Name: Impressions (For one, two & three guitars) by Neno J.
Duration: 5 min 12 s
Description: This composition consists of three impressions, a small cocktail of different styles

Such fluidity in playing never happens by accident.  Wonderful montage of styles.

@mark_fosella: Also has Spanish flair (w/half-steps). Nice!

Music by Kontra Sz & Val Akey.
- Kontra Sz: plays rythm guitars, lead guitars;
- Val Akey: drums-, bass- and keys programming (mixing and mastering) + cover art.
Many thanks Kontra Sz for the fantastic guitar play! https://soundcloud.com/kontra-sz

Release date:
12 January 2024

Captive Of Time (Kontra Sz & Val Akey collab)

UnBoxed February 2024

[ d o w n l o a d a b l e ]

Spaced Out

Happy Friday to my SC friends. Today’s musical offering is very special to me because it signifies a breaking away from my old patterns. Long story short… old Justin was pretty set in his music making/production routines (solo work belongs on solo albums. Collab work belongs on collab albums. And never the two shall meet). 

But new Justin is proving to be surprisingly more flexible in his thinking; an interesting (I might even go as far as to say… shocking) result of my new paradigm. And while it might seem like a ‘nothing burger’ to most people… the way my brain is wired, this is a huge change… and one I am grateful for.

So today I happily offer my first collab song, also intended for my first hybrid album. The song is called ‘Life In Twilight’… and my guest artist is our dear friend, Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com), offering up the lovely Alto Sax and Guitar you hear in this piece

If you haven’t already crossed paths with Carlos, you are missing out. He is one of the most prolific people I have encountered in my travels. He plays about 30+ instruments, each with impressive skill. And if the instrument doesn’t exist... he creates it himself. And 'musician' is just one aspect of his inspiring and adventurous life. He is a great example of a person who discovered his passions early, and is now living a beautiful life pursuing those passions. We need more people like him in this world, reminding us of what is truly important.

On a personal level, the stuff Carlos has taught me over the years has helped me ease into this new sober life with tremendous grace. The music theory and instrumental lessons have helped make my sonic worlds more sophisticated (and therefore more rewarding to craft). And the moving and breathing meditations (Chi energy exercises) have proven fundamental to my mental/spiritual well being too. Needless to say, he has been a major influence in my evolving life; and I will be forever grateful. 

Carlos, I am honored beyond words that you are the guest artist on my first hybrid album. It signifies a great new direction for me. I’m excited to be on this path, and I’m glad you agreed to join me. 

To everyone else, we hope you enjoy “Life In Twilight”, the first of two new songs with Carlos that will ultimately wrap up my upcoming album “What Color Is Your Paradox?” 

(And yes... this is the last song I still had in the archives from my little break; originally finished on 1/20/2024. It's all going to be new content from here on out). :)

Paradox?

Life In Twilight | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

Written and performed by Stefano Manotti

A song born after spending an entire day in the woods... A song against depression, an enemy that makes us forget about the beauty surrounding us... Life is a struggle, and we must fight to see beyond our sorrows...

LYRICS

Courage came on my first sunny day
Birds fly higher, life is beautiful today
Let me touch The morning grass
Let me see What lies beyond

I am alone but I'm touching everything
Eyes are tired, but life is beautiful today
Let the wind make me fall 
I just want to forget These walls
 
The sun is hiding now 
Life can win if you play 
You feel dizzy, but life is beautiful today

Life Is Beautiful Today

This composition consists of three impressions, a small cocktail of different styles

Impressions (For one, two & three guitars)

PS Perkins: Guitars, bass, lyre, vocals
Ron Thomas: Autoharps, Drums

Production notes:
---------------------------------------------
Very early on we wanted to use autoharps on this song to create a sort of swirling backdrop, reminiscent of the harps in Indian/Bollywood soundtrack songs of the seventies.

Right away there were challenges because the song is in B flat and is not wholly diatonic to begin with, utilizing a chord built on the augmented lydian scale in the choruses. So rather than transpose the song to a more amenable key (since the chromatic bits weren't going to work no matter what key we used) we instead re-tuned the autoharp. Moving through the strings one by one we tuned them either up or down a half step where applicable to bring them into key. Where the augmented chord hit in the choruses, we excluded those notes so that the autoharp was filling the diatonic parts of the chords and omitting the accidentals. It took us several tries to get it right. In the end we arrived at a chord progression that could be strummed on the autoharp and the modified chords could be played with existing dampers.

We also tuned the lyre so that the top half of the strings included the chromatic augmented notes while the lower register of the lyre was tuned using the diatonic, so the lyre could play the melody all the way through both parts of the song.

The inspiration for this song was essentially fourfold:
--------------------------------------------------------
First, H.P. Lovecraft's terrifying necromancer Joseph Curwen (from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") who masked his true identity in order to thwart suspicion from his fellow townsfolk. He has many secrets lurking in his underground catacombs where he performs acts of necromancy most foul, extracting the "salts" of the dead in order to raise them at will and learn the secrets of ancient eldritch deities.

Second, a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "En-Dor" which was a warning against the rise of spiritualism and the cost of communion with the dead in the early 20th century.

Third, the biblical Saul who traveled in disguise to visit a witch at the city of Endor in order to summon Samuel from the dead and garner advice on defeating the Philistines, but who only prophesies doom for Saul. Saul dies later the next day in the battle of Gilboa.

Lastly, the story of Odysseus communing with the underworld where he enlists the help of Tiresias to have a chat with the dead and secure for himself a safe journey home.

They all seek communion with the dead for one purpose: to gain knowledge which only those who have crossed over between realms might possess. 

Lyrics:
-------------------------------------
A mask may reveal what it’s meant to conceal
From those who are standing beside us
Armor of pride, so we learn to abide
By the monsters which hide deep inside us
The monsters which lurk deep inside us
Oh, how they scratch and they bite us
The monsters which lurk deep inside us

Only to know what the professor knows

Eating black bread, wearing clothes of the dead
The soil soaked in honey around us
For fear if we failed, leave the ogre unveiled
And it’s back in the grave where they found us
Back in the grave where they found us
Freed from the ties which had bound us
Back in the grave where they found us

Only to know what the professor knows

In the catacomb vaults, we extracted the salts
From cadavers to lengthen our youth
Chanting the names at the edge of the flames
And a mirror to show us the truth
A mirror which speaks only truth
See how it seeks not to soothe
A mirror which speaks only truth

Only to know what the professor knows

In the underworld maze, in the night of no days
Concocting the plan we’re devising
Much to endure on the road to En-Dor
And to snatch from Elohim arising
To snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising

BARDS: Of the Shimmering Seraphs

The Professor

Well this is another with Greg Willis from Wales on Sax , it's got a Northern Soul sort of sound , hope you like it ! On a similar theme , on the 5th of March me and Charlotte ( Charlie and the Fox ) have a 60s Wall of Sound song out , I tried to get the Spector sound , we'll see whether I succeeded or not ! Greg is on this one too , I can't seem to leave him alone Ha ! Renowned Lyricist Tony Harris ( from Alabama ) and I got together for a lovely song which is out on the 15th of March . After that a new one from me and Gaz Brownie . Thank you so much for giving us your time !

No Album

Different Melody ( feat. Greg Willis )

Different Melody ( Fox and Willis )

I'm sorry y'all--this is another downer of a song with preachy lyrics but it's an idea that came up and demanded to be completed. 

The only side I take is the human one, but I couldn't have more contempt for the ostensible leaders of both Gaza and Israel who seek their own interests at the cost of so much suffering among innocents. Nothing good comes out of "Let's go kill some people."



You Let This Happen

have you understood that this is the final warning call
abandon hope all those that linger here

you lived the diamond life and could not lend your ears
and now the sand is wet with blood beyond our wildest fears 
how could you let this happen here

we plant the seeds of death beside the seeds of life 
so they can pay the price and have the will to fight

the bloodied face that no one could identify
now here's the news that was a mother's precious baby
how could you let this happen here

so how do you think this story ends
when it begins with the death of innocents
another thousand years of war is in the cards
another generation with daggers in their hearts

and you let it happen

You Let This Happen

Lights Off feat. CallMeDezz
Vocals and Lyrics CallMeDezz:
 https://www.looperman.com/acapellas/detail/22218/lights-off-140bpm-trap-acapella
Paploviante E Bass, Music, Arrangement, Mix and Mastering

Lights Off feat. CallMeDezz

chorale

Written, performed, and produced by
Brian Kenneth Swain
April 19, 2024

Instrumental - Meditation/relaxation music

The Swain Collection

Blue Cascade

Multi-genre composer, guitarist, keyboard & bass player (mostly self-taught). Music librarian.
Music is new dimension of life.

Impressions (For one, two & three guitars)

Neno J.

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JERUSALEM TIGER

~Mark F

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