the Australian wilderness, from the deep south to the far north.

Dedicated to, and featuring Gary Reeves (aka Mountain Songs) on drums and cymbals (remixed) at the start. Banjo, lap slide guitar (acting as bass), beats and vox by myself. This song is for Gary, who has been a wonderful musical compadre for many of us around the world, via this  Soundcloud Village.

Respect and acknowledgement to the Traditional Owners of the lands, waters and skies in this video, both in Australia and New Zealand. Particular thanks to the Yolgnu people of Gapuwiyak who made me feel so welcome during my short visit to Arnhem Land last year.

Looking Up & Down      Song, recording, audio & video July 2023 - Chris Okunbor (APRA)
I was chained to the city, thinking I could fly,
I gazed at the heavens as the clouds rolled high.
Long, long days working to the plan,
I changed my way of living and I left that town.

Now I'm higher than the mountains, looking down below,
rolling miles above cotton candy snow.
Way beyond the city, just going with the flow.
running to freedom to a place unknown.

Got a window seat, got a beer in hand.
Feeling in my heart for this ancient land.
Well, wild rivers snake,  jeweled seas shine.
Djerimanga Songlines are spinning out my mind.

Higher than the mountains, and the madding crowd,
cruising miles above cotton fields of cloud.
Way beyond the city, going with the flow,
running to freedom, to a place unknown.
To a place unknown.

Looking Up & Down

Looking Up & Down  ~ a song for Gary (video link in notes)

Y-Patronaat Haarlem

This is a yell for help to all ages to come together like the Boomers did in the 60’s and 70’s. And show support for the personal freedoms that belong to everyone which are our rights..!

BOOMERS CALLING GEN Z X Y & Alpha Original)

Snake Oil Salesmen

My full medieval album: soundcloud.com/pianissimo/sets/vox-populi
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General Track Notes
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"La Vie Simple" is French for "the simple life". This piece is meant to be a light medieval ode to the simpler things in life. Put on a good pair of headphones and enjoy!

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Instrument Discussion
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Plucked Strings: Gittern, Psaltery, Bass Citole, two more medieval lutes

Bowed String: Jouhikko (melody and backing rhythm), Hurdy Gurdy (drone and rhythmic buzzing), Tromba Marina

Percussion: tympanum romanum, dayre (similar to tambourine), medieval snare, tom, multiple frame drums, shaker

Vocals: male countertenor, female soprano

La Vie Simple

即興曲１ (impromptu)

Surfers like us - Guitar soundcloud.com/user-411502040/tracks
Well - synths
The issue of world peace is on all of our minds. This is obvious! But how should we fight for this peace? There is war in so many places on our planet! We have a suggestion to make peace in and around ourselves! Do what is good and ... look for peace in yourself! This is probably the best we can do! That's what our song is about. This is a new take of our piece "Forgive us ...", saved for this new year. We hope we will inspire you!
    All the best to you, around the world, wherever you are and wherever you live! May peace of heart be our way and our salvation!!!
Release date 16/1 2024

Seek Peace Within Yourself - w/Surfers Like Us

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMMtlkDesIg
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MY NAME IS STEVE
I HAVEN’T HAD A FRIIEND IN 40 YEARS
WELCOME, STEVE!

NOT THE WAY THAT IT APPEARS
BUT THE SUM OF ALL MY FEARS
REDUCES ME TO TEARS

WELCOME TO THE GROUP, STEVE!

I MAY SEEM KIND OF WIERD
THAT’S WHY YOU DISAPPEARED
THAT’S WHY I’M ALL ALONE IN THIS WORLD

AS A CHILD I LOST MY WAY
IT’S STILL WITH ME TO THIS DAY
I GUESS IT MUST BE TRUE WHAT PEOPLE SAY
THAT SOME OF US ARE MEANT TO PAY

MY NAME IS STEVE
I HAVEN’T HAD A FRIEND IN 40 YEARS
WELCOME TO THE GROUP, STEVE

YOU AVOID ME, I AVOID YOU
BOTH OF US FEEL ILL AT EASE
REINFORCING THE DISCOMFORT
I GROW WEAKER AT THE KNEES
BOTH OF US FEEL ILL AT EASE

PLAYING BACK THOSE AWKWARD MOMENTS
NO ESCAPING, NEVER FREE
ON MY MIND AND ON REWIND 
EVERY SCENE, INDIGNITY

MY NAME IS STEVE
I HAVEN’T HAD A FRIEND IN 40 YEARS
WELCOME TO THE GROUP, STEVE!

WHAT YOU’RE SEEING ISN’T SMUGNESS
WHAT YOU SEE, IN FACT, IS SHAME
ORCHESTRATE MY OWN DURESS
ULTIMATELY, I’M TO BLAME

ROUND AND ROUND IT GOES:

YOU AVOID ME, I AVOID YOU
BOTH OF US FEEL ILL AT EASE
REINFORCING THE DISCOMFORT
I GROW WEAKER AT THE KNEES
AND THEN I FREEZE

MY NAME IS STEVE
I HAVEN’T HAD A FRIEND IN 40 YEARS
WELCOME TO THE GROUP, STEVE!

My Name Is Steve, I Haven't Had A Friend In 40 Years (WELCOME TO NO FRIENDS ANONYMOUS)

YES, IT’S TRUE
I AM HERE TO HURT YOU
BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW
I NEVER WILL DESERT YOU

THE DECISION TO BREATHE
HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM YOU
BUT DON’T GO WEAK AT THE KNEES
OR I’LL POUNCE UPON YOUR VIRTUE

YOU CAN CALL ME ALL THE NAMES
UNDER THE SUN
UNDER THE SUN
BUT DON’T CALL ME A LOSER

EXCEPT YOUR FATE
YOUR DESTINY
YOU TOOK THE BAIT
YOU FAILED TO SEE

ALTHOUGH YOU KNEW MY HISTORY
STILL YOU CHOSE TO DISAGREE

ARE YOU FEELING WOOZY

PUT THIS GLASS
TO YOUR LIPS
TAKE ANOTHER SIP

ARE YOU FEELING WOOZY YET

THE SIZE OF MY EGO
DEPENDENT ON YOURS
THE MORE THAT I BREAK YOU
THE MORE THAT IT GROWS

SO KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS
TO YOURSELF
OR YOU’LL END UP
ON THE SHELF
ON THE SHELF

ARE YOU FEELING WOOZY YET

YOU CAN CALL ME ALL THE NAMES
UNDER THE SUN
UNDER THE SUN
JUST DON’T CALL ME A LOSER

FAR TOO CHOOSEY
FEELING WOOZY
BEING ACCUSED OF
BLOWING FUSES

THIS TIME IT’S A WARNING
YOU’LL WAKE UP IN THE MORNING
THIS TIME IT’S A WARNING
DON’T EVER CALL ME A LOSER AGAIN

REMEMBER I’M THE BOSS
DON’T DOUBLE CROSS ME
YOUR REWARD
MY VANITY

DON'T CALL ME A LOSER

Sometimes faith is best looked at like a photographic negative; what does our heart feel when faith is lost? It is so closely allied with hope that the two are hard to distinguish when either or both are lost; but tears are often the result. For many this Christmas, a troubled world only scratches the surface of the personal trouble felt from having lost faith in a loved one, themselves, and perhaps even God.  Christmas is a call to faith, to reach out beyond oneself in the hope that there is One who can give faith, or restore faith that has been lost.  "Hope" is what we consider next...

Slowly The Tears Fall--Seagull, David, and Clara

THE DECENT

I mainly don't like to work with audio loops, here's an exception ;-)
Remix based on 12 second loops for bass, drums and keyboard from Ghosthack. I added brass, some wind solos with my EWI and created an additional keyboard loop to enrich it :-)
photo by Ernest Karchmit on unsplash Video: https://youtu.be/Lm4_mBz_DFc?si=VITujx3Qv1qxX8eD

Violet Sky

Ostrasism

Fantasy is a remarkable ability that allows us to imagine things that are not directly present in our environment. It allows us to develop new ideas, create alternative realities and put ourselves in the perspectives of other people or even other beings. Fantasy is often closely linked to creativity and drives innovation, art, literature, science and many other areas of human life. With our fantasy, we are able to approach problems in new ways, empathize with different situations and imagine what could be, rather than limiting ourselves to what already exists. Isn't that a wonderful gift?

DAW Cubase
Halion Sonic 7
Groove Agent SE
Retrologue 2
Padshop 2
Evo Elysium
Apollo
CRE8 Poly Engine
CRE8 Wave Engine
Colors LoFi Tapes
Colors Tranquil
Colors Tensed
Mimi Page Light & Shadow

100 bpm

Picture by Alexander Roy on pixabay

fantasy

In the WRONG PLACE at THE WRONG TIME with THE WRONG MINDSET, apparently making THE #WRONG #MUSIC, but it feels #RIGHT to ME!

Highly unlikely more than one of my tunes will ever be heard by more than a handful of listeners, so just for the record here is an incomplete list of artists my music has been compared to by other musicians, depending on which tunes they heard, StevenVellou (Gothic Funk)

RESIDENTS, PHILIP GLASS, DAVID BYRNE, FRANK ZAPPA, THE BEATLES, BAUHAUS, SISTERS OF MERCY, DAVID BOWIE, LOU REED, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, PARLIAMENT, SYD BARRETT, PINK FLOYD, PSYCHIC TV, NEU, MOMUS, MINISTRY, CHARLES IVES, BEACH BOYS, KINKS, THE FALL, JOY DIVISION, DEPECHE MODE, GARY NUMAN, LEONARD COHEN, STONE ROSES, GIORGIO MORODER, GEORGE CLINTON, THE CURE, DALIS CAR, JOHN ASTLEY, KILLING JOKE, ALIEN SEX FIEND, ROBERT FRIPP, DEVO, B52’s, IAN CURTIS, FAD GADGET, TALKING HEADS, GORILLAZ, MIKE PATTON, JON ZORN, LES CLAYPOOL, STEVEN REICH, TOM WAITS, THE EX, TOM CORA, THE CAKE, NAPOLEON XIV, KEVIN AYERS, ROXY MUSIC, FRANK TOVEY, RUPERT HINES, ROBYN HITCHCOCK, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, SPARKS, BILL NELSON, JOHN CALE, TRIO, JULIAN COPE, HEAVEN 17, LLOYD COLE, TUBEWAY ARMY, FRONT 242, NITZER EBB, COCKNEY REBEL, SHRIEKBACK, VICTOR SNOW, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, THE THE, BABYBIRD, JOHN LENNON, ULTRAVOX, DAN DEACON, BACH, SQUEEZE, ANDREW ELDRITCH, IGGY POP, MIDNIGHT OIL, BILLY CHILDISH, BUTTHOLE SURFERS, VELVET UNDERGROUND, LOVE AND ROCKETS, ART OF NOISE, LOOK PEOPLE, CABARET VOLTAIRE, PRODIGY, et al.
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Don't take sides and I'll respect you for it; take sides and I'll treat you with the same contempt I treat anyone with a mob mentality, because mob mentality invariantly betrays an underlying intolerant right-wing mentality!
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#SUPPORT gathers #MOMENTUM when #RECIPROCATED!
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My tunes are ten times better than you might imagine!
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A lack of listens proves nothing, other than the fact that no one is finding your tunes; it does not prove, as some believe, that your tunes must be crap, so don’t ever take such a ridiculous notion on board—on an internet FLOODED with music no listens rarely has anything to do with the quality of your music, your creative talent, is almost always down to the fact that the right audience can’t find your music, because finding it is now as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack!
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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, EVERYTHING FOR SOMEONE!
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For diversity and consistency, I am not hesitant in saying my Soundcloud pages house the most inventive creations on here. There are others making fabulous tunes, but no one is more prolific while maintaining a high standard of pole to pole invention, and that applies to the lyrics too. I won't escape obscurity and oblivion, but that proves nothing, the internet is way, way, WAY overcrowded with unsigned music, way too much mediocre stuff, which obscure anything exceptional out there; the wood hidden away behind lots and lots and LOTS of trees, and no one has the time to look for needles in haystacks, to find a diamond in the rough, it's just way too big a task, not humanely possible!

INVENTIVE, AUTHENTIC, DIVERSE MUSIC, INVENTIVE, AUTHENTIC, IMAGINATIVE LYRICS, but those are the last things the vast majority of listeners are looking for these days!
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Me, I'm awestruck by musicians who can't be pigeonholed, who don't conform to any borders, who don't think about which direction each new creation will take, they just go wherever that creativity takes them; pure, on the fly, innovation, imperfect but 100% authentic, as far a way from manufactured, recipe book, regurgitation, as it is possible to get, totally unforced, inspirational and way, way, WAY outside the box! There ought to be a place for such creativity, there was at one time, but a mercenary music industry put an end to that, leaving us with a situation where those who deserve the most adoration for the talents receive the least!
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Will this ever change, will a yearning for TRUE underground, creativity unique to the individual, ever return, or has the spoon-feeding gone to far this time, is its grip so vicelike nothing can break it!
>
I make #INVISIBLE music, perhaps it feels that way to you too!
#Overlooked, #Underrated, Dismissed Without A Listen!
>
When Soundclouders follow me or click like without leaving feedback, what is it they are hoping for? That I come listen to their tunes and heap praise on them, what? I mean really, what is the point of following someone, what is the point of liking one of their tunes, if you don't actual think they are deserving of feedback, if you don't think the tunes are as good as what you do???

EXPLODING THE MYTH THAT UNSIGNED IS UNSIGNED BECAUSE IT’S INFERIOR TO SIGNED MUSIC!

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UNTIL this MYTH is blown out of the water we don’t have a cat in hells chance of breaking through. #TheMyth  is the BIGGEST obstacle that stands in our way, it is the FIRST hurdle we must get over, it is the message that should be going #VIRAL, it’s down to each & every one of you to make that happen!
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#ExplodeTheMyth
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Listening to just one of my tunes tells you nothing about my creative approach, listening to ten of my tunes will still tell you very little, listen to a hundred of my tunes and the penny will start to drop, but it's only after hearing 500+ of my creations and collaborations that your eyes will widen in amazement! 
However, if you don't have unlimited eclectic taste none of that applies, and the reality is, who, in this world, is going to listen to every tune I've created, no one--if even one tune is heard from beginning to end it's a minor miracle, because sadly, there is a belief that unsigned means inferior, but I've heard enough tunes by the rest of you guys to know that's a myth, that's bullshit, we create some of the most inventive, authentic, imaginative tunes out there!
Give me unsigned, independent and underground music over signed, safe, predictable, recipe book, music any day of the week!
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I MAKE TUNES NO ONE WILL EVER LISTEN TO!
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Some musicians & music fans don’t want to hear music from the past because they would have to acknowledge IT’S ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE!
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Finally come to terms with the fact that I'm PLAYING TO AN AUDIENCE OF ONE, and even I have to FORCE myself to listen!!!
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My music and lyrics are all about different, but if no one listens no one will EVER know! 
#StevenVellou

I CREATE TUNES ON THE FLY; NO FORMULA, NO PLAN, NO DIRECTION; THEY JUST HAPPEN--I'M IGNORANT OF THE RULES INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC MAKING PROCESS, SO I'M NOT BOXED IN BY THEM, WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE SO VARIED AND UNPREDICTABLE!
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Meaningful yet tongue-in-cheek tunes that can’t be #PIGEONHOLED!
Great production ISN'T my forte, accomplished musicianship ISN'T my forte but #UndergroundInvention, #InfiniteDimensions & LYRICS are!
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Now I don't personally believe I'm in the same league as #Bowie, other than my lyrics, more often than not, making more sense, but I do think I share his ability to adapt to different genres, and his endless, diverse, creativity, just not quite on the same level.
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I'm not proficient/accomplished on instruments, & I have other musical limitations, but most genres come natural to me, and I much prefer having that unforced ability to being highly accomplished on instruments, highly polished on production, or having the perfect voice!
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If I didn't feel I had my own approach, if my music was easy to pigeonhole, I would have quit music a long time ago!
Never been about fame & fortune, just about pushing the boundaries without actually intending to push the boundaries; creativity that's second nature not formula! 
Yes, I want to reach an audience but making money from my music means nothing to me!
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NOT saying I’m THE MOST #talented musician on music promotion sites but I will say I’m one of the most #UNDERRATED! Even so, I would much rather be underrated than overrated!
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DON'T CALL ME A LOSER

GOTHIC FUNK