"Just Breathe" is the result of a collaboration between myself and the artist Telay Os (one of the artist names of Luke Garfield, a.k.a. Doxkyn). He wrote a perfectly delicious instrumental featuring his signature blend of synths and an 80s feel, and I instantly got some lyrics in my head when I heard it. The … Continue reading The Sound of Synths – Just Breathe
The colours of cold - the definitive song Now out is my EP called "The Colours of Cold". The title track with the same name is a love song to snow, and to my significant other. I'm not in the habit of writing love songs - I've only ever written two. And straight-up romance and … Continue reading Love, love, and love…
At the start of 2024, I decided that this was the year that I'd give music production my best shot. I decided to throw everything I had at it, and really try to do it right. The results were these: From Jan. to Dec. 2024, I composed and wrote lyrics for 77 songs, in-between managing … Continue reading How was my 2024? (a bit mad, a bit glad, a lot scared)
I've always thought that if someone shows that they don't like cats (well, all animals, but particularly cats) then I probably won't like them. I have a suspicion that they have a nasty streak in them, because what's not to like about a cat? Even if you're allergic to them? Nothing. Cats are delightful. So … Continue reading A song about a cat – since very few people don’t like cats
On my new album, "Ticket to Mars", the fourth track is "The Great Wall". The Great Wall This song is about people separated by a wall - metaphorical or literal - and desperate to be together. They are bound to Earth as much as they are bound to places far from each other. So many … Continue reading Borders, separation, longing
Following the title track with the same name of my new album, "Ticket to Mars", I've released three more songs, starting with "Hello". Cōdae · Hello Mixing and mastering by Luke Garfield, Banana Llama Studios. Lead vocals by Ben Alexander. Hello - first contact The interesting thing about the alien in the lyrics, is that … Continue reading How DO you greet an alien from outer space?
Following the title track with the same name of my new album, "Ticket to Mars", I've released the next three songs: "Hello", "Head in the Stars", and "The Great Wall". All three are about the contrast between being stuck here on Earth, and travelling beyond the stars, perhaps even meeting an alien from another planet. … Continue reading Songs about meeting aliens, space travel and being stuck on Earth
"Ticket to Mars", the title track on my album of the same name, has just been released. The songs on the album are about space travel, astronauts, rockets, encounters with aliens, exploring space to find new planets, and - conversely - the conundrum of being stuck on Earth. https://soundcloud.com/codaes-music/ticket-to-mars?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Ticket to Mars (Radio Edit) Lead … Continue reading Just released: “Ticket to Mars”
I've released the latest song on my album, "Howl", and it's called "Dreams May Come". I wrote it because I have had these incredibly real-feeling dreams of people who died many years ago - my brother, and my father. In my dreams, of course, they are not sick, or old, but in their prime. My … Continue reading Dreams so real, you think the people who you’re dreaming of aren’t dead
This beat-box and rap-style track on my album "Howl", was inspired by the aria “Ah! je ris de me voir” (meaning, “I laugh to see myself”), Marguerite's aria from Charles Gounod’s opera, “Faust “ (1859). This aria is also known as “The Jewel Song”. The opera is loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic … Continue reading No amount of bling is going to get you love – “Margarita’s Jewel Song”
On Perfect Wings is the English lyrics version of the songs that I wrote about Psalm 139 for my album Divan. The version with Latin lyrics is Invenies Me Mane Caelo, which is a like a Gregorian chant, at least in terms of the scale used, and the instruments. The English lyric version, produced during … Continue reading English lyrics from Psalm 139 – “On Perfect Wings”
https://vimeo.com/870132148 HD Lyric Video "Invenies Me Mane Caelo" is the latest track from my album "Divan" to be released on SoundCloud. It is unusual in that the lyrics are in Latin. "Invenies Me Mane Caelo", one of the songs all based on ancient texts on my album "Divan", is Latin for "the wings of morning". … Continue reading “Invenies Me Mane Caelo (On the Wings of Morning)” – A hymn in Latin
The lyrics of all the songs on my album "Divan" were inspired by ancient historical documents. The lyrics for "Havn" date back to 1100 AD/CE. The first line, in Medieval Dutch, is: "Hebban olla vogala nestas?", which means "Do all birds have nests?". The name of the song, "Havn", means "haven" or "harbour" - like … Continue reading A little Medieval love song – “Havn”
This weekend, I released the first track from my new album, "Divan". The word "divan" means "a collection of poems". I called it this because the ten tracks on the album were inspired by very old - ancient - texts, many of them in the forms of verses or poems, that date from about the … Continue reading A song from the “Poetic Edda” – “The Last Poem of Guthrun”
As a child, my Dad tried his best to teach me to play the piano, and since I was stubborn and lazy, I cheated and taught myself to play by ear. I never did get the hang of reading notation and using proper technique when playing. I can barely pick out a tune on a … Continue reading “Yellow bird, up high in the banana tree…”
https://vimeo.com/809535987 Skiing, the dutch, beer, bars, and hits Hypnotic, the 7th track on my album, Time Shift, is a song about skiing. When I lived in South Africa, we went skiing in Austria once a year, since that’s what the Dutch do during their Winter holidays. There’s very little snowfall in South Africa - there … Continue reading Was that me being a dork in a bar? Yes. But I was freezing…
The word "shag" in the name of this song refers to the dance called the Carolina Shag, which is a relaxed partner dance, often done to "beach music" - whatever that is... I named this song for it, because that's the feeling of the song - it's got a steady beat for dancing to, and … Continue reading A little light music -“Soft Shoe Shag”
No. 4 on Time Shift - Africa-style Trip-Hop "The Veld" is a song that expresses my nostalgia for the veld (or veldt) of South Africa - the wide open, wild landscapes of the interior of the country. There are many types of veld: the bushveld, the highveld, the lowveld, and so on, and my favourite, … Continue reading My version of ‘The Rain in Africa’
My ears are tired of writing music. They are ringing, buzzing, echoing, twanging and refusing to process any more auditory signals. I often think that Sound Engineers have the most amazing hearing - and the most amazing auditory signal processing cortexes in their brains. It's something you're born with, but still, to be able to … Continue reading My ears are tired
Everyone has to start somewhere, when you create things. Something cannot come from nothing. I have learned this rather late in my life. You have to DO something: take a step, make a move, decide something, in order to create that thing you have in your mind. Or that thing that's been bothering you and … Continue reading From hesitant beginnings to happiness
