As it turns out, my little staycation has resulted in a musical creation, or shall I say "recreation."   How fitting is that?

I decided to remake a tune that I first  released back in 2010 on "I of the Storm."   I played all of the instruments on that version as well.   Mark Christianson played drums on  a version in 2018 on "Spontaneous Design."  

The isolation booth in the new studio space works great, and I believe that I have managed to track my cleanest acoustic guitar recordings to date on this recording.   

The cover art is from Davinci AI.   My prompt was "A magical transformation of summer to winter with guitar and piano."   It got confused when I also specified bass and drums.

I had originally intended to simply test my acoustic guitar recording setup.   So, I took the Taylor into the closet and put the lotion on its skin.  Kidding.  I don't put lotion on my guitar.  Who does that?  Some kind of rogue lanolin junkie, I suppose, but I digress.

I ended up recording some drum grooves and fills, and Borg enhanced the tracks with quantization nano probes.   Then, I sequenced the grooves / segments of the performance to fit the composition, more or less.    The groove was conducive to this tune, so I just went with it.   It's a happy little tune.   

"Summer in Winter" is simply about the joy of winter in the South.  It was in the mid '80s today.  Sunny.  Beautiful.   We went for a long walk through castle land.   It is sooooo beautiful this weekend, so I decided to produce this little ditty.   

Creating music for one's own amusement and amazement is the bees knees.    Not to objectify bees or anything, but I feel more relaxed after doing this.  It gave my mind a chance to leave the neighborhoods where it frequently gets mugged.  I'm back in the psych hood tomorrow.   Working on an interesting psych evaluation.   I can't tell you about it, or I'd have to kill you.  Again with the jokes!   Man, I slay me!

The track is now scheduled for distribution so it can be found wherever you typically look for music.  If you look under your  bed, it won't be there.  Boundaries, people!

Resonance Morphius

Summer in Winter

My intention was to recreate from remote memory "Creature Comforts," which I released on my 2014  "Downward Facing Dogs" album.   The obvious pun in the title reflected a period of isolation and challenge, and the mood that I endeavored to create was far from the mood that the original composition / improv imparted.   To be honest, when I listened back to the 2014 piece, I said to myself, “Good God, man!  What the hell were you thinking?”

In a word, the 2014 piece, which at the time seemed wonderful to me, and I was proud of my multi-instrumental performance, was now an abomination.   It now seems pretentiously shreddy, chaotic, ill-conceived, and technically challenged.    I know.  I can be a harsh critic.

So, the original title of the piece just won’t do, because the new piece is vastly different and seems downright pretty to me.   I decided to call it “Comfort Creatures,” and it made my wife and me think of a picture that I took of our now 20yo dog “Bella” in a TARDIS bed on her lap in the car.   She certainly looks like a comfortable creature.

I began with the piano part, performed with an M-Audio Hammer 88 controller triggering Synthogy Ivory 3 German D.   Then, I performed bass using a customized Yamaha bass through a Tech 21 Sans Amp into a Cali 76.   The bass has a Fender American PUP in the bridge spot and a Fralin PUP in the neck spot.   

The piece has multiple braided guitar parts, performed on an Ibanez PM 1000 and a PRS Hollowbody II with piezo.   The signal chains typically include the UAD-2 ENGL Savage 120 emulation.  The clean tones from this model are just brilliant.   I rarely find myself firing up the MESA Boogie rigs these days.   

I find it difficult to classify pieces into genres.  This one has elements of Classical, e.g. counterpoint, chord motion, melody, etc.  It is a basic binary structure with theme and variations.

Comfort Creatures

A song in the Latin spirit and as a drummer I have to mention I play it as a Songo.

Songo Mood - 2025-01-03 10.41

A bit of wandering romp, partly composed, and partly improvised, around the drum stylings of Magnus Brandell / Oddgrooves.  Specifically, the ECM package and Slate Drummer 5.5.   I reacquainted myself with some old friends:  My Mesa Boogie rig that I refer to as "Tube Goldberg," and a Roland JV1010.   At one point, the Mesa made some analog noise that was entirely unplanned.  It seemed to fit, so I left it.  Guitars are an Ibanez JEM7EAFX and a PRS Hollowbody II.  In fact, the piano was performed on the Hollowbody II using a Fishman wireless MIDI pickup.  The bass was the trusty modified Yamaha.  

Resonance Man

More whimsical comprovisation with Magnus Brandell.   I began with a diatonic seventh sequence in C major alternating with some major / minor motion on the piano.  Then, I added some bass. Finally, I improvised over this until I was comfortable, composing a head of sorts, then used some scales that Tom Thomas would call "diseased" with the electric guitar, a hard-tailed Ibanez Jem through a BK Butler Tube Driver and a Mesa Boogie amp rig.  It's 100% Analog goodness, and man does it sound like a cello!   I broke out the JV-1010 for the synth patches.   Piano is Synthogy Ivory.   

Entelechy

Portmanteau, anyone?

A journey of sound a spirit, beginning with minor chord motion exploration on the piano, some contrapunctal bass, and some improvisation on guitar.  For some reason, I also like the Oddgrooves ECM package on this one too.  It imparts a frenetic energy to a classic lament.   PRS Hollowbody II and UAD2 plugins along with the synth tracks simultaneously triggered with a Fishman Triple Play MIDI PUP. 

The chord progression has appeared in a few of my tracks over the years, including "Lament" and "Liars Lament."  




Lamentropy

A remake of a Gritty guitar-driven Blues Rock with soulful vocals that was originally released on "Flipside" over 20 years ago. .  John Kline - Guitars, piano, bass, vocals, songwriting, arranging, engineering, production.   Magnus Brandell / Oddgrooves -  Drums

I decided to re-record this in the new studio space.  Magnus Brandell / Oddgrooves had released this drum track a year or so ago, and it works perfectly with this song.

Another Round (The Loser)
Copyright 2003; 2025 - John Kline

Verse 1
Did you see it coming after you from the inside?
Did you know the damage it would do?
It's the same old story told to the barkeep
About a man with his foot in the other shoe

Chorus
That's just what life will do to you
That's what it's all about
The glass was full and now it's empty 'til you
Order another round

Verse 2
Do you stagger toward the lovely lady in the distance?
If you do will you find what you had planned?
You're the man dog, courage pouring from a bottle
There she goes in the arms of another man

Chorus
That's just what love will do to you
That's what it's all about
The glass was full and now it's empty 'til you
Order another round

Verse 3
When the daylight hits your face like a right cross
Grab some coffee, light another cigarette
Feel the tremors coming after you from the inside
Pour the bottle, lost your final bet

Chorus
That's just what life will do to you
That's what it's all about
The glass was full and now it's empty 'til you
Order another round

Another Round

I think that the fact that I performed the lead guitar track on an Ibanez PM1000 says a lot about Pat Metheny's influence shining through in this piece.   Magnus Brandell performed some tracks that Paul Wertico himself would admire.  For some reason, I really vibed with these drum performances, so thanks to Magnus and Per for making these jewels of creative inspiration available.

I performed acoustic and electric guitars, bass, guitar synth, and keyboard tracks.   Magnus Brandell performed the drums.   Bob's your uncle.  Why did I just say that?  I don't have any idea whether or not you have an uncle Bob.

Psychtelos derives from Greek, and from what I understand roughly translates into "The Soul's Purpose."   For some reason, over and over again, I keep finding it in me to produce unexpected music like this.  I began recording Psychtelos a couple of years ago when I interacted for the first time with fellow NARAS members.  I was inspired by the drum tracks and some work from new artists that I had just met, but wasn't able to finish it until a few weeks ago.  

Feel free to comment.  I enjoy it when real listeners stop by with intelligent things to say.

Kind Regards,

John Kline

Psychtelos

“Resonance Morpheus,” the title track for my latest album, is the most harmonically and rhythmically complex piece that I have ever been a part of.   Magnus Brandell’s drumming just speaks to me.  When I play along with his drum tracks, which I discovered through “Oddgrooves,” I feel inspiration.    His polyrhythmic performances are strangely intuitive for me.   They inspire creativity out of my usual zone of comfort.   I’ve love The Pat Metheny Group since the first time I heard them live back in the ‘80s.    This piece is a nod to Mr Metheny, who that day advised me to “learn theory, and then forget it.”  Lesson learned, sensei.  May I have another?

Resonance Morpheus

“Peace and Love” is a plainspoken hymn to everyday goodness—asking for the simple things that make a life: kindness, sunlight, a steady walk, and the courage to keep going. Verse by verse, it widens from affection for “people like you” to a broader moral compass—strength, memory of right and wrong, and faith that holds when the highs and lows trade places. The bridge (“easy come, easy go”) grounds the optimism in lived reality, so the closing refrain rings earned rather than naïve. Warm, unhurried, and quietly resilient, “Peace and Love” is a song about choosing what matters—and choosing it again tomorrow.

Peace and Love
Words and music ℗ 2019, 2025 John Kline (BMI)
 
Give me peace
Give me love
Give me all the things the world needs more of
Like people
People like you
 
Give me dogs
Playing and laughing in the sun
I think I’ll put on my new shoes and walk, don’t run
And life is good
Full of wonder
For all of us
 
How many times we’ve wanted more
And we begged God for it
Easy come easy go
Get a little high, get a little more low
 
Give me strength to carry on
(Don’t) forget about what’s right and what is wrong
Oh and give me faith
Give me faith
In something, oh oh…
 
Give me vision
Give me light
And let me not go down without a fight
And nothing will be too much for my faith
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 😉
And nothing will be too much for my faith

Peace and Love

Presave / Listen now

Wet Present is a record label, wholly owned by John Kline, for "The Music Therapy Experiment." and "John Kline.." 

John P. Kline, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and multi-instrumentalist whose music spans classical, rock, jazz, and New Age. A lifelong admirer of classical composers and performers, Kline brings that sensibility into a catalogue that moves easily between heavy guitar work, improvisational passages, and ambient soundscapes.

He composes, performs, engineers, mixes, and masters his own recordings, shaping music that is eclectic yet deeply personal. His solo releases sit alongside his work under the name The Music Therapy Experiment (TMTE), a project built on collaborations with guest musicians while always centered on Kline’s compositions and recordings. A handful of tracks feature him alone, while others highlight the voices of collaborators, including Mark Christianson. The project’s name came from Kline’s own candid description of himself during a difficult time: “a music therapy experiment.”

Across all of his work, the common thread is curiosity. Whether listeners connect with reflective textures, jazz-inflected improvisation, or the drive of rock guitar, Kline’s music treats sound as an open-ended experiment — sometimes calm, sometimes restless, always human.

Lamentropy

John Kline

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