A collection of some of my better stuff, including a few collaborations and covers, organized into a sequence that hopefully makes for a nice 1 hour album for your listening pleasure. Hope you enjoy; thanks for having a listen, and for sharing your own stuff with us too!

(though I've been on SC privately since about 2013, I only started posting new stuff and sticking my neck out and connecting with other folks around Summer 2023. It's been a very rewarding & inspiring experience and I look forward to hearing more from you all as you flex your creative music muscles...)

-mark

Album: "The Goods"

revisiting an old favourite with new & improved sound quality, mixing and arrangement. This is basically a repeating chorus, which is pretty catchy, but I’d love to eventually compose the rest of this tune, and have it played by jazz musicians with live instruments one day. This is probably still one of my top 3 favourite tracks, but there’s a couple other versions I’ve posted on here - one with a saxophone playing lead melody: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/jazzy-ditty-new-med-quartet?in=user-432503709/sets/bestest-ones

and a slower extended version:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/jazzy-ditty-belle-curves-blues?in=user-432503709/sets/bestest-ones

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Jazzy Ditty (trio - piano)

an updated version of one of my favourite Beatles songs, written by Lennon / McCartney (primarily Paul). I've redone this a few times, as I find better & better string sounds to work with. this is the latest...   ;)

Eleanor Rigby (cover - strings only)

another of my few compositions created by finding & painstakingly arranging bits of sound samples in GarageBand (adding my own percussion bits throughout). Mixing instruments from both Indian & North African influence (and a hint of Gospel), the two styles seem to blend seamlessly, and I love how it transitions from the more ambient first half into the electronic frenzy in the second half. This one's definitely one of my more favourite tracks of the newer (post 2022) recordings.
(flute sample taken from the song 'Neydzan', performed by master ney flute player, Kudsi Erguner, from Turkey)

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

From Agra to Zanzibar

originally recorded as a solo piano boogie, now with a whack of instruments added to sound like a country rock & blues band. With different instruments taking turns at solos, this one’s a pretty fun romp. 

instruments include piano, bass, rhythm guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, slide dobro, organ, drums (all instruments are electronic samples, except me playing piano live, and some bits on drums, organ, and harmonica)

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Mark's Album (post-2020)

Backroads Boogie & Blues

Trying to do one of my all time favourite songs, 'I Wish', by Stevie Wonder. Improvements being made  on the daily… 

(graphic art by Pablo Lobato)

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

I Wish (cover)

one of the very few tunes I've arranged almost entirely with sampled sounds & loops, this one was created entirely in Garageband without my trusty keyboard. Definitely going to try more of this...

instruments include upright bass, dobro (slide steel guitar), electric piano, vibraphones, drums, and me playing various percussion

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Dark Roast (electro-acoustic blend)

After I got myself some pretty realistic sounding VST horn sounds, the first thing I did was go back to the original solo piano version of this tune ("Finished Diminishing [echo version]) and laid down the muted trumpet melody, which I love.  Then I figured while I was at it, I'd also add an upright bass to round out a slow jazz combo. Threw in some vinyl static for an old skool feel. This is probably one of my top 3 fave original things I've written/recorded. And of course, I'd love to hear it played live by real Jazz musicians one day.

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

Photo taken from Trane Studio Jazz Club, Toronto
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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Finished Diminishing (jazz trio, ft muted trumpet)   [[my BEST track]]

more experimenting with arranging sampled sounds & loops. a little slow to build up, but once the horns and hammond organ kick in, it's pretty funky.

-sampled instruments include: rhythm & lead electric guitar, some bass, filtered piano, horns, some drums & perc
-instruments played by me include: organ, some bass, drums & perc  

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Sneaky Reggae

continuing to experiment and build on older stuff as new stuff pops into my head. This previously had no drums. now it has plenty.  :)

The audio samples (and image) are a kind of funny reference to various retro telecommunication tech. For example, the title is a nod to the code lingo used in two-way radio transmitters. See how many other sound bits you can spot.

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Bravo * Echo * Alpha * Tango (electronica + FX)

taking a stab at my first (I think?) orchestral style string arrangement. Just slapped on top of a previous unfinished piano tune, but everything’s original. Probably more tweaking to get a better mix, but pretty happy with this first go. String sounds courtesy of BBC Orchestra VST plug-in. I have a kind of silly nostalgic video/slideshow in mind to go with this one day...

…It sounds kind of like a soundtrack at the end of some schmaltzy movie, maybe where the dog runs away from home, has all kinds of adventures, and returns years later to find his owner doesn’t recognize him at first, but eventually does, and they run to each other in slow motion, and the dog wants to say that all he ever really wanted was to be hugged, but he can’t say it because he’s a dog, but the owner somehow understands and everything works out in the end. Roll credits.


All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/

my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Lives of Our Days (piano & strings)

this track originally started as a solo piano tune, and keeps evolving with different instruments playing the lead melody. I think I"ve landed on the one I like best - flugelhorn (french horn is what I rlly had in mind).

photo by me somewhere along the beaches in Toronto

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Altitude 238 (piano & flugelhorn)

I was honoured to get a message from Mark Sartori (@user-83791253-79179570), whose music & guitar playing I'm a big fan of, asking if I might want to collaborate on one of his pieces of music. He suggested I add some percussion to his guitar, and this is what came together. Mark S has since recorded a new, solo version of the song as well. 

Thanks Mark, for giving me the nod to work with you on this really fine & catchy tune. Hope folks dig this pan-Pacific partnership!

Little Wind (Mark Sartori - guitar / MisterMark - percussion)

The title and middle chorus (the only lyrics in the song) came from the fact that after recording, i felt it needed another section, like a bridge, but got too lazy to find something to fit. Thus the line “I can’t find the bridge to New Funk City”. 

Still can’t find it.   ;O)

This can probably be considered the 3rd in a trilogy of tracks created almost entirely with short loops and sound samples in Garageband ('Dark Roast', and 'Sneaky Reggae' are the other 2).
***Warning: your toezies might get sore from all the tapping they’ll be doing.


lyrics / chorus:
"Everybody tells me I got to go
but I can't find the bridge to New Funk City"


All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

New Funk City (where’s da bridge at?)

I seem to be on this experimental kick these days where I'm composing stuff by layering and building instruments toward some epic cinematic finish. I was looking for an interesting chord change for another (upcoming) piece, and stumbled upon this interesting piano line. The whole thing is just the piano line repeating, overlayed with horns, strings, percussion and synth pad. This one was uncharacteristically really short to complete... basically about a day from initial idea to recording. Then another day or so of tweaking here & there, which will probably continue as usual. Enjoy!

image created with DALL·E AI using the song title as prompt. 

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)
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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Nowhere is Here, Never is Now

I've had this idea for a while to insert a Reggae/Dub section into a Jazz or Blues tune, and finally got around to it. Luckily, this is both - a 24 bar Blues structure in a Jazz style, with 3 horns. As a bonus, I managed to work in a little tribute to Pink Floyd. See if you can spot the several references to the song 'Money' in the Dub section starting @ 2:46, and the subtle nod in the track art. 

Also, one of my fave sounds in music is hearing a trombone player 'go off' in an unhinged solo, bonus points if it's muted with a plunger  ;). I tried at least a very small attempt at that... it comes in right after the 'Dub' section while the sax & trumpet swap melodies from the first half. Maybe it works maybe it doesn't, but I laugh whenever I hear it. All instruments are played by me on keyboard.

***Also, check out the really cool take that fellow Canadian 'Big Al From The Grove' has on this track, where he graced it with his brilliant guitar playing: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-543408605/1-for-the-money-3-for-the-blues

thanks for listening!  

(just realized, this is actually track #100 in my SC catalogue, since starting in 2013. yay!)

-sound sample & some music themes from 'Money' by Pink Floyd (written by Roger Waters)
-image created using Dall-E

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)

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- Here's a funny photo I took & Photoshopped which was inspired by this Pink Floyd song: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/53706894609/in/dateposted/

- my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

1 For The Money, 3 For The Blues (& Dub tribute to Pink Floyd)

Cast of Characters:
J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell –piano, synth, and composition
mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark—synth effects, synth strings and flute, lyrics, and vocals
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– electric and acoustic guitars, production, and mix
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –-four-string Fender P bass
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This is a song that JJ created late one Saturday night on the piano, drums, bass, and guitar. He then presented it to the rest of the Eclectic Collective so we could do our thing with it. Josh replaced JJ's rough bass with his interpretation of the line as soon as Ken replaced the drums with his interpretation of the beat. Interestingly, Ravel's Bolero had a lot to do with the inspiration for the second part of the song. After the rhythm section was done, we turned it over to Stephen, who came up with some really subtle, yet much needed guitar lines. 

 We then turned it over to our relatively new collaborator, Mark, who came up with the lyrics and vocals. This is a lyrical and vocal songwriting debut for Mark, who was inspired by his very first listen to JJ's rough draft. Thus, this song is extra special for him.  

Mark's lyrics are about our Earthly relatives in the far distant future. At that point life on Earth will have just about reached its limits, and so mankind embarks on a journey through space to find another place to call home.

We all hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we did creating it.
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LYRICS:
Part 1:
All you know, all you love is here today
Feel the sun, see the flowers embrace her rays
And you know, all we are must fade away
And now its time to go… away…

Part 2:
Here we are, flying high, flying high above the moons of Mars
And beyond another sunrise greets a world once again,
a million miles from where we are
To embrace the flowers of Jupiter, once again…

On and on we sail away, searching for another day,
the universe an endless sea
And you know that somewhere out there,
a brand new world, for you and me….

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Credit: Sample at 1:14 is from original Star Trek tv show theme ("Where No Man Has Gone Before") written by Alexander Courage

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve.   :)
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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Flowers Of Jupiter (with The Eclectic Collective)

Cast of Characters:
mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark-- VST sax solo, harmonica solo, organ, tremolo guitar (synth), composition, arrangement, mix
Mysterious Decibel--@themysteriousdecibel --MD—lyrics & vocals
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– second electric guitar solo, and mastering
J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell –piano and electric piano solo
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –-four string fretless bass, first electric guitar solo, rhythm guitar comping 

This song originated with a slower more Jazz oriented track Mark had previously written ('1 For The Money, 3 For The Blues' https://on.soundcloud.com/BtSS4). However, he wanted a more 'suped up' version with solos turns, so he turned to The Eclectic Collective (EC) to fill in the pieces by replacing some of his solos with their own. Mark had some lyrics in mind too, however, once he heard The Mysterious Decibel's excellent lyrics and vocals, the song totally changed the direction and the vibe, for the stellar. 

   Once we had a basic structure, Ken, as always, came up with the rhythmic foundation for the song, allowing Josh to add his version of Mark's bass line. Then, after MD gave us the vocals, we got down to adding the solos. As more EC members jumped on board with new parts, Mark kept lengthening the song, moving the solos & vocals around until it's final current arrangement. JJ opens the song with his thrilling piano solo, as well as the electric piano solo where he joins Mark on VST Sax right after the first singing verses. Then Josh added a melodic and very clean toned guitar solo with a very clean tone - the first of the two guitar turns. After that, Stephen added his fiery guitar solo with a more overdriven tone. After one more vocal verse from MD, Mark stepped back in to close it out with his nasty harp solo at the end. After Mark handled the mixing on this song, we turned once again to Stephen to take care of the final sound production and mastering, which he fulfilled expertly.  

  We hope you enjoy this jazzier side of the EC as much as we enjoyed making it. MD's lyrics are about a psycho killer artist who hides clues about his murders in his paintings. 
-Original Lyrics by The Mysterious Decibel:

Some might say he's crafty and planned
With a shade of black and a brush in his hand
Some might say the world is his oyster
But no pearl lays inside just a conjuring blur

He'll paint you a murderous scene
With the blending of  sin all between pigments of green
He's a shady fella who hides behind the canvas!
I spy something with my little eye
This art might show just where he died

Will you find it?
The secret
Some freak shit
are you so sure you'll really wanna Keep it ?
The secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?
Ahhh a little secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?
It'll haunt your mind like it does him too
He's a swifty one he'll come for you!
The secret
The secret
The secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?

I spy something with my little eye
This art might show just where he died

His art might show
might show
might show
just where he died 

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Side Note:
This past Tuesday, we released a fun little series of interviews over a 20 minute medley of some of our favorite musical moments. If you want to hear our voices and some of our thoughts about music, check it out! You might really enjoy it, especially if you follow us, and have been for a while. It's a celebration of all of our work over the past almost year together in various forms. This song was supposed to be a showcase of all of our skills to accompany that medley, except Tez isn't in on this one. He'll be on the next one, though, for sure! 
Thanks for listening!

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All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

'A Brush With Death' Blues (with The Eclectic Collective)

same as previous upload, but with (my) voices added. see which you prefer...

See the original for details: https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/flute-loops-jam

Flute Loops & Jam (*voices version*)

Like most of the guys playing parts on this song, this one's a pretty special one for me, because of my dad's love for country music and being an amazing guitarist who was a big influence on me to play music. Thanks to Josh for reaching out to invite us along for this one, and to all the guys for putting their hearts into the performances here!

Dedicated to Dad.

Cast of Characters:
mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Lead and harmony vocals, synth guitar intro, auxiliary percussion, mix, arrangement, and production
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– guitar, banjo, and mastering
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – mix and production
J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell –piano 
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and vocal harmonies
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –-four string fretless bass, mandolin, and lap steel

This song began when Josh asked the rest of the guys if they'd be willing to put together a couple of songs for his father as a Christmas present. His dad is from West Virginia, and Josh was born there, too. The original version featured his son, Marshall, singing the lead with him, and hearing his grandson sing a song about West Virginia really meant a lot to elder Clary. Of course, everyone was enthusiastically generous in giving their time, effort, and skill to Josh's family for the holiday. This song also has special meaning for JJ and Ken in relation to their fathers, as well. JJ's dad has had a rough year with his health. He also is a musician who inspired and encouraged JJ to play music. His dad also likes this song, so it was fun for him to present it to him, as well. Ken, who's father never really supported his decision to be a rock-and-roller, loves this version of the song we did, and made Ken know how proud of him he is in regard to it, which really meant a lot to Ken, too. Another cool connection Ken has to this song is that whilst attending elementary school, he was in the same school choral cohort with the Maria Carey. He actually sang this song with her when they were kids. Also, we feel like we should acknowledge Artur's dog, even though Artur isn't in on this one, his dog loves country music and responded enthusiastically to this one.
 
 The story of the song itself is a little convoluted. After Josh asked for everyone's help, Ken laid down a rudimentary beat, to which Josh started the tonal part with the bass. Stephen added the guitar and banjo soon after, and Josh added the mandolin shortly after that. JJ inserted his piano around this time, too. We pretty much had it working enough for Josh and his son to sing it for his dad. Tez mixed that version perfectly suited to the occasion. 
  After presenting Josh's dad with the present, it sat for about a month, until we asked Mark if he'd get in on it, too. Mark not only sang it better the John Denver, but also arranged it so there is an instrumental break now. He also added the guitar lick around the beginning. Ken took the opportunity of having Mark's great vocals to sing against to add his cunning harmonies. Mark threw down a harmony line as well during the verse, and one of the 2 high chorus harmonies. Then Mark, being the perfectionist that he is, noticed that the slide part was missing from the second verse. So, Josh added it. Mark also mixed this version, with Stephen doing some mastering at the end. 
  We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed putting this personally meaningful piece together.

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

(song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver)

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here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/

my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Take Me Home, Country Roads (cover - with Eclectic Collective)

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  

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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
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Just for fun, here's a link to just the final chorus vocals and horns isolated: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/pick_me_up_vox_isolated
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-mark