In the Dirt I Shall Survive (Demo Version)

Why Do I Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Key

Only you can make me fall asleep 
Calling you with words we only share 
I close my eyes and find that you are inside my mind

I walk with you forever on a beach 
You and I the blue sky and the kids 
I shut my mouth and breath the universal sea 

Long kiss hello and long kiss goodbye 
Hearts on fire and hearts that are tired 
I open my eyes and see that you are part of me

Only you 
Only you 
Only you
Only you

Only you can make me fall asleep 
Calling you with words we only share 
I open my eyes and see that you are part of me

Only you
Only you

By Per Bronco Karlsson

The Key

The path that brought us here run out. We're off the track already. No reason to go back. No way to go further. Good. Somehow, it feels right. Impassable feels almost like home now.
Artwork by Bea www.beapalatinus.com/

Nothing Works - Impassable

In memoriam Daniel C. Dennett (1942-2024)
"In Walt Disney's classic animated film Dumbo, about the little elephant who learns to spread his giant ears and fly, there is a pivotal scene in which a dubious—indeed terrified—Dumbo is being cajoled by his friends, the crows, to leap offa cliff into the air, proving to himself that he can fly. One of the crows has a bright idea. When Dumbo isn't looking he plucks a tail feather from one of his kind and then ceremonially hands it to Dumbo, announcing that it is a magic feather: So long as Dumbo clutches it in his trunk, he can fly! The scene is presented with masterful economy. No explanation is provided, since even small children get the point without being told: The feather isn't really magic; it's a prosthetic device, a belief-crutch of sorts that will get Dumbo off the ground by the power of positive thinking. Now imagine a variation on that scene. Imagine that one of the other crows, a 
village skeptic who is smart enough to see what trick is being played but not smart enough to see its virtue, starts trying to inform Dumbo of the truth as he perches on the cliff edge, feather held tightly. "Stop that crow!" the children would shriek. Stifle that smarty-pants, quick, before he ruins it for Dumbo!
 
In the eyes of some, I am that crow."
(Daniel C. Dennett, Freedom Evolves, 2003)

Artwork by Bea www.beapalatinus.com/

Connecticut - I am that crow

I thought it would be nice to do a new recording of My Favorite Female that I did with the band Tibet in reverse in 2011. That version is a little further down if you scroll.
Here and now I have uploaded the new version. Instead of calling it a different version than the original, it has been given the British English spelling: My Favourite Female.

On the single, distributed to Apple Music, I also have an instrumental version of My Favourite Female. 

https://music.apple.com/se/album/my-favourite-female-single/1783534141


My Favourite Female

My favourite female makes me feel like I´m a king
When I´m with her I can almost play guitar and sing
No need for computers, just put me in a world
I will perform with my girl for a viewer beyond worlds

Have you seen her favourite brain
It´s organic with an image of a world
being drawn in every single moment
Hello world, she is thinking of you

She really doesn´t have to work on Monday
but she´s working in a digital network
She´s a real nowhere girl living in a nowhere world
making nowhere plans for nobody

My favourite female makes me feel like I´m a king
When I´m with her I can almost play guitar and sing
No need for computers, just put me in a world
I will face reality with my favourite girl

Have you seen my favourite waste of time
Let her go, let her go
I took a trip to the edge of this world
and I was thinking of you

Honey, would I lie to you, this is not a place
for a nowhere girl to be
The good guys are hiding in the shadows
Oh baby, it´s a wild, wild, wild, wild world

My favourite female makes me feel like I´m a king
When I´m with her I can almost play guitar and sing
No need for computers, just put me in a world
I will face reality with my favourite girl

My favourite female makes me feel like I´m a king
When I´m with her I can almost play guitar and sing
No need for computers, just put me in a world
I will perform with my girl for a viewer beyond worlds

Copyright Per Bronco Karlsson. All rights reserved.

My Favourite Female

Some think a hero is someone who fights for something. Fair enough. I think a hero is someone who keeps working against the odds. You know. Stone uphill pushing man. Bananas.

Music for bananas - Hero

Drunken Boxing

She's gonna work it out.
However, the MTG UPF (Barcelona) algorithm says this track is: 
Jazz Fusion (19%)
Downtempo (19%)
Ambient (18%)
Progressive Rock (10%)
Psychedelic Rock (9%)
The percentages represent confidence in genre judgments. 
Makes me happy.
I will always try to stay under 20% confidence in any genre. 
Promise you that :)

Music for bananas - She's alright

This is my 2nd collaboration with Adam4le. 

Adam4le: Composition, Music, Production
Chris Helios: Lyrics, Vocals, Artwork

Adam's Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/adam4le
-----------------------------------------------------------

I close my eyes and imagine it
What life would be like above the abyss
Oh, what a pity I settle for less
And can't conquer madness
If I let my full potential run wild
i would be winning

Unfazed in the face of the firing line
Not taken for granted and thrown aside
No mastermind I can't outscore
I'd be invincible

I'd break every chain, I would be unbound
Away from the prison of my self-doubt
I'd stand my ground, come out on top
I'd be invincible

I'd carry myself without a consequence
Cause all the things I'd do would all be correct 
Maybe then, I could defend the unconfident 
When they need support
There's nothing I'd not have the answer for
I'd be invincible

Unfazed in the face of the firing line
Not taken for granted and thrown aside
No mastermind I can't outscore
I'd be invincible
  
I'd break every chain, I would be unbound
Away from the prison of my self-doubt
I'd stand my ground, come out on top
I'd be invincible

I'd make a world of difference 
If I mastered resilience
I would stand high, perform my miracles
I'd be invincible

I'd be someone dependable
My words would be invaluable 
For those who'd stand beside me in a storm
I'd be invincible

Invincible

Suite for chamber ensemble consisting of string trio, woodwinds, harp, marimba, and percussion


Suite for Chamber Ensemble No. 10

'Standing', from my third collection - oliverbrouwer.bandcamp.com/album/lp-3

To begin a ritual 
Constant, diamond, standing, breath. 

Recorded on the night of the 22nd of June in Lancaster Priory Church
Written and performed by Oliver Brouwer 
Recorded and mixed by Fin Kay-Lavelle
Mastered by Tom Woodhead 
Artwork designed by Harvey Pearson

LP 3

Standing

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
------------------------------------------
I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

Suite for Chamber Ensemble No. 10

Jim Lynch