Music and Lyrics Sifu Chris Blake
Lyrics Hilde Svendsrud

-  Happy New Years Eve!

Everything that can be heard was sampled from IPG1's fab vocals, except the one-bar Sting interlude. Thanks for keeping on doing this Ian!

https://soundcloud.com/ipg1/
https://soundcloud.com/ipg1/sets/clear-and-present

Clear And Present with Ian Greaves aka IPG1

Indie rock with a 80’s/90’s vibe …

Start (How did you know ) written Oct 2023 

I’ll start from the beginning 
I was surrounded by love 
And it all became too much 
When I Stood on the cusp 
Of adulthood 
I can see it was never enough 

You had no support but you still remained
The most positive person I’ve ever seen constrained 

How did you know 
I’d hide if love took control
How did you know 
It would all take it’s toll 

You stopped me in my tracks 
I had never felt such a force 
It told me I should reason 
With my darkest thoughts 
Because in the light 
Is where life is taught 

You had no support but you still remained
The most innocent person I’ve seen restrained  
 
How did you know 
I’d hide if love takes control
How did you know 
It would all take it’s toll

Start

THE TEMPEST

This is a track I created months ago. I think I had it posted for a second but then took it down to edit it some more. It totally has the sound i try and create so I figured its time to put it up and out. I hope you feel it as much as I do. All music, guitars and production done by this guy and his simple little set up. Turn it up and enjoy....

Down into it (Instrumental)

Big Missing (...sometimes I feel like this...)

'perhaps, the best...'

Baby, unfortunately you have gave me
no choice but to leave you,
'cause you're crazy.
Indeed, at once it was 'maybe.'
But, now it is definitely 'no.'
Although I am sad to see you go.
And wish you all the best.
I still love you.
And always will for what you've been to me.
Eternally. 

I pushed you through your spare room window
and never left.
You made me poutine, burned your arm and had sex. Perhaps the best...

perhaps, the best

Blow a kiss and I’ll find you 
Find the way to travel through 
Somewhere deep inside the wind
Find a place to start again
I can still smell your hair 
I’m so grateful that youre near 

Call out my name and I’ll be there 
I’ll travel through and the water and air
And if I feel you can not breathe
Set blankets far across the sea 
I’ll lay in wait from stitch to stitch
And drift away on dreams I missed 

Kiss the earth and I’ll find you 
Traveling far with the grays and blues 
Into the clouds I’ll whisper your name 
Promise to you, things won’t be the same 
Seeing you now, knowing your here
Feeling your breath, take you fears

Ťravel Țħrougħ

K2 and the Three: Drums & Bass
@k2andthe3 | @k2-kara

TexMex Shaman: Guitar
@texmex-shaman

Cosmic Keanu: Vocals, Keyboards, Mix & Art
@cosmic_keanu

This is a newly mastered version from Chris with new vocals!

Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds Cover) K2 & the Three, TexMex Shaman, Cosmic Keanu

Cast of Characters:
xian3-- @xian3 – Christian -- vocals and lyrics
Holger Engel—bass, seed idea
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- electric piano, synth
mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark-- electric piano
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)-- @josh-clary-1 – guitar and four-string fretless bass
 
This song began with Christian's friend Holger Engel coming up with a melodic bass line and sharing it with him to use as a seed stem for a project. Having collaborated successfully with him before, Christian thought of Josh and decided to pass it along to him to see what he could build with it. Josh was excited to work on another of Holger's creations. His bass line was in a high octave on the instrument, so Josh added a similar, complimentary bass line on the low octave to give it some heft. He invited Ken onto the project, and after doing their little rhythm section give and take, Ken laid down some powerful, yet tasteful drums. Mark was brought in next, and added some very fitting, wonderfully melodic electric piano, which he added in the choruses. Josh also asked JJ to add some electric piano to the verses and synth to the whole thing, which he did in a very mind-bending syncopated way. Josh then added some guitar to the high end to thicken things up a bit.
  We then sent the finished product back to Christian to add his thoughtful, inspired lyrics and signature vocals to his song. This is what Christian had to say about how the lyrics came about. 
  "[Being an avid reader], I came along the sentence, 'We write and make art to show our wounds to the world,' reading an interview with Paul Auster (1947-2024). He died earlier this year, yet his novels are legendary. There was talk about creativity, manifoldness and what the personality consists of. 
  "I can’t remember where that interview was and basically I wrote the lyrics around this sentence attributed to him. 
  "I quote another writer, Goethe (1749-1832), with a famous quotation from "Faust,“ 'Two souls, Alas, housed in my breast...' That points in the right thematic direction in my opinion.
For sure the lyrics also contain other layers of meanings, much more personal…
I am also happy about the title of the song 'We Are Many'. I think Tez came up with it. I was unsure for very long, what’s the name of that song… :)"
  After we had it in the bag, we asked mix-master Tez to produce and mix it, so what you hear is also his creative vision for the project. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
 
Original "We Are Many" lyrics by Xian:


1
To me it seems very obviously
That my I is not a unity
Rather a bunch of personalities
I got a problem with multiplicities


ref
We write and make „art“ 
To show our wounds to the world
We write and make „art“ …


2
I am no self-contained identity
Cut off by other possibilities
No border guards set up at the boundary
Enforce the claim to exclusivity


ref
We write and make „art“ 
To show our wounds to the world
We write and make „art“…
„I“ writes and makes „art“
To heal the wounds of the heart


3
„Two souls, alas, housed in my breast…“
We hope, that if we do confess
To get rid of this fallacy
And collect the splits of personality


ref
We write and make „art“ 
To show our wounds to the world
I write and make „art“
To heal the wounds of my heart


out
There is
A consolation in round things
There is
A consolation in round things 
A consolation in round things
Oh, ohh,
„I“, „I“,
Oh…

We Are Many (Xian 3 and Eclectic Collective)

The third in this set of Bandcamp EPs finds Honey Smugglers at Bark Studio in Walthamstow in the Autumn of 1990 during initial sessions for a follow up to the `Listen' EP. As it turns out we recorded a different set of songs for the `Closer' EP in early 1991.

Each of the first three songs were longstanding stage favourites and could be heard in most Smugglers setlists. `Anybody But You' embodies the Smugglers groove as well as any of their tunes and check out the spontaneous studio magic as Steve kick starts the piece on an Organ with a mind of its own.

`Pie In The Sky' appeared in live form on an album recorded at The Sausage Machine in Hampstead, (`Now That's Disgusting Music') but this is the studio version. In a gigging situation we used to see how long we could extend the gap in the middle before people would start clapping, but here....just an uneasy, digital silence.

`Beautiful People' was played in a number of arrangements throughout the band's career, this perhaps being the best and most concise. The improvised vocal coda at the end by Chris assures this version's place as first choice. It was a first take vocal.

The final track `Whole Wide World' was a unique cover version which was only ever played this once. It was part of a planned Fiction Records sampler which never happened. It didn't even cross our minds to play it live, great song though it is, I guess we had too many of our own songs vying for position in a setlist of ten.

Buy Digital on Bandcam

Anybody But You

Thank you for stopping by 😊
Born in 1972
Agricultural equipment salesman by day, musician by night!

Members of The Eclectic Collective :
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals and lyrics
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – bass
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- organ, electric piano, synth, lyrics, some vocals, song writing
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – electric guitar, mixing, production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken– drums and percussion
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– acoustic and electric guitars, production, mixing, mastering
Mistermark – @user-432503709 – Mark –keyboards, effects, piano, some lyrics and vocals.

If you've read this far then I am indebted to you forever. Thank you 😊. Happiness cannot be sought directly. It is a bi-product of love and service to others. 

J.J.