overdrive

Sounding Out (No Dragons Allowed)

Mr. Connor
You are failing to see that the answer is abundantly clear
Mr. Connor
It's a fixed guarantee 
That once you see you'll no longer stare.

All you gotta do is pluck it from the air.
All you gotta do is grab it from the stream.

Mr. Connor
It's a fixed guarantee that once you see you'll no longer stare.

All you gotta do is pluck it from the air.
All you gotta do is grab it from the stream.

Grab it from the stream...

So, what are you waiting for?
Come on!
Suits and trousers!
Come on!
With your shoes on.
Come on.
With your haircut.
Come on!
With your magic fingers, southern creepers, treasure seekers...
Do I need to say Come on?

And I could stay,  
Feel the flow as they watch me play.
Not to mention that I'm fairly uncomfortable in most situations, but I am trying.
To find meaning in the words you say.

Mr. Connor

Put your hands up.
Break that ceiling.
You're in swingtown.
Make it count.

Hey Joe, where's that gun of yours?
Martha dear, you're a frequent flier.
Don't you dare say Tommy's dumb.
Tear down that wall before you start a fire.

I hear a tune - a melody.
A refrain. Hey Hey.
Bringing back some tunes.

I offer you a tragedy, a comedy.
Hey Hey.
Taking back my words.

When will we get there?
When will we get there?
That's what I wanna know!
When will we get there?
That's what I wanna know!
You're a faker, you're a taker, you're a candlestickamaker.

Put your hands up.
Break that ceiling.
You're in swingtown.
So make it count.

I hear a tune - a melody.
A refrain. Hey Hey.
Bringing back some tunes.

I offer you a tragedy, a comedy.
Hey Hey.
Taking back my words.

You held me close and sang a song,
Take this world.  Hey Hey.
Bringing back my words.

Hey Doreen when I listent to your words.
I know the meaning isn't what I heard.
It's not a dream, I'm not here all alone.
One day I won't be able to go home.

Bringing Back Some Tunes

Stream here: https://upstairsopen.lnk.to/Chicago

'Chicago' was the first song Upstairs Open wrote together after meeting up in Daniel's South London flat for weekly sessions, revelling in the organic, restraint-free nature of working sans external pressures. Born from a mutual love of contrasts, ‘Chicago' encapsulates their own signature sound, which Indie Shuffle describes as having, 'an ethereal quality… with the melding of organic and electronic instruments contrasting the duo's gorgeous harmonies.’ ‘Chicago' is haunting and moody, and centres on loss and longing, where “although two people are together, they can see what they have very differently, and it’s about coming to terms with that”. As one of the busiest airports in the world, and an international gateway to much of the American mid-west, the track takes inspiration from the ideas of crossing lands, and the struggles that arise from physical and emotional distance.

Upstairs Open - Chicago

The 'Blinding Light' Acoustic EP - OUT NOW! song.link/album/gb/i/1378607376
Buy on iTunes here: apple.co/2IY7rHy
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2sgRKAR
Apple Music: https://apple.co/2GZ75uk

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'My Favourite Game' - Music and Lyrics by Peter Svensson & Nina Persson

Produced by Sam Winfield and Joe Hicks
Recorded at Studio 91, Newbury, UK
Engineered by Sam Winfield and Tom Millar
Mixed and Mastered by Sam Winfield http://studio91.net

Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Glockenspiel and Keyboards performed by Joe Hicks
Percussion performed by Tom Millar
Cajon performed by Giles Stelfox

Artwork by Antonia Chandler https://www.instagram.com/antonia.chandler/

Blinding Light - EP

Buy on iTunes

My Favourite Game

Альбом "На Темной Планете" - Поэмы Дарвина
http://darwinspoems.com/

05. Старый Джо

01. В Конце Пути

I remember when I was your age and no one ever
Believed me when I said,
I saw magic where instead there was just regular stuff.
Oh, ordinary bits of life just had a sparkle to them.
Sometimes I think I shouldn’t worry,
When I was young I used to take long walks with him.
We used to fight the evil within the woods where magic reigned supreme.
If you had seen me you would have thought me all alone talking to myself.
But those animals they can’t really talk,
And those betta fish they can’t really walk
Into your room at night and put on a show.
It’s just make believe so don’t let it make you believe.
Comforting my son, I realize there’s no one to comfort me.
I go back downstairs to take a trip back willingly.
And the band over there they could play my tunes,
And I think I might just go back there soon.
I’ll go back in time, and put on a show.
It’s just make believe, but I think I can make me believe.

Make Believe

I recall the first time I saw your face—
You were alone though he held you in an embrace.
You were the first girl I’d ever seen,
Besides my mother once and a magazine.

Drawn back, hypnotized, I couldn’t stay away,
So I was back after school every weekday.
That’s where Sam and I started our band—
In that old abandoned house beside the cold burnt land.

Now: I see you in the hall of a clinic in Natick, Massachusetts.
I stop you and I say, “Hey, Doreen.”

You raise your head, I think, You just don’t look like you.
You say you might know me, but I can tell you don’t have a clue.
I tell you ‘bout the dream house and I ask if it was true.
With your eyes half-closed and your body stiff,
You just don’t look like you.

Back when I was in school in Boston-town,
You were a story I could never put down.
We were friends despite the difference in age—
You said my writing had no soul, they were just words on a page.

Now I want to tell you how I’ve been floating through time,
As a way to unwind—
And in that place you’re in total control.
When I opened my eyes you said, You just don’t look like you.

The light flickered out—
And you just don’t look like you.

I know it’s you, and I think you might have answers for me.
I won’t leave here without them.
I saw you in that other world, Doreen—
When I just realized I’m floating through time.
When I just realized I’m floating through time.

You Don't Look Like You

Dark (snakes & Rats)

This album is one-half of a music-text experience. The music is here; the text is at www.mikemonsoon.com. Collectively, they form a psychedelic, horror-tinged, time-traveling musical puzzle that tells the story of a man facing a reality-shattering question: If you could go back and change things, would you…or did you? The more you listen, the more you read, the more you discover. Come and explore the joy–and occasional horror–of creativity.
 
Reviews:
 
“In a cultural moment when attention spans are among the scarcest of natural resources, Mike Monsoon's Song Journal doesn't just demand your focus — it earns it … However it is that you're drawn into this storytelling matrix, the Song Journal keeps you hooked as you jump from chapter to song, year to year, clue to clue. It's an ingenious package of narrative elements ...” --Neil Janowitz, Editor, Vulture.com
 
“Captivates with sly winks and homages to classic rock operas. The songs vacillate between straight-ahead, 3-minute verse/chorus/bridge pop and more adventurous compositions that use imaginative arrangements in service of longer and more complex narratives … shades of Queen, The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, Phish, and The Flaming Lips ... rife with intriguing layers … the fun is putting the pieces together." -- Lorne Berman, Rolling Stone
 
“An oasis of great songwriting and unique production work woven into a concept record that is truly unforgettable.” -- Mike White, founder, MPG Music Production School