Liner Notes by the editors:

Little is known about the band that has created this song. Most of this little information can be gleaned from the website of FMT, whom a previous SHELLF LIFE release can be attributed to. We caution that  we do not know if any or all of this information is outdated: https://furicomusicteam.blogspot.com/p/shellf-life-interview.html Unfortunately, the Furico Team was not available for commentary, since they are launching quite a different kind of historic project on kitchen label.  

Some questionable facts regarding STRANGELOVE’S BRAIN’s release are related in quite a verbose and unreliable way tinged with judgemental interpretation and interspersed with pseudointellectual preconceptions here:   https://soundcloud.com/sonic-textures/shellf-life-paraphernalia-and-parerga-2025 (German original, as far as we can discern). According to that ‚account‘, the recording of STRANGELOVE’S BRAIN was found on a self-burnt disc (ha, that ancient Nero joke!) in a forgotten chest. The poem used in this recording is the only item that can be traced to an author (jo richter) who was kind enough to allow us to reprint here. Obviously, the references to the war-inflicted tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki make it of  special importance at this moment in history, not only because of current tensions, but also because those two catastrophies happened about 80 years ago in August 1945. We therefore decided to release the two versions known thus far as a vinyl single to the general public, accompanied by an image attributed to the same author as the poem.


Strangelove's Brain

another pensive pariah
spotted on the outskirts
of Hyperbolea, Parolia
avant, avant, sempre vorwärts

keeping the obvious captive
locked in a by a reverse smirk
another dementia denier
Hiroshima, where shadows lurk

and the moon keeps rising, rising
every other day, socializing
with singed hands on bare rocks

iron out unseemly locks
to keep face, straight, straight
little boys take progress' bait

B: Strangelove's Brain (brain, blood and bone mix)

Time to get satirical with the US political dystopia, or maybe I'm just a  little touchy after all the threats to Canada, both political and economic (not pondering the military  threat to allies)
Sorry if this is offensive to any US-based listeners. Sorry, not sorry ;)

Track 2 from a new 2025 collection of ideas called FRINGE found at https://www.terrywigmore.com/wigmore-allen-gibbons

 Lyrics:
They've all come around on bended knee
Kissing the a-a-a-ass of a once and future king
They fought a war to get rid of a crown
Only to give it away to an autocratic clown
(how come you misjudge me so...

Pick on immigrants, round them all up
Doesn't matter if they're the ones who fill your shops
With all the merchandise and food that you just can't ignore
So you haul them off to a foreign shore - a foreign shore -a foreign
(how come you misjudge me x2   ...so...)

I take a little salt, not on the tail
I like my golden jets, like my foreign jails
I talk of the land, the land of the "free"
Whatever you've got, just give it to me


How did you misjudge me (x3)
I am the claw, in the white flabby hand
(how could you misjudge me (x2)
Autocratic clown (x3)

* samples... "I am Oz, the great and powerful, who are you?", "I could shoot somebody on Fifth Ave..", "China has total respect for Donald Trump and  for Donald Trump's very, very large uh, brain"

Note: No salt on the tail - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salting_a_bird%27s_tail

Wigmore: music, production, main lyrics and vocals
Allen: additional vocals and lyrics, bass, guitars

Autocratic Clown

Roll out of bed get a caffeine hit
Endorphin brain keep me sane
Ready? Yeah! Bring it on

People tend to drive me crazy
Why they telling me what to think?
I’m turning off my dummy pad

While you’re telling me how you feel
I’m off wondering how I’ll feel
About you if you ever shut up

Better settled on my plain
Certainly my zen is straight
In a zone flying on

While you’re telling me how you feel
I’m off wondering how I’ll feel
About you if you ever shut up

And I believe there are
Other ways to express yourself 
Don’t wave your flag in my face

While you’re telling me how you feel
I’m off wondering how I’ll feel
About you if you ever shut up

While you’re telling me how you feel
I’m wondering, wondering 
What I think about you

And I believe there are
Other ways to express yourself 
Don’t wave your flag in my face


Endorphin Brain

I've set the mood.

Presenting "ELARA" - Sisyphus & His Stone (The Perpetual Refresh & The Lagging Connection)

Sisyphus & His Stone is used to describe any effort that is laborious, futile & repetitive.  It highlights the frustration and meaninglessness associated with ELARA's tasks, often encountered in various aspects of her life from work to personal struggles.

Original Lyrics 

I really don’t want to bore you
but then again I can’t ignore you

so its
One step forward
two steps back

Taking two steps forward
Taking one step back

Woke up with the sunrise, a fresh page to write
Left the shadows behind me, stepped into the light 
Had a vision, a clear path, felt the wind at my back
Every stride was a promise, no turning, no looking back 
Built a little momentum, saw the future unfold 
A story of rising, brave and bold 
Thought I'd finally broken free, from the weight I had known 
On solid ground, I thought I'd finally grown

(Chorus)
 But it's one step forward, two steps back, a cruel, familiar track 
Just when I think I'm gaining speed, the world pulls me back 
Like Sisyphus and his stone, forever climbing steep 
Every victory feels borrowed, every promise hard to keep
One step forward, two steps back, the rhythm of my soul 
Trying to reach the finish line, losing all control
Then the phone rings, a sudden jolt, a bill I didn't see 
Or the car breaks down again, just when I felt free 
A whispered doubt from yesterday, echoes in my head 
All the progress I had made, lies broken, unsaid 
The energy drains from my bones, the fire starts to fade 
Another dream postponed, another promise betrayed It's a familiar ache, this sinking feeling deep 
As all the ground I gained, I just can't seem to keep

(Chorus)
And it's one step forward, two steps back, a cruel, familiar track 
Just when I think I'm gaining speed, the world pulls me back Like Sisyphus and his stone, forever climbing steep 
Every victory feels borrowed, every promise hard to keep 
One step forward, two steps back, the rhythm of my soul 
Trying to reach the finish line, losing all control
How many times can I stand up, when the fall feels so profound? 
How many times can I rebuild, on this unstable ground? 
The spirit's weary, the hope is thin, but something stirs inside 
A stubborn whisper, telling me, there's nowhere left to hide 
From this endless push and pull, this fight I have to face 
To find the strength to start again, and run this endless race

(Chorus)
Still, it's one step forward, two steps back, a cruel, familiar track 
Just when I think I'm gaining speed, the world pulls me back Like Sisyphus and his stone, forever climbing steep 
Every victory feels borrowed, every promise hard to keep 
One step forward, two steps back, the rhythm of my soul 
Trying to reach the finish line, losing all control

Yeah, one step forward, and two steps back... Just gotta find my way... back on track.


Produced in the
ARAPA Music Studio, Sydney - Australia

#azcreativestudiosydney #elarastory

ELARA - Sisyphus & His Stone

Ahnen

A song of unrequited love.. from my early twenties… precious metal reasons.. I’m so blue! ( not about Detroit Lions.. or Hawaii, ha!😆) .. give me a C.. a bouncy C!! 😅..just moving another song from K2 and the Four.. back to my @ paid page! One of my earliest recordings.. from 2020.. best year ever!!!🤔🤣🤩

Honolulu Blue and Silver

30 years ago, an attrocity was committed - genocide happened in Srebrenica. Why memory still matters. Picture https://flic.kr/p/a5yoxg 
Roͬͬ͠͠͡͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠sͬͬ͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠aͬͬ͠͠͠͠͠͠͠ Menkman Srebrenica CC BY 2011

Srebrenica

Works for String Trio, Woodwinds and Percussion

Suites for Chamber Ensemble No. 4, 5, 6, 7

Suite for Chamber Ensemble, No. 4

Suite for Chamber Ensemble No. 4

TWAYNE-A VOICE IN THE DARK.wav

Written by James Geer

You can love anyone at all
It’s your will, just make the call
Matters not whether they love you
Or Anything they say or do

Just take a glimpse through their eyes
Just Walk a little in their shoes
Think of what little they have to gain
Think of what all they have to lose

You can love everyone you see
You can love anyone you please
Love is a power that will set you free
That’s how we love our enemies

Just take a Look through their eyes
Just sing a little of their blues
Think of the burdens they have to bare
Think about Paying all their dues

Love anyone

This was a 'One Mic... One Take' Improvisation by guitarist Tim Elliot and myself! 

I was playing his ancient Upright Grand Piano and he was on his Telecaster with Fender Tube Amp.  

So remember, this is a Live recording of us 'Falling off a Cliff' together whilst playing our chosen instruments and Listening to each other as if our lives depended upon it!  ;-D

We can only hope that you too, will dare to simply Let Go... and enJOY!

© Gary Courtland-Miles & Tim Elliot 2023 2025
℗  Gary Courtland-Miles & Tim Elliot 2023 2025

Under The Heavens *

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. 4

Jim Lynch