one of the things I’ve been working on...

The melody came to me first, a while ago… beautiful, poignant.
It would stand by itself as an instrumental (and it will :)
I’ve been working with it to craft the right words to fit the mood and the message… and I believe I’ve found them.
I look forward to sharing it with you!

Here's a lyrical taste...

Christmas Longing

music and lyrics by Luna Jade

A photo is a fleeting moment in time, frozen and preserved so that after the moment passes, it remains suspended; its beauty, meaning and power forever preserved.

Luna’s photos are capsules of time, space and emotion; lovingly captured so that they may be shared.

..

"Beauty Suspended features the photography and digital design work of eclectic artist Luna Jade...  
singer/songwriter, composer, photographer, poet, writer... a few of her creative expressions.

Although apt to explore many different visual topics, she is particularly drawn to photographing the natural world... the beauty in the world around us and the divine creatures we share this planet with."

Visit the online gallery/shop...

Seeing/hearing one’s creations come to life is such an exhilarating experience.
Each work of art we create is a little piece of our soul that we release into the universe…
a gift we give of ourselves.

But when that piece of art, that musical composition holds a deep personal meaning… words can’t describe how the magnitude of that feeling intensifies.

“If You Must Go” is the song I wrote for my father shortly before he passed, as I was flying up to New York to see him for the last time. This song is extremely important to me… as a dedication to my father, a cathartic composition… a remembrance.

Waiting Within Part II - the first studio reference demo of the full song...

When I left off in my last entry, Waiting Within... new song: stages of creation, Part I - the beginning of an idea...
Lars and I had started the initial idea together, then I took it home and completed the shape of the song - writing the melody, lyrics, and arrangement for it - and recorded an A Capella version.
(you can hear the demo clips of the various stages in the previous entry)

Now it was time to flesh it out and record the initial demo...

So, we went back into the studio to work on the next stage. Before we could record it, however, there were a couple more details to settle...

... Read On and listen to the demo ...

Woo Hoo... as if the day couldn't get much better...

I'm very excited to announce that the Symphony Of Angels Single EP - my first solo release -
is now available on iTunes!

(also previously released on AmazonMP3)

It's a little departure from my gritty metal sound...
this one is more Legit (classical) meets R&B with an electronica/dance beat...
or as Bill Berends commented... Angelic R&B.
(I like that, Bill!)

If you'd like to hear a couple of preview clips that are longer than those posted on iTunes and Amazon MP3,
visit my blog...

My thanks to Bill Berends for his mixing, mastering, and tasty guitar work on the release... (more here...) Thanks, Bill!

Symphony Of Angels
words and music by Luna Jade

Tracks recorded/programmed by Luna Jade
Guitar: Bill Berends
Mixing/Mastering: Bill Berends


Long before the break of morning
when no one is around
I can hear their voices calling
they sing without a sound

Hey, all! I'm very excited to announce that the Symphony Of Angels Single EP - my first solo release - is now available on AmazonMP3!
The song will also be available on iTunes and other digital distribution channels shortly, so stay tuned...

I just uploaded a preview clip of the Radio/Single edit version in the Myspace player, so check it out!

My thanks to Bill Berends for his mixing, mastering, and tasty guitar work on the release... (more here...)
Thanks, Bill!

Waiting Within... one of the new Toxic Minds songs in early stages of creation...

I thought it would be interesting to give you all a bit of a "blow by blow" of the song as we create it.

~ ~ ~

Waiting Within Part I - the beginning of an idea...

In my writing, I have found there is no one “formula” to creating a new song. They get their start in so many different ways:

~ sometimes it’s from a poem or a snippet of a lyric or a concept,
~ sometimes it’s from a melody idea (as in my song “Facing Medusa”),
~ sometimes from a chord progression.
There are many different ways our muse speaks to us, different triggers that stir up the creative juices… setting us off on a creative journey to craft a new song .

Lars and I were in the studio the other day in one of our free-form writing sessions. As often happens when we write, Lars was noodling around on the acoustic guitar with no particular song in mind, just playing with progressions. Lars has a wonderful ability to just instinctively play interesting guitar lines/progressions that become the catalyst... a jumping off point... to a new song.

He played a riff that caught my ear, so I started vocalizing over what he was playing... and a haunting, yearning melody started to emerge.

... Read/Listen on ...

My Friends...

Although I can still feel the loss, it’s a little easier now. Actually, it’s somewhat comforting (in an odd way) to read through what I wrote at the time of his death from my current perspective. I can look back on the events now, sans the veil of pain that was so ever-present then, and see the precious gifts I was given in his last few days with us on earth.

As I was going through all that I had written during the time surrounding my dad’s death, I found the following “piece” (for lack of a better term) , written on 7/29/06 - a few weeks after my dad’s death… memories of the last few days… capturing a deeper insight into what this song meant to me at the time.

Writing this left me a bit raw and I only shared this with a few people close to me at the time.
Today, 3 years later, enough time has passed and I’m in a better place with it. I feel I can share it with you all now.

... Read On ...

Seeing/hearing one's creations come to life is such an exhilarating experience.

Each work of art we create is a little piece of our soul that we release into the universe... a gift we give of ourselves.
 
To hear that creation finessed by a gifted professional heightens the joy we have in our creation.

I felt that way when I heard what Bill Berends - a friend, talented musician, and gifted mixing engineer ( among other things :) - had done with my song, Symphony of Angels.

... Read/Listen on ...



Symphony of Angels - Luna's words overlaying one of her photos:
a breathtaking sunrise over the ocean, captured in Hollywood, Florida.
Poster available in Luna's Store
"Each work of art we create is a little piece of our soul that we release into the universe, a gift we give of ourselves." ~ Luna Jade

Images of a fishy cheerios feeding frenzy and live recordings of "Mad World", captured as we jammed by the lake...


... Read/listen on ...