Cast of Characters:
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino -- Taylor 114ce acoustic guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals, lyrics, composition
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass, and Roland organ
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production

This song began when Joe, feeling a bit nostalgic, wrote the lyrics and composed it on his acoustic guitar. He recorded it and sang it with expert harmonies, then decided to share it with Eclectic Collective. We were all very excited to get work on our second song with Joe, as we all admire his songwriting.
First up was Tez this time, oddly enough. He was able to identify all the fill spots and light up the solo without the rest of us even adding anything yet. Next came Ken, who usually goes first, adding his steady grooving drums and tasty percussion. Once the drums were down, Josh completed the rhythm section by adding his fretted bass. He also worked out an organ part to give the whole sound a bit of thickness. Also adding some thickness and texture, Stephen added a clean electric rhythm part, as well.
Once we had it in can we asked Stephen to mix and produce it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion.
This, as mentioned, is Eclectic Collective's second song with Joe, and we all enjoyed bringing it to life with him. He's a wonderful collaborator and an all around good dude. Do yourself a favor and go check out his page, which is rich in great songs. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.

Original lyrics by Joe Stroffolino:

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 Are Happy (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

The night I met Inoxx & The Toxx, the city was drowning in its own reflections.

I was chasing what the department called the “Epic Journey case”: people who didn’t jump, didn’t run, didn’t die — they just stepped out of their lives after looping the same anonymous track on repeat. No body, no note. Just headphones on a pillow and a playlist full of ghosts.

Every scene looked the same. A laptop still warm. A browser paused on the same profile. One track spinning in the history, over and over: instrumental, trip-hop, strings, radio static and a heartbeat that wasn’t quite human. The last victim had renamed it “Nocturne: A Night of Wonders,” like they thought it was a private joke.

The trail pulled me uphill to a mansion that shouldn’t have had lights on at 2 a.m. Inside, the air tasted like old secrets. A grand piano waited by the fireplace. On the lid: three glasses, one half-empty, like someone had drunk their courage and left.

They were already there.

A punk with a green mohawk sat at the piano, leather jacket, Union Jack on the sleeve, fingers resting on the keys. By the window, a woman in a red dress watched the city. Her blue hair caught the glow from outside. Between them stood a tall figure in a velvet suit with an old computer monitor for a head, screen humming softly.

“Rough night, detective?” the monitor crackled. “Doesn’t look much like a Summer in Paris to me. Sit.”

I didn’t remember telling them I was a detective. I sat anyway.

The punk started to play. Slow, smoky chords. The kind of music that makes good decisions feel optional. It curled around my thoughts and dug up things I’d tried to bury. Regrets. Almosts. The people I hadn’t saved.

“That’s the one from the file,” I said. My voice sounded further away than it should have.

“In one version,” the woman murmured. “Out there they give it new names. Someone called it The Bright Side of the Moon once. Someone else named it after a person they should have let go. Some write Beware of the Quiet Girl in the title and pretend it’s not about themselves.”

She finally looked at me. Her eyes were too calm, like someone who’d seen every ending and stopped being surprised by any of them.

“The music doesn’t take them,” she said. “We don’t take them. They come here on their own. We just… give their feelings somewhere to live.”

In the corner, a tape machine turned, big reels spinning in a lazy circle. The labels were handwritten: track titles, dates, initials. I recognized some from the case files. One bartender had told me, “That song, it’s like it knows what you almost did.”

Then I saw it. My own initials. Same careful handwriting. Same date as tonight.

On the monitor, the image shifted. I watched myself open the front door, step into the room, drip on the carpet. Same coat. Same tired eyes. Same bad feeling dragging behind me like a second shadow. Behind that, another version of me. And another. Each one slightly different. A word changed here, a hesitation shaved off there. A dozen takes of the same scene.

“If you’re here,” the screen said, voice dropping into the mix, “it means you pressed play again.”

Time folded in my ears. I tried to stand, but the chords held me in place. I understood, suddenly, why no one left a note. You don’t write a goodbye letter to a song. You just hit play one more time and let it do the talking.

“That’s the real Epic Journey,” the punk said quietly, not looking at me. “Not running away. Finally letting the soundtrack match what’s inside your head.”

Moonlight slid across the room, erasing the corners. For a second, the salon didn’t feel like a place at all, more like the inside of a track: loops, echoes, reverb, tiny details you only hear on the tenth listen.

“That’s how it works here,” the woman in red said. “Nobody goes missing, detective.”

She leaned back into the shadows as the tape clicked and locked into place.

“They just stay in the song.”

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.

The man who sold the world. YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEaJAo9vVf60TYKOAhXahWnbkWi3RvvFs&si=NKf5MUNhsyGqH4Yp

Hey, hope you enjoy the music 🎹

Attention !!! : At certain intervals the main genres will rotate and occasionally something else will come in between.


And if I can only reach one person who likes my music, it was the right decision to present my works.
Camo


Happy and joyful about any support, whether a like, follow, comment or repost




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Main:


Hip Hop: Valve

Downtempo/Chill/Organic/Ethno-House: Kokon

Cumbia/Latin: Cumbianaut

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Something else:


Breakbeat/DnB: Molch

Rock: Space Station 

Tech-House/Trance: Trittpfad 

Cinematic/2 Tone/Ska/classic: Chair Room

Cheeky, sassy, kinky and playful songs exploring several styles and themes: grunge, bossa, pop..
I write the lyrics and poetry you can find here, unless mentionned otherwise. Sometimes, I compose music and play the piano. When I use AI for the music, I mention it in the tags.
I'm open for collabs with singers, poets, writers or composers looking for a lyricist.

Hello
srp which lives in Japan. I write freely.
Please hear.

Words by Riley Robinson
Music by Ryan Bulliner

