What happens if "Dust In the Wind" meets "Classical Gas"?  I sought to answer that profound question one morning when I was riffing on an A-minor chord and couldn't think of another way to describe this acoustic concoction. I couldn't think of a better name for it either, but seemed to have a "ballad" feel to it, either about a hero or villain, I'll let you decide, and maybe catch a "catnap" thinking about it:)

Ballad For Acoustic Guitar

pour Benjamin Fontaine


En février, alors qu'il neige encore en Sibérie, l'ajonc fleurit en Bretagne.

version vidéo:
https://youtube.com/shorts/cvyRrJ_Dcy8?si=M9yGj-PpfCbP5wqv

la musique de Benjamin :
https://on.soundcloud.com/hAl7RVNaqO5dRKg7WO

quand les ajoncs fleurissent

Inspired by Jorge Morel's Danza Brasileira 
His years of countless serenades are manifested in his face as well as this fast paced Danza styling.
His six string reverberates through the streets and nearby alleyways.

Danza Brasileira

ΠΙΕΣΤΟ

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)

Just addendum to 'Covers from my heart' (for it took me way longer than expected to find halfway suitable English rhymes after translating my German text template)

The background: I spent my childhood at a time when books were the main sources for imagination and dreams. One of favorites: The Sea-Wolf. I was mostly fascinated by the flashbacks recounting the meeting of two kids (Hump and Frisco Kid) from completely different social classes, in which each of their respective worlds exerted a special attraction on the other. 

I felt the same way. I didn't come from a wealthy family, but a middle-class home and I found everything that didn't conform to middle-class rules magical. I sought out the “wicked,” and failed miserably to be accepted there. 

Much later I realized how massively privileged my life was compared to their dreary and hopeless environment marked by poverty and violence, which has not changed to this day. Quit the opposite. And although I support an association that cares for them, I feel that I am utterly unable to make any difference at all.

This song is an attempt to imagine something impossible to imagine unless you are affected by it yourself. I interpreted my German words with the help of DeepL and used various pages to find rhymes, synonyms and idioms. The musical template was a piece I wrote 20 years ago as an instrumental that I turned into a blue grass version.

According to the literal translation of my German words, the song should be called "Scumland," but I didn't like that title at all. Ultimately, I chose “wasteland” because “waste” has so many more relevant layers of meaning in the context of the song.

©music and lyrics by Hans-Michael Albers, vocals by suno 4.5+

I wake to the sound of a bottle smashin'
Mama's on the floor
Her dreams are crashin'
The sink's full of rust
The walls are peelin'
Dad’s fists talk louder than any feelin'
Broken bikes rustin' in the neighbor's yard
Kids playin' games
But the rules hit hard
Streetlights flicker like a dying hope
This town’s a noose
I’m the end of the rope
 
On the corner
Smoke hangs like a funeral veil
Dealers whisper stories
Every word’s a jail
Shadows move fast
But the clocks stay slow
This ain't a place where dreams ever grow
Siren songs scream in the midnight sky
You run or you fight
Or you just get by
The concrete jungle got no vines to climb
Just cracks in the ground
And they swallow time
 
Dirt on my hands
Dirt in my soul
The streets take a piece
And they never let go
Violence is a language
We all understand
See you in wasteland
Where all your hopes end
Get lost in wasteland
No chance to defent
‘cause this is wasteland, yoh

My boy Jamal got a scar like a map
Says it tells the story of a knife’s trap
He dreams of cars that purr like lions
But wakes to the sound of his mama cryin'
The gangs wear flags like it’s some parade
But the floats are coffins
The streets are their stage
Every breath feels like it’s borrowed time
Every rhyme’s a bullet
So I load my mind
 
The train tracks hum
But they never stop here
Even the rails know there’s nothin’ near
Dreams don’t board
They just stay in the dark
Like ghosts of a life that never found its spark
 
Dirt on my hands
Dirt in my soul
The streets take a piece
And they never let go
Violence is a language
We all understand
See you in wasteland
Where all your hopes end
Get lost in wasteland
No chance to defent
‘cause this is wasteland, yoh


Get lost in wasteland

Red moon

'be we shall let'
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNO5y_Hu_v3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Note: this began as a shitty live recording that I overdubbed some extra (louder) vocals and two separate djembe tracks. It's what it is. I assure you some sexier things are in the works. If you care.

I sit on my porch watching the cars roll by
thinkin' about you, and the last time that we said goodbye.
When will I see you again?
I want to discover if this is real or pretend.
Either way, my darling, I feel like I've been blessed
for our stars to align amidst all of the mess
that we've made of our lives. Perhaps, now, for the best.
Not only satisfied, you make me strive to be my best.
So, let's give this a try. 
And, let me be honest...
The first time we locked eyes, my darlin', my feet were swept.
Be we shall let.

be we shall let

Landscape before the storm.

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 –- VST flute, percussion, 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 one 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 thrilling flute solo (complete with a hidden 'Star Trek' theme tribute), and the percussion pattern that comes in after the solo to the end. Tez came in shortly after, adding some atmospheric guitar at the beginning and end of the song. After everyone had added their parts, Josh came back and added two guitar parts, the simple low end line, as well as the high strummed triads. At this stage, Mark did some arrangement editing, to open up more room for the instruments and make space for the vocals, yet to arrive. 
  Now that the song was musically complete, our 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 foray 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.

(*Flute solo contains an excerpt from the theme music from the original Star Trek tv series, composed by Alexander Courage)

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)

swear by me2

"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

JJ Calls (Eclectic Collective)

Entheogenic Psychonaut (Josh Clary)