URBAN SOULS. is a mix of genres,Jazz and ambient, a walk through the maze of streets where each one reveals its soul....

URBAN SOULS. 🎧

On April 15, the last remaining hospital in Gaza was destroyed. To date, 50,000 civilians have died, of which 15,000 are children and another 34,000 children have been injured. (source: Unicef).
Due to the almost total displacement of the population in refugee camps where food and water are scarce, the lack of hygiene, of medical facilities, it is predicted, with a very conservative estimate, that in the end the civilian deaths related to the conflict will be four times as many (source: Lancet).
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An update: According to new estimates from UNICEF, as of October 8, 2025, 64,000 children have died in Gaza in the last two years. Sixty-four thousand innocents. A disgrace for all humanity.

Thanks to my dear friend @Rosindust at violin.
Here the other collaborations with Tatiana: soundcloud.com/francescocartocci/sets/grazie-tatiana

Composition and all arrangements: Francesco Cartocci

Who cares - with Rosin dust

https://soundcloud.com/negative-headphone: many keyboards, drums, percussion, mix, production, artwork.
https://soundcloud.com/ruizzoidman21centurions: original theme, composition, bass, rhythm guitar, drums.

Intimate jam got me this bass theme, which I developed with geometrical tones and fractal rhythmic, and offered to my old friend Negative Headphone. You should know his fabulous response on any musical style, and here is a proof of it. Enjoy!

Fractal Shenanigans (with Negative Headphone)

Cover Art: Wilhelm Grimm (left) and Jacob Grimm (right), portrayed by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann (1855) PD-US
Music and Lyrics Copyright 2025 Joe Stroffolino

Hansel and Gretel were abandoned by their parents in the forest all alone.
They stumbled across a delicious looking candy-coated home.  A cannibalistic witch captured them and put them in a cage. Those were the kind of stories they used to tell children at a young age.

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty and things were not going fine 
We had to sanitize the stories because our modern stomachs are weak
And you’ll get in trouble if you read a book to kids, and it makes them shriek

Three little pigs were in a brick house trying really hard to survive 
The big bad wolf came down the chimney, fell in a pot of water and was boiled alive.
Cinderella’s stepsisters wanted to marry the prince, but they couldn’t fit into her shoes so they chopped off their heels and toes because they had so much to lose 

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty, and things were not going fine 
Little Red Riding Hood in the bedroom with a wolf dressed in human clothes.
Wondering why her grandmother had sharp teeth and a snout instead of a nose. Jack climbed the beanstalk, there was a giant who wanted to grind up his bones and make some bread. He stole the magic harp and the hen that laid golden eggs and the giant ended up dead

There’s days when you want to take a sheet of tin foil and stick it in your baseball cap
To keep all those negative thoughts from getting in your head and making you a miserable chap
Did it all start when you were a child, and your mother read you that bed time story that perhaps in retrospect may have been a bit too dark and gory

The brothers Grim told stories that were a reflection of their time
There was disease famine and poverty and things were not going fine 
Now we environmental devastation, nuclear weapons and milk that might have bird flu
Just turn on the news you don’t need a fairy tale to put the fear of God in you
But if you take away all the parts that are dark, sick twisted and gory. 
Do you have anything left that actually resembles a good story.
***
Vocals and backing vocals -  Joe Stroffolino 
Guitars - Joe Stroffolino ( 2 Strumming tracks: Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire and I picking track:Taylor114ce)
Bass, Saxophone, Horns: PG Music Real tracks
Piano andi Strings: PG Music and Native Instruments
Drums: EZ drummer 3
Recorded, mixed and mastered with Logic Pro 11

The Brothers Grim

Cover art: Publicity photo of American television host, Chuck Barris promoting the June 14, 1976 premiere of the NBC reality talent show The Gong Show.

The world can be an unpredictable dog eat dog kind of place full of all sorts of all sorts of people who can get under your skin
Sometimes you just have to smile and nod and keep your feelings to yourself and try your best just to just to take it on the chin
And there’s people who seem friendly, but they’ve got a knife in their hand behind their back
And they’re waiting for the right moment to attack
There used to be a TV show, where you could dance or sing a song
and if the judges didn’t like your performance, they would strike a gong
It sure would be nice if you could walk around with a mallet in your hand every day
And you had access to a gong you that you could strike and make annoying people go away
It sure would be nice to have that kind of power
Amateur performers of dubious talent, trying to win a small prize
Five hundred sixteen dollars and 32 cents, You could see the hunger in their eyes
Chuck Barris hosting on that Burbank stage, he knew the people competing were toast
But he smiled and tried to encourage them and be a good friendly host
The dinosaurs ruled the earth for millions of years until the asteroid struck
it was like a giant cosmic gong
Mammals arose from the rubble and now humans rule the earth, but we haven’t been around for nearly so long
We’re all just making it up as we go along hoping somebody doesn’t strike that gong
It sure would be nice if real life was more like that old Gong Show
And you could get a large gong attach it to wheels and take it wherever you go
You could follow in the footsteps of Chuck Barris and be your own gong show emcee
And whenever people start to annoy you -you could strike that gong and make them flee
He wrote a book called Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Chuck Barris was one of a kind.

The Gong Show

Land of love

i’m already 
goin’ down
to the end of the story now
wind is blowing
to the end of the story now

come away   come away

time is bending 
drifting down
spin the hourglass all around
pulverize it
spin the hourglass all around

i’m comin’ after 
i’m comin’
i’m unembodied
i’m free

i’m already 
leaving town
train is rounding the mountain now
got my ticket
train is rounding the mountain now

come away   come away
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

image from Malcom Shadrach via Unsplash


Quietus

Another great tenor solo from My mate Georg !!!

BRUTAL w/ Georg Boehme

If you find yourself in trouble and you think you've lost your way.
Here's hoping that you find a path to a better day.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
I hope you find all the answers to all those questions vexing you.
I hope you can find a way not to bite off more than you can chew.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
You spread your wings and you flew so far away from me.
I hope that you're enjoying your new reality
All those places that you said that you wanted to see.
I hope they're as good as you expected them to be.
I want you to know that you hold a special place in my heart.
I think about you often even though we are apart.
They say that when you love somebody sometimes you gotta be willing to let them go.
You gotta let them spread their wings and fly wherever the wind decides to blow.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
I hope that you're happy. I hope that you're doing well. I sure hope that you're doing swell.You spread your wings and you flew so far away from me.
I hope that you're enjoying your new reality

Hope That You’re Happy (Acoustic Version)

Special thanks to Ashesndreams for her acappella

Lyrics :
Baby no me pidas que me aparte
Yo ya te he buscado en todas partes
Solamente vengo a recordarte que estoy
Imaginandote
Una y otra vez
Que tu estas aqui conmigo
Acariciandome
No seas timido
Dejate querer
Que si dudas te prometo
Que vas a volver

No tengo miedo
Soy un kamikaze
Mi imaginacion se prende con lo que me haces
Diario yo te pienso
Te tengo en mis suenos
Eres el motor para escribir todos mis versos
No te voy a mentir te quiero todo pa mi

IMAGINANDOTE. 🎧.  feat  Ashesndreams

Pierre and JC Bordetti productions (c) 06/2025.

Composed, arranged, performed, and produced by:
Pierre Bordetti and Jean-Claude Bordetti on drums.

Lyrics
Lost in the night, under silver beams, Drifting through cosmic, endless dreams. 
A thousand lights whisper my name, Guiding me home through time and flame.

Stars above, shining so bright, Lighting up the lonely night. Tell me tales of space and time, Sing me songs, make the world divine.

Fullness

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
https://linktr.ee/joe.stroffolino
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.