Last spring, I had a jazzy musical interaction with songbirds to produce Magnolia. This spring, I explore the genre of jazz once again but this time with a mockingbird.

A few weeks ago, I recorded a mockingbird singing a jazzy serenade a cappella from his perch on my neighbor's chimney. And oh my! The bird sang like he was the hot new kid on the block, and the whole neighborhood had to listen!

The Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) can sing up to 200 different songs, some of which are original and others mimic the sounds of other birds and creatures, including insects and machines. 

I added electro — keyboard, piano, bass, and electronic drum kits — to the mockingbird audio recording using my MIDI and DAW, and I hope you find the music as amusing and entertaining as the jazzy mockingbird’s song.

Chill jazz fusion at 85 bpm

Audio of mockingbird recorded live April 2, 2025. The LoFi audio is raw, unaltered except for cuts to delete car noise and the conversation of neighbors, so that the music wraps around the birdsong.

With props to Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, whose main character Atticus Finch teaches that it’s a sin to kill mockingbirds because they harm no one with their songs — a symbolic theme of the book — it’s wrong if not evil to attack or destroy innocent people.

“Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…. they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.”

…………………….
DAW: Apple Logic Pro X
MIDI: Akai Professional Keyboard
E-INSTRUMENTS:
Concert Grand piano
SoCal Ballad Piano
Ambient Lead
Warm Glow Chords synth
Lunar Strings synth 
Fingerstyle Electric Bass
Deep Round Synth Bass
E-DRUM KITS:
Drum ‘N Bass Remix 
Trip Hop Remix 
Trip Hop Remix Phaser
Trance Remix
2-Step Remix 
African
Latin 

COVER ART is a composite using AI-generated images created by the DaVinci app and then designed in Photoshop.
………………..

.

Mockingbird

LYRICS

When I think of you it's new
When I think of you it's oh so good and blue
It's when I am empty and full
When I think of you it's soooo
Actually I can't stop
Actually I can't stop

Thinking of you
Thinking of you
Thinking of you

When I think of you it's new
When I think of you it's oh so good and blue
It's when I am empty and full
When I think of you it's soooo
Actually I can't stop
Actually I can't stop

Thinking of you
Thinking of you
Thinking of you

When I think of you I get so blue
So blue
Just thinking of you
So blue thinking of you
I wish I could be happy
When I thought of your face
But it's something now I can't erase
Can't erase thinking of you
Thinking of you

People Pleaser

Thinking of You

Here's our first real collaboration — two artists and now good friends, trading music back and forth across the Pond. I started with the guitar foundation, and JB added his signature touch with beautiful guitar layers and vocals. We hope you enjoy what we've created together. To listen to more of JB's wonderful work, go to: https://soundcloud.com/jonathan_beckenstein

Would you like a version that’s more casual or more formal?

Steady

PHOBOS / Paploviante Open Collaboration Offer
Paploviante: E-Bass, Music, Composing, Arrangement, Mix and Mastering 
BPM 88
Free Download
Feel free to adding something !
If you publish it, you have to mention me in the description and title!

PHOBOS

Remastered and reuploaded. From the 2017 EP, "The Mongol Princess"

The EP is now free/pay what you want on Bandcamp-
moodexhibit.bandcamp.com/album/the-mongol-princess

The Mongol Princess is a conceptual EP/soundtrack by Mood Exhibit. It tells a story of a young, beautiful, and kind princess that died tragically by disease at an early age. She spread love and hope throughout the land during the precious time she lived in her role. This audio tale of her life covers all emotions: joy, passion, pain, mourning, and remembrance.
This 4th release from Mood Exhibit is the most focused in theme and approach. No "electronic" sounds where used in this EP. All instruments including percussion within tracks were performed on keyboard using high quality sampled Asian sounds, with the accompaniment of traditional Mongol vocal recordings.

*this upload has the new image that differs from the original EP/track, and better represents how I interpret the Mongol Princess today

Mongol Princess EP

Mood Exhibit - Death of a Mongol Princess

The axolotl named Julio Cortázar watches Julio Cortázar observing the axolotls swimming in the aquarium.
The sister tracks here: https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/this-is-them-last-version and https://soundcloud.com/michele-ansani/this-is-us

Here the short background story:https://ambystoma.uky.edu/teachers_materials/axolitbook/AxolotlByJulioCortazar.html
Picture is from Pietro Corrao.

------

Composed by Michele Ansani (2025)
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, May 1

Is this you? *

When the railway runs along the coast, right beside the sea, there are many tunnels. Sometimes they’re so narrow that two tracks must draw near to one another to pass through. That’s how a strange love story begins between them.
This is a song I wrote around the year 2000, one of my last. I think it has a good mood. I’ve remixed and partially rearranged it.
You can still hear the warm tone of the Washburn, along with the old Yamaha’s sounds (including the flute). The sax — reworked by me  — is kindly provided by Dropgun Samples.
Still, as always, everything is very handcrafted.

Below is the English translation of the lyrics.

They converged at the tunnel’s mouth,
suddenly parallel —
twins of the railway.
They looked at each other, studied each other,
just enough
to not quite grasp
how much the one beside you knows of you.
They hesitated, thinking of the road behind:
companions in adventure,
but now unsure why.
And then they stared at the night gaping inside the tunnel:
a magnificent promise
to be traveled on the thread of fantasy.

“Inside this darkness, maybe we will never part,
under this shadow, maybe you’ll finally know me,
after this night, who knows where you’ll fall asleep —
perhaps closer to the sea…”

They parted at the tunnel’s edge,
but a narrow wall concealed a silence
charged with jealousy,
shaped like fear — fear of that strange kind of courtesy,
fear of the light,
fear of the end of the tunnel.
“Parallel track,
mirror born of the railway,
traitorous twin,
lover made of parody.
Don’t tell me that
after this darkness we’ll never part,
that under this shadow you’ll finally touch me,
that after this night, who knows where you’ll take me —
perhaps down by the sea…”

And at the end of that masterpiece of engineering,
only one of them
came rushing out of the tunnel;
on instinct, he turned and saw
that the sea was beside him,
and under the sea, the sky,
and beneath the sky — who knows what lies...

“After this darkness, surely we will never part,
inside this shadow, surely you’ll let go,
after this night, I cannot say where you’ll fall asleep —
perhaps closer to the sea…”

----

Confluirono all'ingresso della galleria
improvvisamente paralleli 
gemelli della ferrovia.
Si guardarono, si studiarono quel tanto che
non basta a misurare sino in fondo
quello che hai di fianco cosa sa di te.
Indugiarono, pensarono alla strada dietro di sé:
compagni di avventura,
ma ora non capivano perché.
E poi guardarono la notte spalancata nella galleria:
magnifica promessa
da viaggiare sul filo della fantasia

"dentro questo buio forse noi non ci separeremo mai,
sotto questo scuro tu finalmente mi conoscerai,
dopo questa notte poi non so dire dove ti addormenterai,
forse più vicino al mare ..."

Si congedarono sulla bocca della galleria,
ma parete stretta nasconde silenzio
fatto a carica di gelosia,
fatto a forma di paura di quella stranissima cortesia,
paura della luce
paura della fine della galleria.
"Binario parallelo,
specchio generato dalla ferrovia,
gemello traditore,
amante da parodia.
Non dirmi che 
dopo questo buio noi non ci separaremo mai,
che sotto questo scuro tu finalmente mi toccherai,
che dopo questa notte poi chissà dove mi accompagnerai,
forse giù vicino al mare ..."

E alla fine di quel capolavoro di ingegneria,
di loro uno solo
usciva di corsa dalla galleria;
d'istinto si voltò e vide che
c'era il mare di fianco a sé,
e sotto il mare il cielo,
e sotto il cielo chissa cosa c'è ...

"dopo questo buio certo noi non ci separeremo mai,
dentro questo scuro tu sicuramente ti abbandonerai,
dopo questa notte poi non so dire dove ti addormenterai,
forse più vicino al mare ..."

----

Composed by Michele Ansani (1999)
Posted on SoundCloud: 2025, May 16

Down by the sea [Viaggio di nozze] *

Suspense & Gentle Spirit

Music Dave Rose
Here is a track I have just done today which to my mind sounds it like it could be off a detective show. Possibly :>)

Gumshoe

Cast of Characters:
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – Sigma acoustic guitar, Collings mandolin, Roland piano, vocals, vocal harmonies, and arrangement
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Earle Scruggs banjo, arrangement, production, mix, and mastering        
This song is a Phish song written by Trey, Page, Fishman, and Tom Marshall, who wrote the lyrics. Originally, on their album Hoist, it's just Trey playing and acoustic guitar and singing. Stephen and I wanted to give it our own flavor though. After I asked him to play banjo on it and produce it for me, we started spitballing ideas about how we could add something more to it. Originally, we both played every instrument, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and piano, through the whole thing, except the first and last verses. Then we decided to trickle the instruments in for maximum effect. I also sang the harmonies throughout. Finally, Stephen came up with the idea to wrap the last verse in a mono effect, giving it a detached feel. He mixed it brilliantly, too.
  This song has always had a special place deep in my heart. Sometimes you hear a song and recognize such truth in it, it feels like it was written about you. This is such a song for me. Plus, it was written by my favorite band, Phish, so it has even more meaning for me. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Dog Faced Boy by Phish (with Texmex Shaman)

is not bad but I feel like it could be better.

#experimental #electricguitar

After the Heatwave.m4a

Mood Exhibit is the sound expression outlet for Robert Salchak. Exploring the genres of electronic, post classical, world instrumental, and melody laced soundtrack styles. The music of ME has a strong emphasis on visual texture and emotion.