I really enjoy your lyrical content on this and in general, as well, of course, as the music and instrumentation. Lyrically, you have a great knack for sharp pointy ideas sweetly layered on top as well as between lines. A rich bit of food for thought. Good stuff.

great hashtag Jonathan ! love the riff & your vocal ))

A mellow groove combined with a kind of winking cleverness.  This is great stuff.

c'est étonnant cela me fait penser à Pink Floyd et la musique britannique

In memoriam, the bombing of Guernica, Spain, April 26, 1937. A lamentation in music.

And in 2024, for the injured, displaced, and departed around the world as invading forces of tyranny rain down death and destruction upon innocent people.

I literally cried as I updated my old composition about the bombing of Guernica. 

Originally composed in GarageBand, I finished the first version of this song on April 26, 2013, not consciously aware that the date was the anniversary of the atrocity committed by fascists against civilians during the Spanish Civil War. I had had ambitions to create an animated short about its history and Picasso’s famous painting when I could afford the technology. So my first step was to use available resources and create the music, which I did 11 years ago. I have yet to produce the animation. Maybe someday. The cover art gives you an idea as to how I envisioned the graphics for the animated short.

This Guernica composition is my first attempt at composing neoclassical music. As a girl I would sing and hum made-up symphonies as I conducted an imaginary orchestra. I’ve got hundreds of improvised concertos, sonatas, fugues, and arias deep in my memory banks that sometimes creep into my contemporaneous music.

This week, as the anniversary of Guernica approached, I imported my old music file into my current DAW and refreshed it, adding French horn, the first instrument I played as a young student. I also added audio of propeller planes recorded live in March and April 2024. And I pushed the previous violin and cello parts to the limit, so if you hear a screeching violin or a groaning cello, it’s intentional; war gives millions of reasons to scream and wail. The composition’s 8-chord structure is repeated as if to state the obvious — we, humans, have yet to contain our violence individually and collectively. We witness and experience the horror of mass murder and war around the globe. Every. Damn. Day.

I realize my song probably isn’t going to be a favorite for listeners, not my usual chill music. But I’m also a firm believer in the idea that sunlight is the best disinfectant. With this music about Guernica and the history of 1937, I am reminded how far we’ve come, and yet, how little we’ve changed. But change we must, and I believe humanity will change for the better. The question is when.

Guernica

Acoustic instrumental rock. Slide guitar in part of the song.

Slide Guitar Anthem

Cosmos

This time, I return to the realm of fantasy, where my characters, upon arriving in the North, found themselves in the dwarven mines. There, they are to meet with the Dwarf King's son, who will task them with aiding in uncovering the mystery surrounding his father's death, slain in a goblin ambush. However, before this occurs, they take part in a funeral ceremony.

To craft this piece, I utilized only the free VSTi's by ProjectSAM @projectsam: Free Orchestra 1 and 2. I've begun working on it 2 months ago... It's one of my over 30 projects in development ;)

Thanks goes to my friends and test drivers: kavvka @grzegorzkawka and Alexander Stratonov @ephtrackx

Picture generated by me in Leonardo.ai

Funeral of the Dwarven King

Photo: Scout in a potato bag
After nearly losing one of my new kittens, Scout, to the deadly parasite Toxoplasma gondii (Toxoplasmosis), which caused some horrifying neurological symptoms, including body twitches, I decided to express my feelings about the experience in song using my new DAW. The song is upbeat because she recovered, and is now parasite free! 
Please feel free to download and add to it, if you are inspired.  
Kitty vocals by Pixabay
 :) Nadia

Toxoplasmosis (Instrumental) FREE DOWNLOAD by Nadia Selvaggi

takechee

Temptation

in a garden
she is gazing
at an apple

she is naked
doesn’t realize
and she wonders

in the sun
asking:

“Listen honey,
would you like some
just between us?”

perilous
picnic

she don’t worry 
she can take the heat
Mother Courage
ends up in the street

east of eden
she is toiling
for her children

fearless love
wisdom
mama’s love
wisdom

fearless love
wisdom
mama’s love
wisdom

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Janine Levinson, Cheesemont Paisely-Paisely, and Wheelwright for early listening, support, and ace suggestions.

image by Ray Shrewsberry via Unsplash

Syzygy

Marble Fox

'Hey Up.'

Praise to the glory of the countless loved ones mysteriously lost in recent years... they will not be forgotten.

The Eternal (Joy Division Cover)

A laboratory with an open bar and floating altar. Come on in! 

Here are various solo and collaborative projects - songs, soundscapes, live looped solo guitar improvisations. 

This project used to be called "imaginary friends", but it became too real for that name, as did many of you.

I hope you enjoy something you find here. Do feel free to be in touch, you never know what might happen.  

I also invite you to attend @hypnopompetus, a duo project with the illustrious Cheesemont Paisley-Paisley, and Fictive Sisters, a transatlantic band with  the incomparable Wheelwright https://fictivesisters.bandcamp.com/album/immaculate-distraction.

Eve

Jonathan Beckenstein

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