Cast of characters:
Jonathan Beckenstein — @jonathan_beckenstein — acoustic guitar, composition
Cgmaness – @user-419254289-15129531 – Chris – bass, vocals, and lyrics
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, percussion, and vocal harmonies
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Roland FP-10 piano and Collings mandolin
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T slide guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – harmonica, edited fiddle samples, and jaw harp
This song began when Jonathan wrote it on his acoustic guitar several months ago with the intention of developing it into a larger song. When Josh approached him about doing a collaboration, Jonathan thought this one would fit the bill. I should say at this point how much we all admire Jonathan and enjoy his music. On the unlikely chance you aren't already familiar with his music, I suggest you go hop on his page and check it out. 
  All that to explain the level of excitement that ran through Eclectic Collective when Josh shared the project with the group. Chris was first to jump on it, coming up with his intricate bass line even before Ken added his moving drums, although they went back and forth a couple of times to create the rhythm section. Josh jumped on right after that part was complete, adding his mandolin and piano to the mix. Steven was next up, adding his howling slide throughout. Last, but certainly not least, Mark came up with the driving harmonica and twangy jaw harp, and the raspy fiddle, adding them all to complete the instruments. 
  At this point, we had a pretty good instrumental song on our hands. However, Chris decided to give it the extra kick by adding the vocals, the lyrics for which he wrote himself. Our multitalented drummer, Ken, added the vocal harmonies shortly after, too.
  Now that it was in the bag, we needed some production for it. So, we turned to Stephen, who mixed and mastered it in his alwasy expert fashion. 
  This song is a real treat for everyone in the band, as I mentioned earlie. We are all very grateful to Jonathan for sharing this song with us, and had a wonderful time helping bring it to life. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by cgmaness:
 Come on now let's break a leg,
We've got it made in the shade.
One more day, go out and play.
I guarantee we've got it made.
Oh, we've got it made.
Happy to be with my friends today.
Fill up your drink whatever it may take.
I guarantee we've got it made.
~Gibberish~
Don't need a reason,
Or wait for the seasons to change.
That's what I claim.
Go out on this limb with me,
And realize, we've got it made.
We got it made in the shade.
Can't you see we got it made?
Oh, we've got it made.
Happy to be with my friends today.
Fill up your drink whatever it may take.
Can you believe that we've got it made?
Come on now let's shake a leg.
We've got it made in the shade.
Don't need a reason,
Or wait for the seasons to change.
That's what I claim.
Go out on this limb with me,
And realize, we've got it made.

We've Got It Made (Eclectic Collective with Jonathan Beckenstein)

Cast of characters:

K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–piano, drums, and composition
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four string bass, mandolin, and synth
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – VST flute and symphonic VST horns, bells, 'wind' vocalization

This song began on the last day of the cold January of this year, when Ken sat down at his piano and recorded an improvisational jam. This is the first song Eclectic Collective has done where Ken started it with a piano, so we were all very excited to work on it.
  Josh was the first one to add a part, adding his fretless bass guitar, and going back and forth with Ken, while he added the drums to match the groove up right. Josh also added the mandolin after the guitars were laid down, as well as the descending synth blasts you hear throughout. Before all that, though, Stephen recorded the first half of the thrilling guitar you hear in there. After Stephen had his part down, Tez came along and finished the guitar work in the second half. Last, but certainly not least, Mark added the amazing symphonic elements, specifically the horns and flute melody. He also added the cold January wind sound, created using his breath and some tinkling bells.
  Once it was all wrapped up, we asked Stephen to put a bow on it with his expert production, which he came through with, as always.
  As mentioned, this is an extraordinary offering from EC, staring Ken not only on drums, but on the keys, as well. It felt like we were jamming all together in the same room, and hope it comes across that way. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Check out the original piano track of Ken playing solo, where this song evolved from:
K2-kara – January-epiphany-solo-piano

January  Epiphany (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, mix, production, and composition
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – synthesizer, claps, shakers, vocals, and lyrics
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums, percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Fender Precision four string bass
This song started as a guitar composition Tez came up with while on holiday recently. He wrote it with Eclectic Collective in mind, inspired by ZZ Top, and shared it with the rest of us as soon as he was able to return home and record it.
Stephen was first to the trough with this one, adding his thrilling guitar fills and solo. Being from Texas, too, he's no stranger to Biily Gibbons. Mark came next with some synth, and later added some claps and shaker. Ken put his rocking drums in after Mark, laying the groundwork for the groove. Josh completed the rhythm section with his bass soon after, though. Mark decided early on that he was going to add some vocals to this, and Stephen had to adjust his part to suit them. We're all really happy with not only Mark's lyrics, but especially his vocal performance, as well. Eclectic Collective now has a go to member of the band who know's what he's doing with his voice.
Once it was in the can, Tez decided to mix it, as it was his song to begin with. He did his always expert job with the task, too.
This is an example of Eclectic Collective getting down and dirty for a rocker that has the flavor of all of us firing on all cylinders. Special attention to both Tez and Mark for their inspiring generosity and hard work in conceptualizing this one, too. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by mistermark:

I got the top down, driving around
Burnin’ down the road, no prisoners
Everybody knows that I’m on the run
I’m gettin’ outta here do or die
Black Jack paddy whack listen to me
ain’t giving no dog no bone
What’s mine is mine and what’s thine is thine
But if you want me just pick up the phone
If you need my number I’m # 1
Mama raised me alone ‘cause I’m a son of a gun
Now I’m paying my dues but I’m almost done
So if you want a piece of me
Come and get me
Come and get me
Well, hey baby baby now what you say
You hitch a ride with me I’ll take you all the way
she said hey there baby just step on the gas
I got places to go I wanna get there fast
Well somewhere at around mile 103
I heard a rattling sound I had to check and see
We stopped right there on the side of the road
Then what happened next it made my mind explode
The girl started laughing as she locked the door
She put the pedal to the metal couldn’t push it no more
Way off in the distance half a mile away
My baby called out to me as I heard her say…
Come and get me
Come and get me
My feet got draggin’ in the desert sand
But as she waved goodbye something fell from her hand
I picked up the paper it was plain to see
My baby wrote down her number and she left it for me
I been ‘buked & scorned I been thrown some shade
I wanted revenge cause I gotsta get paid
I called her up but I just got the machine
And wattaya think that the message said…

Come and get me

Come and Get Me (Eclectic Collective)

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)

Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — VST orchestration, vocals, lyrics, and compostion
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums, percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, Fender Precion four-string fretted bass, and Roland Phantom synthesizer
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T model electric guitar
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – VST string arrangement
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitrar, mix, and production

 This song began as a musical letter written, composed, and sung by Carl to Eclectic Collective. Carl and Josh had been sniffing around each other's pages, admiring each other's work and collaborators. So Carl reached out with this friendly, uplifting song, as a gift to the band. 
  Ken was first in line, adding his awesome, driving drums to give us a heartbeat to build upon. Josh came along next and completed the rhythm section with his trusty four-string fretless bass. Stephen was next up to bat, adding his dynamic raspy guitar, which almost sounds like an electrified fiddle. Next up, Mark added the tasteful VST strings arrangement in the second half of Carl's original composition.  
  We had it pretty much done sounding, but wanted to spice it up a bit, so we came up with the idea for a coda. Josh added his bass and synth for it, and Tez came up with the thrilling guitar part of it, as well. Tez also added the thrilling guitar intro, too. 
  Once it was in the can, we asked Tez to mix and produce it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion.
  This is the first song EC has done with Carl, but we know it won't be the last. We all admire him for his creativity, proficiency, and prolificacy. His page is worth a stroll, too, as it contains a lot of gems.
  We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark: 

Hey Collective Seeds,

Let's work things out across that water
There's a cable under sea,
We can send all sorts of...
Music/Words/Sounds - It's insane!
Look Lads,
That's life in the fastlane!

So it's ones and zeros
Mine and yours and theres
We are all heroes...

Watching the fire,
From a distance we're warm
But not from their mire,
From this musical charm.
It's a bonfire,
An inferno.
Earth got plenty to turn off...

So we can sing to love
And we can play for more dove.
Let's combine our powers. Collective!
A Paddy/Yankee toasted sandwich

Tex festival streak
Psyched for more free
K2 to peak
Mistermark chimes ' found life fought
Give, You Entheogenic Psychonaught
Collective lands
Psyched for more free

Dear Collective (Eclectic Collective with The Beautiful Dark)

Cast of Characters:
Steve's Planet -- @steve-vervaet — Steve -- acoustic guitar, vocals, lyrics, and composition
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
Mistrermark -- @user-432503709 — Mark — organ 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string fretless Warwick bass and Roland electric piano and organ
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– mix, mastering, and production
  
This song began with Steve, who wrote it on his guitar and sang it, before sharing it with Eclectic Collective about half a year ago, back in the fall. Always grateful to Steve for sharing his amazing music with us, we kept it alive even though it had stalled out on us for whatever reason. 
  We had a decent skeleton from our original go at it, but decided to scrap it, and start fresh. Ken, being the one who actually revived it, added his solid drums first, providing for a groovy foundation. Tez came next, surprisingly, adding his hooky guitar fills throughout. Mark hopped on shortly after, adding the organ you hear coming in around the 2:00 mark. Josh took his turn after that, even though it was only a couple of days between, by adding his fretless bass to complete the rhythm section. He also, in the same recording session, added the electric piano you hear throughout, as well as the organ in the first half. 
  Once it was in the can, we asked Stephen to mix it for us, in his always professional manner. 
  We all love working on Steve's songs, and admire him as a musician, singer, and songwriter. This makes almost a half dozen songs on which the EC has collaborated with Steve, and we're sure to add many more. We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Steve's Planet

Please Come Home (Eclectic Collective with Steve's Planet)

Cast of characters:
K2 and the Three [and the Four] -- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, acoustic guitar, song and vocal melody composition
Joseph Shenton -- @joseph-shenton -- lyrics
Gaz Brownie — @user-755327533 — Gaz — vocals, vocal harmonies, and lyrics
one man verity show – @one-man-verity-show – Scotty – electric guitar intro
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Les Paul Custom electric guitar, mix, production, and mastering
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar
Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – low synthesizer
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Fender Precision bass and high synthesizer


This song began a few months ago as an idea Ken had to make the quintessential Gen X song. He structured the chords, beat to appeal to anyone of a certain age group, of which most of the folks in the band are a part. He even played wrote it on his acoustic guitar and came up with the vocal melody, which Gaz put a shine on for the final version. Once he had the form of the song down, he tapped the incredibly talented Joseph Shenton to write the lyrics. Gaz not only superbly sung four part harmonies for this, but the came up with the lyrics for the break parts, too. 
  When he first envisioned it, Ken thought it would be fun to invite as many musicians as we could onto it. However, for whatever reason, it stalled out and sat untouched for a couple months, with just Stephen's foundational guitar, Scotty's thrilling guitar intro, Terry's lush, low end synth, and Josh's bass to hold it down. Then, Ken had the great idea to invite Gaz to sing it for us. His awesome vocal track inspired us to heat up the kiln again, and put some real effort into bringing it to life. On that note, Josh redid his bass part to match Ken's rocking drums, as well as added the high, melodic synth you hear throughout. Tez came in last with the fiery guitar fills and solo, which you can hear throughout, as well. 
  Once it was all in the bag, we tapped Stephen to produce and mix it, which he did in his always pro manner. 
  This is the first collab Eclectic Collective has done with Gaz, but we all hope it won't be the last. He is one of the finest singers on the Cloud, and we're honored that he would sprinkle his magic on this song with us. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by Joseph Stenton:
Where were you on those days gone by
Were you out by the tracks where the lone train whistle cries
Or kicking up rocks on those dusty roads of dirt
Or skating on streets paved with gold
Or wrestling upon the grass beneath endless sky

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
Were you tugging at the stars too
In an attempt to release their light
Bonded by hours
To a brotherhood we believed would never die

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
From within this dull petrification of time
Comes a crystalline memory
Of those long lost moments, now born free 
Of come what might, come what might be

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs 

Where were you on those days gone by
With a tape in the walkman
Playing the soundtrack of passing time
To these moments of our lives
That once burned bright but never died

On days gone bye
On days gone by
To be back there again
For all its lows and for all its highs

Generation X (Eclectic Collective with Gaz Brownie, One Man Verity Show, and Joseph Shenton)

Cast of Characters:
Cgmaness – open.spotify.com/album/42qOeOxPcclsxwxlPynFfL – Chris – Gretch bass, Guild Pelora electric guitar, SoundStone on a Harley Benton electric guitar, vocals, composition, mix, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – organ
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Roland Phantom synth
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Les Paul custom electric guitar

This song began as a mostly fully fleshed out idea from Chris. He presented it to the rest of Eclectic Collective as a bass line with a rhythm guitar chugging the goove. Awesomely powerful groove, but pretty stripped down compared with the final version.

We did this in an odd order this time, for no particular reason. Probably because Chris' bass groove was so strong, Mark was able to first add his ripping organ throughout, inspired by Deep Purple. Tez, again surprisingly, was able to add the fiery solos at the end and the intro, even before the drums were up. Although, we didn't have to wait long for that, because Ken filled them in perfectly, as he always does. Once the structure and rhythm section was complete, Josh decided to add the synth solo in the middle, at the crescendo, which he really enjoyed doing. Stephen came last to the party, but replaced Chris' rudimentary rhythm guitar with a fierocious, but more riff oriented, and less chordy line throughout.

Once it was in the bag, Chris was the natural choice to mix it, since his productions are always top quality, and it was his song to begin with. During the production, he also decided to add the guitar, including the an e-bow like device called a SandStone that sounds a bit like a synth, and vocal tones to the middle and end. He also added the vocalizations you hear in those parts, as well.

This is an example of an Eclecitic Collective song started by Chris, whose music we adore and with whom are always excited to work. His music is all amazing; check out his page if you haven't already. He is also on Spotify, which is where you'll find his new album, which is amazing! We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.

The Collective - (Eclectic Collective) song by CGManess

Cast of Characters:

Cgmaness – @cgmaness – Chris – acoustic guitar, composition, production, and mix

K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken– drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Warwick four string fretless bass 
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- piano and lead synth
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – VST cello, strings, clarinet, flute, and synth pad
Nyla K-- @user-162163879 -- vocals and lyrics
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–  Gibson Earle Scruggs banjo

This song started as many of our best do, with Chris coming up with it on his acoustic guitar. He shared it with the rest of us shortly after, and we were all very excited to tuck into it. 
  Ken was fist at the trough for this one, adding his jazzy, expressive drums. Josh came in as soon as he had a beat to work with, adding his signature fretless bass to the mix. Not long after that, JJ broke out the hauntingly melodic piano and Shine On You Crazy Diamond timbred synth you hear throughout. 
  Once it had a good structure to it, Mark came in and added the dynamic cello swells that open the song, some subtle strings, the melodic clarinet and flute, and a bit of synth pad near the end to spice up the soup a bit. He also had the great idea to ask Nyla to add some vocals, which she did in her typically dynamic and expressive way using her original lyrics. Last, but definitely not least, we convinced Stephen to add some of his perfectly mood-setting banjo. 
  Once it was all in the can, it actually sat for several months before being revived by Chris, who also did the production and mix, expertly, as always.
   This song is an example of Eclectic Collective coming together to bring another one of Chris' brilliant songs to life. You should check out his new albums on Spotify, which you can find by following this link. https://open.spotify.com/artist/0RmKLMyiXe4eVeXa032MDV?si=L0PZPN1FThy8C7mRVZMu6A
  Also, this is our first time collaborating with Nyla K. We wanted to find a way to include her talents on this one, and her vocals here are magical. You can hear a lot more of them on her page if you follow the link next to here name in the credits, too. We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Nyla K: 

I once overheard 
a hushed up conversation 
'tween the fishes coming home 
and thank god for a holiday
yea
making the bull frogs sing for joy
as they awake
yea
...and this... is what they had to say

Spanish moss and bullfrogs
cattail cotton in the wind
yea...
and won't U take me to the river
yea...
take me on down to the river
and U better not say...

Better Not Say (Eclectic Collective by CGManess, with Nyla K)

Cast of Characters:
Didier Burli-- @didierburli — acoustic guitar, main vocals, composition
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Roland Phantom organ, Roland piano, Paul Reed Smith cutom SE electric guiar, Warwick four string fretless bass, vocal harmonies
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T model electric guitar

This song began with Didier coming up with it on his acoustic guitar. However, when he first sent it to Josh, he had played electric guitar, bass, keys, and drums on it, because he is a very talented multi-intrumentalist. This song passes the stool test, though, which is the question of whether it sounds good with someone just sitting on a stool with a guitar, playing and singing it. So, when we asked him to give us a version that we could add to, it was already a great song that he sent us with just him singing over his acoustic guitar. 
  Tez was the first one up on this one, adding the fiery fills throughout, as well as the co-solo at the end. Ken entered the fray next, adding his rock solid, dynamic drums. Once the drums were down giving him something to play against, Josh added his fretless bass to the song. Being very excited about this one, he also added piano, organ, and eventually the lead guitar solo at the end. He also went in and added all the vocal harmonies throughout. Stephen then brought up the rear with some really cool textural guitar throughout. 
  Once we had it in the bag, we asked Tez to produce and mix it for us, which he did in his usual expert fashion. 
  This is our first song with Didier, but we hope it's just the beginning of his new inclusion into the Eclectic Collective family. He has a lot of great music on his page, which is worth checking out, too. We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by Didier Burli:
I wish I could stay awake but I need to sleep
Thunder is on it's way but I don't hear it
I don't fear the ghouls, and I don't fear the creeps
And with this dancing zombie, I don't know what to do with it
And I just get too much information....
in the middle of the night, when everything is silent....

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things, that mankind does, that makes you want throw up

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things, that mankind does that makes you want dream of

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things that makes you scared of

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things that mankind lost

And I just get too much information....
in the middle of the night, when everything is silent....

The Noise Rises Up (Eclectic Collective with Didier Burli)

Cast of Characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Sigma acoustic guitar, Collings mandolin, Roland piano, vocals, vocal harmonies, and arrangement
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Earle Scruggs banjo, arrangement, production, mix, and mastering        
This song is a Phish song written by Trey, Page, Fishman, and Tom Marshall, who wrote the lyrics. Originally, on their album Hoist, it's just Trey playing and acoustic guitar and singing. Stephen and I wanted to give it our own flavor though. After I asked him to play banjo on it and produce it for me, we started spitballing ideas about how we could add something more to it. Originally, we both played every instrument, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and piano, through the whole thing, except the first and last verses. Then we decided to trickle the instruments in for maximum effect. I also sang the harmonies throughout. Finally, Stephen came up with the idea to wrap the last verse in a mono effect, giving it a detached feel. He mixed it brilliantly, too.
  This song has always had a special place deep in my heart. Sometimes you hear a song and recognize such truth in it, it feels like it was written about you. This is such a song for me. Plus, it was written by my favorite band, Phish, so it has even more meaning for me. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Dog Faced Boy by Phish (with Texmex Shaman)

Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — acoustic guitar, vocals, lyrics, and compostion
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, and Roland organ
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitrar, mix, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – triangle, and ancillary vocals

This song began when Carl, who is always making connections on the Cloud, was inspired to write a song about our bandmate, Mark. As you can tell from his lyrics, Carl shares our appreciation and respect for our resident Canadian singer and multi instrumentalist. So, when he had the chords worked out on his acoustic guitar, and a great vocal track, he recorded them and started a project, to which the rest of Eclectic Collective were invited.
  First up to bat was Ken, laying in his always clever, essential beat for the rest of us to work with. Stephen was the next person to lay down a track, which was his essential, but subtle electric rhythm track. Later, after it was almost done, he also added a fiery solo in the firt part of the ending section. Josh came along right after Stephen, laying down his signature fretless bass. He also added the organ shortly after, as well. Tez entered the fray next, adding the lightning, Gilmore-esque final solo in the end section. 
  We considered what to do with this song for a minute, too. The thought was whether to present it to Mark as a gift, or to include him in the mix. We decided to go with the latter, and he added the awesome vocalizations towards the end, as well as some cool triangle.
  Once we had it in the bag, we turned it over to Stephen for the production, mix, and mastering, which he always does in a very pro manner.
  This is our second of hopefully many songs with Carl. If you have good music on your page, there's a good chance that he'll hit you up to collaborate. Like the moon, he's everywhere, and he's a damn fine collaborator, too. We hope you enjoy hearing this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Carl also wanted to share this message about Mark, as well.
  "This song is written for our Canadian friend Mark. Mark is a pivotal member of the Eclectic Collective who as a band and equally Mark as an individual I'm discovering are phenomenal to work with. I was particularly struck how multiple generations of Mark's family enjoy music and creating together. Thanks for your music man. You really do show a unique approach and I look forward to making more really enjoyable songs like this one with you buddy. In my head lyrically Mark is whoever you focus the love on. Rock and Real!" ----TBD

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:
You are the Mark
Mister Lark
Pedigree Bark
Stunning musical stark
Meet Mistermark

From Wondr to Bossa
All from I' Spy
Projecting your best
Proud human melody cry

May 2019
Maybe some fear became esteem
Soft bands in garage channel a way
Internal dreams in sound found light this day

So Dad was a seed
Kudos big man
You do good breed
In music we learn with proper concern
I think now you found Josh the EC

So onto Collective
You expand their perspective
With you and your music
Now Earth gets more fuses
Because of your music
It's a better blue ball
I know I certainly love hearing Marks call

We pressed the remote
We having those jams
Let's get it on and get more brain tan
We singing to clan
Wham bam thank you man

Miss No Mark (Eclectic Collective with The Beautiful Dark)

Cast of characters:
Surfers Like Us– @user-411502040 –Artur–composition, arrangement, and Fender Jaguar foundational rhythm guitar
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ, envelope synth, and vocals
K2 and the Three [and the Four]-- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –four string fretless bass and vocals
Llanpsych– @llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–Fender Nashville Telecaster electric guitar, sitar, mix, master, and production

This song began its life in Poland, where our resident surf rock specialist, Artur, composed it on his giutar. He is a brilliant composer and expert player, so we're always glad to receive music from him. 
  Artur gave it to JJ to start the project, so JJ was first to the trough here, adding his breathy, moving organ throughout, as well as some slick envelope synth. Ken came along shorly after to give the song its heartbeat, adding his triumphant drums. As soon as he had a beat to play to, Josh added his four string fretless bass to the mix, completing the rhythm section. 
  Now it was the other guitarists turn to take a whack at it. Tez was first up, adding the magical the first and third solos, in the verse sections. He also lit up the intro and outro sections with some dynamic guitar solos, as well. Stephen went last, filling in the second and fourth solo sections in the choruses, as well as a textural guitar that you hear throught most of the song. He also added the exotic sitar you hear in about the middle. After all the music was laid down, Artur had the idea to add the vocal chorus towards the end, which Josh and JJ sung in four part harmony.
 Once we had it in the bag, we asked Stephen to produce it for us, which he did in his always trained, professional manner. 
  This is the eighth song we've done with Artur over the past about year and a half. We adore his music and him as a person, too. If you dig this song, you should hop over to his page and have a listen in case you're not already familiar. He loves surf music, and wanted to note the passing of surf rock legend, Brian Wilson this week. Wilson was more than just Pet Sounds, although that album is top class. He was a surf rock pioneer, who influenced a whole genre of music; a genre that's near and dear to Artur's heart. 
  We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by Surfers Like Us:
We all live between Sun and Moon
Love and Peace
That's all what we do

Between Sun and Moon (Eclectic Collective with Surfers Like Us)

Cast of characters:
Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – Synthesizers, Ibanez electric guitar, beats, composition, mix, and production
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Fender Acoustasonic acoustic guitar and e-bow
K2 and the Three [and the Four] -- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1– Custom five-string fretless bass
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
electric wah guitar
Cgmaness – @hiddenhands-760647700 – Chris – vocals, vocal harmonies, and lyrics
This song began its life as a skeleton of beats and synth created by Terry, who also added some crunchy electric guitar hits to it, too. Terry is a very skilled electronic music producer, and frequent collaborator with Stephen for a project they call Texas Tea. It's worth going to check out their other collabs, as well as Terry's solo projects on his and Stephen's page. 
  Even though Terry and Stephen work together frequently, Terry approached Josh with a couple of ideas, and Josh picked this one, so Terry started the project and invited the rest of the band to join in.
 Stephen was the lead off hitter for this one, though, adding his magical and heavily processed acoustic guitar to the bridge in the middle, as well as textural guitar in the entire first half. He also added a couple of cool lines with his e-bow, which he used on his guitar. Ken was next up to bat, adding his always thrilling drums to compliment Terry's beats. Josh went to work next, now that he had a solid beat to work with, added his low-frequency five string fretless bass to it. Tez batted clean up, adding his thrillling Gilmore-esque guitar solo to the end of it. 
  Then, once the music was all finished, we turned it over to Chris so he could add his amazing, psychedelic vocals delivering his original lyrics throughout.
  Once we had everything recorded, we turned it over to Terry to mix, as it was his song to begin with. Terry is an excellent producer with a great ear. Stephen, who is our trained mixer gave him some key advice along the way, too, though.
  This is Eclectic Collective's third song with Terry, and we're always thrilled when he has something to offer us. He's a wonderful collaborator with tons of great songs on his page, that are all worth checking out. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
  Oh, and it's worth mentioning that three of us on this have birthdays this week, too. Chris' was first, on Wednesday, Terry's was Thursday, and Josh's is Friday (today). So, this is an extra special celebratory song for all three of us. We're all so very grateful for our SoundCloud community, friends, and musical family. We appreciate all of you!
Original lyrics by Cgmaness:

Lost in inner space,
questions interlace,
often they're erased.
amnesia's saving grace.
...
Many rising up,
What do you think it means?
Anything at all?
Anything?
....................
Wonder if you feel,
any of this truth?
Root systems occur,
we are one from birth.
we are one.
....
Slow to realize,
something is in the skies.
I cannot be wise.
We are lied to.
Realize, it's all a ruse.
but, we ripple on.
we ripple on.
we are one.
...
And that's when we fell back into,
a very familiar feel.
but I know.
Just pinholes,
just pinholes. 
....
Many rising up,
what do you think it means?
....
Sometimes we have to let go!

Koala Tea (Eclectic Collective with Tea R. Sea)

Cast of characters:
Jack Karasek — beats and seed idea
K2 and the Three [and the Four] -- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–beats
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1– Roland Phantom workstation
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– electric guitar
Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – Synthesizer
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– mix, master, and production
This song began with Ken's oldest son, Jack, who laid down the basic rhythmic beat. Ken took over after that with the rest of the beats, though. Jack just graduated high school last week, and he's into hip hop and trap music, so he wanted to share some of it with his musician father, who is very proud of him.
  Tez was first up on this one, which surprised me when I went back and checked the workflow. He added the perfectly placed guitar hits throughout. Josh was next up, using his synth to add the falling bass line. Last, but not least, Terry came aboard, adding the moody, melodic, high register synth.
  When it was all finished, we asked out resident pro mixer, Stephen, to mix it for us. 
  This song was in its current form for about the past eight months. It was originally part of a series of vehicles Eclectic Collective composed for The Mysterious Decibel. He got caught up in life, though, and had to abandon the project. So, we sat on it, asking all the rappers we know if they'd be interested in having a go with it, but no one bit. So, with Jack's recent graduation, Ken revived it as a celebratory song for his son. It could still use some vocals, too, so think of this as an open invitation to anyone who want to do the honors. 
  We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. 
  Oh, and just a side note for all of our friends who follow along with us, we won't be releasing a song this coming Friday, the 4th, but will have  new one for you, the following Friday, the 11th. Thank you for keeping up with us!

Throwing Rocks (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — Ovation acoustic guitar, lead vocals, lyrics, and compostion
Scratch Kelly -- @scratchkelly — Sarah —  vocals
one man verity show – @one-man-verity-show – Scotty – Epiphone Casino melodic  electric guitar and vocals
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino --  vocals
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – triangle and vocals
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitrar, mix, and production
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass

I just want to say I'm beyond honored to be the subject of such adoration from my musical family here. Carl really knows how to make a brother feel special, and he did it for me this time, with the help of some of our EC extended family. Here's Carl's write up. 
"Mr Bringer-er Together-er is Josh. You may also know him as artist Entheogenic Psychnought, or the spine of Eclectic Collective. We all came across Josh in our own lucky ways, but he really sets a high bar for spreading constructive musical love and encouragement on SoundCloud. This song started out as a comment. I (Carl/TBD) went to call Josh Mr Bringer-er Together-er and my phone auto corrected it. the next morning K2 swooped in and said what I wanted so I used that as a trigger for the song.
So, I had a rough arrangement. We then invited a few artists, except Josh, to paint it for him. Scratch Kelly, aka Sarah, beamed through some amazing vocals. Not long behind Joe Stroffolino painted in some brilliant backing vox. Then Scotty (One Man Verity Show) chimed in with some amazing guitar, trippy backing vocals, and the super artwork you get to enjoy. Mark brushed in a triangle and some vox, and then Ken added those trusty drums. Tez then strutted in and added some super lead guitar, and not far behind him was Stephen with some epic rhythm guitar that showed the way for the song from that point of view showing a much better space to all the other instruments than the original demo guitar. That was a lovely lesson on less is more...

The song was now ready to give to the main man for him to paint, and he chose his trusty bass to put some strawberries on his own musical cake.

I now stared at 37 tracks and went... Hmmm Stephen, Help! Stephen mixed and mastered it to its crisp current form, and it was a very difficult mix. He basically had to merge 3 projects to one and really aced the challenging mix and master like the true shaman he is. We hope you enjoy the song that brought us together again. May it give us more togetherness like Josh so wonderfully demonstrates everyday

You da brother man Josh 🤘🏽"

Lyrics

Magnet of human
Moulded by melody mind
Just jester Josh delivers this kind
Collective of creed worth all our belief
Friendship
Togetherness through skill and relief

Sharing, Caring
Composer of purr
Human vibrations of the highest occur
Let's celebrate this human some more
It's Mr Bringer-er together-er

Mr Bringer-er together-er
Mr Bringer-er together-er

Loving, Not shoving
Honing, Not moaning
Positive to give
In music he live
Loving his kids
Like he loves us
The luckiest kids who take this EC bus
Josh is the driver
Mr Music Jeez
More Mr Bringer-ers together-ers please

Mr Bringer-er together-er
Mr Bringer-er together-er

The Joshua Tree collecting collective
Physical dreams
Metaphysical pleasures
Skills. New.
Unconditional prime time
The only thing we tow is how we making new time line

Mr Bringer-er together-er

You are the rod
You cast your spinners
You reel us back in from lake bitter winter
It's Spring all the time in your World and Page
Our Mr Bringer-er together-er sage

We all love ya mate

Mr Bringer-er together-er
Mr Bringer-er together-er Oh oo
Mr Bringer-er together-er
Mr Bringer-er together-er Oh oo

Mr Bringerer Togetherer (Eclectic Collective with TBD, Scratch Kelly, Joe Stroffolino, and One MVS

Cast of characters:

Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Telecaster electric guitar, mix, production, and composition

Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – synthesizer, vocals, and lyrics

K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four string bass

TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson cutom T electric guitar, sometimes with an ebow

J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – synth


This song began as an idea Tez came up with on his guitar while on holiday not far from his home in Wales. It had such a solid form, it inspired Mark to write lyrics and come up with vocal melodies within a few days of hearing it for the first time. The two of them have written several songs like this, making them a solid songwriting source for Eclectic Collective.

Once the song had a even more solid form, Ken took added his dynamic, bouncy-groove drums to it. As soon as Ken had the drums down, Josh took his turn, adding the fretless bass and solidifying the groove. Now that the basic framework was done, Stephen added his thrilling electric guitar. Last, but certainly not least, JJ added his really cool psych synth part in the two bridges. Mark also added some awesome backing synth to it, as well, filling out the sound. At the very end of the process, Tez also dropped in the hot intro and outro solos, as well.

Once we had it all in the can, it was time to turn it over to Tez for his expert production and mix. He came up with the idea of adding reverb to the drums, as well as some other compression tricks, which he employed with subtle style.

This, as mentioned, is a great example of what Eclectic Collective can do in house with the composition and songwriting skills of Tez and Mark. The rest of us really had fun working on this one, too, of course. We hope you enjoy listenig to this as much as we enjoyed making it.


Original lyrics by mistermark:


There’s something I’m seeking that I’ve never found

but the seed that you planted went deep in the ground

there’s a journey that I’m on and the path is uncertain

the magic fades when you pull back the curtain


Wherever you go I will follow

there’s always another tomorrow


There will never come a time when I do you harm

cause my soul is steady when I’m in your arms

and never have I heard music like your Voice

when you call me to you I have no choice


Wherever you go I will follow

there’s always another tomorrow


Like a puzzle on the table all the pieces fit

like I’m standing in the dark and a match is lit

and what it all means man I just don’t know

but it’s a powerful feeling and it’s starting to grow


Wherever you go I will follow

there’s always another tomorrow

Wherever U Go (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four string bass, Collings mandolin, Rogue banjo, Roland electric piano, and composition
K2 and the Three [and the Four]-- @k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken — drums and percussion
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T model electric guitar, Taylor T5z acoustic guitar, production, mix, and mastering
This song began with Josh coming up with it on his electric piano and fretless bass, to which he added some banjo, then mandolin. Once he had a solid basis for the song, he shared it with the rest of Eclectic Collective for them to add their parts. 
  Ken was first up, adding his drums in an such a creative way that matched Josh's bassline perfectly. It was originally recorded to a looper disco beat, but that was blown out of the water by Ken's creative drumming. Tez jumped in next, adding his thrilling guitar to the second half of the song. Not to be outdone, Stephen batted clean up, adding his textural and melodic guitar to the first half. He also added some subtle, but brilliant acoustic guitar to the first half, too. 
  This is a great example of Eclectic Collective coming up with an original band sound out of one of Josh's seeds. We're always pushing boundaries and trying to find fun and exciting ways to build a song. Lots of teamwork in here, too, of course. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.

The Plot Thickens (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — Ovation guitar, lead vocals, lyrics, and compostion
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- VST timbale, production editing
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – electric piano and synth
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Telecaster HSS electric guitrar
This song began as Carl's tribute poem to our drummer, Ken. Carl came up with the chord progression and started a project, to which he invited the rest of us. This is the third song Eclectic Collective has done that is a tribute by Carl to one of our members.  We couldn't feel more honored than to be the subjects of his wild and boundless creativity.
  Fittingly, Ken was first in line to add his magnificent drums. Once we had drums, Josh had something to work with to add his bass, which he did shortly after the drums were up. Mark paid the project a visit next, helping out with a bit of production editing, and dropping in a mad percussion solo using his VST timbale drums.
 Stephen jumped in soon after, adding the melodic electric guitar riffs that appear throughout. Not to be outdone, JJ added some sonically thickening electric piano, as well as the throwback psychedelic synth that pops up towards the end. Finally, Tez came along and added the electrifying solo that appears about a third of the way in, as well as the one at the end. 
  Once the recording was finished, we turned it over to Stephen to mix in his always professional manner. 
  This song is all about our very talented teammate and brother, Ken, and it is well deserved, too. As mentioned, this is the third song from Carl about one of us. It's hard to describe the feeling of having someone who you respect take the time and energy to think about you in such a positive way as to produce a song about you. Then to have all your buddies join in to amplify it to a solid song is just mind-blowing. We are all very grateful to Carl for not only sharing his music with us, but for his thoughtful consideration of each of us as subjects. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by The Perfect Dark:
Karakoram human
You decorate good future
As many lose their Gods
You stand tall as suture

Rhythmic mountain maestro
Each day, graft, working hard
So kids can eat
Bruised back sees very best of yard

Still, beats get born of evenings
Deep love finds joules to jam
May generation X soothe meaning
Let's teach the younger pussies what we can

To Ken, from pen, to page, to Music
To friends, Now is when, Good sage soup soothes us
Honest and brave, To Jesus he save
Kudos our maestro of percussive wave

Karakoram human
You decorate good future
As many lose their Gods
You stand tall as suture
Sticks in hand
Cymbals a floating
Snare and bass backbone gland
Tom'ed Ringo Star man keep quoting
Keep life steady paced by hand

To Ken, from pen, to page, to Music
To friends, Now is when, Good sage soup soothes us
Honest and brave, To Jesus he save
Kudos our maestro of percussive wave

Rhythmic Mountain (Eclectic Collective with The Beautiful Dark)

Cast of characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, composition
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ and synth
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken — drums and percussion
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- clavinet, VST saxophone solo, VST horns, effects, production editing
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Telecaster HHS electric guitrar
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals and lyrics

This song began back at the beginning of the summer, when Josh was messing around on his electric piano and found a structure to which to add his bass. As soon as he opened the project to the rest of Eclectic Collective, JJ jumped right in, adding his thrilling organ and ethereal background synth. Thus, Josh dropped his original e. piano part in favor of JJ's new parts. Ken was next up, adding the drums in reverse order from how he and Josh usually do it. Ken is very skilled at being able to add drums to a pre-existing bass line, which he displays in here. He also added the clever auxilary percussion you hear throughout. Mark was next to the trough, adding his funky clavinet, as well as his sax solo you hear lighting it up in there. He also added some well composed horns toward the end, not to be confused with JJ's synth. 
  Then it was time for the guitarists to do their thing. Stephen added the strong, melodic solos in the first two breaks with his guitar and wah pedal. After Tez added his thrilling solos at the end, Stephen went back in and added the funky rhythm guitar part. Tez also added the funky guitar riffs throughout the verses.
  All that was left was to get Carl in on the action, as he is the newest core member of Eclectic Collective. He wrote a poem and sung it in his signature, wild style for us.
  This is Eclectic Collective at its almost full strength, pulling six musicians from two different continents and four different countries together to create a song. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
   On a side note, this will be Eclectic Collective's last song for two weeks. As most of you know, we release a song every Thursday at midnight. Due to vacation and travel at the end of summer, we'll be skipping  next Friday, the 15th, but should be returning the following Friday, the 22nd. We may also put something out this coming Tuesday, the 12th, so please stay tuned. Can't thank enough those of you who tune in regularly and support us every week. 
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:
Hey Human
It's official
The get down on fire funk
Future sizzle
All members agree
Gotta collect that love
Then give it back and well, we see
Fuel for that musical party

Initition ceremony
Transcontinental spanking machine
Uh oh it's a musical tri sexual
Try anything that melody mentioning
Do it for the song
We gonna right some wrong
Rolling rhythm unkown
The human touch
The get down

The get down
Friends don't frown
We got each-other man
Music
Keep that campfire warm
Ooo Ooo
The get down
Friends don't frown
We got eachother man
Music
Keep that campfire warm
Ooo Ooo

Aw man, I'm feeling back tingle
Lads, go tell Fiona Apple I'm single
Llanspych, nudge PJ Harvey
Jamming that genius soul new wave!

The get down
Friends don't frown
We got each-other man
Music
Keep that campfire warm
Ooo Ooo
The get down
Friends don't frown
We got eachother man
Music
Keep that campfire warm
Ooo Ooo

Thrust that rush
Sine waved funk
Flying musical J's
Aw man it's Mike like dunk
Thrust that rush
Sine waved funk
To musical 24
You get a song
Drained 81 now on this floor

The get down
Friends don't frown
We got each-other man
Music, keep that campfire warm
The get down
Love legends loud
Rest in peace good Kobe one
This one's for you
Good G.O.A.T of stun!

The Get Down (Eclectic Collective)

Photo from left to right: JJ, Josh, and Ken
Cast of characters:
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — Ovation guitar, lead vocals, lyrics, and compostion
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- VST Chinese gong and VST cello
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – light VST Latin percussion, synth, and piano
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, chant vocals at the end 
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — ebow, production, mix, and mastering

 This song is the fourth Carl has written and composed with a member of Eclectic Collective in mind. This time JJ is being honored, and we all agree that he deserves it, too. Carl is a wonderful singer, songwriter, composer, and musician, and we're all grateful that he's joined our collective. 
  Here's what Carl had to say about it. "The music for this was a personal song written to myself which I never really released as I was trying to say goodbye to my own ego in the song. From that point of view I have always seen the piece as a great bit of personal therapy for me. None of the original lyrics survived and JJ gets painted by the new words .. But I thought it would be nice to reuse the composition for this. There was no big reason for it only when I decided to start a 60bpm song for JJ on piano .. I started playing Goodbye Ego and the rest is history..."
  We tackled this song like we would any other, though. Mark was first up on this, adding his VST magic in the form of a Chinese gong, as well as the cello you hear throughout. The subject of our adulation came next, with JJ adding not only his hot, yet minimal Latin percussion and essential piano, but moody synth, as well. Ken added his spicy drums after that, and once they were down, Josh jumped in with his four string fretless bass to complete the rhythm section. Josh also added the vocal chant at the end.
  All that was left was for Stephen to mix it all down for us, which he did in his always pro manner. But before he did, he also added some subtle, yet stirring ebow on his guitar. 
  As stated above, this is a continuation of our songs about us. Hope no one thinks it's arrogant. When Carl presents us with these little treasures, it's hard not to run with them, though. Always a ton of fun to make music together. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Praying hands
Whatever cause
Once our greater good not lost
Bored children create their fun
We shelve French horn for this fine one
"Nice one lads" We read it all!
Vacation taken
To JJ calls
Neighbour to good Mickey Moore
Find Michigan piano pure

JJ calls
Just for us
Love lit up
Just for us

Down the road city of cars
To Howell front deck
Dad and Guitars
We jam that love then tell the world
Love and service human highway knurled
Good bi-product of happiness sought
With Croatian fun to cloud we court

Terrell Terminator in Jungle
Predator for good
Keys like Mr Bungle
Faith in more like we could
He Thanks you
It's lifestyle
Built from a porch
Good collective friend
Keep lighting that torch

Some moments sealed, marked and moulded
Pure intention
Dark blindfolded
Howl from human to Howell good soul
Keyed keystone as collective role

JJ calls
Darkness falls
Love lit up
Just for us
Love lit up
Just for us
Love lit up
Just for us
JJ calls

JJ calls
Just for us

JJ Calls (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters: 

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass, Paul Reed Smith semi hollow body electric Guitar 
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ and triangle
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — production, mix, and mastering

This song, in case you're not familiar, was written by Medeski, Martin, and Wood with guitarist John Scofield, and performed by them on an album eponymously named A Go Go. Josh has always been a huge fan of both MMW and J.S., and has always wanted to play more of their music, as he used to cover a couple of their songs in one of his main old bands. 
  Josh laid down the bass and after going back an forth a couple of times with Ken and his thrilling drums, they established the rhythm section. Soon after, Josh added his jazzy guitar, as well. We needed someone to play John Medeski's part, too, of course. So, we asked JJ if he'd do the honors, which he did in grand fashion. He also added some triangle hits you can listen for, that add a little bit more pizzaz to the whole thing. 
  Once it was all laid down, we needed a good mix, and no one is gooder than Stephen, so we asked him to mix it for us, which he did in his always pro manner. 
  This was a lot of fun to record, and we hope that comes through. This is a stripped down Eclectic Collective collab, where most of what we're all doing is improv. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.

A Go Go by Medeski, Martin, Wood and Scofield (Eclectic Collective cover)

Cast of Characters:
Cgmaness – @hiddenhands-760647700 – Chris – beats, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals, composition, and production
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – five string fretless bass, organ, composition, and production editing
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– sitar, composition, and production

This was a seed that Chris came up with on his acoustic guitar, adding beats, and some subtle vocals, then shared with Josh and Stephen. They are always excited to work on Chris' songs, because he always comes up with magical tunes.
  Josh was first in line, adding his five string fretless bass, then the organ part. Stephen used Josh's chord structure to come up with his awe-inspiring, monster electric sitar part. After they both laid down their parts, Chris added the electric guitar you hear at the beginning, too. 
  The song was about twice the current length when Chris made it, but Josh chopped off the second half, as the crescendo fits right into the 2/3 slot now. This was mixed as a team effort in BandLab, too, which is a rarity, given both Stephen and Chris are expert producers. 
  This is an example of a song Chris came up with, that was taken to the next level by Josh and Stephen. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Juxtaposed They Went (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass and Fender Stratocaster
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – electric piano 
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- percussion, VST flute, and production editing
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl --  vocals and lyrics
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — production, mix, and mastering

This song began more than a year ago, when Josh created a song out of a looper beat with his four string fretless bass. It sat on the shelf until a few weeks ago, when he shared it with JJ, who was in creative mode one Saturday evening. Josh had actually forgotten that he'd added a bass line to it, and thought he was just passing on a looper beat for JJ to play with. 
  However, JJ heard it, and was so excited that added his magical electric piano part, making it sound like a real song, instead of just drums and a bass. Ken also heard some magic in here, because he came up with his own brilliant beat to replace the looper that was used in for the seed. Mark was next to throw in, adding the striking drum pattern breakdown, and the thrilling flute solo, as well. Tez came in shortly after, adding his thrilling guitar to the mix. After everyone had added their parts, Josh came back and added two guitar parts, the simple low end line, as well as the high strumed triads. At this stage, Mark did some editing, as it is in his skill set, and made it less dense and easier to listen to. 
  Now that the song was musically complete, out newest member, Carl, dropped the amazing vocals you hear, singing his original lyrics. After Carl was done sprinkling his magic in it, we needed an able producer to bring out the magic of the recordings. Good thing we have a trained producer to do the job in Stephen, who mixed and mastered it superbly, as always. 
  This is Eclectic Collective's first fore into the afrobeat genre, although a few of us are really big fans already, and Josh has a few other originals in this genre buried on his page, as well. As always, we all enjoyed the process of hearing this one come together. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:Juice our Jah
Chalice of chime
Shooting star
Great rhythm
There's blood in the brine

Suture Sun
Grand heaven high
'Some clan gone cruel
Needing collective eye

Eclectic host
Hoist our hale
Mused healing feast
Musical breeze as gale

Afro beat
Oh melody sweet
Beat afro
Show us where to go

Kalakuta Kingdom (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:

Surfers Like Us– @user-411502040 –Artur–composition, arrangement, and Fender Jaguar delayed, foundational rhythm guitar
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – Yamaha Genos 2 Synthesizer
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson custom T model electric giutar, production, mix, and mastering
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl -- ovation acoustic guitar, vocals, and lyrics

This song began in Artur's jam room at his house, where he creates all of his amazing music on his Fender Jaguar, which is perfect for the surf sound, at which he's a master. He shared it with Josh, who shared it with the group.
  Before Josh could lay down a bass part to it, though, JJ came up with his elegantly moody synth and laid it down. The rhythm section, Josh and Ken, then did their usual dance, dialing it in with some back and forth. Stephen was next in line, adding a subtle duet with Artur's chords. Tez then played the ethereal lead throughout most of it. Stephen, after it was pretty much laid down, came through with the ripping wah solo towards the end.
  Once the music was all taken care of, Carl came up with some great lyrics for it, and sang them, as the newest member of the group. He also laid down an accompanying acoustic rhythm guitar part, too. After Carl did his thing, we turned it over to Stephen for a mix, which he did with his professional skill set.
  This is the latest in a long line of surf rock tunes Artur has shared with Eclectic Collective. If you dig the sound, he has plenty more great ones on his page, which are worth checking out, too. We tried to do this with a little nod to The Police, the band, not the profession. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. Thanks for listening.
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Who said we're different
We got our genes and our names
One human mission
Heart fused like fission
Real collective brains

Pure pine for pure
Pleased though holds hands
Reel in one love
Filter for our sands

I feel the same as you
No provocation ever making us blue
I feel the same as you
No provocation ever making us blue

I feel the same as you
Let music train our clue
No place like home we woo
I feel the same as you

I feel the same as you
Let music train our clue
No place like home we woo
I feel the same as you

I Feel the Same as You (Eclectic Collective with Surfers Like Us)

Cast of Characters:
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and composition
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Fender Precision Bass
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – synth and organ
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals, whistling, and lyrics
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Tom Anderson Custom T model electric guitar, production, mix, and mastering
This song began at the end of last summer, August of '24, when Tez sat down and composed it on his guitar. He shared it with us right away, and while everyone jumped on it immediately, it sat on the shelf for so long because we all felt we needed a singer for it. Fast forward a year, and lo and behold, we picked up Carl, who is down for whatever vocals a song needs. 
  We began construction on this by creating the rhythm section. Ken first adding his explosive drums, followed by Josh completing the rhythm section with his four string, fretted bass, which he used a plectrum to play.  JJ entered the fray next, adding his otherworldly synth and thickening organ. 
  Then it sat. And sat. And sat some more, until Carl found us, or we found him, and he was finally able to add the missing puzzle piece. He also did something that none of us had ever heard before. He added the whistling at the end, too. But before we put it to bed, Stephen added some thrilling solo work with his axe, too, also towards the end. 
  Now that it was a completed song, we asked Stephen to mix it, even though it's really Tez's song, and that honor would usually go to him. However Tez was experiencing some technical difficulty, so the honor went to Stephen, who did his always professional production work on it. 
  This is a straight rocker from Eclectic Collective, being in all of our wheelhouses. This one was all made in house, too, so it's a great representation of our rocking skills as a band. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it. 

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Curing core
Great lucid lore
Ore of iron dreaming
Alluring more
Grace lucid door
Assuring new real scening

Iron dreaming
Earth's core revealing

Tick tock that hope
Dream that design
Tick tock that goal
Aspiration in mind
Love locked to luscious
Living for time
New rules got rhyme
The future is fine

Iron dreaming
Earths core revealing

We need not fists
We need no guns
Just words and wist
Dreams for daughters and sons
You get the jist
A felt future is on
We'll clear the mist
Open those fists
It's a hug and a handshake
Then let's all move on

Iron Dreaming (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:

The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl -- vocals, lyrics, Ovation acoustic guitar, and composition
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ and upright piano, and JJ's angels (voice synth)
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass and Collings mandolin
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- VST fiddle
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — Earle Scruggs custom banjo, production, mix, and mastering

This is the latest in our series of songs Carl has written about us. Being as both Tez, a lifelong, and to a lesser degree, Carl are Manchester United fans, Carl siezed on the opportunity to celebrate their shared fandom. Although the lyrics are a little inscrutable to us Americans, we love that football (soccer) fans from across the pond will know exactly what he's talking about. 
  Carl wrote this song on his acoustic guitar, and upon sharing it with us, we weren't sure as to the direction we wanted to take it. JJ threw down first, adding his good-time-sounding upright piano and strikingly beautiful organ to the mix first. He also added the subtle human voice choral synth you hear throughout. Enchanted with Carl's composition, Josh next added his bass and mandolin both in the same recording session, without even closing his DAW. Mark was in right after, adding his friendly fiddle solo as well as fiddle fills throughout. Being as the song is about him, Tez came along shortly after and added the tuneful intro and outro on his guitar. Then, as it was just about to sit for a while, Ken added his very tasteful, perfect drums to the mix, thus completing the rhythm section. 
  Before we put a bow on it, though, Stephen made it back from his week in the Colorado wilderness in time to add his magical banjo to the mix. Speaking of mixes, now it was time for one, and we turned it over to him, our in house pro, to do the honors.
  We all really enjoyed working on this one. It is an example of Eclectic Collective taking one of Carls songs and having our way with it. Always a team effort getting it over the line, but we always manage to do it. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Division Two Champs, '75
Small consolation for '74 cries
Fan wow land psyched
True Red Devil in this life

We fell to Leeds
Last Division 1
We had the Irish
Man, I followed them
McGrath didn't train
A different breed
Golden era
Boozed up greats as seed

Then, we mostly won
But still, these moments to memories shone
Keane's end at Juventus
His team's power won
Beast perseverance
2-3 semi so they march on

Teddy & Ole
Broken Bayern lines
Videos with no YouTube
In sport mad mind

Great from great, Cantona
Flying curve ball martial artist
Old Leeds leech
A la French finest

Man Utd before Glazier fud
Old Trafford dreams
Red Devil blood
A fan forever no matter loss
Good grinding Fergie
Our hairdryer boss

True Red Devil
Hughesy's volleys
Arsenal disheveled
Good Giggsy speed
End to end
Back of the net
Great teen we get
Front of our dreams

True Red Devil
Scars from Aguero
And Barce's better
New cycles please
We've been Malcolmed
Bought like shop
These greedy Glaziers fucking up
Our theatre of dreams

If only for Fergie time
We'd be doing just fine

True Red Devil (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:

Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- VST Middle Eastern instruments (Duf Drum, Daire drum, Darbuka, Riq, Qanun, Zurna horn, Ney flute, strings), female vocal sample, 'ululation' (high pitch yodel), and composition
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Custom fretless 5-string bass 
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals and lyrics
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – saz, shakuhachi, and synth
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken — cymbals and Chinese percussion
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — traditional gourd-body sitar and mastering.
From me, 
 "My heart breaks for the people of Palestine, who are experiencing a genocide in real time. They had such amazing music there, too, which I fear may die out along with the population. I also love my Jewish brothers and sisters, too. And my true hope is that they all can allow their children to grow up without perpetuating the same cycle of hate that has devastated Palestine and caused so much suffering in Israel, as well." --Me
  Josh had the idea for doing a traditional Palestinian song, as he is an avid fan of their music. He wanted to raise awareness of this music and tie it to the idea it may cease to exist as a living musical tradition sooner than later. Everyone in the band was immediately on board with this idea, and set about to make it happen. 
  Mark, who is an expert percussionist, learned a basic traditional Palestinian drum pattern, in a very authentic fashion. He laid it down, along with an Arabic sounding modal melody line portrayed by the quanun, which is a kind of zither. Josh found this pattern fascinating, and added his five string fretless bass to the it shortly after. Carl jumped in very shortly thereafter, and came up with some really amazing vocal melodies, as well as wonderfully prescient lyrics. He even learned more than several phrases in Arabic, which he sang in there, too. We were all very impressed by this, of course.
  JJ was next up, adding his magical, melodic, and exotic saz, shakuhachi, and synth to the mix. Ken threw in next, adding his perfectly timed brass and Chinese percussion to the mix, too. Last, but certainly not least, Stephen recorded his subtle, exotic, traditional sitar to the piece. 
  Once we had it all recorded, we turned it over to Mark for a mix, as the whole thing is really his baby. Stephen mastered it, though, as he is our resident professional producer.
  Our hope is that this song inspires you to dig into Palestinian music, and through that, you recognize the magic and the humanity of millions of Palestinian people who are suffering unimaginably right now. But most of all, we hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Sisters and brothers
Daughters and Sons
We would give you food
But the road is blocked to sun
Proud Palestine
Brave brethren
Our hearts are with you
Our souls are weeping

Inhumane blockade of bread
Pains collective minds 
We want gone this dread
Let's find our kind
Please be strong
As we right this wrong
Hope prays that day will not be long

We pine with your God
To find a normal truth
Where your kids can grow and learn good youth
Sisters and Brothers
Daughters and Sons
We are with you Palestine
Sending love through song

The eye sees but the arm is short ( العين ترى والذراع قصيرة )

We are in the same boat ( نحن في نفس القارب )

Winds do not blow as the ships wish ( لا تهب الرياح كما تشاء السفن )

Being alone is better then being with someone bad (أن تكون وحيدا أفضل من أن تكون مع شخص سيء )

What is hidden is more then what has happened ( ما هو مخفي أكثر مما حدث )

Every problem has a solution ( لكل مشكلة حل )

Good intentions count for as much as good actions ( النوايا الحسنة لها نفس أهمية الأفعال الحسنة )

All is well that ends well ( كل شيء على ما يرام إذا انتهى بشكل جيد )

Oh My Darlin Palestine (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:
Cgmaness – @hiddenhands-760647700 – Chris – acoustic guitar, synth, and composition
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –- vocals, lyrics, mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – four string fretless Warwick bass
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – piano, B3 synth voice, synth sax, and JJ's angels (voice synth)
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– master and production

This song started as a project that was begun on his guitar and synth, then shelved by our master songwriter, Chris. He always gives us magic to work with, and as soon as he shared this one with the rest of Eclectic Collective, we all jumped on it.
  Mark heard his part first, and set about writing some great lyrics to sing with his solid, inimitable voice. His lyrics are about a hypothetical future where we've turned to technology in search of human connection, only to realize that it has only isolated us more, and that we really already had that connection to begin with. The narration is from a future perspective, like all this has already happened, and its speaking to us from the future, almost like a warning. 
  The rhythm section was still absent, though, but not for long. Ken added his groovy, perfectly in the vibe drums to it next. Josh, of course followed soon after, now that he had drums to work with, by adding his fretless four string bass to the song. Now that it was sounding like a well rounded piece, Tez came through with some thrilling guitar solos that you hear throughout. JJ first added some piano, B3, and sax to the song, then later completed it with his psychedelic synth and divine voice synth that provides the "choir" you hear in there.
  Now that it was all in the bag, Mark spent considerable time and effort mixing it, then turned it over to our resident pro Stephen for the mastering.
  This is one of our favorite songs we've ever done, and it reminds us all of both Pink Floyd and King Crimson. This is a great example of what the team is able to do with a really solid, yet open musical seed, provided by a master composer. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.
Original lyrics by Mistermark:
The wind by the seashore, the wash of the waves

the sand on your skin and the glance that you gave

the sounds of the carnival we left it all behind 

there were words left unsaid at the back of your mind

how could I have been so blind?

 

It was so long ago now it’s just you and me 

it seems I've forgotten the way you like your tea

the house becomes quiet as the guests head for home 

the garden’s been gathered and the kids are all grown 

on their own


“The robots will help” they said “it’s better this way”
“there’s no need to work and there’s more time to play” 

our leaders assured us we’d never go poor

and nobody questions the truth anymore 

but what did we do it all for?

 

Our science sustains us like fine works of art

but are we closer together or farther apart?

we’re each on an island alone on the sea

the ocean between us expands rapidly

is this where we wanted to be?

 

It was so long ago now it’s just you and me 

it seems we’ve forgotten the way it used to be

machines tried to help us but something went wrong

the future we wanted was here all along

 

The wind by the seashore, the wash of the waves

the sand on your skin and the glance that you gave

the sounds of the carnival we left it all behind 

there were words left unsaid…

Faded Fortunes (Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:
Single Use & Recycled -- @user-995867230 -- Bill — acousitc rhythm and lead guitar and composition
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four-string bass
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken -- drums and percussion
J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – synth strings
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen — acoustic rhythm guitar, production, mix, and mastering
The Beautiful Dark -- @thebeautifuldark -- Carl — vocals and lyrics

This song started as an idea Bill came up with on his acoustic guitar. Having found each other on the Cloud and enjoying each other's music, Josh and Bill decided to do a collab. Bill is a real deal guitarist, who's as prolific as he is skilled. Of course, Josh invited Eclectic Collective to the party, too.
  Shortly after doing so, he laid down a bass part to Bill's skeleton withi his four string fretless bass. Ken followed suit, and after a back and forth, completed the rhythms secion. JJ dug in next, adding the thrilling strings that highlight the high points of the melody. 
  There wasn't a whole lot of room for everyone on this, though, as Bill had the guitar parts nailed down tight. However, after sitting on the shelf for about half a year, Carl came along and added the missing piece with his raucuos vocals. Stephen also fattened up the sound a bit with his acoustic rhythm guitar.  
  Once it was in the can, we asked Stephen to work his production, mix, and mastering magic on it, too, which he came through with, as always.
  This brilliant song almost didn't see the light of day. It sat for what felt like forever, until we decided to revive it. This will not be the last collab we do with Bill, though, who was generous in not only sharing his music with us, but allowing us to do whatever we wanted with it, too. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.  

Original lyrics by The Beautiful Dark:

Shifty shire
Ah, redistrict rot
Dividing a country for power by plot
Gerry's meandering
Not thinking of sane
What colourful friends can stop red rain?

With freedom waning
Conversation is paused
A few rich men failing
With solidarity cause
Shift the shire!
At minority we've baulked
That mind inconvenient
New red lines are chalked

State turf wars are on
Ah, redistrict rot
Dividing a country for power by plot
For the rights of the white man
We missing those slaves
So legislate oppression
That skin 'aint red way

Shire (Eclectic Collective with Single Use & Recycled)

"Magic is what we do. Music is how we do it." -- Jerry Garcia

Welcome to my page, my peers, associates, friends, and musical family. I'm a lifelong, multi-instrumentalist musician who records prolifically and joyfully. You'll hear me play guitar, bass (regular four string, and four and five string fretless), mandolin, banjo, keys (piano, organ, synth), lap slide, sitar, and sing on my recordings here. I've been in a few dozen bands in my life, playing everything from bluegrass, jazz, rock, jam band, reggae, funk, afrobeat, Middle Eastern, traditional Irish, singer/songwriter, pop/covers, to experimental/avant garde. 
  Since I found SoundCloud a couple years ago, I've found many talented, creative people with whom to create music. However, in the summer of '23 I formed a band called The Eclectic Collective with some of my favorite musicians I've met through here. It started as a loose collective of musicians and coalesced into a core group of musicians who find other musicians with whom we'd like to make music, then run their songs through our process, and in effect add a full band. That core of The Eclectic Collective includes Tez (Llanpsych), J.J. Terrel, Ken (K2 and the Three), Stephen (Texmex Shaman), Chris (cgmaness), and Mark (mistermark). A couple of other musicians are frequent collaborators, as well, including Artur of Surfers Like Us, and Steve Vervaet of Steve's World. More recently, we've been joined by Carl of The Beautiful Dark fame. 
  The magic of music is amplified exponentially by each person adding to it. So, we really try to add our sorcery all kinds of music from all kinds of artists. Sometimes, we keep it within the group, but a lot of what we do is collaboration with other artists. Therefore these days, 100% of what I do is collaboration, within the group or with other artists on the side.
  I, and we, are also available for hire if you have a song or lyrics and you really want to add bigger instrumentation or a band and good production to it. 
  A small sampling of the artists whom I consider primary influences, and whom you will hear coming through my fingers include Phish, The Flaming Lips, The Grateful Dead, Radiohead, Rye Cooder, Steve Earle, Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, Arcade Fire, Mikey Dread, Yellowman, Purpleman, The Meditations, Michigan and Smiley, Lee Perry, Dillinger, Django Reinhardt, Impossible Recording Machine, The Allman Bros Band, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Bela Fleck, Les Claypool, Sam Bush, David Grissman, John Prine, Talking Heads, Beastie Boys, MMW, Moe., Morphine, Ween, Steve Lukather, Michael McDonald, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, John Scofield, Victor Wooten,  Cannonball Adderly, Thelonious Monk, Flea, Parliament Funkadelic,  Frank Zappa, Prince Paul, Pete Rock, Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Chet Baker, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Carol Kaye, Tame Impala, Mumford and Sons, Japanese Breakfast, LCD Soundsystem, Beach House, Sean Lennon, and Billy Strings, but of course there are many more. I also really like and am influenced by traditional Iranian, Palestinian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Sudanese, Mauritian, Somalian, Egyptian, West African, and Syrian music. I welcome anyone who plays non-western music to contact me for a collaboration, too.
 I'm overjoyed to have found my community on SoundCloud. This is a truly unique forum where everyone is sincerely trying to build each other up. The profoundly supportive and positive SoundCloud community has really opened up an exciting new world of collaboration for me. That is the main reason I'm in the Cloud, actually, to connect with other musicians and make music that I enjoy listening to, and hopefully others do, as well. I am ALWAYS looking to collaborate with interesting musicians, mostly though BandLab, which is where I record almost exclusively. It's a solid, free digital audio workstation hub where you can share recording projects, even if it's not where you make your recordings.
  Everything I do is live instrumental, not programmed, and using no computer beyond my phone. That's not to say that I would be opposed to using that kind of tool, it's just not my preferred medium with which to paint. If you like my music, please share it. If you want to collaborate, my BandLab handle is @bingo_pajama. Feel free to contact me at cornbreadband@hotmail.com, as well, even if you aren't on BandLab.
  If your music is primarily AI, please don't come around my page, as I'm not at all interested in complimenting a machine.
  Here's a link to music I've recorded live with a group of musicians here in Pittsburgh called The Northumberland Street Ramblers.
Check out The Northumberland Street Ramblers on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/fU4Me

Entheogenic Psychonaut (Josh Clary)

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