Soundscapes

Here,
 edifices of sound, high towers
 of many-colored harmonics,
 resonant chambers
 
where eagles in flight call their mates
over a tapestry of blue 
mountains.

On the crests of trees,
the wind builds nests,
where songbird shapes 
a summer sky.
             
In the distance,  
echoes from the stars

shape land, 
and cloud,

and sea.

Here,
sound informs the mind,
uplifts the soul.

The moon

ignites
the body.

Music and words by Jim Valero. 

Copyright:
(C)2023 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Soundscapes

The Infinite Moment

Sculptures Of Dazzling Complexity

Undercurrents

(C)2023 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Especial thanks to Martin Mier, 
who played drums on this track.

Overtaken By Events - Valhjim Martin Miers

Despite Skies of Blue
(For Peter with love)

The sun is on high
And there is no wind
blowing hard
But something's so sad
Despite skies of blue

There's music in the air
and the children play
on the ground
But something's so sad
despite skies of blue

The days like autumn 
leaves they fall
and the earth keeps spinning round
We see the years grow short
until it's time to go

I am lonely as a cloud
and the day is so beautiful
But something's so sad
despite skies of blue

The days like autumn 
leaves they fall
and the earth keeps spinning round
We see the years grow short
until it's time to go

The sun is on high
And there is no wind
blowing hard
But something's so sad
Despite skies of blue

But something’s so sad
Despite skies of blue. 

—© Jim Valero, 2017 (all rights reserved).
Song remixed and remastered Nov. 2023.
—© 2023 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Despite Skies of Blue - Valhjim  w/Martin Miers (Remaster 2024)

DREAM OF YOU
(Re-mastered 2024)
Valhjim

"Dream of You" opens with a delicate flow of guitar arpeggios, wrapped in the embrace of echoing delays that set the dreamy tone. A celestial female chorus gently emerges, painting the sonic canvas with ethereal hues. Soon, soulful electric guitar motifs join the conversation, adding a touch of emotional depth. 

The second movement introduces a rhythmic shift, guided by the warm strumming of an acoustic guitar and harmonious vocals accompanied by celestial choirs. The lyrics weave a poetic tapestry of nature metaphors, expressing the singer's profound love for both his lady and the wondrous world around them. 

As the song gracefully unfolds, it circles back to the introspective arpeggios of its inception, accompanied by the lingering echoes of soulful electric guitar, bringing the auditory journey full circle. "Dream of You" is a mesmerizing exploration, fusing musical elements with evocative lyrics to create a rich tapestry of emotion and sound.

Thanks to Martin Miers for playing drums on this song.
You're the Man, Mart!

Thanks to you all for listening
and for your kind words.

Valhjim 

(CC) 2024 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

DREAM OF YOU - Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"Silence: A Fable"
Valhjim

"Ours is a world of words: Quiet we call  
Silence -- which is the merest word of all"
                                     -Al Aaraaf.

 "The waters of the river have a saffron and sickly hue --and they flow not onwards to the sea, but palpitate forever and forever beneath the red eye of the sun with a tumultuous and convulsive motion. For many miles on either side of the river's oozy bed is a pale desert of gigantic water-lilies. They sigh one unto the other in that solitude, and stretch towards the heaven their long ghastly necks, and nod to and fro their everlasting heads. And there is an indistinct murmur which cometh out from among them like the rushing of subterrene water. And they sigh one unto the other."

--Edgar A. Poe, "Silence: A Fable (published 1838).


Dear listener, I hope you like this experimental piece inspired by Poe's mysterious tale.


Valhjim - Synthesizers, samplers, SFX, guitar.
Martin Miers - Drums, percussions. 

Thank you for listening
and for your kind words.

Valhjim 

Copyright: © 2024 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Silence  A Fable - Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"Time Ago"
Valhjim

(For the best friends of my life: Manuel
Eduardo (Johnny), Lilia, Bruce, Lee, 
Ramiro, Alfredo, Jose Luis).

Time ago
we gathered to spend the days
together, drink a beer and listen

to the most beautiful music 
in the universe

the days were long and everything glowed
with an inner light
we shared

the dreams
in our souls

time ago

the dreams now live
in this song
*******************

Valhjim: Keyboards, guitars.
Martin Miers: drums.

Hope you like this song, folks.

Thanks for listening
and for your kind and candid comments.

Valhjim
(C) 2024 Jim Valero (all rights reserved).

Time Ago - Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"The Stories We Become"
Valhjim

Brigantia, Britannia, 45 BC 
Feasgair, at sundown

The young man stood before a big cauldron set on a flat stone a few yards from a bonfire. Amber flickers—“fire-dancers”—lept into the air, their flames flitting upward before vanishing into the darkening sky. The full moon shimmered on the dark liquid in the cauldron, its surface smooth and bright like a polished silver mirror. Drums echoed through the air in the circular enclosure where the young man, along with a gathering of Druids and priestess of the goddess Brigit stood. Earthworks encircled the space, glowing white and silvery beneath the moon’s beams, which poured over the limestone that covered them. 

	As the drumming subsided, a tall priestess dressed in a deep green gown began to intone—

Brigit, bright and radiant,
	We call upon thee in our need,
	Guide us with thy wisdom and strength
Grant us the vision to learn and heed
Thy will, that we may follow thy lead.

—from Between The Lines: The Stories We Become,"
by Jim Valero, 2025.
**********
Hope you like this song, my friends,
inspired by a novel I just published: "Between the Lines: The Stories We Become."

Here's the link:
[https://a.co/d/iPCmqTA]


Thanks for listening
and for your kind words.
I always appreciate them immensely.

******
Valhjim—Synthesizers, Samplers, Guitars.
Martin Miers—Drums


© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

The Stories We Become

"Spring"
Written by Valhjim

Night recedes. Cold Winter warms up
to a new Dawn. Over the eastern rim,
Aurora spreads her mantle of pink, 

while, with her gentle thaw, Spring dissolves
the last remnants of ice from valley and hill, 
mountain wood and rocky cliff.

From the earth, new life springs—twigs, 
grass, bushes, flowers—there’s birdsong 
in the leaves of trees—all creatures, big 

and small, rejoice in renewed strength. 
Already, Flora dons her outfit of garlands
and silk, while Helios rides the skies, rushing

to her bed.

Spring has Sprung-Marco Lucchi - Night Note - Valhjim -

"Prospero’s Farewell"
Valhjim

The day is done. Cry no more.
We have done our best. Already, 
the sun is sinking behind the sea. 

Birds fly to their nests. The tide is soft 
and warm. The world is calm. I leave 
in peace. I am satisfied. There is love 
in my heart 

and understanding. 

We all do that we can. At times, we exceed 
expectations and surprise even ourselves.
 
Often, we fall short, but that is fine,
that is human, and we come here to learn

 from all we live.

The day is done, but there is another shore 
behind the horizon where the sun shines
brighter, the meadows greener, the music 
of the spheres takes on a myriad forms 

that feel 

soft to the touch, their colors morphing 
in tandem with feelings of unimaginable
 beauty and love.

So, cry no more. I will be fine and keep you all
In my heart forever. World without end.  
********************

Valhjim
synthesizers, samplers, guitars.

***********************
—© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Prospero's Farewell—A Requiem

"The Garden"
Valhjim

For this piece, I want to share an inspiring poem by Mark Strand.


It shines in the garden,
in the white foliage of the chestnut tree, 
in the brim of my father's hat
as he walks on the gravel.

In the garden suspended in time 
my mother sits in a redwood chair: 
light fills the sky, the folds of her dress,
the roses tangled beside her.

And when my father bends
to whisper in her ear,
when they rise to leave
and the swallows dart
and the moon and stars
have drifted off together, it shines.

Even as you lean over this page, 
late and alone, it shines: even now 
in the moment before it disappears.

—Mark Strand
_________________________
I hope you like it, friends.

Thanks for listening, reading,
and for your always kind and candid comments.


—© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

The Garden of Desires

Persephone's Fields
Valhjim 

An ethereal, dark ambient, dreamlike Berlin-School type, "Persephone's Fields" enwraps the listener in an Otherworldly atmosphere of magic and myth. In our imagination, we see Persephone in a field of flowers, follow her chant to the horizon, witness Hades lurk, approach, and snatch her away.
**********

Valhjim: Synthesizers, Samplers, guitars
Martin Miers: drums

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Persephone's Fields — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

A Perfect Day
Valhjim


I wake up to birdsong and rose skies—
the breeze cool, the day still opening
like a flower. 

The dew of dawn still in the air, and 
the scent of last night's rain on damp earth
and the bark of trees. The sun shows 

a friendly face, indisposed apparently
to scorch the world today. 

I  take a sip of coffee and play a sequence
of notes on the keyboard.—a perfect melody
to blossom like the day. 

All is well. I am content. 

**********
Valhjim: guitars and synths.
Martin Miers: drums.

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

A Perfect Day — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"Echoes of Distant Earth"
Valhjim

A hypnotic sequencer pulse forms the core of Echoes of Distant Earth, gradually evolving as saxophone motifs, distant vocals, and emotive guitar phrases emerge. Layers shift and intertwine, creating a meditative blend of Berlin School-inspired electronics, ambient textures, and soulful improvisation. The journey ends as the sound of ocean tides carries the listener into silence.

**********
Valhjim: Guitar, synthesizers, samplers.
Martin Miers: drums.


© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Echoes of Distant Earth — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

“Like Butterflies” is a gentle reflection on the fleeting beauty of life and the quiet joy of shared presence. Set against a backdrop of ambient textures, soft sunset chords, and the soulful voice of an alto saxophone, the song moves like a memory — brief, tender, and shimmering. Its lyrics speak to the moment, honoring the now without promises, just gratitude. This is music for twilight hours, where every breath feels like a small miracle.

Valhjim: guitars, piano, bass, synthesizers.
Martin Miers: drums.

Like Butterflies
Valhjim 

We are like butterflies
who flutter for a day
and think it's forever

but the day wanes into night
and the stars are shining
on the other side

This life is all we have
another day may come
but that is not for sure

meanwhile I'm glad
to share this day with you
and all the beauty we have today

—June 20, 2025.

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Like Butterflies — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

Wake Me Up
by Valhjim

In a world drifting further from what it once was, “Wake Me Up” walks the line between dream, disillusion, and madness. Ambient textures, saxophone laments, and whispered memories give way to raw imagery and quiet rage. This song is a journey through the fragments of a fading world, not a perfect one, but a world where freedom and individual rights were extant—a world that now more than ever aches to come back.

**************

Wake Me Up
Valhjim

On a solitary street a lamppost
casts its yellow light
there's no one there just 
shadows drifting by

and as you walk along
the cobbles down below
you hear somebody's voice
calling in the night

you try to wake up from the dream
but the world has turned to dust
and no one understands
how things could be so wrong

Ah, wake me up,
bring me back the world
I used to know

She keeps the door ajar
to feel connected to the world
outside but down the hall

there is no light and the moon 
has gone away

walkers on the street outside
a crazy clown is sitting in the chair

and all his acolytes
are pissing on the floor

Ah, wake me up,
bring me back the world
I used to know

*************

Valhjim: vocals, guitars, synthersizers, samplers.
Martin Miers: drums.

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Wake Me Up — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

Daydream

Wake Me Up — Short Version

A Touch of Blue

It begins in a hush—hi-hats fluttering like breath, panning left to right, a sine wave murmuring beneath, and low sub-bass like the ground itself humming. Slowly, a chord in E minor stretches wide, holding space for blues guitar riffs to emerge—gritty, bright, unpolished. A woman’s voice joins in scat, answering and teasing the guitar, their voices winding around each other in a playful, smoky dance. The current shifts: a sequencer takes hold, steady and hypnotic, while a saxophone pours out phrases like thoughts half-formed. As the piece draws to a close, the scat returns—solo now—fleeting, alive, ending on a final jazz phrase. The first sounds reappear, softer this time, and drift quietly into silence.

Valhjim—synthesizers, samplers, guitar.

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

A Touch of Blue — Valhjim w/Martin Miers






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© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.



Flowing—Valhjim w/Martin Miers,  remastered 2025.

Pink Skies
Valhjim

"In the sunset, when skies turn a darker blue,
Helios spreads his last mantle of light before night
summons the constellations.

It is then the heavens blush
as drizzle spreads in the atmosphere
and dust particles ride the wavelengths

of reds and oranges that soften into warm,
gentle pink." 

So said Mr. Floyd,
who kindly paused
to offer explanation.

*******************
Valhjim: synthesizers, samplers, guitar.

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Pink Skies

A Shadow of All Night Falling: A Dark Allegory

It came from the west,
spreading like a dark vapor 
in the sky, covering the sun.

The world turned dark,
shrouded in starless night.
In the glow of cells,

shadows moved in frantic
despair not knowing what to do
or where to go—

in the end of times.

**********************
Valhjim: Guitars, Sax, Synthesizers, Samplers
Martin Miers: Drums

********************

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.



A Shadow of All Night Falling — A Dark Allegory - Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"Will We Ever Learn"
Valhjim

Why do we struggle so much with ourselves?
Life should be simple and clear—beautiful.

We are not  here for long, truly, mere fireflies
in the night  with the ability to know 

and the vision of immense beauty.
Yet, we struggle and are cruel 

to one another, make war, and kill
others and ourselves, destroy 

what is beautiful, what is priceless.
 It's all so sad and stupid. 

Will we ever learn?
********************
Valhjim—guitar, synthesizers.
Martin Miers—drums.

************
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Will We Ever Learn — Valhjim w/Martin Miers


In the Land of Time
Valhjim


"And then they knew that while they searched for Time, Time had gone forth against their city and leaguered it with the years, and had taken it while they were far away and enslaved their women and children with the yoke of age. So all that remained of the three armies of Karnith Zo settled in the conquered city.

 And presently the men of Zeenar crossed over the river Eidis and easily conquering an army of aged men took all Alatta for themselves, and their kings reigned thereafter in the city of Zoon. . And sometimes the men of Zeenar listened to the strange tales that the old Alattans told of the years when they made battle against Time. 

Such of these tales as the men of Zeenar remembered they afterwards set forth, and this is all that may be told of those adventurous armies that went to war with Time to save the world and the gods, and were overwhelmed by the hours and the years.

  —from "In the Land of Time," by Lord Dunsany.
***************
Valhjim: guitars, synthesizers.
Martin Miers: drums.

*****************
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

In the Land of Time  — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"Idle Days"
Valhjim

An electronic rock progressive piece with dynamic drums by Martin Miers and Valhjim on guitar, synthesizers, and samplers.

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© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.


Idle Days — Valhjim w/Martin Miers

There Will Be Time
Valhjim

"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea."

—T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, (ll.15-34).
***********

Valhjim: voice, synthesizers, samplers. 

**********
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

There Will Be Time

"They Play in the Clouds"
Valhjim

An orchestral ambiance piece with a touch of jazz, "They Play in the Clouds" suggests imagery of blue skies, streaming cloud formations, and ethereal vocalizations harmonizing in the breeze. The winds blow causing the clouds to stream along, capriciously whirling and twirling like eddies on a lazy stream. A saxophone improvises over the soundscape, whispering its jazzy notes in the wind.
****************

Valhjim: synthesizers, samplers.

***********
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

They Play in the Clouds

"A Brief Love Affair"
Valhjim

Like bright drizzle from above, the day opens with gentle low tones: clouds open in sine waves, bass leisurely strolls about, sound waves echo in the distance. The future is here. Brief encounter that leads to intimacy, where the night opens and the stars appear overhead to eavesdrop on human love. Whispers in the dusk. Tender touch. 

***********
Valhjim: synthesizers, samplers.

**********

© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

A Brief Love Affair

"Topographic Meadows"
Valhjim 

In Topographic Meadows, sound moves like light over changing landscapes—soft chords drifting like mist, clarinet melodies winding through open spaces, brass surges rising like sunlit hills. Near the horizon, a jazz quartet stirs the air with bright syncopations before the scene dissolves into distant, fading clarinet echoes, each part conjuring a different aspect of these Topographic Meadows.
***************
Valhjim: Synthesizers, samplers, SFX.

***************
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Topographic Meadows

"Departure"
Valhjim

"Let us leave the hateful town
With its stale, forgotten lies;
Far beneath renewing skies,
Where the piny slope goes down,

All with April love and laughter—
None to leer and none to frown."
—Clark Ashton Smith

******************************
Valhjim: vocals, guitars, synthesizers.

******************************
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© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.



Departure — Valhjim w/Martin Miers on Drums

"Portal in the Glade"
Valhjim

When silence comes—hark!
the portal in the glade of your 
consciousness opens onto parallel 
worlds, always there beside you,
though you were hardlly
aware of them. Only when Silence 
comes, your ears may perceive vibrations 
from Other realities, colors, textures,
timbres of voices you now hear in 
whispers.

**********
Valhjim: guitar, synthesizers, samplers. 

**********
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Portal in the Glade

"Atmospheric Colors"
Valhjim


At dawn, heaven and earth doth wear
the colors of a new day that opens
like a beauteous flower of Paradise.

The air is cool, the grass, and every hedge
and tree are damp with dew, while clouds
wear a pink and white array against

the light blue of the sky. 

And as the day unfolds, the colors flush
into crystal clear transparencies 
where we move like figures in a Hall

of Mirrors—all times contained
in an instant of self-awareness
that brings about the world.

************
Valhjim: guitars, synthesizers, samplers.
Martin Miers: drums.

************
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

Atmospheric Colors - Valhjim w/Martin Miers

"The Summoning of the Dead—A Symphonicc Poem"
Valhjim


'Tis the Midnight hour
and the bell is tolling twelve.
There are whispers in the air
as the dead begin to wake.

The wind blows, the moon groans,
Death plays a plaintive tune.
The dead, they shake their bones,
Death's a melancholy boon.

They moan, they groan, they whisper thrice,
Death's violin plays a haunting melody.
On the piano, a soul replies—
they lead the dead to stir and rise:
They dance in dreadful ecstasy!

They dance, they dip; they twist
and twirl, they rattle and roll. 
The moon, it gleams and clothes
The dead in shimmering silver light.

The clarinet sighs, the whispers fade,
low rumbles linger, faint and far.
The bell tolls again—despondent, distant.
The bones return to dusk.

Click on the link below for a phonetic analysis of the poem: 
https://1drv.ms/w/c/f689b32f49a73ede/ERLRo6SzxmtFjAyJDCBWouABlxFxBqD_tpOW4mzYSeic1Q
******************
Valhjim: synthesizers, samplers.

******************
© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

The Summoning of the Dead: A Symphonic Poem

Valhjim is a music composer with an eclectic approach to different genres: rock, pop, folk, New Age, and experimental electronic music. Greatly driven by imagination and poetic imagery, he combines multiple instrumental textures to fire the imagination of his listeners. 

His more experimental ambience and electronic music is built with layers of suggestive sound textures, rhythms, and melodic lines that stir the imagination into suggestive imagery and worlds unseen, true architectures of sound that open up limitless spaces to explore. Often Valhjim's melodies sail through genre thresholds, crossing over from one genre to another, from neo classcal to electronic, or from jazz to rock or new age.

Valhjim

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