I combined the best tracks to make something special for the summer of 2025

A Giberty city EDM Festival 1990-2025 mix

2025, November

A compilation of every piano composition recorded from January 2025 to the present (excluding collaborations).  More compositions will be added through the end of the year and over time, many will be remastered.  Thank you so much to everyone who has listened to my music this past year!

PIANO WORKS - The 2025 Collection - Composed & Performed by Francess Harris

PianoFran

"In the forest, stars shine bright,
Quiet whispers, pierce the night,
Magic, beauty, everywhere,
Night songs, fill the air"
- Poem/Lyrics by Francess Harris

A companion piece to "The Forest Sleeps."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Forest Sings" - Words & Music by Francess Harris - Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved.

The Forest Sings

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending." - C.S. Lewis

Composition and piano performance: Anastasiya Ihnatovich

Change

℗ © Copyright Ian Stokes. All Rights Reserved
Recorded, mixed and mastered using Logic.
Guitars played: Taylor 714CE in open C Sharp tuning (Capo 9th Fret)
Photography: Thanks go to Nigel and Libby Hume at Hume Photography.

Having originally released this song on Soundcloud in 2021, I am delighted that the wonderful violinist Jessica Elisabeth has added her beautifully crafted playing to this remixed and remastered track. 

I hope you enjoy listening to this new version of one of my personal favourites.


LYRICS: 
These thoughts go drifting by
And I watch them fade away
Where they come from I don’t know
Where they go, who can say
It seems that there is always
A lesson to be learned
Another twist in the story
As the pages get turned

So I put on my walking shoes
Take it steady, take it slow
Turn my collar to the rain
Breathe in deep and let it go 

What are the rules in this game
Are there any rules at all?
These thoughts go drifting by
And down the waterfall
It seems that there is always
A lesson to be learned
Another chapter in the story
As the pages get turned

So I put on my walking shoes
Take it steady, take it slow
Turn my collar to the rain
Breathe in deep and let it go

Now I’m standing by the river
At the foot of the mountainside
Will the grass be any greener
Over on the other side
It seems that there is always
A lesson to be learned
Another time, another story
As the pages get turned

So I put on my walking shoes
Take it steady, take it slow
Turn my collar to the rain
Breathe in deep and let it go

My Walking Shoes Feat Jessica Elisabeth

My Walking Shoes Featuring Jessica Elisabeth

The Break-in

Tamarack Array

(No genIA involved. I use my voice and Vst instruments)
(Traduit plus bas)

In the land, the light is getting cold / colder
Feel your hands, the cold is biting more / deeper
Now listen, your heart is beating slow / beating slower, weaker 

See the sky, the colors start to fade / stranger
Hear the ground, the earth is shaking now / danger 
Understand, the change is coming close / coming nearer, clearer

In the land, the light is getting cold 
(In the silence, despair)
Feel your hands, the cold is biting more 
(Something's gone, yet waiting somewhere)
Now listen, your heart is beating slow
Beating slower, weaker 

It's getting harder these days
To understand how we may
Take life as it comes
When everything seems like a curse
One thing and its reverse
And when we only speak with guns

What should we do
When people go insane ? 

When every dream turns to dust  
And love’s replaced by mistrust  
When life sounds like a bad play 
I wonder how we'll get through
But still we can do  
Step by step, that's the way
Us, them, me and you
When life is about to change

x2

What am I supposed to do 
When comes the change

What am I supposed to do 
When comes the change

Change
change
Change
When comes the change
Change
change
Change
When comes the change
Change 

-----
Dans le pays, la lumière devient froide / plus froide
Sens tes mains, le froid mord plus fort / plus profondément
Maintenant écoute, ton cœur bat lentement / bat plus lentement, plus faiblement
 
Regarde le ciel, les couleurs commencent à s'estomper / étrange
Écoute le sol, la terre tremble maintenant / danger 
Comprends, le changement approche / se rapproche, devient plus clair

Sur la terre, la lumière se refroidit 
(Dans le silence, le désespoir)
Sens tes mains, le froid mord davantage 
(Quelque chose a disparu, mais attend quelque part)
Maintenant écoute, ton cœur bat lentement
Bat plus lentement, plus faiblement 

C'est de plus en plus difficile ces jours-ci
De comprendre comment nous pouvons
Prendre la vie comme elle vient
Quand tout semble être une malédiction
Une chose et son contraire
Et quand nous ne parlons plus qu'avec des armes

Que devons-nous faire
Quand les gens deviennent fous ? 

Quand tous les rêves se transforment en poussière
Et que l'amour est remplacé par la méfiance
Quand la vie ressemble à une mauvaise pièce de théâtre 
Je me demande comment nous allons nous en sortir
Mais nous pouvons encore le faire
Pas à pas, c'est comme ça
Nous, eux, moi et toi
Quand la vie est sur le point de changer

x2

Que suis-je censé faire 
Quand vient le changement

Que suis-je censé faire 
Quand vient le changement

Change
Change
Change
Quand vient le changement
Change
Change
Change
Quand vient le changement
Change

When Comes the Change

“Sometimes you need to be alone in order to reflect on life. Take time out to take care of yourself. You deserve it.” - Robert Tew

A Time To Reflect

“Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.” – Victor Hugo

The older I get, the earlier I seem to wake up every morning, which means I see the sun rise every day. It never gets old. I love the beauty of the sun gently rising, as it slowly erases the dark night sky and paints the blue sky with accents of orange and pink. The birds wake up singing, and nature comes to life again after a night of rest. Every dawn is beautiful, bringing not only the gift of a new day but also hope and wonder at the miracle of it all. While the dark night has a beauty of its own that we sometimes struggle to see, it is the dawn that truly reminds us what a gift it is to be alive.

Waiting For The Dawn

Based on a true story...

Did you ever have a young, clean and handsome nephew in grievous need of a wife? This is for all such fellow uncles and aunts, wherever you may be.

In putting together this track, I had in mind numerous tales in literature of match-makers, amateur and professional, working with the lonely farmers of rural Ireland.

O, Let Him Find A Sweet Colleen!

A composition based on a slightly silly poem of mine. 

"Daylight came, daylight went, and then a big, bright moon was sent,
 To visit and to dream with me, just as I poured a cup of tea.
 The night flew by to meet the dawn, then suddenly the moon was gone,
 A lovely sight, a magic night, spent dreaming with the moon.”

The Lovely Paris Moon

Dreaming With The Moon

"Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your todays." 
  - William A. Ward

🎂 I have just completed another 365-day trip around the sun, as one year ends and a new one begins. This milestone is familiar, as I am now officially twice the age I was when my oldest son was born. (Where did the time go?)

This time of year invariably leads me to reminisce, while simultaneously looking to the future. In reflection, I am always grateful and amazed to have overcome some very tough times, while my heart is filled with joy from revisiting wonderful memories.  Above all, I am thankful not only for the gift of life, but also for the fact that there is no age limit for dreaming. (Thank goodness! 😊) Every new day dawns with promise, bringing us the opportunity not only to pursue our dreams but also to make a meaningful difference.  

These thoughts provided some inspiration for an improvisation today.  (Recorded on my "senior" Yamaha Clavinova, which has completed nearly 26 trips around the sun! 😊)

Wishing everyone listening more joyous days and continued dreams for the future.

To Reminisce and Dream

The Soughing Wind – Feat. Oddrun Eikli
November 2025
Duration: 3:55
Listen to the wonderful music of Oddrun Eikli: https://soundcloud.com/oddrun-eikli
Listen to more collaborations with Bruce and Oddrun:
https://soundcloud.com/bruce-klepper-1/sets/magical-music-feat-oddrun
For voice, violin, harp, bass flute, double bass, cloud chamber bowls, field recordings, virtual instruments and percussion

The Soughing Wind - Feat.Oddrun Eikli

As we approach the holiday season, carols will soon fill the air alongside larger works like Handel’s oratorio, "Messiah," which is a favorite of mine. When I was a child, my parents played Handel’s music in our home during the holidays, and in college, I sang his well-known works with the rest of our chorale.  

One movement, “All We Like Sheep,” makes me think of the biblical parable about the Good Shepherd, who leaves his flock to rescue one sheep that wanders off. I love this story for a number of reasons, but especially because it conveys the message that everyone matters to God, even when we wander and become lost. This parable, found in Luke 15 and Matthew 18, provided the inspiration for my composition, "The Rescue."

The first 25 seconds tell the story of the sheep wandering off, while the rest of the music follows the shepherd’s lengthy search. Throughout the piece, you will hear a recurring major chord that signifies a glimmer of hope as the shepherd continues his search. The shepherd nears the end of his journey when the music begins to slow down, and the very last chord represents the moment of discovery and rescue. The lost sheep is finally found and gently cradled in the shepherd's arms to return home.

The Rescue

Many thanks to vent d’ouest (Henri) for adding his beautiful lyrics to my original piano composition and transforming it into a lovely ambient arrangement.  He writes and produces wonderfully creative music with poetic lyrics, which you can hear on his SoundCloud page.  

For Henri's lyrics (in French and English), see below.  

A Time to Reflect

Sur le Pont des Soupirs
Par un beau soir d’été
Un sourire a suffi
à noyer les regrets

Sous le Pont Mirabeau
Avec Apollinaire
On a vu l’avenir
Enjamber le passé

Alors on a repris
Les routes traversières
En rêvant de gondole
Sous un ciel de Turner

L’automne bénissant
Le long baiser d’hiver
Le printemps finissant
Sur la Seine éphémère

Lassé des guerres lasses
Et des soifs de pouvoir
Garde du temps qui passe
Ce que te dit le Soir :
« Ce qu’il te faut chérir
Ce qu’il te faut garder
Un temps pour réfléchir
Tout le temps pour s’aimer. ».
__________________________________________________________________

A Time to Reflect

On the Bridge of Sighs
On a beautiful summer evening
A smile was enough
to drown regrets

Under the Mirabeau Bridge
With Apollinaire
We saw the future
Straddling the past

So we resumed
Crossing roads
Dreaming of a gondola
Under a Turner Sky

The Blessing Autumn
The Long Winter Kiss
Spring is coming to an end
On the ephemeral Seine

Tired of wars, weary
And lusts for power
Keeping up with the passing of time
What Le Soir tells you:
"What you should cherish
What to keep
A time to reflect
All the time to love . ».

Henri Elie (November 24, 2025)
For the music of Francess Harris

A Time to Reflect  (version chantée)

Sunmachine

Sunchyme

Paddy's Revenge

Paddy's Revenge (Steve Mac 12" Mix)

Miike Snow - Animal

Missquerada - Far from love

Sax &  Dj - Improvisation At Sunset

Welcome to my SoundCloud page.  It serves as a jar of sorts, to catch the musical ideas flying around in my head!  My hope is that you find something to listen to that offers encouragement and refreshes your soul.

All music is original with a few exceptions (such as new arrangements of old Christmas songs, etc.).  All music has been composed and performed with absolutely no AI-assistance.  I primarily perform and record on the Yamaha MODX8, with an occasional recording on my older Yamaha Clavinova.  You will also find collaborative works on my page, featuring some other amazing musicians on SoundCloud.

It is a joy to share my music with you, and I hope you enjoy listening!