The violin cries the ache of scars 
Its icy echoes reach the stars 
Guitar tears through the brittle air 
A sharpened scream laid bare unfair 

Icy Strings of Fire

New Jersey-grown content

On this page is the most complete collection of Instrumentals, exclusive songs, B-sides and more, curated by Arkateqq/Woodro Skillson. Top tracks will also be ported to Youtube and other streaming platforms.

Open to new collabs!

Arkateqq (a.k.a. Woodro Skillson) is a music producer and sound designer specializing in rock, hip-hop, r&b and electronic dance genres. After signing with Headbanga Muzik in 2009, he crafted and remixed records for many of today’s notable artists, working from coast to coast. From beats and live instrumentation, including over 20 years of guitar experience, to songwriting, DJing, brand syncs and production for TV and film, he has racked up years of experience doing it all. His work on Italian artist Fabri Fibra's 'Guerra E Pace' elevated the album to Number 1 in Italy, earning a platinum certification, and he has composed music for 3 RIAA-certified (2 Platinum, 1 Gold) albums in the US. Woodro releases his own songs under the name Arkateqq, and with hundreds of sync placements from independent songwriting, he continues to work with artists and brands who are passionate about imagination and delivering an incredible experience. (From Breweryrecording.com)

Reposts will always be collaborations with artists or songs produced! Some playlists will feature my favorite tracks from other artists.

Several instrumentals will be added each week! Please follow & new music will be here. 

Arkateqq - Guitar Moods Sound Pack (for producers)
https://www.skillsonic.live/str/guitarmoodssoundpack

Thank you!




Some of the best accounts on here have really long bios (I actually appreciate this), and I don't want to be confused with a bot account. If you are a human, I am probably listening to your music (I've definitely heard some AI, you know the sound) but Soundcloud is currently the only place I can hear real unmixed underground shoegaze, wild genre experiments, the weirdest rap flows, and piano ballads all in one sitting. My wife Martine only likes mastered music (she sings on 'God Given' and 'Sun' on this page) but I will sit here and listen through everything because some labels can't/won't and I actually enjoy the process of finding gold in the form of a passionate musician who can only afford to upkeep a Soundcloud account. If no one has heard you yet, keep creating! We still don't know you, but we are listening! Ultimately, my goal is to help computer musicians understand that while playing an instrument is an amazing skill to harness, studio-quality recordings can be made anywhere and at anytime (and with any instrument). If you need help achieving a better production, mix, or master please message me and we can discuss how to do that together.

Let's GO



Contact:
arkateqq [at] gmail [dot] com

I was interested in music in my early youth... so I soon got my first synthesizer and set up a small home recording studio.
over the years i played keyboards in 5 bands...the direction was rock...pop...blues and soul.
in the meantime i have discovered my enthusiasm for creating my own songs.
it makes me happy when I can compose...arrange...mix...produce and create something new.
it's like a passion to experiment with different styles of music... and it gives me a lot of joy.
the only limit is your imagination...
is my motto.
and everything is possible...you just have to try.

music is pure magic...and part of the soul...
no one can escape her
let the music guide your mind...and that's the only way you'll get the freedom...you've always wanted

I am a 71 year old man in Minnesota.  I am still trying to get the rest of my music on here.       My YouTube.com is @RichardLOlson.  It has mostly acoustic videos on a Lyrica baby grand piano in the Atrium of North Memorial  Health  Hospital in Robbinsdale, MN where I volunteer twice weekly.  More if loved ones are there.

Now for all of the rest of details with SoundCloud on account settings..

I remember my first MIDI recording was done in Cardiff, Wales on a grand piano in a fancy restaurant near Cardiff Castle.  I have no idea what became of the file.  We stayed at the Angels Hotel opposite the charming Animal Wall of the castle.

I had the experience of virtually becoming a Minnesotan this weekend.  I have lived in Minnesota since the 1970's but have always been teased as an Iowan.  Nobody remembers anymore.  I do.

A commentator stated something about my melodies not being fully developed.  The music he commented was from the turn of the century and not contemporary.  Whatever inspires my improvisation now is more melodic in nature.

My link of links is:  fholson.cohousing.org/ARLO
On Google browsers the following are useful:  #RichardLOlson  and @RichardLOlson

Hello, another new track from me. I thank everyone who listens to my music. Thank you very much. Older tracks will be released on YouTube one by one. Thank you.


Hallo, wieder mal ein neuer Track von mir. Ich bedanke mich bei allen die meine Musik hören. Vielen Dank. Aeltere Tracks werden auf Youtoube veröffentlicht einer nach dem anderen. Danke.

Love music as much as air. I am writing & creating  my own music with the help of Ai tools. Hope you will listen to some of them.

PLEASE NO PROMOTERS or VIDEO PLEASE. I DO MY OWN ! 
All new songs are real vocals and voices are not ai assisted. 
Mairidh Gaol is Ceòl: A well-known Scottish Gaelic proverb that translates to "The world will end, but love and music will endure”
Vocals now real people performing 
Collabs welcome. I’ll provide the lyrics if you would like to provide the music and vocals ? 
Scottish born and bred. Just exploring some ideas spinning round in my head and putting them up here. Various styles of music and trying to find my niche ! Songs are ai assisted. All the songs are written solely by me. All New music uploaded is  real people without any ai assistance on the vocals . Older Music and singers are partly ai assisted

Multi-genre composer. Mostly old school, but lately also with ML. Influenced by Beethoven to Queen. Radar System Engineer by profession, but music is my alternative life. Hope you enjoy! 
LINK TO MY REPOSTS:

Making AI Music & Songs about Love to Grand Kids Frank & Hilma.

Indie artist defiantButterfly / introverts Dancing, is a south Florida based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist that loves to rock and loves electronica and loves smashing them together! Some songs fit into genres, and sometimes genres get mashed up in the songs creating hybrids of new music. Real instruments, real singing, real music made by hand with love. No cutting and pasting of loops. No silly auto tune type robot voice filters that make anyone sound like everyone. 
As a boy, he acquired his first guitar after it was thrown out the window by a neighbor who was pissed off because he couldn’t play it worth a damn. When dB asked if he could keep the discarded guitar, the neighbor said, “You can ram it up your ass for all I care”.  dB declined to perform that action, but decided to learn how to play it instead. Soon after, an older kid from the neighborhood screeched his car to a halt, pulled a broken surfboard out of the back and tossed it to dB and his brother saying, “here punks, learn how to surf you little rats”, then screeched off in a cloud of tire smoke. dB and his brother decided that was an action they would perform. Those two discarded artists tools set dB on a path of adventure and creative expression that directed many of his life choices that were made in defiance of a status quo existence.  He was also a military kid that moved around the world constantly and never lived in one place for long. That upbringing made him a keen observer of the world and people. As dB says, “Not being a part of any particular scene or group allowed me to be open minded about pretty much everything. The ones that accepted and befriended me were of all different backgrounds, races, and identities and didn't care that I didn't fit in, they were the misfits also, they were open minded, so they understood.” That early life taught him to always see the world with fresh eyes, to stay open minded, to be adventurous, to seek out new ideas and experiences, to go his own way and find his own voice and song writing style. Now an accomplished musician and world traveler, dB continues to stay open to new ideas, experiences, people, art, and music. “I’ve learned that our lives are all so different, but we feel the same things. So, I write songs about feelings that everyone can relate to in a way that you can bring your own stories and life experiences to the songs and feel those things in a way that makes sense to you. My songs are for everyone, but especially for the misfits, the average joes and janes, the outsiders, the wall flowers, the introverts. They know how to rock, they’re the dreamers, the free thinkers, the ones looking for new ideas, new experiences, and new music. They’ve shown me they’re the coolest of all.”

The Name
"The idea of defiantButterfly as a name came as I was watching a butterfly make its way through the world on a windy day. As the strong winds swirled around, the butterfly was sometimes caught up in the headwinds and blown away from its intentions. In spite of the obstacles the world was throwing at it, the butterfly continued on its journey, making headway here, forced to go with the winds there. No matter which way it was moving, whether on its hoped for path or whilst being blown off course by the winds of fate, it was beautiful. The butterfly seemed to defy nature and logic. On the surface it seemed as if it was too fragile and beautiful to exists in this harsh environment, but it clearly had the strength and wherewithal continue its life dance despite the obstacles the world was throwing at it, and all the while it was beautiful. It struck me as kind of metaphor for artistic expression and what artists do. Our triumphs and struggles inspire us to create our art, then we throw it into the air and can only watch as it is taken by the winds of an indifferent world."

Icy Strings of Fire

Highlander on the run