Hello all, we are excited to share with you the final installment in the mega-collaborative pyschedelic fantasy concept album project 'Land of the Zed', from the group that we have now dubbed the Smoking Trout. Uziel, Stonerjazz and myself were involved in all 10 installments. We had other friends plug in along the way, including some new names this time around: Nic and Nadia Selvaggi. Special thanks to Jo Richter for contributing to the vocals as well. Thanks to all who participated, listened, and commented!
We had too much fun to stop here, so don't be surprised if we start another Zed concept album. 

Here is the full album on Bandcamp! 
https://thesmokingtrout.bandcamp.com/

Or you can listen on SoundCloud if you prefer:
soundcloud.com/tea_are_sea/sets/land-of-the-zed
Cheers,
Terry
---
Jeff / Stonerjazz @user-911083679 contributed
Lyrics, 
Lead vocals
Drums and bass during the second half
Background guitar during the first half

Uziel @user-455619833 contributed
Piano
Background vocals

Nic @nic_nic_nic contributed
Background vocals
Guitar during the second half

Nadia Selvaggi @nadiaselvaggi contributed
Operatic vocals during intro and outro
Background piano during intro

Terry / TRC @tea_are_sea produced and added
Drums-percussion during the first half
Synths and experimental sounds

Jo Richter / Sonic Structures and Silent Stretches @sonic-textures
Wrote a poem that Stonerjazz adapted into verse III. 

Cover art produced using Wombo Dream

LYRICS:
I.
Amanita Amanita Aminita Muscaria, we're so happy, we're so happy yes we're so happy that your in the area
Amanita amantia amanita muscaria.
The clinical psychologist says it's in his head
that's why that boy won't get out of bed
He's dreaming of a journey taken to the land of Zed
and a magical Accordion.
Amanita singing songs of the land of Zed
singing songs in Johnny's head.
Amanita Amanita Amanita Muscaria
we're so happy, yes we're so happy you're in the Area.
Well two clarinet players named Sally and Roberta
and a monkey named Steve
came up to Johnny and said
"Johnny we think it's time to leave; we're out of water and we're outa Bread
and all of us are damn near dead.
So Johnny Thought for a moment and he said Okay.
then he sat down on boulder and started to play
that golden magic accordion.

II.
amanita amanita amanita muscaria
A crack appeared in the side of the wall
and exposed a magnificent Hall,
a fountain appeared in the middle, gushing crystalline clear water so sweet and so pure.
And as each traveler had their drink, they did proceed to disappear.
Johnny had a drink and then he woke up in his bed
in his room
in his house
in his state
in his country
in his world.

III.
ln ths welcomeless abode where tenants rights perptually erode
where bills are paid by humiliation and toil.
The air is full of burning oil
Where street lights outshine the moon
And dust has more rights than me
Awoken by faint sirens in the caccaphony
Whow is me who played that accorrdion for free
I fed the starving with golden tune and lifted up the many with melodies refined.
And hope spread golden
In keys made light
Humbled here and squandered in this wretched flight

IV.
Though in a way, this is a comfy place
And quaint.
And yet it feels like restraint that keeps me from the land of Zed
From where I wish I'd never fled.
How I long for how I yearn for rat and crow and monkey too
And even Roy who loves those blues.
And my accordion nowhere in sight occassionally late at night
Sings in the clouds and I remain within my shrouds
While smiling secretly with knowledge of a Gate
In my vicinity.

Amanita Muscaria (Land of the ZED #10) w/ Stonerjazz, Uziel, Nic, Nadia Selvaggi, and Jo Richter

Calm Center

This is the third one-on-one collaboration from me and @texmex-shaman , I think Stephen and I make such a good creative team, have loved working with him! I had been holding onto this track for some time because I felt it was missing something. Finally sent it to Stephen and he immediately could imagine guitar played with an e-bow weaving in and out. He absolutely nailed the vibe that I was going for, I think his part perfectly builds on the mood that I'd been trying to develop. Hope you will also enjoy giving it a listen!

Space Face -  w/ TexMex Shaman

Here is another track making heavy use of my favorite synth, the Minilogue XD

As Far as the Eye Can See

Chartreuse Juice

This is my second collab with @mralchemy , I love his sound and style, check out his cool productions and thought inspiring hip hop from Australia if you haven't had the chance yet. He and his son both worked on this one with me, I think it turned out great!

At the Root of It All - w/ Mr. Alchemy

Anachronic

This is my remix of a track from @archmageband2 called Workplace Challenges. It's my first time working with Rob Ulysses (@rob-ulysses) and Masha Solo (@masha-solo).

I built on the theme and concept that they had developed, but took this mix in a slightly different direction compared with their original piece which I hope you will be interested to also check out:
https://soundcloud.com/archmageband2/workplace-challenges-instrumental

I think my version here has maybe a bit of a darker vibe to it.

 It's been fun working with some new collaborators. We have more music in the works, so stay tuned!

Occupational Hazard - w/ Archmage Band

It's been nearly a year since I posted my first open collaboration, Earth and Sky. I've been meaning to give it another try and decided this experimental industrial downtempo piece would make an interesting offering to see if anyone might be inspired to adapt or remix? I'm dusting off the old Korg Volca Drum that I used on tons of tracks last year but haven't incorporated into any recent stuff in a while.

Stems can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12b2biJGg5dL2gATthvgI6CXVbzxxw8-x?usp=sharing

And we've got at least one response, woohoo! Here is a playlist that I will continue adding to: https://soundcloud.com/tea_are_sea/sets/social-fabric-collaborations

Please message me and let me know what you come up with if you decide to work with this one. Thanks and happy experimenting!

111 BPM and the key is more or less in A minor.

Social Fabric (Open Collaboration)

Lunar Language

Until this week I hadn't released any tracks with @noxpox13 but now we have exchanged open collab responses, so putting two tracks out into the world just recently! 

I loved the vibe of his Dreaming ov Moonrocks open collab so started working on it while also sharing with him my Social Fabric open collab. Listen to his take on my track here: https://soundcloud.com/noxpox13/tea-r-sea-social-fabric-noxpox-rmx

Noxpox - Dreamin Ov Moonrocks (TRC Remix)

Lugubrious

This is my first collaboration with the great @ipg1 !

I've wanted to respond to one of his open collabs for a while now, but this is the first one that really came together. 

Thanks to Ian for offering up these super cool vocals, they were very inspiring to work with. I love the themes of unity and positivity that he infused into this track.

Rhythm of Life - w/ IPG1

Jeff (a.k.a. Stonerjazz, @user-911083679) sent me a sneak peak of his now released 'Anthology II' track that also featured TexMex Shaman. I couldn't get enough of the poem, titled Euphoria, that was featured in the second half. So I asked him if I could also work with the vocal track and do my own mix. Jeff's words always seem to resonate with me, and I thought this would be a fun kind of experimental trippy dream pop piece to kick off the new year. Happy 2024 all!

Euphorla
by jeff gardlner

I've got about two hours before i have to go back to reality
i got so damned relaxed, i'm fucked up to the max
you know this is the highlight of my day.
i sure wish it lasted longer, i might have to find something stronger.
immortality is not a possibility anyway.

i'm waiting for Euphoria, i'm waiting for Euphoria
Out on the edge so bright and cool, Restless waves of Brilliant darkness down below whisper me a fool..Whisper me a fool.
i got so damned relaxed, i'm fucked up to the max, you know this is the highlight of my day..i sure wish it lasted longer, i may have to find something stronger, immortality is not a possibility anyway..

t's cool and clear and bright out here above the cheaters and the lovers and the fighters, daydreamers, betrayers,and the liars stacked in layers like hotcakes on your Momma's kitchen table. Admit the truth if you know it,even though it's just amalgamated combinations of opinions from the minnions of the overlords.

Tell us all about the sacred Books oh captain of the guard.is there something to be said in defense of Intellect aside from the fact that it makes us hard to kill. So everyone please take your pill, the government will foot the bill.

This strange exotic, apocalyptic somewhat erotic musical notes of this life surreal is yanking at my heartstrings.
Turns out to be just the ticket for a perfect afternoon..

I've got about two hours before i have to go back to reality...

Just the Ticket - w/ Stonerjazz

I connected with @blackmarketbrains when he responded to my open collab, Social Fabric. I really liked his take on that one so asked if he wanted to do another collaboration. He offered up this open collab he had going as well as a couple other ideas. Working on this one, my remix came together right away. I am digging his post-nuke post-apocalypse aesthetic.

David is responsible for the beat and many of the synth and sound effect elements (we discovered he and I use a lot of the same hardware-- microfreak + volca drum!) ... my additions include the kind of light epiano keys in the background and the main melody ultra filtered sounding lead lines. Thanks for checking this one out!

After the Bomb (TRC mix) - w/ Black Market Brains

Making more use of my new soft synth Arturia Pigments, and playing around with a little more complex song structure. This one also features the Minilogue XD and Korg Module instruments to a lesser extent.

Into the Aether

Playing around more with Pigments and Korg Module again! I was pretty happy with how the rhythmic beat turned out, my approach on this one was a little different.

Imbued Illusion

My first time working with this fun crew as a whole collective! Though I have collaborated with both TM Shaman, Llanpsych, and Josh Clary in the past, this was my first time working with Mysterious Decibel and K2, have been wanting to partner with each of them for a while. And very happy with these results, hope you'll enjoy listening!

------------
Cast of characters:

Tea R. Sea @tea_are_sea -- Terry – Synthesizers, beats, composition, production, and mix
The Mysterious Decibel -- @themysteriousdecibel – MD – First vocals and lyrics 
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez–Electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Electric guitar, mix, and production 
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, lyrics, and vocals at the end
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1–five-string fretless bass

This song began with Terry sharing an intriguing Eastern sounding synth and minimal beat with Ken, who added a really solid beat to bring out the strong rhythm of the song. Once they had a solid foundation and skeleton, they shared it with the rest of the Eclectic Collective. Josh added his five string fretless bass in a dubby line that was inspired by Tez's hot skank part. Then JJ poured his magic into it, too. Stephen came up with the shocking dynamic lift towards the end, and Tez piled on to light it up. Then MD got a hold of it and wrote and sang some of his trademark, fun lyrics and vocals in the first part of the song. Ken, not to be left out of the melodic experience, added the vocals at the end. 

After we all had everything in the can, the Texas Tea combo of Stephen and Terry produced and mixed the whole thing down. This wasn't their first rodeo mixing a project together, and it really shows in the end quality. They also have several duo projects up on both of their pages that are worth checking out.  
  We think the end result is reminiscent of Massive Attack and Thievery Corporation, two big influences on a few of us. We all hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Lyrics by MD:
Time again and on, and on, and on, we fall in slumber
Dreams never wait
Ashes to ashes we all fall down 
Ooooo Circles break
Ashes to ashes we all fall down
When we wake
When we wake
Is this a new Simulation?
When I wake
When I wake

Lyrics by Ken:
Feed the fire or the fire flames out

Coherent Fire - w/ the Eclectic Collective & Mysterious Decibel

Poetry, vocals, and drum machine by Jeff a.k.a. STONERJAZZ. 
Check out his page for more in this series and lots of other great poetry! @user-911083679

Jo Richter a.k.a. Sonic Structures and Silent Stretches produced and performed all of the music on Pieces of the Sun. He also contributed modulated vocals and awesome low-end experimentation on Sublime. Look him up for more amazing soundscapes and poetry @sonic-textures 

I produced and contributed most of the instrumentation for Sublime and Giant Ball of Gas

SUBLIME

Everything you say and do, there is a watcher watching you
the silent witness standing there with stars and spiders in her hair-

There is a place inside my space that opens up from time to time
and it's Sublime yeah it's sublime

But i can't stay there all the time
though i want to real bad
i'm sure it would be fine

i guess i can't keep living this crazy life that i been living all these years
my body's saying oh no oh ,no no no no--

69 times around the Sun and workin on another One.......

PIECES OF THE SUN

Hey everybody, let's come together
let;s find the pathway, let's find the path way
let's try to remember the purpose of which we are meant for
Hey everybody let's come together
Let's meet in the clearing where cookfires are burning
and spirits are yearning for things that are real.

I'd like to find a song to sing that would fix everything
I'd like to like to love the world again, like I did way back then.
Here's some news for everyone, We are all pieces of the sun
We're all Luminousity-
We are all absolutely free.

GIANT BALL OF GAS

Just out here in the middle of the void
Spinning fast around a giant burning ball of gas
that's hurdling thru the deepest darkest space
meteors and comets are Zooming by at breakneck pace
The situation seems to be a little bit precarious
some might even say Nefarious.

how can it be that tragedy can sometimes be
almost hilarious
Stupidity it seems to be the order of the day
yet here we are and here we go
onward out like warriors without a clue
and everyone will play their part
of this i'm sure, l know it's true!!

Anthology VI: Sublime / Pieces of the Sun / Giant Ball of Gas - w/ STONERJAZZ & Jo Richter

I was thinking maybe it's been too long since I've done a nautical themed track...

Washed Ashore

Always an incredible blast to work with the great @texmex-shaman !

On our collabs I'll often come up with an idea and send to him, but on this one he sent me an idea that was already pretty well developed and I just added a few analogue synth touches. Really like the flow and vibe he constructed on here, it was great fun to work with.

Firstly - w/ TexMex Shaman

Another fun collab with @enigmacurry !
Ryan sent me this awesome beat that included a lot of the cool sound design elements and really interesting sound effects already in there. Apparently our mutual friend @scilentsymphony gave the original piece a listen and convinced him that he needed it to send it my way, because sounds like my style haha.

I'm glad he did, because this clicked right away with me. I overlaid a couple melodic patterns that mostly repeat in a kind of cyclical way, was quite happy with the final result here! Credit for the cover art goes to Ryan.

Passage of Time - w/ Enigma Curry

The Smoking Trout's Quest for the Holy Dumpling continues! When we left our travelers they had just been given a tip that they needed to travel from New Mexico to Oaxaca for the next leg of their journey. This latest track is basically an instrumental interlude but it re-samples the holy dumpling ingredient list that was recited during the last episode by a "Sufi sitting on the sidewalk serenely spouting scripture from the Transcendental Dharma of the Holy Dumpling".

I started this one, Jeff infused it with some incredibly creative experimental guitar and electronic touches, Stephen killed it on rhythm and lead guitar once again, and joining us for the second (but not the last) time, Masa a.k.a. Tot reinforced the groove by adding a really nice additional drum beat.

* Stonerjazz @user-911083679 -- Vocals/Lyrics, Ebow & Mellotron

* TexMex Shaman @texmex-shaman -- Lead & Rhythm Guitar

* Tot - @tot-beat -- Drums & 808

* Tea R. Sea -- Synth & Production

-------------
Catch up with the first 5 tracks of our work-in-progress concept album, Quest for the Holy Dumpling: on.soundcloud.com/FR63a

Listen to the Smoking Trout's first album, The Land of Zed (2021-2022): on.soundcloud.com/WB34q
-------------

Words (HOLY DUMPLING ingredients):

Along with baking soda, salt, wheat and water
A heavy leavening of responsibility ls required ln the making--
and some mushrooms only growing ln Oaxaca

Oaxaca (Smoking Trout's HOLY DUMPLING #8) w/ Stonerjazz, TexMex Shaman, & Tot

This is the 8th track in me and @texmex-shaman Stephen's "Texas Tea" playlist! I think this one has a little bit of a different flavor to it, there is an exotic feel to the acoustic guitar that really just completes the song in my opinion. He also contributed two other guitar parts which are a bit more in the background but also really help bring the piece to life. Check out our full playlist of collaborations here... working our way up to a full album soon: https://soundcloud.com/texmex-shaman/sets/texas-tea-sea

Mindless - w/ TexMex Shaman

David Z. a.k.a. @BlackMarketBrains and I previously collaborated on one other track that I have posted to my page (After the Bomb), and a handful of tracks that he has posted to his page (3 different remixes of a work in progress from me called Metallic, and a response to my open collab, Social Fabric)...

I'm happy to share this new one that I developed based on an open collab of his called Doc Avalanche Goes BeatBeatBeat! https://soundcloud.com/blackmarketbrains/doc-avalanche-goes-beatbeatbeat-open-collab

I love the original title but chose to simplify it a little bit. 

Hopefully more to come from the two of us!

Avalanche of Beats - w/ Black Market Brains

The Texas Tea project strikes again! Me and @texmex-shaman have produced 9 of these one-on-one collabs now, including this one. It's a joy to work with him, we really vibe stylistically. I think that in some ways his organic creative guitar work is the missing ingredient in my synth soundscapes. Check out the full playlist of our other Texas Tea tracks here:
soundcloud.com/texmex-shaman/sets/texas-tea-sea

Expansive Expedition - w/ TexMex Shaman

VHS Vision

The Smoking Trout continue our tale of the Quest for the Holy Dumpling. This time we're joined by our biggest crew yet! Stonerjazz (Jeff) got us started and somehow the whole process unfolded quite organically from there. TexMex Shaman (Stephen), Jo Richter, Tot (Masa), Jeff and Tea R Sea (Terry) are regularly recurring members of the band. We are happy to welcome Wivresse (Carine) and Neil Harding as new guest contributors. This was tons of fun as always, and a truly global collaboration spanning Japan, France, Germany, UK, and USA.

Stonerjazz (@user-911083679) --- Words, Vocals, Guitar (pt II)
TexMex Shaman (@texmex-shaman) --- Guitar (pt III)
Wivresse (@wivresse2) --- Xaphoon, Vocals, Water sounds & percussion
Tot (@tot-beat) --- Drums & main beat
Jo Richter (@sonic-textures) --- Thundersheet, Instrumental prelude & words (pt I) 
Neil Harding (@user-484622070) --- Spoken word vocals (pt I)
Tea R. Sea (@tea_are_sea) --- Production, Synths (pt II), Sound effects (pt I)

Catch up on the Quest for the Holy Dumpling: on.soundcloud.com/FR63a
Listen to the Land of Zed, Smoking Trout's debut album: on.soundcloud.com/WB34q

LYRICS

(Part I - Vocals by Neil Harding / Words by Jo Richter)

Those individuals on wheels had a hard time finding their feed. Hungry they were - for that special dumpling that connects you to anything pagans and believers alike deem holy. Although endowed with holgraphic properties, you can't walk on clouds unless they are numbered. They kept drifting upwards, therefore, slowly upwards until they hit the ceiling called Mars. Mars always happens to be where your head needs something to bump against. That's the nature of war.

(Part II - Words & Vocals by Stonerjazz)

It turned out
there was never any doubt
about
how it was gonna be

ya know it's hard sometimes
to get a grip
drifting in the corridors of time

everybody on the bus
runnin hard and hot
some of us holograms
except for Gus
he's an Alien from outer space
waiting for the rendezvous
at the window of the launch
in Oaxaca down in Mexico
Where the magic mushrooms grow

And his bus
a shuttle from the mother ship
disguised as a 1983 GMC
infinity
He's from another Galaxy
searching for the holy dumpling
just like you and me.

Hope we find that dumpling soon
maybe it's on the moon
traveling at the speed of light
we could get there sometime later on tonight

(Part III - Vocals by Wivresse)

Except for Gus (Smoking Trout's HOLY DUMPLING #9)

Psychic Resonance

I've had this one in progress for a long time, kept thinking it might make a good collab since there are some open spaces in here. If anyone is interested in remixing I can send you the stems!

Fermentation

New album Digital Molasses is now available on BandCamp and SC, will be released to other platforms in May! I'll be offline for most April, will catch up with you when I return.

On this page you'll find music from me as well as the collaborative SoundCloud band, The Smoking Trout.

Genre influences include electronic, downtempo, lofi, experimental, rock, blues, indie, prog, post rock, ambient, synthwave, trip hop, and hip hop. I make tracks primarily with Cubasis and Korg Gadget (iOS); Ableton Live; Korg and Moog softsynths, Volca Drum, Minilogue XD, Arturia Microfreak, Arturia Pigments, and the FabFilter Pro suite of effects and production tools.

The art featured as the background image on my main profile page here is by KEVLARD666 (www.instagram.com/kevlard666/) @ikelion666 and will be the cover of my 2024 album, to be released soon: Digital Molasses 

My sound has been inspired by Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, the Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, M83, Godspeed you Black Emperor!, Mogwai, Pink Floyd, Animal Collective, Nicolas Jaar, Dirty Projectors, Massive Attack, Björk, Dan the Automator, Del, the Gorillaz, Reggie Watts, Ween, Neon Indian, Tycho, Ott, Shpongle, Danger Mouse, Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo, Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Modest Mouse, Tool, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Hendrix, the Books, and too many others to list here.

Hope you will check out some of my collaborators:

@user-911083679 - STONERJAZZ
@user-455619833 - Uziel
@texmex-shaman
@sonic-textures
@grevusanjl
@enigmacurry
@mralchemy
@blackmarketbrains
@dough-factory
@winkandwoo
@jerome-hearn-994307260
@dubman-9
@archmageband2
@tot-beat
@ipg1
@zed4209819
@lala-land-361191160 - E.P. Beats
@llanpsych
@ruizzoidman21centurions
@Ladyofire
@josh-clary-1 Entheogenic Psychonaught
@themysteriousdecibel 
@k2andthe3
@cerulean_ascent
@nic_nic_nic
@nadiaselvaggi
@chefboyextreme
@scilentsymphony
@azealotrous
@noxpox13 
@pablomoretti
@prof-oddfellow - Neons Gone a Mad
GMO / Green Mercurial Owl 

Thanks so much for stopping by and listening!

Tea R. Sea

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