(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of 'Last Call')

Greetings my SC friends. It’s been a strange few months, and I am excited to be back. But I have a feeling it’s not going to look like it did… at least for the near future. I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts lately. And while the musical energy is flowing better than ever, my ability to write satisfying liner notes is feeling a little clogged (this will be my 6th attempt at this write-up). 

As much as I regret it, the write-ups may need to stay on hold for a while longer. But first, I wanted to share what happened (in the form of a write-up. Lol). 

For starters, it’s important to mention I’ve been an alcoholic since I was 15 (a 40 year relationship). And although I genuinely loved what a nice beer buzz did for my noisy mind, I also knew what toxic alcoholism looked like (from many examples in my extended family). So I knew I had my work cut out for me, if I wanted to overcome my genetic dependancy. 

Granted, I also have a ‘responsibility’ vein that runs deep. I did my best to prioritize my family and responsibilities first (‘don’t drink til 5:00. Don’t drink if ya have to drive’ kinda stuff), and I considered myself a ‘functioning alcoholic’. Truthfully, I was never ashamed of my drinking. As a teenager, the ability to not give a shit that I found in a beer buzz honestly saved my life. And it allowed me to unplug from the noise for many decades after that.

But I wanted to do better than that, so I started making changes quite a while ago. Here’s a brief summary of how that unfolded:

1. Back in 2006 I concluded my negative headspace was the root of the problem (perspective is huge); so I altered my daily routines, knowing it would take years to undo the lifetime of programming that caused that thinking in the first place. I started consuming info that was positive and hopeful and loving (and avoided negative info like my life depended on it… which it did). And I did that intensively for the next 15 years.

2. But by January of 2023, I realized the beer buzz no longer quieted the noise and ugliness happening in the world (it all went too chaotic too fast). So if the crutch wasn't helpful, it needed to go. That’s when I tried Tai Chi (to give my mind something else to focus on). And it worked brilliantly.

3. Over the next 6 months, thanks to the calmer headspace created by Tai Chi, I cut my drinking tremendously (and for perspective, we’re talking 9-18 Natties daily… down to 3-6 Natties daily). The surprise outcome… the fog in my mind was clearing for the first time, and I was not prepared for sober adult Justin (man is my brain chattery when left to it’s own devices). So at the beginning of August 2023, I decided to take my Social Media break. That was more timely than I could have imagined, because…

4. On August 26th I was given the gift of Pancreatitis (the disease that lets you know ‘Wow, Dude. You drink way too much’). I went to the Emergency room with terrible intestinal pain, and I ended up in the hospital for 5 days. Long story short, I left the hospital sober, and have been that way ever since. And I’m genuinely happy about that… because thankfully, I did a great job preparing for that day.

So in a nutshell... I am back. But the writings may have to wait a while longer (at least until I figure out how my new clearer headspace works). Interestingly, I managed to produce almost an entire album of new music over my break, so I'll put those new songs up on SC over the coming weeks. 

And since I’m just a few songs short of completion, I’ll be releasing a very personal album (symbolizing my adventures with sobriety) very soon. It’s called ‘What Color Is Your Paradox?’, and I hope to have it on Bandcamp in February.

In the meantime, I’m happy to be back. And I look forward to seeing what all of you have been up to over the last few months. :)

 Big hugs from your blatantly open-book friend.
-Justin

Paradox?

Last Call

Proudly brought to you by Disfunction Records and Euphoria Entertainment.

https://on.soundcloud.com/nRQqoxENWNELgniR7

Passive Modular Circuitry

JunoDownload

Voices

We all hear voices 
they tell us to choose!!
And we will destroy them
cause that's what we do!!

I am a cheater!! 
I am a fool!!
I am only human!!
I am like you!!

Voices

Under the beech tree II

What is progress?

Georges Sorel wrote a book called "The Illusion of Progress". I own an original leather-bound edition of this book in French. I purchased it from an old bookstore in Paris long ago. It's a book that is over 100 years old.

This book is incredibly stylish.

However, I haven't read much of its content. My proficiency in French isn't sufficient to read it fluently, and I also bought a Japanese translation. But whenever I start reading, I find myself getting very sleepy.

So, I decided to express the stylishness of the book’s appearance through music.

I dedicate this piece, titled “Progressing,” to Georges Sorel.

Progressing

The fourth movement of the String Quartet No. 19 (2024).

Pawel Strzelecki: 4. Finale [String Quartet No. 19 "Hast" (2024)].

071424bc2

The Whiskey Don’t Heal

howdeepisyourlaugh

Still the sun

Solveigs Duett

Polish Composer (M.A., 2002, "F. Chopin" Academy of Music in Warsaw,  Prof. Zbigniew Baginski's class), music theorist (M.A., 2000, "F. Chopin" Academy of Music in Warsaw, under Prof. Maria Piotrowska), musicologist (Ph.D., 2005, University of Warsaw, under Prof. Zbigniew Skowron), researcher, lecturer.
So far he has written 127 pieces: 12 symphonies (2017-2024), 3 symphonic poemes (2001-2011), 4 concertos with orchestra (organ, piano, two pianos, flute, 2002-2025), 22 string quartets (2001-2025), 17 sonatas for different solo instruments with piano (violin, cello, oboe, trombone, etc.), chamber music as Piano Trio (1998), Piano Quartet (2021), Piano Quintet (2003), String Trio (2021), numerous songs for voice and piano, sacred works, e.g. Mass for soloists, choir, organ and orchestra (2002, rev. 2024), and electronic music.  
The stylistic and technical parameters describes the text below:
https://pawelstrzelecki.wixsite.com/music
The author of the crucial, first and original book (used as academic manual and present in many libraries) on "New Romanticism" in Polish music after 1975, containing interview of the author with Krzysztof Penderecki (2022, English Language Edition).
https://www.peterlang.com/document/1282565?fbclid=IwAR1Pm40flHnsqH07OsvXdXwV1ZwLeVLOmfrxkqe3wxL5rsJioluBL-2FQ9M#document-details-anchor
Polish edition (2006):
https://mi.pl/pl/p/Pawel-Strzelecki-Nowy-romantyzm-w-tworczosci-kompozytorow-polskich-po-roku-1975/59

The book was quoted in: Andrea Bohlman: "Musical Solidarities. Political Action and Music in Late Twentieth-Century Poland". Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 208, 266. The link to the quotation (p. 208):
https://books.google.pl/books?id=uNnBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA208&dq=bohlman+nowy+romantyzm&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjoyL-x-Lf4AhXOk4sKHUWMChUQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=bohlman%20nowy%20romantyzm&f=false

Pawel Strzelecki: 4. Finale [String Quartet No. 19 "Hast" (2024)].

Pawel Strzelecki, Ph.D.