(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #07 album)

Greetings my SC friends. It’s been over a month since I was last able to offer you new music on my page… and I'm thrilled that this is the piece breaking that break. This time I had the privilege of teaming up with our good friend Tea Are Sea (https://soundcloud.com/tea_are_sea, https://teaaresea.bandcamp.com/). 

Terry and I have been Soundcloud buddies for around 3 years now. While his music has always been highly creative and entertaining to my ears, I’ve really enjoyed watching his style grow more complex and sophisticated over the years. Terry has also expanded his musical adventures into some truly intriguing collaborative directions (one such project is his Land of the ZED series, involving 4 great SC artists: https://soundcloud.com/tea_are_sea/johnny-plays-the-blues). I highly recommend it.

Now for the wonderfully silly title we chose. The innuendo is strong with this one (in fact, we may have reached the legal limit). At the heart of it all, it’s truly just about keeping your center in the face of swirling chaos and noise. But we also couldn’t resist poking a little fun at the dysfunction. 

So we hope you enjoy this strangely spacey and futuristic feeling sonic adventure (we’re picturing a fun facelift to early Flash Gordon). You’ll be happy to know… Atman and his very particular team (a little quantum physics joke there) definitely win the day, and save our planet from the blood sucking parasites. In fact, one might call it a ‘love yourself’ story, filled with grand adventure, intrigue, and those cool old spaceships that sported the 50s car fins… because 0-60 in space is so much easier when your ship is stylishly aerodynamic. We hope you enjoy our first collaborative effort, ‘Atman And The Atomics VS The Poly Ticks’. :)

PWWO07

Atman And The Atomics VS The Poly Ticks | Tea Are Sea & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #07 album)

Good morning all you Action/Adventure enthusiasts out there. Boy do I have a treat for you. Today I am very proud to offer you my first collaboration with our massively creative SC musician friend, Ian West (AKA: Khaki Green Gills - https://soundcloud.com/khakigreengills). And what an epic track it is (I clearly have a 50s movie theme going on lately. Haha).

It started out simple enough at first; just a back and forth on foundational design ideas. But at some point, we realized it had a tale to tell; and that tale absolutely demanded to be campy. 

So we searched near and far for the perfect vocal elements, and we found them in a wonderfully old-timey, B&W Sci-Fi Adventure called ‘Rocky Jones - Crash of the Moons’ (now Public Domain. Oh yea!). We also added enough quirky space sounds to make any cosmic traveler feel right at home (assuming you’re on a spaceship with consoles made of metal pegboard; and enough buttons, dials and knobs to boggle the imagination).

It’s so much fun detailing a song like this. At a certain point, you realize you can’t wipe the smile off your face any more. And the end result is quite exhilarating. Without going all Cliff’s Notes on you, let’s just say we sincerely hope our heroes can reach Space Station OW9 in time to save our friends from certain doom. Who could have known orbiting moons could be so troublesome. 

So without further dallying, Ian and I proudly offer you our first collaboration, ‘The Adventures Of HyperDrive Huxley’. We hope you enjoy. :)

P.S.: If you find the cover art equally exhilarating, head to your nearest App Store without further delay, and download the amazing free artistic app called WOMBO Dream. Sure, I like to run the art through lots of Photoshop filtering, to try for a more personalized feel. But the original art generator is the real star of the show here. I highly recommend checking it out. You’ll catch yourself creating random pieces of art for hours, and loving every one of them.

The Adventures Of HyperDrive Huxley | Khaki Green Gills & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #07 album)

It is with unbridled glee that I finally get to share a (long overdue) first collab with our dear friend, and ambient artist extraordinaire, Jo (https://soundcloud.com/minimal_drone_grl, https://minimaldronegrl.bandcamp.com/). The results are quite exciting, to say the least. We hope you enjoy our sonic adventure, 'Flora's Beautiful Dream'. :)

And now for our little story...

The first signs of morning sunlight appear above the mountain’s rock covered peaks, as the Earth spins us around to witness the brilliance of another new day. Bright rays shine visibly through the morning mist, and dewdrops sparkle like diamonds among the tree leaves as the valley below slowly fills with warmth and light. 

Flora watches from her vantage point high above; witnessing her friends in the forest come alive to greet another day; and the people in the city streets down in the valley below come alive to serve another day. She’s watched this dance for many years; the forest remaining peaceful in its ancient perfection; the people below growing ever more unsatisfied as they strive for an illusionary and strangely unattainable perfection of their own.
	
This idea might sound sad to you and I. But over the years she has also seen miracles occur among us. From her vantage point she sees us like fields of energy; and the majority of that energy looks rather stagnant and mucky, like cesspools of unmoving water, unaware of the renewing stream we have been cut off from. But once in a while, an explosion of light energy will burst outward from a single house or apartment building, as someone becomes disenfranchised from their false identity, and their hearts open up to new ideas for the first time.

Surprisingly, these changes often occur after great loss. And she suspects this is due to the fragility of our illusion. She sees how lost we all are in these roles and characters we have built for ourselves, and she sees how quickly that false identity can shatter when we lose the things we prioritized the most. The loss of a relationship or loved one, a terminal illness in the body, the end of a career, a complete collapse in financial stability… when we lose the things we thought mattered most to us, some of us experience a miraculous opportunity for awakening to the truth that we were never those things to begin with. 

Flora lovingly watches the majority of us grow more sickly and stagnant with time. And she never loses hope… because every evening, she has the same beautiful dream. 

In her mind, the first signs of morning sunlight appear above the mountain’s rock covered peaks, as the Earth spins us around to witness the brilliance of another new day. Bright rays shine visibly through the morning mist, and dewdrops sparkle like diamonds among the tree leaves as the valley slowly fills with warmth and light. 

But even brighter still are the explosions of light energy bathing the valley down below. After so many truly dark nights, many of us finally wake up the next morning to discover we were never all the things we lost in the night. In fact, we are something much larger. And as our energy explodes out, and the laws of attraction take hold, these simultaneous bursts prove to be strong and frequent enough to cause a chain reaction… and the whole valley lights up brighter than the sun itself. 

We have finally realized we are simply conscious life, and nothing more. And in our new found freedom from identity, we all begin again.

Flora slumbers peacefully, knowing full well… this dream will some day come true.

Flora's Beautiful Dream | Minimal_Drone*GRL & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #07 album)

Good morning all you wonderful music loving people. And what a beautiful Monday morning it is; made all the better by this enticing new track Clive (https://soundcloud.com/winkandwoo, https://audius.co/winkandw00) and I just finished. It’s our first collaborative effort; and the results are spectacular, if I do say so myself.

As to the backdrop for this piece... it feels surreal, traversing this world of sleepers, lost in their own self-created daydreams and nightmares. It’s a bizarre balancing act, wanting to play a helpful part in this underground movement of consciousness and unconditional love, while also trying to accept that there are many who simply don’t want to wake up from this troubling dream. But in the end, our fate will be shared across the entire planet. And the full range of choices must be recognized and honored, for this grand adventure to play out to its fullest potential.

The old saying ‘It is always darkest before the dawn’ seems like an apt concept to focus on these days. And it’s helpful to remember, great beauty can still arise from the murkiest of waters and most inhospitable of soils. Times might seem dark right now, and we are most definitely heading toward some unprecedented troubling chapters. But it is still just a story; the human story. And we all get to chose our roles, and play our parts. I’m personally quite fond of the ‘kindness and compassion’ approach myself. But there are as many roles to play as there are humans on this planet; so choose wisely, and follow your bliss. In the end, that might be all that matters. 

Clive and I hope you enjoy our first collaborative effort, ’Stay Asleep’. :)

Stay Asleep | winkandwoo & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Latin, literally ‘not having control of one's mind’.

If there was ever a time in my life when I questioned the sanity of the world, this would be it. So many things are not working; and so many people in power seem to want to keep it that way. How does one maintain hope (and provide others hopeful ideas), when the daily news tells such a different story? At what point do the hopeful messages just feel out of touch, rather than helpful?

Bo Burnham’s comedy special ‘Inside’ (on Netflix, but you can find several skits on YouTube as well) should be recommended viewing for all human beings right now. It’s a brilliantly insightful and snarky view of the world we live in, and a candid peek into his struggles facing that world. Half charming, half alarming… he is unapologetic and razor sharp in how he interprets the modern age. Here’s a line from one of the opening songs that really hit home for me:

"The more I look, the more I see nothing to joke about. Is comedy over? Should I leave you alone? Cause really who's gonna go for joking at a time like this? Should I be joking at a time like this? I wanna help to leave this world better than I found it. And I fear that comedy won't help, and the fear is not unfounded."

This so accurately summarizes how I feel right now. Is what I’m doing helping? Or does (you pick the hot topic driving you nuts at the moment) seem so out of control, that I seem out of touch with reality… trumpeting loving and hopeful messages in the face of the chaos? 

In the end, I feel there are only two paths available to us at any given time; activity and inactivity. I don’t know that the specific activity matters as much as the drive and purpose behind that activity. I suspect the point is simply to do anything positive that tells the universe where your heart and intent are focused. The alternative… inactivity probably looks a lot like freezing in your tracks, getting lost in fear (or anger, which I consider a sub-category of fear)… and refusing to (or feeling like you can’t) move forward. It’s pretty easy to imagine how that energy won’t be helping anyone… especially you.

So maybe it’s as simple as just doing something that seems meaningful to you. Maybe that means protesting. Or donating to causes that align with your values. It might be conserving water, limiting waste, and recycling. Perhaps it’s providing your services and skills to someone in need; or simply smiling at someone as you pass them on the street. And it can also take the form of artistic and creative expression; a valuable offering for people in need of evocative images, sounds and ideas. All of these things hold power. And all are important in my mind. So rather than questioning whether we’re doing the right things, or enough of the right things… maybe we just need to follow our hearts (not our minds), and see where that leads us. Our hearts already seem to know us better than we know ourselves anyway. Let’s try trusting that little fellow, and see where it takes us.

I hope you enjoy my latest sonic adventure, ‘Non Compos Mentis’. :)

WTF! The Musical

Non Compos Mentis

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

This song is meant to feel a little off kilter. It represents my core concerns about *points to pretty much everything*. But I hope it also gives a sense of someone standing tall, and showing strength and courage in the face of the many hands pushing them down.

I’ve been wondering how the final chapter of this ‘Siren’ trilogy would play out. I knew I would know when the time arrived… and it just did. 

The final chapter turns out to be the story of one of my amazing daughters; and her bravery in the face of a dark moment.

Today a stranger entered my daughter’s work space (an ‘open campus’ college), and began helping himself to things laying around the office (packages, books, and other things of potential value)… He did this in front of everyone onsite, acting aggressive when questioned, and had a bulge under his shirt that unfortunately looked like he might be carrying a gun or other possible weapon (this is not confirmed; just suspected).

Have you ever experienced a moment when your instincts screamed ’this just turned dangerous!!’ This was the visible mood of every employee who was paying attention. Tension (and fears) rose immediately.

And here’s where the moment of truth happens…

Several of the employees were on their way out of the office to attend a meeting (most were grateful for the excuse to leave). But my daughter (also expected to be at the meeting, and uncomfortably tagging along) realized things were not sitting well with her. She couldn’t help but feel like she was leaving the others in danger. And in a moment of loving clarity… she ran back to the other co-workers… to make sure everyone was ok.

Now if that isn’t an act of selfless courage, I don’t know what is. A genuine peek into a person’s true character… when the cards are on the table. And I am so profoundly honored that she is my daughter.

Both of my daughters have grown into unbelievably special women; both have so much to offer this world. They stay strong, in the face of all the rapidly resurfacing oppression. And they do this on the days when I can’t. I admire them more than words can describe.

Folks, I just want to present the possibility that not seeing women as equals (from the very beginning) is perhaps the original shortcoming of the human race. And currently, we’re getting a painful insight into just how those archaic thinkers plan to keep things running into the future. Something in ‘civilization’ prioritized brute strength and control over love and compassion; and that might prove to be our downfall. But it is also something we can still correct.

For the time being, women will remain elevated even more so in my eyes. You will always have my respect for everything you have endured, while somehow continuing to be the loving voices we all need right now. 

I hope you enjoy the finale of my Siren trilogy… ‘Siren’s Epiphany’ :)

Siren's Epiphany

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Greetings all you fun and funky SC musicians. I don’t typically upload remastered versions of a song as a new track. I usually just replace the old with the new, and change the title to reflect the remaster. But this one is special, for a few reasons (and if you’re not much into personalized mixing details, you may want to skip this liner note).

First (and most importantly)… I thought I’d lost the ability to edit the original tracks for this song. The last time I opened it up in Logic (updating it for the 2018 album remaster), the siren voices were all messed up (automation in Alchemy can have odd results sometimes). I just assumed the original native file was broken forever, because I no longer had access to that version of Logic. I had to do the album remaster from my only existing mix… and it was definitely lacking.

4 years later, I’m so glad I took a chance on reopening the native file when I concluded this ‘Siren’ trilogy. All the sounds/automations were exactly as I had left them. Prior to this attempt, I just assumed the worst, and never tried again. Thankfully, I was wrong. :D

Second… the remaster turned out much better than I hoped; and the differences were so satisfying, I thought it might be fun to have both versions up (for a side by side comparison, for any interested musicians out there. Here's the older version: https://soundcloud.com/grevusanjl/siren-rising).

So why does this one sound so much better than the original version? (And please take all of this with a grain of salt. I’m no pro. But I have discovered what works for me.)

Honestly, a tremendous amount of credit goes to having a much better understanding of Compression. For many folks, Compression is almost a dirty word. Just the title of the plug-in alone confused me at first. Why would I possibly want to compress my sounds, when I liked them as is? 

But it turns out (for me at least) that the different Compression options really shine when chosen specifically, and used minimally. As an example (and I’m not sure if your DAW offers similar options, but), Studio VCA works brilliantly with strings, female vocals and many of my favorite synths. But Studio FET works great on drums. Etc. And while some might cringe at the idea, I absolutely love what Soft Distortion does to most tracks as well. Used in mild amounts, Soft Distortion adds a phenomenal amount of spacial quality to the sound. I don’t use this one all of the time, but I bet I use it at least 75% of the time now (and Compression in general on about 95% of the tracks).  So there you go… I’m definitely a big fan of Compression… when used responsibly. :)

In addition, I’ve also learned a lot about EQing since I first did this song in 2017; so much so, that I was actually baffled by some of my earlier choices. So a large amount of the repair/update time for the 2022 remaster was spent on getting the EQing for each track set up more effectively.

And finally, I had the opportunity to give the full mix a healthy rebuild. After 5 years, you’re undoubtedly going to have a very fresh perspective on a piece. And I realized a lot of the sounds simply weren’t in their optimal positions in the stereo field. I also reconsidered where sounds faded in and out, and how intensely they did so… and I updated all of that as well. 

And there you have it, the story/history behind one of my all time personal favorites. I’m so glad I had an opportunity to revisit this one (while leaving all the original instruments true to form), and I hope you enjoy all the latest sound enhancements as well. I’m excited to hear what you think of my ’Siren Rising (2022 Remaster)’. :D

Siren Rising - 2022 REMASTER

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #07 album)

Happy 2023 everyone. I hope your year is starting off positive, creative and brimming with potentiality. Mine has definitely begun on a high note, getting to collab with our dear friend Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com/). And after a full year of music lessons with this kind and generous soul, I’m finally feeling quite good about my music theory and piano skills (knowing full well, this is just me happily floating on the tip of the proverbial music theory/musical instrument iceberg). :)

This one in particular (for those of you who might be interested in the specifics) started with Carlos providing an impressively wild drum track, and a warm, rich bass track playing Ostinato in E (I wasn’t familiar with that term at first. But it means playing a singular note rhythm as a foundation for the rest of the song). From there, E Aeolian (or Natural Minor) felt like it provided the nicest fit to Carlos’s stems. I was able to play out many of the melodies you hear in this song with just a few takes, and very minor MIDI note adjustments after the fact. That is exciting beyond words.

So without further delay, I joyfully offer you my first collab of 2023 with one of the coolest folks you’ll find in this grand music community. Carlos and I hope you enjoy ‘The Nine Sentinels of Aeolis’. :)

The Nine Sentinels Of Aeolis | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Greetings my SC friends. I have a fun one to share with you today. In fact, it might exceed the legal limits for perky and quirky… so don’t go driving under the influence. :D

So here we are, choking down the remainder of January 2023 (try it with the honey mustard. It goes down a lot easier). Here in the US, many of us are trying to make the most of this potentially quieter year, as we count down to what I like to call Apocalyptageddon (otherwise known as the 2024 Presidential Election).

Despite (or perhaps in the face of) the ‘OMGHOLYSHITARGH!!!’ going on everywhere, I’m seeing the most interesting evolutions in this community. And it’s not just me noticing this. I’ve recently read quite a few comments about how much people have grown creatively. I’m seeing huge strides in the musical skills and songs of so many of our SC friends, many in just the past year. And I have a theory for why that is… and I am prepared to demonstrate…

Imagine for a moment that you are a human being with feelings. Someone comes up to you and says “I love who you turned out to be. You have a great mind and a great imagination. Your creations are quite magical. And I really want to spend more time in your space, seeing what you do next.”

If you’re like me, and I know I am (line blatantly stolen from a favorite MST3K), positive reinforcement like that is tremendously motivating. I can’t wait to get back to my creative space to see if I can make something even more awesome the next time. I know to a certain degree, that’s just me feeding my ego. But let’s face it. Ego is the Operating System we have been provided in this lifetime; and it does love to feed (it’s overfeeding that leads to bloating, so just try to keep to healthier serving sizes).

Now imagine again that you are one of those peeps with feels. Someone comes up to you and says “You suck. You’re worthless. You always will be.”

I personally find this slightly less motivating. And if you already have a less than ideal self esteem, that kinda crap sinks in deep and destroys confidence.

I think the point I’m trying to make is, the human experience isn’t meant to be a hermit-like adventure. I’m pretty sure loving ourselves for just being us may be one of the highest achievable goals. But as long as the ego is in the pilot’s seat, we need interaction (both verbal and physical). We need validation. We need to feel like our lives are meaningful. And we get that from each other. But it’s important to remember a subtlety… we also have the privilege of giving that to each other. And giving might actually be more beneficial to the soul than getting, where this gift is concerned.

This is where so many of you come in. You are the kind and loving voices, letting people know they’re doing great. You take the time to remind them, their creative explorations are worth the effort. Many of you motivated me to try harder through positive reinforcement, and even direct guidance. And I happily watch as you continue to do the same for the folks just starting up. You’re a beautiful bunch of people, and I admire you greatly. 

So please, you wonderful souls, keep doing what you’re doing; both being creative and being supportive. We all benefit from the kindness this group generates. We are all inspired to be better people through the actions of those who help us out along the way. You are all a huge positive influence in my life, and I hope I can be the same for you. Let’s make 2023 obnoxiously loving, friendly and funny. Let’s brighten this world again, dancing naked on the dining room table, a rose clamped tightly between our teeth.

I hope you enjoy my latest sonic meandering ‘Choosing Our Own Adventure’. :)

Choosing Our Own Adventure

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Good afternoon my SC friends. This year, I thought it might be fun to share some of the brain rebooting information I’ve discovered over the years that helped me navigate life a little easier. So if you like the idea of following along with these liner notes, you’ll want to watch this video first (about 1 minute... Selective Attention Test video: https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo), before you continue reading down. It’s quite challenging to get the count right, but the results are utterly fascinating. :)

*waits patiently*

Welcome back. So, if you haven’t already seen it before, you just watched a video that brilliantly demonstrates our limited capacity as observers. I admit, I was so busy counting the passing ball… I totally missed the gorilla. Most of my family missed it as well. And according to the creators of the video, at least 50% of the audience will. That’s mind blowing.

So what does that say about our perceptions? It seems to suggest we’re not as aware as we think we are. And that is a lovely thought, because it means we don’t have to be so hard on ourselves when we misperceive things. We are literally incapable of taking it all in, and therefore we don’t always have the full picture (or even the same picture as our fellow traveller).

And that just demonstrates the limits of our mental awareness. Now consider our senses for a moment… how our hearing range is limited to a range of 20Hz to 20kHz. Think about how our vision doesn’t go below the ultraviolet or above the infrared. And I know I can’t smell things to the excellent degree my family’s pets can. 

The one that really blows my mind is that we aren’t ever physically touching anything. There is always an atomic amount of space between all objects. So when I sit down in a chair, what’s really happening is the molecular particles that collectively agreed to make up my butt are interacting with the molecular particles that collectively agreed to make up that chair; and the signals are all just electrical stimuli to my brain. I believe I can feel the smoothness of the polished woodgrain… but it isn’t a full or accurate story.

So now we have an idea of the limitations of our five senses. Add to that how we are limited to those five senses in the first place (unless some of you have physically developed sonar like a bat or have the ability to create an external multi-member neural network like fungi do underground), and you start to have a better idea just how much of the picture we are missing. 

So in a nutshell, we simply don’t have the full picture; and that can be a very liberating realization. That idea gave me the wisdom I needed to release my stranglehold on being a perfectionist… just a little bit. If I’m constantly missing things I don’t even know I’m missing, perfection isn’t even an option. I can also take these ideas out into the world with me, and realize we really don’t perceive things as similarly as we think we do. We are constantly being influenced by everything from our senses and mental awareness to cognitive dissonance and the bias of preference. We are each having different experiences, and that underlying realization is a great place to start, if change be the thing we desire. :)

So if you found this write-up interesting, you might enjoy ‘The Invisible Gorilla, And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us’ by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. It’s a thought provoking read. 

I’ll share other inspirational books and TV shows in future song notes. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my latest sonic adventure, ‘Develop Mental’ (especially all the little details I added in the 21kHz+ range, as well as the ‘scratch and sniff for dogs’ elements). :)

Develop Mental

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #08 album)

Happy Friday to all of you. I hope 2023 is treating you well so far. I’m doing my best to focus my free-range mind on creative endeavors; definitely the most positive use of my time. And to that end, I’m happy to admit I’m still keeping to my 2023 music goals (2 tracks a month). And the track I get to share with you today is particularly exciting.

It’s been a goal of mine for a few years now to try out one of Andre’s (noxpox: https://soundcloud.com/noxpox-page-12, https://noxpox.bandcamp.com/) open collabs. His most recent offering ‘kannmangebrauchen’ (https://soundcloud.com/noxpox-page11/noxpox-kannmangebrauchencan-be-used) was particularly enticing; and this resulting remix is an equally thrilling surprise for me. In fact, this might be the closest I’ve come to the 80s and 90s stylings of my favorite Industrial bands (Skinny Puppy, NiN, Ministry, Front 242, etc.). 

Of course, no GrevusAnjl remix would be complete without at least a little uplifting cuteness hidden in the folds (I tried to keep it dark and edgy. I really did. But the cuteness just seeps in). So if you’re in the market for adorable Industrial, I might have just what you need. I hope you enjoy my GrevusAnjl ‘Repurposed For Dance’ remix of a very cool noxpox original. :)

Free DL on SC :)

noxpox ‘kannmangebrauchen’ (GrevusAnjl ‘Repurposed For Dancing’ Remix)

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Happy Sunday my SC friends. I’m having a great time revisiting my favorite books and movies, trying to find inspirational material for these liner notes. The author I want to share today is one of my greatest influences in life (and one many of you know as well)… Ram Dass.

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite quotes of his momentarily. But before I do that, I would like to mention why he was so inspiring to me. 

What makes Ram Dass a unique esoteric/spiritual voice is that he actually started out as an Atheist. But he openly struggled with not knowing the answers to life’s most profound questions, and he was willing to pursue alternative ways of thinking, and update his beliefs based on his direct experiences. 

While he was still Dr. Richard Alpert, he began his explorations through the use of psychedelics while teaching at Harvard University. He joined Timothy Leary in these studies; but Harvard wasn’t thrilled with this potentially scandalous exploration, and fired them both. He then decided to take his spiritual explorations to India. This is where he had a perspective shifting, unexplainable first encounter with Neem Karoli Baba (who later became his guru, affectionately known as Maharaj-ji). He was given the name Ram Dass (servant of God) by his guru; and after spending several years at Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram, he became one of the leading voices of the 60s counter-culture movement. 

For me, his is a voice of love and humor and acceptance. And when I read his books and hear him speak, the feeling I get is ‘Hey, I don’t have it all figured out just yet. But I’m willing to put in the daily practice, and see if I’m a better person tomorrow. Do you want to join me on this adventure, fellow traveler?” And that is so refreshing when you just need the gentle, loving voice of a compassionate friend. 

Here are some of my favorite thought provoking quotes (many from his book, One Liners):
_______

“In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight.”

“You can’t be free if in any fashion you’re holding the hand of fear.”

“It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.”

“Treat everyone you meet like God in drag.”

“At the moment when there’s nothing more to lose, the Ego breaks open—and then we see who we are behind who we thought we were.”

“A feeling of aversion or attachment toward something is your clue that there’s work to be done.”

“To materialist eyes, India is a developing country; to spiritual eyes, the United States is a developing country.”

“If you think you’re enlightened go spend a week with your family.”

“Our journey is about being more deeply involved in life, and yet less attached to it.”

“Everything changes once we identify with being the witness to the story, instead of the actor in it.”

“We’re all just walking each other home.”
_______

Those are just a few of my favorite quotes. If you enjoyed those, you’ll love his books and recorded lectures (easily found on YouTube) as well. His voice has been a kind and gentle presence for me since my teens, and his passing back in 2019 was a sad day for me. But it’s like he said, “When someone we love dies, we get so busy mourning what died that we ignore what didn’t.” His ideas will live on in my heart for the rest of my life, and that is a priceless gift. I hope you enjoy ‘Upgrading My RAM So DASS Will Launch’. :)

Upgrading My RAM So DASS Will Launch

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #08 album)

Happy Monday my SC friends. Today I am supremely excited to offer you (the listener) my next collaborative creation of 2023; and for those keeping track at home, this is my 4th collab with the legendary (at least, in my mind) Stone Catcherye (https://soundcloud.com/stonecatcherye, https://stonecatcherye.bandcamp.com/). 

Stoney’s lyrics speak for themselves; but I gotta say, I am sharing the sentiment. We hope you enjoy our latest collab, ‘Scintilla’ (and we hope you have some bell bottoms lying around… cuz this is not a drill). :D

Lyrics:

there's a small piece inside of me
defenselessness be thy name
it's a party where nothing's free
who would care to explain

dark. all it takes is a spark
a trace of love in your heart
are you brilliant or just smart
then dig down deeper

there's a small piece inside of me
that's shown interest to scream
it's a riot inside of me
and my brain's the police
in contempt and unbendingly
I surrender, it seems

dark. all it takes is a spark
a trace of love in your heart
are you brilliant or just smart
then dig down deeper

heart. need to get back my spark
get in the state of the art
not let this peel me apart
and dig down deeper

if I dig deep enough,
maybe I'll bury me...

heart. need to get back my spark
get in the state of the art
not let this peel me apart
and dig down deeper

dark. all it takes is a spark
a trace of love in your heart
are you just brilliant or smart
then dig down deeper

if I dig deep enough maybe I'll plant a seed
put in all that I have just to feel that in green
if I care for this deep, it will grow to a tree
and I'll save all it's sap and pick up all of it's leaves

Scintilla | Stone Catcherye & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Since it’s Springtime (at least, in my neck of the woods), I thought it would be fun to share a few gardening tips… for your brain!! :)

Consider for a moment the evolving brain of our mammalian ancestors. Recent neuroscience studies suggest we are dramatically more wired for absorbing and reliving negativity than we are positivity. It’s all part of the survival plan. If you think a lot about a bad situation (like that time you were jumped by a tiger in the jungle, and barely escaped with your life), you’re able to imagine similar scenarios better, and are less likely to fall victim to the same situation. 

The issue is, the average human is not as physically threatened as mammals were during those early developmental stages. But we are more psychologically threatened; and those scenarios still get stored, replayed and reimagined in the same way. 

Admittedly, we still need those survival skills to some degree. But perhaps it’s ok if we dial them down a bit. So how do we do that? With the help of the next cool book I want to share, ‘Hardwiring Happiness’ by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

One of the most profound ideas I pulled from this book was the idea of just sitting and dwelling in a positive moment. Sounds weird, right?

Intriguingly… quite the opposite of how we store negative experiences for survival purposes, positive experiences don’t often benefit our survival, and are typically discarded with the passing of short term memory. 

But if you dwell in a happy moment… if you feel the excitement in your body (chemical), if you replay the scenario (neurological)… and don’t just shrug it off, but literally allow yourself to spend even 5-10 minutes in that space… you do the same storage upload process to your brain that the negative stuff is doing (and if you’re like me, you can easily spend 5-10 minutes dwelling on that negative crap, so you know you have it in you to focus that long). 

So with practice and patience, you begin to rewire your mind to more easily tap into those positive memories, and that positive energy. And if you keep doing that on a frequent basis, you discover your mind grows much more adept at naturally jumping to happy thoughts rather than fearful thoughts. 

I joyfully admit I put this to the test about 15 years ago, when I started my ‘finding my truth’ journey (it sounded better than a midlife crisis. Those are so passé these days. Sheesh). But I painfully admit… I also had a dragon-sized ego at the time. I hid my fears and self-doubts behind a wall of arrogant rage. And I was strangely untouchable (but also snippy and abrasive) with that kind of armor and weaponry. 

Ultimately, it wasn’t who I wanted to be. Thus the desire for change. I went into this new daily practice expecting no immediate results. All I had was hope that it would impact my neural wiring eventually. And about 5 years into that practice, I realized I was recognizably more positive inside. 

Granted, it took me that long because I was (foolishly) at war with my ego, thinking it was ‘the enemy’… rather than just a co-pilot with delusions of piloty grandeur (so there you go, you can bypass that step if you want to). 

15 years into my practice, I am so much healthier mentally than I was back then, it’s like I’ve lived two different lives. Now, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I can absolutely see the journey was well worth it. So if you’re looking for another insightful tool for changing your thinking, I highly recommend ‘Hardwiring Happiness’. It’s a great ‘starting point’ book. And it’s based on neuroscience; so, very high on logic, but low on esoteric (making it a little more approachable to the masses). 

I hope you also enjoyed my latest musical creation, ‘Planting In The Hidden Garden’. :)

Planting In The Hidden Garden

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #08 album)

Over the past few years, I’ve discovered several unique and delightful souls in our community; and the song I get to share today is my first collaboration with one of my favorite Soundcloud troubadours, Tanisha Jackland (Lady of Fire Poetry - https://soundcloud.com/ladyofire, https://ladyoffirepoetry.bandcamp.com/).

I messaged her a few months ago, hoping for a little inspirational pointer to one of her favorite open collab offerings. And to my great surprise and excitement, she offered to create something entirely new for the project. In addition, she introduced me to her muse for this particular piece, Emily Levine. Needless to say, Emily will be the subject for this write-up (so thanks, Tanisha… for that introduction; and for getting to create this song with you. I had a lot of fun with this one). :)

So who was Emily Levine? Emily started her career in 1977 as a stand-up comedian. But the world wasn’t ready to take female comedians seriously, so in 1980 she became a television writer and producer. Over the next decade, she worked on intelligent sitcoms, including ‘Designing Women’ and ‘Love and War’; and comedy pilots for CBS, NBC, ABC and HBO.

Despite an admirable career as a Screenwriter, Emily’s largest transformation came in the form of a tumor found on her pituitary gland. 

Before the diagnosis, she began experiencing a wide array of symptoms like extreme fatigue, brain fog, osteoarthritis, carpel tunnel, acromegaly (where your extremities grow abnormally large) and a lack of interest in the activities she enjoyed. 

Eventually, the tumor was discovered and successfully removed. But during her illness and recovery she began to explore more modern, scientific ideologies. This is where she had some of her greatest life epiphanies; my personal favorite being the realization that we need to evolve our thinking from Newton’s Universe to the Universe of Relativity, Chaos Theory and Quantum Physics. 

Here’s her basic formula. The Newtonian Universe is one of ‘either/or’; either this is true or that is true, but both can’t be true. If I’m right, you must be wrong. It’s very linear, black and white thinking; and it’s the hurdle that the human race can’t seem to get past.

But if you give Quantum Physics a spin, the formula becomes ‘and-and-and’ (notice the dashes rather than slashes). For example, light can be a wave and a particle, depending on how you look at it. I can be right, and you can be right, depending on how we look at it. That single idea transforms very rigid, absolute thinking (off/on, right/wrong) into something far my dynamic and probability based. It gives the human race the breathing room we need to help us solve our current polarizations; a beautiful opportunity for transforming the old paradigm into something that helps us evolve our thinking and move forward as a species.

So if you like your plate of perspective served with a side of humor, we highly recommend Emily’s amazing film ‘Emily @ The Edge of Chaos’ and her heartwarming TED talks ‘How I Made Friends With Reality (https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_levine_how_i_made_friends_with_reality). In the meantime, Tanisha and I hope you enjoyed our first collaboration ‘Moonbeings’. :)

Spoken Word:
Moonbeings
We are not an absolute 
one day to be fodder
 for the Earth 
She will consume us 
after we have had enough
 for we are cyclical beings 
waning always waning
 fading into frequencies
 of rearranging patterns

I'd like to think 
we have an eternity
 to come back again 
if necessary
 to try on new flesh
 to eat again
 at the bounty of Earth

Moonbeings (for Emily Levine) | Lady of Fire Poetry & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #08 album)

Over the past few years, Carlos (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com/) has helped me navigate a mountain of information on music theory, and taught me some basics on playing the piano as well. Our collaborations are always a great opportunity to cement those ideas into sounds. 

For our 5th collaboration, he sent me a very cool Harmonic Cadence foundation (piano, cello, drums and xylophone), moving the tonalities by 5ths along the way. He also explained that all I needed to do was refer to my lessons on Minor Pentatonics and transitioning by 5ths to fill in the gaps appropriately. I’m thrilled to actually understand what that means now. :) 

Plus, he provides me creative counting methods (that I might otherwise overlook). This is an 8/8 song, but the count is 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2; so I get to use mathematics to place my notes at key points along that count. I get to combine the best of both worlds (mathematics and creativity) into one space… and that’s a lot of fun. 

So Carlos, thanks for being such a positive influence in my life. I’ve learned so much from you. I am truly grateful for your time, your teachings, and your friendship. I love working with you, and I love how this song turned out.

And to the rest of our Soundcloud friends, we hope you enjoy our 5th collaboration, ‘Twelfth Knight’. :)

Twelfth Knight | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Every once in a while I encounter something that is so well written (and speaks so directly to my heart), the best thing I can do is simply pass it along. This little slice of hopeful wisdom is by Brian Piergrossi (an author/mentor/life coach type of fellow, http://brianpiergrossi.com/; and the poem originally appeared in his book 'The Big Glow'). It was a very lucky internet discovery; and resonates pleasantly with my thinking. I hope it inspires you too. :)

Oh, and before I forget, there’s also a new song to enjoy… ‘In Cognito’, while you read Brian’s delightful message. :D

LOVE IS THE NEW RELIGION (AKA: A SPIRITUAL CONSPIRACY)
On the surface of the world right now there is 
war and violence and things seem dark.
But calmly and quietly, at the same time, 
something else is happening underground
An inner revolution is taking place 
and certain individuals are being called to a higher light.
It is a silent revolution.
From the inside out. From the ground up.
This is a Global operation.
A Spiritual Conspiracy.
There are sleeper cells in every nation on the planet.
You won’t see us on the T.V.
You won’t read about us in the newspaper
You won’t hear about us on the radio
We don't seek any glory
We don't wear any uniform
We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles
Most of us work anonymously
We are quietly working behind the scenes 
in every country and culture of the world
Cities big and small, mountains and valleys, 
in farms and villages, tribes and remote islands
You could pass by one of us on the street 
and not even notice
We go undercover
We remain behind the scenes
It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit
But simply that the work gets done
Occasionally we spot each other in the street
We give a quiet nod and continue on our way
During the day many of us pretend we have normal jobs
But behind the false storefront at night 
is where the real work takes a place
Some call us the Conscious Army
We are slowly creating a new world 
with the power of our minds and hearts
We follow, with passion and joy
Our orders come from the Central Spiritual Intelligence
We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no one is looking
Poems ~ Hugs ~ Music ~ Photography ~ Movies ~ Kind words ~
Smiles ~ Meditation and prayer ~ Dance ~ Social activism ~ Websites
Blogs ~ Random acts of kindness...
Releasing grudges, letting go of judgments..
We each express ourselves in our own unique ways
with our own unique gifts and talents
Be the change you want to see in the world
That is the motto that fills our hearts
We know it is the only way real transformation takes place
We know that quietly and humbly we have the 
power of all the oceans combined
Our work is slow and meticulous
Like the formation of mountains
It is not even visible at first glance
And yet with it entire tectonic plates 
shall be moved in the centuries to come
Love is the new religion of the 21st century
You don't have to be a highly educated person
Or have any exceptional knowledge to understand it
It comes from the intelligence of the heart
Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings
Be the change you want to see in the world
Nobody else can do it for you
We are now recruiting
Perhaps you will join us
Or already have.
All are welcome
The door is open

In Cognito

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually as part of my BandCamp PWWO #08 album)

Greetings to our SC friends. For those in hotter climates, we hope you’re enjoying the slow broil this fine mid-July. :) 

Today, Jo (Minimal_Drone*GRL: https://soundcloud.com/minimal_drone_grl, https://minimaldronegrl.bandcamp.com/) and I are thrilled to share our second collab, ‘Anima Unbound’. It started out as an ambient piece, but somehow evolved into something very… different. We hope you enjoy. 

Along with the new song, we’re also excited to share some ideas/excerpts from a book we discovered we both love, ‘The Untethered Soul’ by Michael A. Singer. :D

This book has some great suggestions for modifying unconscious daily routines into conscious activities designed to raise personal awareness. 

One of our favorite chapters is about ‘The Inner Roommate’, and is a surprisingly simple experiment. The idea is to imagine the voice in your head as an individual separate from you (like a roommate). Every time you have a thought, imagine those words are coming from someone on the outside (rather than in your head). If that voice happens to be ultra-chatty, and often negative, the experiment proves quite effective, quite quickly. 

As Michael suggests “How would you feel if someone outside really started talking to you the way your inner voice does? How would you relate to a person who opened their mouth to say everything your mental voice says? After a very short period of time, you would tell them to leave and never come back. But when your inner friend continuously speaks up, you don’t even tell it to leave. No matter how much trouble it causes, you listen.”

That was definitely an eye-opening experiment for both of us; with surprising results from very little effort.

Another chapter that struck a cord with us is ‘The Secrets of the Spiritual Heart’. This is an intriguing idea that when the heart is open, you fall in love with life very easily. But when the heart is closed, you lose interest and desire very quickly. It’s all about energy intake (or blockage).

A healthy heart will witness things in our surroundings, process them, and let them go… which keeps us in a state of constantly renewing energy intake. This is the way we are meant to process the astounding amounts of info coming at us. Witness, experience, learn, let go… then witness the next thing with equal openness.

But a heart trapped in fear handles things a little differently. If you encounter something that upsets you, it makes an impression (coincidentally, the Yogic/Sanskrit term for this is Samskara, meaning ‘Impression’). Since energy is a constant, but you aren’t able to release it, you find yourself trapped with that impression, although you might not realize it at the time. It’s like an audio loop that is always ready to be queued up, even if you’ve forgotten you have it stored on your hard drive. The way you know it’s still trapped inside you is when it surfaces under other similar circumstances… and that might be the first time you realize it’s still there.

Where this concept really helps is the idea that looping energy gunks up the system, like a hairball gunks up your plumbing. If the hairball gets too big (or there are too many of them) there will be a direct impact on other things flowing through the pipes effectively. This disturbing clump of negative gunk is actually interfering with more positive elements flowing through you. So if you want to return those pipes to a more natural flow of energy, you first need to clean out the gunk of those trapped old emotions. 

Sometimes the simplest analogies are the best. And this book is full of them.

So there you have it. Jo and I hope you enjoyed this inspirational little write-up (perhaps enough to spark a little interest in the book). And we also hope you enjoy our latest musical offering, ‘Anima Unbound’. :)

Anima Unbound | Minimal_Drone*GRL & GrevusAnjl

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Good morning everyone. While you enjoy my newest song, I have another book I want to share with you; this time purely for fun. The book is titled ‘Moonwalking with Einstein (The Art and Science of Remembering Everything)’ by Joshua Foer, and it’s an intriguing exploration into how our memory works, and how it can be life hacked.

For those who haven’t encountered the idea, I first discovered the term ‘Mind Palace’ in the new Sherlock series (with Benedict Cumberbatch). At first I assumed it was a clever way to further the story along; showing us Sherlock’s miraculous mental powers, and his ability to explore and revisit locations from his memories. But after reading this book, I’m happy to say the Mind Palace is a real thing; and it really works. :D

So if you ever find yourself needing to remember a long list of items , but you lack paper and pencil (or the ability to take notes on your smart phone, because you’re trapped in the distant past without your charging cables)… here’s how you do it…

First, you need a location that is very familiar to you. In my case, I chose my house and garage. 

Second, imagine a path traversed through that location. I chose to imagine the moment I pull into the garage after a day at work; and the walk I would take leading into the house and up to our master bedroom.

Third, imagine those items in your path, discovered along your intended route (and here’s the fun part… the sillier you can make the object, the easier it is to remember. An apple is just an apple, but an apple with a baby bonnet on it really stands out in your memory).

So as an example, I want to remember a grocery list that includes apples, milk, a bag of flour, gum, a protein shake, etc. In my imagination, I step out of my car to discover a basket full of apples wearing baby bonnets on the table by the garage door. I then proceed through the garage door to discover a cow holding a container of milk, smiling at me. Then I make my way to the back door of the house, and am hit with an exploding cloud of flour as I open the door. Now covered in flour, I make my way into the kitchen and discover lawn gnomes sitting at the table, chewing gum and blowing bubbles. Walking past them, I find a muscular squirrel pumping iron with one hand, drinking a protein drink with the other. And it goes on and on from there. 

Just to give you an idea how effective this technique is, Cheer and I were easily able to recall about 25 things… in the correct order (and we’re talking concepts as well as objects) while experimenting with this little memory game. That is mind blowing to consider; and it’s amazingly easy once you get the routine down. 

So there you go; a new mental acuity game you can play with friends and family. And it’s just one of several concepts shared in this book (which also includes techniques for memorizing sequences of numbers, or a poem, or the stacking order of a deck of cards, etc.). I had a lot of fun experimenting with these tricks and techniques, and I still practice some of them from time to time. I hope you find the concept intriguing as well. And I hope you enjoyed my latest musical offering ‘The Secret World Inside My Blanket Fort’ while you expanded your brain’s capabilities. :)

Paradox?

The Secret World Inside My Blanket Fort

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of 'Last Call')

Greetings my SC friends. It’s been a strange few months, and I am excited to be back. But I have a feeling it’s not going to look like it did… at least for the near future. I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts lately. And while the musical energy is flowing better than ever, my ability to write satisfying liner notes is feeling a little clogged (this will be my 6th attempt at this write-up). 

As much as I regret it, the write-ups may need to stay on hold for a while longer. But first, I wanted to share what happened (in the form of a write-up. Lol). 

For starters, it’s important to mention I’ve been an alcoholic since I was 15 (a 40 year relationship). And although I genuinely loved what a nice beer buzz did for my noisy mind, I also knew what toxic alcoholism looked like (from many examples in my extended family). So I knew I had my work cut out for me, if I wanted to overcome my genetic dependancy. 

Granted, I also have a ‘responsibility’ vein that runs deep. I did my best to prioritize my family and responsibilities first (‘don’t drink til 5:00. Don’t drink if ya have to drive’ kinda stuff), and I considered myself a ‘functioning alcoholic’. Truthfully, I was never ashamed of my drinking. As a teenager, the ability to not give a shit that I found in a beer buzz honestly saved my life. And it allowed me to unplug from the noise for many decades after that.

But I wanted to do better than that, so I started making changes quite a while ago. Here’s a brief summary of how that unfolded:

1. Back in 2006 I concluded my negative headspace was the root of the problem (perspective is huge); so I altered my daily routines, knowing it would take years to undo the lifetime of programming that caused that thinking in the first place. I started consuming info that was positive and hopeful and loving (and avoided negative info like my life depended on it… which it did). And I did that intensively for the next 15 years.

2. But by January of 2023, I realized the beer buzz no longer quieted the noise and ugliness happening in the world (it all went too chaotic too fast). So if the crutch wasn't helpful, it needed to go. That’s when I tried Tai Chi (to give my mind something else to focus on). And it worked brilliantly.

3. Over the next 6 months, thanks to the calmer headspace created by Tai Chi, I cut my drinking tremendously (and for perspective, we’re talking 9-18 Natties daily… down to 3-6 Natties daily). The surprise outcome… the fog in my mind was clearing for the first time, and I was not prepared for sober adult Justin (man is my brain chattery when left to it’s own devices). So at the beginning of August 2023, I decided to take my Social Media break. That was more timely than I could have imagined, because…

4. On August 26th I was given the gift of Pancreatitis (the disease that lets you know ‘Wow, Dude. You drink way too much’). I went to the Emergency room with terrible intestinal pain, and I ended up in the hospital for 5 days. Long story short, I left the hospital sober, and have been that way ever since. And I’m genuinely happy about that… because thankfully, I did a great job preparing for that day.

So in a nutshell... I am back. But the writings may have to wait a while longer (at least until I figure out how my new clearer headspace works). Interestingly, I managed to produce almost an entire album of new music over my break, so I'll put those new songs up on SC over the coming weeks. 

And since I’m just a few songs short of completion, I’ll be releasing a very personal album (symbolizing my adventures with sobriety) very soon. It’s called ‘What Color Is Your Paradox?’, and I hope to have it on Bandcamp in February.

In the meantime, I’m happy to be back. And I look forward to seeing what all of you have been up to over the last few months. :)

 Big hugs from your blatantly open-book friend.
-Justin

Last Call

This is the third song intended for my next album 'What Color Is Your Paradox'. It was originally finished on 10/23/2023. I hope you enjoy. :)

Love Songs Of The Apocalypse

This is the fourth song intended for my next album 'What Color Is Your Paradox'. It was originally finished on 11/08/2023. I hope you enjoy. :)

Cautiously He Tends

And here is the fifth song planned for my next album 'What Color Is Your Paradox'. It was originally finished on 11/22/2023. I hope you enjoy this as well. 

Just FYI... I have about four more songs to go before I'm all caught up on the unreleased music. Then I'll be back to sharing them as I finish them. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a stickler for chronological order (among other neuro-spicy organizational and numerical ways of thinking). :)

Ghosting Our Pilates Instructor

And this be song six (and also the title track) for my upcoming album. This one was originally finished on 12/04/2023. I have just one more left to share that was finished last year, and two finished early this year... and the final song for the album is in the works as we speak. 

I'll try to keep to these Friday releases (almost missed it tonight though. haha). So whilst you wait patiently for the others, I offer you 'What Color Is Your Paradox'. :)

What Color Is Your Paradox?

And here is the seventh song destined for my upcoming album. This one was originally finished on 12/16/2023; and the last song completed in 2023. Just three more songs and I'll be caught up, and back to releasing new stuff as I make it. I hope you enjoy 'We'll Burn That Bridge When We Come To It'. :)

We’ll Burn That Bridge When We Come To It

Happy Friday everyone. :)

Silly story behind this song name. My family can get a little snarky at times (surprise, surprise); and the title is definitely a running joke around the household... following the adoption of our first dog ever. 

Needless to say, we've determined these frightening, bite-sized culinary experiments gone wrong are your furry little friend's worst nightmare. So if you spot one wandering your neighborhood while out on walkies... do not engage. o.o

I hope you enjoy my first actual 2024 offering (completed on January 15th; and also destined for my upcoming album), a dangerous little delicacy called 'Chocolate Covered Garlic Grapes'. :D

Chocolate Covered Garlic Grapes

Happy Friday to my SC friends. Today’s musical offering is very special to me because it signifies a breaking away from my old patterns. Long story short… old Justin was pretty set in his music making/production routines (solo work belongs on solo albums. Collab work belongs on collab albums. And never the two shall meet). 

But new Justin is proving to be surprisingly more flexible in his thinking; an interesting (I might even go as far as to say… shocking) result of my new paradigm. And while it might seem like a ‘nothing burger’ to most people… the way my brain is wired, this is a huge change… and one I am grateful for.

So today I happily offer my first collab song, also intended for my first hybrid album. The song is called ‘Life In Twilight’… and my guest artist is our dear friend, Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com), offering up the lovely Alto Sax and Guitar you hear in this piece

If you haven’t already crossed paths with Carlos, you are missing out. He is one of the most prolific people I have encountered in my travels. He plays about 30+ instruments, each with impressive skill. And if the instrument doesn’t exist... he creates it himself. And 'musician' is just one aspect of his inspiring and adventurous life. He is a great example of a person who discovered his passions early, and is now living a beautiful life pursuing those passions. We need more people like him in this world, reminding us of what is truly important.

On a personal level, the stuff Carlos has taught me over the years has helped me ease into this new sober life with tremendous grace. The music theory and instrumental lessons have helped make my sonic worlds more sophisticated (and therefore more rewarding to craft). And the moving and breathing meditations (Chi energy exercises) have proven fundamental to my mental/spiritual well being too. Needless to say, he has been a major influence in my evolving life; and I will be forever grateful. 

Carlos, I am honored beyond words that you are the guest artist on my first hybrid album. It signifies a great new direction for me. I’m excited to be on this path, and I’m glad you agreed to join me. 

To everyone else, we hope you enjoy “Life In Twilight”, the first of two new songs with Carlos that will ultimately wrap up my upcoming album “What Color Is Your Paradox?” 

(And yes... this is the last song I still had in the archives from my little break; originally finished on 1/20/2024. It's all going to be new content from here on out). :)

Life In Twilight | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

Greetings and good afternoon to my SC friends. This is the 10th and final song intended for my upcoming album ‘What Color Is Your Paradox’. It is also my 7th mind-blowing collaboration with our dear friend Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com). 

This piece was highly entertaining and challenging to work on. We started with clearly defined regions (mine being the more techno sounding stuff… Carlos building the traditional instrument sections). I then mangled the whole thing, and tried to blur the lines more as the song progresses, until both worlds felt fully merged by the end. At least, that was the goal. I’ll let you decide if the structure succeeds in that regard. :)

The title is also quite significant to me at this point in my life; based on the idea of ‘masking’, and our growing inability to do so. 

If you aren’t familiar with the term ‘masking’, one Mental Health Care website I found defines it this way: “Masking often involves suppressing or hiding true emotions, which can lead to a buildup of unresolved feelings and contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional turmoil in the long-term. In the context of mental health and neurodivergence, masking refers to the actions or coping strategies that individuals use to conceal their genuine thoughts, emotions, or challenges.”

It didn’t really occur to me at first that I was masking when I was younger. I guess that idea doesn’t resonate when you’re deeply lost in the illusion; at least, until something makes it obvious. But in hindsight, I’ve worn many masks over the course of my life (Art Director, Technician, Pre-Press Specialist and Graphic Artist would be some of my professional masks. And I would even go so far as to include Husband, Father and Son, since I was on auto-pilot during the earliest stages of those as well). 

As my life progressed, I felt more and more insincere in those roles. I felt something was wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Then COVID (something that actually required us to wear real masks. What irony!) came along, and miraculously changed that for all of us. We gained the necessary space we needed, to finally see the illusion more clearly. Now, that illusion grows more fragile and transparent by the day. So while I’m still in the early stages of trying to figure out the new paradigm… I suspect the really critical takeaway at this point is just recognizing when we’re being our genuine selves, and when we’re lost in a role; especially if that role is debilitating to our personal growth and well being.

Another thing I’m thinking a lot on these days…. Society is dependent on me playing those roles. And society doesn’t really care whether I’m happy or not (as long as I keep paying my bills, and buying their products, and believing their lies). So maybe, just maybe, society doesn’t have my best interests at heart (as I had originally hoped). Maybe… just maybe… we’re going to need to redefine who we are personally, as we stop playing along with this globally unconscious and ultimately destructive agenda.

Thick and chunky topic, I know. But that’s the way the world feels to me these days… like we needed a brisk slap across the face to wake us all up. COVID was that slap (and probably just the first of many still to come). It’s time to prioritize our own self interests; because if we don’t, they certainly won’t. So rip off those masks, and let your freak flag fly. It’s our life, and we’ll be the ones sitting on our deathbed, asking ourselves if we lived life true to ourselves…. or if we just fulfilled the role demanded by this illusion.

We hope you enjoy “Cracks In The Surface”; and it inspires you to think about what aspects of your reality are cracking. Keep in mind… if you still have a pulse, there is always time to change things up. :)

Cracks In The Surface | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

Good evening to my SC friends. I hope life is treating you all well.

First thing I want to share… there is a reason why so many of my recent songs don’t include write-ups. I promised myself a long time ago I would search out positive and productive ideas, and only share those. But lately, I’m wasting a lot of time and energy dwelling in darker territories. It’s way too easy for my ego to jump on the ‘fear’ bandwagon (that’s happening to a lot of us these days); and I feel an intense responsibility to never use my writing abilities to spread more of that kind of thinking. 

Granted, I am also in a regular state of arguing with that very convincing voice, reminding it that it is only focusing on one perspective (the ‘fear’ one). That right there is gift number one… having a separate voice in my head, working diligently to raise the bar. And it’s a gift we all have; the voice that gently sits above the voice of the ego… reminding us ‘this is all about discovering the love in any given scenario’. The problem is, the ego can get noisy enough to mute that other voice; and it’s easy to forget it’s still there.

But when I achieve those moments of clarity, I laugh at how susceptible I am to my own negative thinking. What I really believe deep down is that (as experiential souls) we’re all actually doing great, and this is all going according to plan. 

I know, I know. Have I lost my mind? That can’t be possible, right? We can’t be ok? There is simply too much evidence to the contrary.

That ‘evidence’ is gift number two. Thanks to tools like the internet and social media, we can see this all happening live, everywhere, and all at once (including the now obvious lies). For the first time in documented history, anything you want to know is readily at your fingertips. 

Granted, the folks who want to control us understand human psychology well enough to use that information (drizzled in fear) to manipulate us… which seems like a bad thing. But I want to suggest it’s actually a good thing. Our hearts really only want to love (and be loved): and our ego can only take so much negative info before the body grows sick with that energy. Using a nightmare as an example… you’ll endure a lot in that sleeping state, until you reach a tipping point. And then you snap awake from the nightmare, cringe at how convincing it was, and tell yourself “I don’t ever want to experience that again. That was scary.” We need these nightmares for perspective. And the worse the nightmare gets, the more people are destined to wake up from it.

Here’s where my ideas get weird. Instead of fearing all those voices who are currently driving civilization to the brink (of who knows what, just yet). What if we thanked them. What if those frightened/frightening voices are inadvertently doing exactly what we need them to be doing… breaking the nightmare, by making it unbearable. These days, when someone tells me I need to be afraid, I immediately gravitate to the thought ‘what do you stand to gain by making me feel that way?” And that is usually enough to spark other ways of thinking. 

Simply speaking, we can determine the trustability of a message by determining its underlying energy: Fear = Bad, Love = Good. So many institutions want us to be afraid right now, and I genuinely question the motives behind anyone pushing that agenda. So yes, I thank all those leaders out there; the ones forcing fear on us so relentlessly. You are waking us up faster than you realize. And while your precariously unsustainable structure won’t survive this awakening… the human race will. 

I hope you enjoy my latest sonic swirl, ‘Poly Ticks And The Powdered Keg’. :)

Poly Ticks And The Powdered Keg

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More', and by clicking the BandCamp link above)

[Be warned: My brain is bonkers right now. I made bonkers music. And holy shit… it felt good. o.O]

Before I go too deeply into this post, I want to say with all sincerity that I feel for the world right now… and I am right there in the muck with you. We’re suffering. We’re scared inside. We’re growing numb. Daily routines seem a bit trivial in the face of the unknown; and daily needs aren’t being met… causing priorities to shift. These are strange times indeed.

Lets start with the term ‘viral’. In this day and age, it’s probably more common to think of ‘something going viral’ as something exploding on the internet. But it’s also tipping points; those moments where something has enough momentum to become a wide-spread phenomena. The Coronavirus is doing this in a very literal sense. Our fear is doing it in a very emotional sense. Panic can turn viral just as easily as infection can, and while we can’t seem to control the virus, we have a great deal of control over panic.

I think we can all agree, the Coronavirus is front and center in our minds (and weighs heavy on all our hearts). Something you may not have heard about (I would have missed it. I do my best to avoid prolonged exposure to the news) was the wonderful 5.7 earthquake the Salt Lake valley had last week; early Wednesday morning while we prepared for work. It was absolutely surreal. A big boom. The whole house started shaking like we built the foundation on Jello. And it continued to shake the entire time I was gathering up my family, racing them toward the safest areas… of an old brick house. (Oh… and the aftershocks continue. We’ve felt at least 20. The strongest was 4.6. The last was about 12 hours ago. It’s getting really old.) When the first quake hit, we just couldn’t take it any more; we all wanted to fall down and cry. On top of the Coronavirus… it was too much.

And that is the kind of moment where you break free, in order not to break. A light shines so brightly on your life… you begin to see the details with great clarity. Entitlement shifts toward gratitude. Boredom becomes treasured silence. And the superficial aspects of our lives begin to melt away under their own extraneous heat. 

The earthquake was that moment of clarity for me; that moment of sunshine through the dense cloud cover. As weird as it is to say, I needed a 5.7 magnitude shock to the system, to wake me from the slow drowning I was experiencing.

Your experience might not happen this abruptly… but it will happen. The Coronavirus is already effecting every one of us, to some degree; and it’s going to get a lot worse. And… the human psyche can only stretch so far. But therein lies the new viral event; massive awakening. Sometimes we need to be knocked hard to the ground, so we can get up with fresh eyes. Once that happens, there’s no going back to sleep. So watch for that. We will be showered with opportunities.

In the meantime, check in with your personal viral events. Is your head filled with fearful or peaceful thoughts? Are you sitting in front of the news, or on Facebook, getting sucked into the drama? Or are you choosing to prioritize the things that make you happy; being with the ones you love, sharing good times… making music, etc. In short, are you lost to the viral noise of others? Or are you able to keep a clear head in the storm, and become your own voice for love and compassion; a voice with the potential to be so much more infectious. Choose what you want to spread, my friends.

I hope you enjoy my latest creation, ‘Going Viral.’ :)

The Great Divide

Going Viral

MESSAGE TO MY SC FRIENDS: I regret to admit, the Soundcloud bugs are such a frequent occurrence now, it’s effecting my mood and my creative energy; and I need to have the wisdom to stop using it. But there are a lot of you out there still putting forth the effort (and I greatly admire you for having the patience), so I also need to stop openly complaining about it.

Honestly, one of the main reasons I chose SC was the ability to connect with you, and support and celebrate your new songs as well. I can’t do that effectively anymore. And speaking from the heart (with a definite bias coming from my autistic wiring)… it feels insincere and wrong to me, to keep uploading my music here, if I can’t support your music as well. 

So long story short, as much as this sucks, I decided to cancel my subscription (which ends on June 29th). The way the world is going, my time (and money) need to go toward things that promote happiness. Clearly… buggy software does not. o.o

If SC miraculously gets these bugs sorted out by then, I will happily reactivate my subscription. If they don’t, the solo works will need to be deleted a few days before June 29th, to ensure there is room for all the collabs (I don’t want my collab partners to suffer any losses, because of my choice). 

Before that happens, I urge you to grab free downloads of anything you want. Please help yourselves to copy/pastes of any liner notes you enjoyed as well. And I will also mention, all my current and future works will still be found on Bandcamp (original liner notes included in each song description). Those are truly the best versions of the songs anyway (finalized for the albums), and they will remain free to download there as well.

If the Pro Account does go poof in June, it goes without saying, I would love to stay in touch with you via other methods. You are always welcome to message me at GrevusAnjl@mac.com, and let me know how things are going in your world. :)

Your friend,
Justin (aka: GrevusAnjl)

Popular tracks by GrevusAnjl