Great one guys...the vocals is top!!! Superb work all of you!

A glorious tribute to Ken - what a fine player he is, by the way - and the usual shining augmentations from The Collective crew.  Absolutely, completely and utterly splendid, guys!

Vary original and nice composition. Impressive track.

Shock the Algorithm

Live Reflexion#035

With many thanks to Cecilia for this open collab!!

call for peace

underground

There's a heat wave going on in Norway...  I made the music in GarageBand.  Maybe I add some vocal eventually.... :)
Thank you for listening!  🎧😊

Heat Wave (Instrumental-Original)

(No GenAI involved : my voice + Vst instruments)
I release this song during a musical challenge at LZMP (a community of musicians)
Let's rock
(Traduit plus bas)
-----
I kept my mouth shut down
I played the game too long
What the hell they think they are
Holy talk and shining stars

I watched them, broken arms
Just smiles and plastic charms
What they built is upon my own fear
It’s time to scream, let's make it clear !

I'm gonna stop the show
Or they will never know
I am not a toy i'm a gun
It's my time to have a bit of fun 

Who makes you feel so bad
Who makes you feel sad
Who makes you feel mad

We live in toxic worlds
With bunch of crazy lords
Should we bow, should we just obey
We'd better burn their mask today!

Their unabashed opinions
Nauseating dominions
Feeding hate on every stage
They are so good at that : breeding the rage 

Who makes you feel so bad
Who makes you feel sad
Who makes you feel mad

So spit back what they preach
Out of reach, out of leash
I don’t need a cage or throne
Queen bee, look at me, I'm not yours to own

I'm gonna stop the show
Or they will never know
I am not a toy i'm a gun
It's my time to have a bit of fun

Who makes you feel so bad
Who makes you feel sad
Who makes you feel mad

Who makes you feel so bad
Who makes you feel sad
Who makes you feel mad

-----
J'ai fermé ma gueule
J'ai joué le jeu trop longtemps
Qu'est-ce qu'ils pensent être
Des paroles saintes et des étoiles brillantes

Je les ai regardés, bras cassés
Juste des sourires et des breloques en plastique
Ce qu'ils ont construit, c'est sur ma propre peur
Il est temps de crier, soyons clairs !

Je vais arrêter le spectacle
Ou ils ne sauront jamais
Je ne suis pas un jouet, je suis une arme
C'est mon heure de m'amuser un peu

Qui vous fait vous sentir si mal
Qui vous fait vous sentir triste
Qui vous fait vous sentir fou

Nous vivons dans des mondes toxiques
Avec une bande de seigneurs fous
Devons-nous nous incliner, devons-nous simplement obéir
Nous ferions mieux de brûler leur masque aujourd'hui !

Leurs opinions décomplexées
Dominations nauséabondes
Nourrir la haine sur toutes les scènes
Ils sont si bons à cela : faire naître la rage

Qui vous fait vous sentir si mal
Qui vous fait vous sentir triste
Qui vous fait vous sentir fou

Alors crachez ce qu'ils prêchent
Hors de portée, hors de laisse
Je n'ai pas besoin de cage ou de trône
Reine des abeilles, regardes-moi, je ne t'appartiens pas

Je vais arrêter le spectacle
Ou ils ne sauront jamais
Je ne suis pas un jouet, je suis une arme
C'est mon moment de m'amuser un peu

Qui vous fait vous sentir si mal
Qui vous fait vous sentir triste
Qui vous fait vous sentir fou

Qui vous fait vous sentir si mal
Qui vous fait vous sentir triste
Qui vous fait vous sentir fou


Who makes you feel bad ?

Another try at a more electronic vibe for this month’s song. I’ve actually mixed this one with headphones in mind. If you get a chance to listen in this way you might hear more of the more subtle effects I’ve worked into the song. I’m trying something different here from the last few songs so I always welcome  your feedback on how successful I’ve been. 

Hooked

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)

So nice that my longtime collaborator friend @dough-factory has returned to SoundCloud after a break of a couple years! This is our first track working together since then and it came together in a really cool way. I was inspired by Ryan's electronic drums and bass to lay down some rhythm guitar as well as a few synth leads. Then he came up with some awesome lyrics/vocals that I think captures the vibe of this piece quite well.

Keep an eye out for more from us, we are thinking of pulling together a whole album or EP over the coming months.

Dive

So what now?

The pieces are set,
The board is occupied,
The main actors have taken their positions.

The inevitable is coming,
Fear fills hearts and minds.

Will what many predict come to pass,
Or will fate turn in our favor?

The core of our beings has been seized by the machine.
The art that defined us is being smothered by a flood of perfect artificiality.

Simulation of emotions, simulation of art, simulation of humanity.
Where do we belong?

Where is my place?

And what now?

--------


This is a piece I improvised on March 23, 2025. I was surprised at how well it turned out. However, I didn't know what to do with it. I couldn't think of anything more, so I'm publishing it as is, with minor tweaks (I literally added six notes in three places).

With this piece I am starting a series in which I will be posting rather uncomplicated, short pieces, created out of the need of the moment, under the impression of something specific.

To compose it I used only 3 plugins/sounds
Spitfire LABS Autograph Grand (piano) (free)
Spitfire Originals Intimate Strings x2 (in octave)
And one patch from truly amazing synth from Arturia: Pigments

I hope you like it at least a little bit.

Picture Freepik: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/woman-portrait-with-blue-lights-visual-effects_26813733.htm

And What Now?

Delight

Carl from the Beautiful dark wrote a song today titled "Baldy Patty" and  it inspired me to write my own personal a song about baldness.  I started to lose my hair in my early twenties, and for awhile it bothered me and then one day, I decided to shave my head and I have never looked back. And now so many years have passed that I have been bald longer than I had hair. 
***
Guitar (two strumming tracks) Taylor 114CE 
Organ (playing my midi keyboard using the Logic Pro Organ plug in)
Strings (playing my midi keyboard using Native Instruments strings)
Piano: EZ Keys 2 (Indie Pop (tweed))
Drums (EZ Drummer 3)
Bass (PG Music Midi track with sounds from Native instruments Rickenbacker)
***
My hair’s falling out and I don’t know what to do.
My hair’s falling out, and I’m singing this song to you.

I’ve got hair on my fingers; I’ve got hair on my neck.  
I’ve got on my toes, I’ve got hair on my chest.  
But the one place I want it, it keeps falling out.  
My hair’s falling out and I don’t know what to do.

I shaved my head until the top of my skull was shiny
And I know it’s counterintuitive but I’m no longer bald and whiny.
When you’re young, you assume that you’ll always have hair
And then when you start to lose it, you think it’s not fair
Sampson in the bible when he lost his hair, he became so weak
But that guy on the bottle of mister clean is definitely no geek

I’ve got hair on my fingers; I’ve got hair on my neck.  
I’ve got hair on my toes; I’ve got hair on my chest.  
But where it’s missing on the top of my head, I no longer care one bit.
Because now when it comes to baldness, I don’t give a shit

My Hair's Falling Out

This Empty World 

It is hard to escape the unrest in the world at the moment, horrific picture of  starving children, millions dying in wars, Psychopaths running countries and threatening nuclear war if they don’t get what they want. Very frightening times. 

All of this is having a profound effect on me and I am sure on a lot of normal people and I wonder, do these So called leaders have any idea of the effect all of these bombs going off and exhaust from tanks and jets is having on our Atmosphere ? what would happen to humanity if they actually did press that Nuclear button?  Armageddon would be released followed by disease and mother earth would fight back. 

With this as a mental backdrop, I had an idea for a song about the last human being left alive on Earth after such an event. There would have to be a “ Last man standing “  A bitter sweet experience to have survived nuclear wars, pandemic after pandemic and the death of life on the planet but to be All alone in this empty world. I had the music but not the lyrics. I sent off what I had to my Friend and musical collaborator Finn Eces and what you are about to hear is the amazing result.

Thank you Finn for the Lyrics, such top class vocals and harmonies and a Class mix and professional Production . 

Music : Johnny Mc Farlane 
Lyrics : Finn Eces 
Vocals: Finn Eces 
Lead Guitar : Finn Eces 
Production and mastering: Finn Eces 

Check out Finn   https://on.soundcloud.com/1CiSAJze02IRz2ePFE


This Empty World 

In the stone dead mist there stands the world's last man 
In his stone cold fist holds the world’s last plan 
Now the skies don’t speak  and silent oceans wreak 
not another soul to seek in this empty world 

In this empty world, This empty world  

In the silent streets was heard, a weak heartbeat 
Will our own disease be our last defeat ? 
Mother earth is ill  and her breath grows still 
Just one more grave to fill this empty world 

This empty world
This empty world  

Chorus
Is there anyone here to remember me ? 
Is there anyone here to recall ? 
Does anyone see ? 
Does anyone hear ? 
I don’t what to the be the last 

This empty world,
this empty world  
In this Empty World, 
this Empty World


Chorus
Is there anyone here to remember me ? 
Is there anyone here to recall ? 
Does anyone live ? 
Does anyone breath ? 
Lights went out and now the darkness reigns 
In this empty world in this empty world

This Empty world ( Featuring Finn Eces )

Brand New track on the Rocks! Summer 2025 and let it roll with my brand new track called "I Keep Protecting my Soul".

Purchase it digitally via #bandcamp: https://shockthealgorithm.bandcamp.com/track/i-keep-protecting-my-soul

(p) & (c) 2025, STA.

lyrics:
I keep protecting my soul
There's nothing more sacred than my soul
I keep protecting my soul
The body dies, it's eternal the soul

Clear is conscience, i am free i am alive
Sleeping in peace not with fear with opened one eye
I never harmed anyone, don't owe a dime
i am keep paving with gold this road so up high.

I Keep Protecting my Soul

I have been using a CPAP machine for several months.  I am sleeping much better and I decided to take a stab at writing a song about it.  
***
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is a common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. A CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask or nosepiece to deliver constant and steady air pressure to help you breathe while you sleep.
***
Copyright 2025
Vocals, Lyrics and Chords: Joe Stroffolino
Guitars:  Joe Stroffolino: Taylor 114ce (two guitar strumming tracks) and Fender Squire Picking track
Drums:  Programmed using EZ drummer 3
Bass:  Pg Music Midi track with .vst sound from Native instruments Rickenbacker
Organ: Joe Stroffolino: Playing Midi Keyboard with vintage B3 Organ sound from Logic Pro
***
Cover art:  Real (Non-AI) Photo of a Halloween Skeleton wearing my actual CPAP mask  (I was going to take a picture of me wearing the mask but believe it or not, the skeleton looks more attractive) 
****
CPAP Lyrics: 
I was snoring, so I had a sleep study, and they gave me a CPAP machine
It took a bit of getting used to, it was uncomfortable at first, but now it’s part of my nightly routine
When I first put on that CPAP mask, I tried to pretend I was like Darth Vader, part man and part machine, but actually I look more l like Jason in that hockey mask on Friday the thirteenth
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong.  I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.
Every night when I go to bed I wear a mask that covers my mouth and my nose and on the top of my head, connected to the mask, there’s a big, long hose.
They say when it comes to romance, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover 
 But something about that CPAP mask makes me thinks it’s goanna be hard to find myself a new lover.
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong. I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.
Sometime you gotta try to put things in perspective
Sometimes you gotta try to be a little bit more objective
Sometimes you just gotta put function over form
Sometimes you gotta be willing to deviate from the norm
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong.
I know it’s very important to follow all the proper medical advice and I have every intention to keep using my CPAP device.  I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.

CPAP

This piece started again, as often is the case, with me experimenting on the organ. My daughter was intrigued with it when she heard me playing with it, and said it has film noir vibes, which influenced the rest of the composition as it gave me a target, a clear vision of where it was going.

Another version will come, hopefully soon, as a collaboration with some of my friends whom you may already be familiar with from other songs on my channel, which will replace some of the virtual instruments you will hear in this demo version with real instruments, namely, drums and bass, and probably add some additional surprises.

Releasing this version was not in my plans, but after hearing from three separate people that this version should not change, it is done, I have decided to release this one separately from the coming collaboration, so you can hear it exactly as I originally imagined it. Of course, I fully expect the collaboration will be better still, as it always is when bringing multiple talents together, instead of just me in an echo chamber.

I hope you will enjoy listening, and thanks as always.

A Study In Neon

Do You Wanna?  (0078)  ft. SUNO

"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

Heavy Punk Rock 'n' Roll band turns into Synthwave nowadays! Brand NEW album "Ultraviolet Cosmos" available NOW!
https://shockthealgorithm.bandcamp.com/album/ultraviolet-cosmos

Rhythmic Mountain (Eclectic Collective with The Beautiful Dark)

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)

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