mistermark Selection

Dedicated to some folks in my life who've picked me up along the way, especially through music...

This is one I'm pretty proud of.  Oddly, it's the first time I’ve written a full original song with me singing my own lyrics. I'm joined by the uber talented @TexMex-Shaman, who is wielding the lead electric guitar starting at the first verse through to the end. (this is the second time now where my vocal melody is partly inspired by his magical playing!) He also lends his mastering skillz to great effect here. Thanks TMS for truly bringing this to life with your playing! 
All other instruments are played by me on the keyboard - acoustic guitar, bass, organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, 2nd electric guitar (the higher one in verse 2), horns, drums & percussion, words and voice. The chorus is supposed to sound like a 60's soul song, like Marvin Gaye meets Van Morrison. 
If you play this more than once I'm sorry but I'm afraid you'll be stuck with it in your head all day.  :)

This one's a personal one for me, so thanks for listening, and for picking us up with your music!

LYRICS: 

Verse 1
alone in the corner, that old six string whispers to me
ah but when daddy played, he could set your spirit free 
like the drops in the rain, or a forest tall and green
there's music alive all around
and mamma she told me, you must listen for more than the sound
and hear with your heart

Chorus     
(And then she’d) 
pick me up higher, pick me up higher, pick me up higher
pick me up, lift me up, build me up,  
pick me up higher, pick me up higher, pick me up higher
pick me up, lift me up, build me up, 
pick me up higher 

Verse 2
Now I’m writing my own song… makin’ music with old friends and new
But the joy of my days, are my beautiful daughter and you
And when you play that song, she would close her eyes and sway
all the while as she sings
And man when I hear her, whispered memories they lift me up still
like a bird on the wind

Chorus  

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other credits: 
-second verse sample of 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' (by John Denver), performed by my 9 yr old daughter
-image design by me using Chat GPT
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
here's a link to just the final chorus vocals and horns isolated: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/pick_me_up_vox_isolated

and here's a link that features mainly the sax solo & horn section:
https://on.soundcloud.com/y1PR8xv69y77n5CY5w
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
here's some pictures I took:
https://500px.com/p/MrMark?view=photos

-mark

Pick Me Up (with TexMex Shaman)

CAST OF CHARACTERS:
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- electric piano, synth, seed idea
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –  vocals, lyrics, mix, and production
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – guitar
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–banjo, guitar, sitar, and final mastering
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, seed idea
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – four-string fretless bass

Composition – The Eclectic Collective
This song started in probably the most effective way our group writes them. Ken had a spectacular drum beat that was unused in a previous project, so JJ composed and recorded  a chord arrangement with his magical keys. Once we had a beat and a chord structure, Josh came along and added his foundational bass. 
     Now that the rhythm section was complete and the chord structure was in place, Stephen added his unique melody line that you hear at the beginning and every other verse on his magic banjo. He also plays all the initial guitar until around 1:40, where Tez takes over. Stephen also added some really trippy sitar in the vocal section. Then it was time for Tez to add some spice to the mix with his fiery guitar solos from about 1:40 on, eventually building up to a crescendo towards the end. 
     Once we had all the music down, we realized that we had a big gap in the bridge without much going on in it. So, Mark came through with an old poem he had written on his fridge with word magnets for his daughter more than a decade ago, and expanded on it for this song. (the poem is loosely based on the idea that our dreams exist in a digital environment/universe) The young girl's voice you hear echoing Mark's filtered voice is his daughter, in her first appearance with the EC. 
     The song was now finished, except for Mark using his production skills to trim and move a few things, then mix it. While we usually defer to Tez or Stephen for the mix, Mark did such a great job, we decided to keep his mix. Stephen did, however master and EQ it to make it a finished product. 
     This song was truly put together as a whole band effort, showcasing what the Eclectic Collective can do. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.  

Original lyrics by Mistermark:  

The moon flickers on
and rises and dances
across a celestial stage
as dreamers paint the pixels of their mind 
like an infinite canvas 

Sleep away tiny egg
and leave a delicate thread 
of memory behind 
but never log out 
you are in the elaborate web
always

-------------------------------------------
here's a photo of the original fridge magnet poem from years ago:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/2257994722/in/album-1495769/

and here's some collections of photos I took over the years:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/albums/

Dancing Moon (The Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – rhythm and lead guitar, seed idea
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- organ and synth
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –  piano, harmonica, VST fiddle, vocals, lyrics, mix, and production
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– layered guitar parts and fills, mastering
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – mandolin and four-string fretless bass
Composition – The Eclectic Collective

This song started as a guitar skeleton that had been a twinkle in Tez's eye several years ago. He'd been hanging on to it in hopes of finding a suitable home for it. When he introduced it to the Eclectic Collective, we all jumped on it. First up was Ken, laying in his dynamic, powerful drums and percussion. Then Stephen laid down some fiery fills as well as a solid comp part on his guitar. Inspired by the Stones sound of the guitars, Mark added some piano, harmonica, and VST fiddle, then got to work on some lyrics and vocal melody. Josh was atypically late to the party, but managed to get his bass in there, too, thus completing the rhythm section. JJ was next up with his splendid organ and synth to fill in the sound. 
  By this time, Mark had written and recorded some throat shredding vocals, which he added to the mix. We all decided that it now had a Rod Stewart/Faces vibe to it, so we tried to amplify that flavor. To this end, Josh dropped in a mandolin part, as well.
  At this point, the song needed a dynamic push to close out the song, so the decision was made to amp up the crescendo at the end. Ken summoned his best Keith Moon energy, and Tez laid down a killer solo, while Stephen added the big Townsend chords. 
  Mark had been editing and mixing the whole time, and did such an excellent job with it, we decided to go with his mix from the group project. Stephen did master it masterfully before we put it out here, too, though.
  This one got done in a really quick turnaround, and we're really proud of it and hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thanks for listening!

--- --- ---
ORIGINAL LYRICS BY MISTERMARK:

Never was one for being sociable
but lordy knows how I tried 
every time I tried to talk to a girl 
she would always run away and hide

Nobody told me 
nobody cared
nobody told me 
the girl was scared

Back at the party you asked me to dance 
but I didn’t know what to do 
my two left feet had me runnin’ round in circles 
so I always came back to you

Been so long since somebody held me 
made me feel i’m gonna win
but drinkin' that jug o’ juice gonna help me 
when I’m takin' it on the chin

Nobody told me 
nobody cared
nobody told me 
they never dared

another party you ask me to dance 
and I don’t know what to do
my two left feet got me runnin’ round in circles 
and I'm still comin’ back to you...

Nobody Told Me (The Eclectic Collective)

(Firstly, apologies for being away from SC for a while, I'm not able to be as active on here these days, but looking forward to catching up with all your latest creations...)

A few months ago, I posted a cover of one of my favourite songs, 'In Your Eyes', by Peter Gabriel. Here's that version:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/in-your-eyes-cover

The original song is so rich in sounds and instrumentation that I had always intended to post a remix version that showcases all the other things you may not catch in the main song. So, I've finally uploaded the remix version. This remix is quite different, and includes an extended intro that Mr. Gabriel always does in his live performances. There's also a sneaky sample of another PG song in there if you can spot it!

Almost all instruments are played by me on keyboard, as well as the live talking drum (not on this remix) and spotty singing, with the exception of some cool synth pads and some backing vocals by @remnant60. Bill is also a fan of the song and helped me a lot with suggestions when I was working on the original cover, so many thanks to him again! And thanks to you for listening. 

Song written by Peter Gabriel
Synth sample from 'Sledgehammer', by Peter Gabriel

(Image is an inverted version of original cover I posted. It's Gabriel's 'So' album cover, where I've superimposed my face over his in Photoshop.)
--------------------------------------------------------
here's some pictures I took:
500px.com/p/MrMark?view=photos

In Your Eyes  (MAJOR REMIX)

Another example of some good ol' family music jamming, recorded one night at our Montreal home around 2018. With uncle Moss on guitar & vocal, dad pickin' and taking the guitar solo (at about 1:18), and me on the harmonica (at about 3:10). I believe this was the first time dad had played this song, and it was both the first time I'd heard it, and the first time I'd really played harmonica in front of them (based on the reaction!). 

Listen to my uncle cleverly recover from forgetting the words at around 4:04. And that's my mom, feeling good, singing along, mixing up the chorus, chatting here & there, doing her famous whistle at the end, and making me smile every single time I hear this. 
xoxo mom   
One of my favourite nights on this planet.

(song written by Johnny Cash)

Here's another from that night, something a little more hoppin':
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/long-gone-lonesome-blues-live-family-cover?in=user-432503709/sets/singing-stuff

Fourty Shades of Green (live cover with my family)

Cast of characters:

Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – Takamine acoutic and Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, composition, lyrics, mix, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – jaw harp, vocals, production, mix, and editing     
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- Yamaha Genos 2 for voices that include bagpipes, Celtic flute, and Hammond B3, along with the bagpipe and "off with her head" outro
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– mastering
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – four string Fender Precision bass

This song started as a rough recorded by Tez on his acoustic and electric guitars. He also wrote the lyrics right off the bat, and introduced them to the rest of The Eclectic Collective by singing them as a rough, too. His vision for this was to create a song that sounded like it could've been recorded at Headly Grange (recording place of several Led Zeppelin albums). He also wanted it to feature instruments that wouldn't sound out of entirely out of place in Feudal Age Britain (between 1000-1600 C.E.) to carry the spirit of his lyrics.
  Tez always writes songs that are fun to learn and have cool changes, so we all jumped in with both feet. Ken was first up with his Bonham like big, bad beat. To that, Josh added his P-bass, which he used a plectrum on, something he rarely does, trying to sound like JPJ to match his Ken's energy. JJ came along next, adding his colourful mix of raucous organ, time period relevant Celtic flute, and outro bagpipes. He did the entire outro, in fact, including the "off with her head," line, too. 
  Once the music was all laid down, Tez tapped Mark to sing the humorous lyrics. Mark came through with flying colors on the vocal performance, as always, too. Mark also added the textural, boingy-sounding jaw harp in the chorus sections.
  Now that it was all in the can, Two of our master producers Tez and Mark mixed it, then asked the third, Stephen, to do the final mastering. It should be noted, too, that Mark also contributed significantly to the production, too, with his masterful editing skills.
  This was a really fun tune to put together, as we always have fun working on Tez's seeds. He is telling the tale of lust between two Feudal era peasants. Of course, it's rife with ribaldry, being as Tez is British. We hope you enjoy listening to this a much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original yrics by Llanpsych:

Verse 1
Working in the fields
All summer long
Glowing like the sun
Oh so fit and strong 
Feudal Woman
I like the way you move
Feudal Woman
I want to plough your groove

Verse 2
Loving in the dusk
Lying in the hay
Drinking hot cider
Till the end of the day 
Feudal Woman
I like the way you move
Feudal Woman
I want to plough your groove

Feudal Woman Blues (The Eclectic Collective)

I'd been talking for a while with @kinelle-man (one of my favourite Soundcloud artists) about collaborating on something, but I was always too lazy to do anything about it. Then he recently approached me with this great tune, which was more or less complete already, and he suggested I add some drums to it, and whatever else I thought might work. most of the music is from kinelle man, while I added some drums, organ, and extra guitar bits (see below for details). Once I mixed it together, we really loved how it turned out and I'm grateful to kinelle man for this fun opportunity! Dedicated to a friend of a friend.  :)

kinelle man - bass, main guitars, arrangement
mistermark - drums, percussion, organ, additional guitar fills (samples of GarageBand loops)
Kevin G Davy - trumpet


Image design concept by me based on kinelle man's song title, created using ChatGPT 4o and Photoshop. It's meant to be an abstract of a cell nucleus, on an old polaroid photo.

Family Circle (a kinelle man / mistermark 'cool'-laboration)

As I've started doing lately, this is a short excerpt, focusing on just the closing section of a full piano tune I recorded around 2001. The approach kind of reminds of the ending of "Crime Of The Century" by Supertramp (obviously nowhere near as interesting). Apologies for the poor recording quality, and the piano sound wasn't the greatest back then. Still, this little 1-minute closing section is still one of my favourite things I've recorded. 
Here's a link to the original, full tune:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/the-last-days-of-november-2022-remaster?in=user-432503709/sets/mark-myoozik

More goodies in the "ISOLATED TRACKS" playlist:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/sets/isolated-tracks

Last Days of November (EXCERPT - ENDING)

This is just a short sample of a blending test of the cool sounds on the mellotron instrument I use in GarageBand. If you’re not familiar with how a real mellotron works, it’s worth checking it out! Here's a very informative demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByD8gH7kYxs

The acoustic guitar is played using a VST guitar on keyboard.
The mellotron sounds are:
  - flute / strings blend
  - cello / strings blend
  - male / female choir blend
  - boys / female choir blend

Here’s a crazy song of mine where I’m using the mellotron is a really ominous chorus (Cut 2: "The Chase"):
https://on.soundcloud.com/mHrSTfwtJ2xxo7s5A

More goodies in the "ISOLATED TRACKS" playlist:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/sets/isolated-tracks

mellotron choir (SOUND DEMO)

Ever since I saw an incredible Canadian band (Recipe From a Small Planet) do a live Reggae jam and seamlessly slide into a cover of 'Watching The Detectives', I wanted to try something similar. In this case, I did the opposite, starting with the cover, and adding a kinda reggae/dub section at the end, which starts at 3:15. 

For the dub portion, I enlisted the help of one of the best talents I know - @Llanpsych (Tez) - to add his magic and 'dubbify' the whole instrumental section at the end. I'm singing and playing all the instruments here using my keyboard, and some echo effects, and Tez did the rest to produce that authentic dub atmosphere into the mix. I recommend listening to that part at least with headphones, and hope you enjoy the result! Thanks so much Tez, I couldn't have done this without your mad skillz!

Sharp ears may notice the following 2 details: 

  -  In the last few seconds, I threw in the theme from 'The Godfather', played on melodica (see credit below). 

  -  at 0:39, you can faintly hear my dog barking in the background. I decided to keep it in, since she barked at the line, "red dogs under illegal legs", which I thought was funny timing!  :)

INSTRUMENTS:
bass, drums, rhythm & lead guitar, organ, piano, electric piano, melodica, steel pan drums, ukulele, synth horns, voice

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
-song art designed using Chat GPT and Photoshop
-original song written by Elvis Costello
-theme from The Godfather, 'Speak Softy, Love' - written by Nino Rota

Watching the Dubtectives (cover + dub mix with Llanpsych)

Cast of Characters:

Mahan Mahan -- @mahan-mahan — Mahan — Washburn acoustic guitars, composition
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- vocals, vocal harmonies, lyrics, four string Warwick fretless bass, Collings mandolin, and Korg piano, Roland Phantom VST strings, and arrangement
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Earl Scriggs custom banjo, mix, mastering, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – mellotron cello & strings, sound effects, editing production

This song began with Mahan writing a chord progression on his acoustic guitar in hopes of doing something different than his usual punk influenced raucous experimentation. He shared it with Josh and asked if he'd add some vocals. So Josh came up with the lyrics, vocal melodies, and harmonies. Then Mahan encouraged him to add more parts, so Josh also laid down a piano, mandolin, and bass part to go with it. At that point, it was sounding like a much bigger production than what either of them had accounted for.
That's when Josh got the rest of the Eclectic Collective involved. First in was Ken, who added his awesome drums to the mix. Josh and Ken went back and forth a couple of times, as they usually do when trying to dial in the rhythm section. Tez jumped in next with his dynamic electric guitar solo at the end. Then, Mark added the cool, proggy mellotron strings, too, as well as did some expert editing. At this point, it sounded so big that Josh decided to include some additional synth strings you hear throughout, too.
Once it was in the can, we turned it over to Stephen who not only mixed it brilliantly, but also added a trippy banjo you can hear in the second to last section.
We had so much fun recording this, in no small part because Mahan is such a brilliant and desirable collaborator. He really set us up with some magic, and we ran with it. All of his music is exciting and worth a listen on his page. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Josh Clary:

I've been high
And I've been low
Been making plans
For when I go

Time moves by painfully fast
Everything goes and nothing lasts

We're only here for a very short time
You live your life and I'll live mine
Might as well have fun
Might as well go for a run
Hug my kids, my wife, and folks
Before I go x 2

Into forever dreamless sleep
Wish I had a soul to keep
Time’s like water in my hand
Can't stop the clock's
Relentless plans

When it all comes ‘round
I don’t let it get me down
‘Cause in the end,
I won't make a sound
This life is very short
And we're all very small
Everything’s in motion
On this spinning ball
Time flows only one way
I wish it were not so
I’m busy making plans for
When it’s time to go
Take the time to wonder
Make time to wonder
Wonder at it all



Wonder (Eclectic Collective with Mahan Mahan)

One of my favourite Soundcloud artists @remnant60 posted a gorgeous track that he left open for collaboration, so I jumped at the chance to try and add something that might fit with his ambient, mystical guitar sound. I settled on some ethereal cello chords (played on keyboard with some pitch bend modulation) and this is the result. I try to recommend listening with headphones when I think it's worth it, and I think it applies in this case.  :)

Check out his playlist where he compiled various other really cool adaptations of his original tune. Thanks Bill for continuing to inspire us with your magic! 

PLAYLIST: Variations On A Dream
https://soundcloud.com/remnant60/sets/variations-on-a-dream

Universal Language (collab with Remnant60)

Cast of characters:
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Taylor T5z acoustic guitar, Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, Gibson Earle Scruggs banjo, Eastwood MandoCaster mix, mastering, production, and composition
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- organ
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Fender Precision four string bass, played with a plectrum 
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – harmonica, jaw harp, timpani, hambone percussion, and production editing     
This song began with Stephen, who recorded it on his acoustic guitar and bass to a programmed drum track a few months ago. We were all thrilled to work on it, even though it sat in BandLab as a project for almost a month before Stephen separated the tracks, thus allowing us to trickle in our parts. JJ was first to jump on it, because he could before the tracks were separated, as his part is completely his idea. He added the organ that really set up the entire sound of both dominant sections of the song. 
  Ken was first up to the project once the tracks were replaceable, making the wild, driving beat his own. Inspired by both JPJ and Michael Ivins, Josh laid down his bass line, trying to match Ken's energy. Last, but not least, Mark jumped in with the rumbling timpani. He also added the flavorful harmonica, and unique jaw harp you hear throughout, as well. Finally, Stephen also got the idea to add the hambone percussion at the very end of the song, which we all consider a treat, and after showing us how it's done, Mark volunteered his percussion skills to give it a go. Stephen wasn't done, though, and still had some magic to sprinkle. He went in and added the howling electric guitar you hear prominently in the second main section. Also, he added the tempting intro with his acoustic guitar and electric mandolin. 
  Once it was in the bag, we thought it appropriate for our master mixer Stephen to put it to bed, which he did in his always expert manner. 
  This is a gift from Stephen to all of us, and you, too. It took a lot of teamwork to make the dream work, as always for Eclectic Collective. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Here's an isolated track of just the hambone bit at the very end of the song (thanks for showing us this technique Stephen!):
https://on.soundcloud.com/QdPGGUnJsHfowXdV9

Country Ham (The Eclectic Collective)

Cast of characters:
Jonathan Beckenstein — @jonathan_beckenstein — acoustic guitar, composition
Cgmaness – @user-419254289-15129531 – Chris – bass, vocals, and lyrics
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, percussion, and vocal harmonies
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Roland FP-10 piano and Collings mandolin
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T slide guitar, production, mix, and mastering
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – harmonica, jaw harp, fiddle samples
This song began when Jonathan wrote it on his acoustic guitar several months ago with the intention of developing it into a larger song. When Josh approached him about doing a collaboration, Jonathan thought this one would fit the bill. I should say at this point how much we all admire Jonathan and enjoy his music, and recommend you go hop on his page and check it out. 
  All that to explain the level of excitement that ran through Eclectic Collective when Josh shared the project with the group. Chris was first to jump on it, coming up with his intricate bass line even before Ken added his moving drums, although they went back and forth a couple of times to create the rhythm section. Josh jumped on right after that part was complete, adding his mandolin and piano to the mix. Steven was next up, adding his down n' dirty slide throughout. Last, but certainly not least, Mark came up with the driving harmonica and twangy jaw harp, and some fiddle samples he snipped together from loops, sprinkling these throughout to complete the instruments. 
  At this point, we had a pretty good instrumental song on our hands. However, Chris decided to give it the extra kick by adding the vocals, the lyrics for which he wrote himself. Our multitalented drummer, Ken, added the additional high vocal harmonies, too.
  Now that it was in the bag, we needed some production for it. So, we turned to Stephen, who mixed and mastered it in his always expert fashion. 
  This song was a real treat for everyone in the band. We are all very grateful to Jonathan for sharing this song with us, and had a wonderful time helping bring it to life. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by cgmaness:

Come on now let's break a leg,
We've got it made in the shade
One more day, go out and play
I guarantee we've got it made
Oh, we've got it made
Happy to be with my friends today
Fill up your drink whatever it may take
I guarantee we've got it made
~chatter~
Don't need a reason,
Or wait for the seasons to change
That's what I claim
Go out on this limb with me,
And realize, we've got it made
We got it made in the shade
Can't you see we got it made?
Oh, we've got it made
Happy to be with my friends today
Fill up your drink whatever it may take
Can you believe that we've got it made?
Come on now let's shake a leg
We've got it made in the shade
Don't need a reason,
Or wait for the seasons to change
That's what I claim
Go out on this limb with me,
And realize, we've got it made.

We've Got It Made (The Eclectic Collective - feat. Jonathan Beckenstein)

just messing around with some less common time signatures with this cool sounding VST jazz drum kit I like. This is a little ruff but a short and fun example.   :) 

More goodies in the "ISOLATED TRACKS" playlist:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/sets/isolated-tracks

5/4 rhythm sample A

Cast of characters:

K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–piano, drums, and composition
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick fretless four string bass, mandolin, and synth
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark –  VST flute and symphonic VST horns, bells, 'wind' vocalization 

This song began on the last day of the cold January of this year, when Ken sat down at his piano and recorded an improvisational jam. This is the first song Eclectic Collective has done where Ken started it with a piano, so we were all very excited to work on it. 
  Josh was the first one to add a part, adding his fretless bass guitar, and going back and forth with Ken, while he added the drums to match the groove up right. Josh also added the mandolin after the guitars were laid down, as well as the descending synth blasts you hear throughout. Before all that, though, Stephen recorded the first 2 thirds of the thrilling guitar you hear in there. After Stephen had his part down, Tez came along and finished the guitar work in the latter sections (from the 'windy' section to the end). Last, but certainly not least, Mark added the amazing symphonic elements, specifically the horns and flute melody. He also added the cold January wind sound, created using his breath and some tinkling bells. 
  Once it was all wrapped up, we asked Stephen to put a bow on it with his expert production, which he came through with, as always.
  As mentioned, this is an extraordinary offering from EC, staring Ken not only on drums, but on the keys, as well. It felt like we were jamming all together in the same room, and hope it comes across that way. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Check out the original piano track of Ken playing solo, where this song evolved from: 
https://soundcloud.com/k2-kara/january-epiphany-solo-piano

January Epiphany (The Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, mix, production, and composition
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – synthesizer, claps, shaker, car FX, vocals, lyrics
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken– drums, percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Fender Precision four string bass

This song started as a raunchy guitar composition Tez came up with while on holiday recently. Hey wrote it with Eclectic Collective in mind, inspired by ZZ Top, and shared it with the rest of us as soon as he was able to return home and record it. 
  Fist to the table was Stephen - Being from Texas, too, he's no stranger to "The Reverend" Billy Gibbons and he added some rhythm guitar and an insanely cool guitar solo around the middle. Ken then laid down his rocking drums and splashes of percussion, laying the groundwork for the groove, while Josh completed the rhythm section with a badass funky bass line. Mark rounded things out adding some synthesizer, hand claps and shaker, and the wild race car sound effects. He had suggested early on that we try to do the song in the style of ZZ Top, and took a stab at singing the gruff Billy Gibbons style vocals. We're all really happy with not only Mark's vocal performance, but also his lyrics on this one. He's been exploring different styles of singing lately, but The Eclectic Collective now has several members who can be called upon in the vocal department. 
  Once it was in the can, Tez decided to mix it, as it was his song to begin with. He did his always expert job with the task, too. 
  This is an example of Eclectic Collective getting down and dirty for a rocker that has the flavour of all of us firing on all cylinders. Special attention to both Tez and Mark for their inspiring generosity and hard work in conceptualizing this one, too. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by mistermark:

I got the top down, driving around
Burnin’ down the road, no prisoners
Everybody knows that I’m on the run  
I’m gettin’ outta here do or die 
Black Jack paddy whack listen to me 
I ain’t giving no dog no bone
What’s mine is mine and what’s thine is thine
But if you want me just pick up the phone 
If you need my number I’m # 1
Mama raised me alone ‘cause I’m a son of a gun
Now I’m paying my dues but I’m almost done
So if you want a piece of me

Come and get me
Come and get me

Well, hey baby baby now what you say
You hitch a ride with me I’ll take you all the way 
She said hey there baby just step on the gas 
I got places to go I wanna get there fast
Well somewhere at around mile 103
I heard a rattling sound I had to check and see
We stopped right there on the side of the road 
Then what happened next it made my mind explode
The girl started laughing as she locked the door 
She put the pedal to the metal couldn’t push it no more 
Way off in the distance half a mile away 
My baby called out to me as I heard her say…

Come and get me
Come and get me

(-face melting guitar solo-)

My feet got draggin’ in the desert sand
But as she waved goodbye something fell from her hand
I picked up the paper it was plain to see 
My baby wrote down her number and she left it for me
I been ‘buked & scorned I been thrown some shade 
I wanted revenge 'cause I gotsta get paid
I called her up but I just got the machine 
And wattaya think that the message said…

Come and get me

Come and Get Me (The Eclectic Collective)

Doctor Who is a long running British science fiction TV series aired on the BBC since 1963. The period I watched was during the 80's (the best cast version of the 'Doctor' in my opinion!). My favourite part of the show was always the amazing and easily recognizable theme music, written by Ron Grainer. The opening theme has gone through various updates over the years, but when it first came out it was one of the first TV themes to use electronic music, and is regarded as a pretty innovative piece of electronic music recorded well before synthesizers or multitrack mixers became widely used. The story of how it was recorded is a quite fascinating. There's a great documentary about Delia Derbyshire, the woman who created much of the sounds in the original theme in BBC's Radiophonic Workshop, using recordings of found objects, cutting and manipulating tape by hand to create the 'electronic' sounds you hear in the music. She never got writing credit but should have. 
Here's a link to the documentary:

The Delian Mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXnmSgaeGAI 

This is a cover that focuses mostly on the original theme, but blends in a few elements of the more recent variations. I also added a second more atmospheric 'epilogue' section, that includes a sample of dialogue from one of the show's episodes. 

I've wanted to try playing this theme forever, and had some fun tinkering on my synthesizer to get the sounds as close as possible, especially that main ghostly synth melody. 
If you've heard it before this might bring back memories! Thanks for listening. 

- 'Doctor Who' theme written by Ron Grainer (& realized by Delia Derbyshire)
- vocal sample from the episode "Rose", 2005 season, episode 1
- Image art designed using Dall-E

'Doctor Who' TV Theme (cover + epilogue)

This tune began with just the upright bass & flute part that were inspired by an old song that I liked a lot by an English Jazz trio called The Herbaliser. Beyond the basic A - B - A arrangement I couldn't really think of much else to do with it, so I enlisted a couple blokes from the Eclectic Collective to help flesh it out. Namely Stephen (@texmex-shaman), and Chris (@hiddenhands-760647700).

Stephen added the trippy high pitch reverse guitar effect, and the sick bluesy lead guitar in the middle section (thus the title, Blue In The Middle). He also lent his mastering skills to great effect on this one. And Chris added some delightfully dark atmospheric backing guitar parts and effects, as well as the Portishead influenced drum track. I was then inspired to add the background echo guitar sound in the middle section, the vocal sample near the end, a bit of percussion and minor sound effects. All my parts were played on keyboard except the vocal sample (from Garageband) and the flute, which I played live. 
Thanks guys for bringing this to life, and hope folks enjoy this trippy little ditty.

Image art designed and created using ChatGPT 4o.

Blue In The Middle (with CGManess & TexMex Shaman)

This track uses sound samples from GarageBand which I then arranged into this thumpin’ thingamabobber. Like lots of my stuff, this is just an idea which may be developed into a fuller arrangement later.

Mark's Album

I, Spy

Peace and Love. Welcome to human made music... by lungs and hands. All words written with a pen and thought of by a brain. Thanks for all of your wonderful support. Much love, Carl

Love Earth to love yourself

mistermark Selection

The Beautiful Dark