Love
It comes around.
Released:
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- Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3wAuSeM
- Apple Music: https://apple.co/3gDVmoW
- Bandcamp:
- Official Store:
- Soundcloud:
- Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3gByPZA
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/VF0XzeFVg9w?si=W7qEeQu4S84JmMFP
In My Arms
An improvised song of longing.
Released:
I opened my Audium Extempore show on Twitch on June 13th with a vibe that blossomed into a whole new song.
Whenever I'm improvising a new song with words & melody, I try to put myself into a context & headspace. For "In My Arms," I thought about the feelings of longing and loneliness that we may live with until the sense of calm relief that love can bring — and how, when it arrives, you desperately want to hold the person that you love in your arms, washing away all the years and miles it took you to find each other.
Edited live from my stream recording, with only minimal audio mastering applied, and lyric text added. What you hear is pretty much what my audience heard & saw that night.
Lyrics
Ah…
In my arms…
In my arms
In my arms
In my arms, where you belong (repeat)
Though the miles go far
And the times are stars
In my arms is where you belong
Though the nights go fast
And the years blow past
In my arms is where you belong
Oh…
Where you belong
La da da…
Is where you belong
All the days
And all the ways we searched
To find, in arms was where we belonged
And all the years we looked
And all the hurts we took
To find our arms was where we belonged
To find our arms
To find our arms
To find our arms was where we belong (repeat)
Is where we belong
Is where we belonged
It's where we belonged
All those nights alone
Looking for a home
'Cause in my arms, my arms, is where you belong
So dry your eyes and smile
We've come to end of miles
'Cause in arms is where you belong
This is where you belong
This is where you belong
Is where you belong
Is where you belong
Is where you belong.
- Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0DFYXHTFH
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-my-arms-improvised-live-on-twitch-6-13-24-single/1766536832
- Bandcamp: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/in-my-arms
- Official Store: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/in-my-arms
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/luquado/in-my-arms
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3ysJtx4n2nhlERQwtRdMXG
- YouTube:
Where Do We Go When We're Waiting For Tomorrow?
My first improvised melodic/ambient song. Lost, and then found.
Released:
4 days before my first Twitch music stream, on April 15, 2023, I set up 2 cameras, OBS, graphics, Ableton, the Roland SYSTEM-8 that had just arrived hours earlier, lights, and prepared for my first stream.
I didn't really know what I was going to do on Twitch. During the course of this tech/setup test, I landed on a kind of melodic ambient vibe that I liked the feel of. I had never really made ambient/melodic music before, especially not live, but it seemed to speak to me and where I was in life at the time.
Towards the end of the test, I ended up improvising a melodic ambient piece that I remember getting chills during… and then, I promptly forgot what it was, and — to make matters worse — I lost the video.
Cleaning up my hard drive the last few days, I found an OBS recording that was datestamped for that day, and opening it, realized it was my long-lost test stream. And inside, yes, the song was there.
I realized recently, looking back, that I didn't know how this was the discovery of a new musical voice that I had never explored before. And, I didn't know back then just how much I would come to love and appreciate you folks that connect with me when I'm making music.
But, like me now, it's once again found. And I'd like to share it with you.
I proudly present "Where Do We Go When We're Waiting For Tomorrow?", improvised live in a test session on 4/15/23. Consider it my "naked baby photos" of pre-stream Luq, when I was finding my musical voice, before all the other keyboards, and Ableton scripts, and all the VSTs, and everything I have now. I hope you love it as much as I do, now that I finally hear it again.
☮️💜 -Luq
- Amazon Music:
- Apple Music:
- Bandcamp: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/where-do-we-go-when-were-waiting-for-tomorrow
- Official Store: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/where-do-we-go-when-were-waiting-for-tomorrow
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/luquado/where-do-we-go-when-were-waiting-for-tomorrow
- Spotify:
- YouTube:
Your Mind Cannot Be Trusted
Improvised live on Twitch. Available everywhere.
Released:
Improvised and recorded live during Kid Pochoclo's “Abra Su Mente - La Mente Te Tose // Open Thy Mind - The Mind Coughs ” fest on Twitch on June 15, 2024.
I always try to put myself in a contextual headspace when improvising songs with lyrics, and this one is no different.
I thought about what the theme Kid Pochoclo chose — "la mente te tose / the mind coughs" — and over the course of my improvised hourlong set, it led to me explore a loved one's diagnosis with dementia, plus my thoughts about the unreliability of our minds.
What do you find when your mind cannot be trusted? Is it the slow decay that she's going through? or the aging that we all will face? or the destruction of the mind from chemical abuse, lack of sleep, stress, or more? What do you find when our minds betray us?
I hope you love it as much as I did. It's my first I'm releasing as an official single from my live improvised shows on Twitch, and I know I dig it. Enjoy.
Lyrics
What do you find
When you can't trust your mind
When your mind betrays you?
Where do we look
For what time took
When a mind betrays you
Open thy mind
Find what's inside
And in due time
You'll find your mind cannot be trusted
Abra su mente, la mente te tose (3x) No se puede confiar en tu mente
What will will we find
Deep in our mind
When our minds betray us?
What things are true
For me, for you
When our minds betray us?
Open thy mind
Find what's inside
And in due time
You'll find your mind cannot be trusted
You will find…
You will find, you will find
Can't be trusted
Open thy mind
Find what's inside
And in due time
You'll find your mind cannot be trusted
Open your mind
See what's inside
And in due time
You will find your mind cannot be trusted
You will find your mind cannot be trusted
You will find that your mind can't be trusted
- Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0D7QHHBB6
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/your-mind-cannot-be-trusted-no-se-puede-confiar-en/1753502823
- Bandcamp: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/your-mind-cannot-be-trusted-no-se-puede-confiar-en-tu-mente
- Official Store: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/track/your-mind-cannot-be-trusted-no-se-puede-confiar-en-tu-mente
- Soundcloud:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/49cvJ99PeuaCtHqnnHlW4J
- YouTube:
The Unbroken Stillness I
A 2-hour melodic ambient suite, improvised live on Twitch.
Released:
Suite musicale improvisée ambiante et mélodique n°1. This is a complete show I improvised and recorded live, featuring ambient & melodic elements, on Twitch during one of my "Musique minimaliste et petite" show on September 12, 2024.
Whenever I improvise music or a whole show, I like to put myself in a mental headspace/context to guide the flow of creativity. This was a rare time I was able to stay in the same context for a full show. The Unbroken Stillness I was loosely inspired by the last few years of my life leading to change, upheaval, stumbles, falls, and what I'm hopeful will be growth.
I hope the music resonates and connects with you as it has me.
Track List
- Thesis & Gathering - I usually like to start my improvised shows with a thesis, something that will set the tone for the whole show. I usually come up with an idea for the thesis in the few minutes before I go live, then build from there. If the first improvised song around the thesis's idea goes well, I know I'm in for a good stream. This one was one of my faves I've ever come up with, and brings in melodic themes & chords from my first 18 months streaming.
- The Far-Off Storm Will Arrive - The piano loops, I bring in a pad sound I've been using since 1993 off of my vintage rackmount synth that's become a bit of a signature of mine, and then I had this cello melody pop into my head. You can try to avoid the storm that you see on the horizon, but it will usually still engulf you, sooner or later.
- Standing at the Edge - Next the vibe went a little more drone, a little more textural… the deep breath before the plunge. The primary synth here is based off of guitar string resonances.
- Always Fall, Always Climb - I wanted relentless growth and rising here, but without drums. It's the first appearance of another signature sound of mine, the reverse piano/bell texture. The guitar string synth is reinforced with low rumbles as it keeps climbing.
- Sadness's Echoes - I finally brought in my voice + harmonizer, deep in the distance. It's joined by a floaty, ambient electric guitar, and echoes some of my favorite themes from my time streaming.
- Dusk & Epilogue '02 (Chorus 9-12-24 Version) - This is the first full-circle moment of the show, bringing together something from deep in my past with something more recent. I composed "Epilogue" back in 2002, and "Chorus" first was improvised June 10, 2023, in one of my early streams.
- The Yearning After - Going back to my past for "Dusk & Epilogue '02" made me think back to my childhood, and the constant desire I had to learn ALL THE THINGS, and even after I'd quench that yearning I still wanted more. The world was so bright, so open, so full of possibilities and things to learn and things to do. I bring in a music box-like bell instrument here, and the somewhat singsong vocal line came to me as the song developed.
- Forgotten, Tempests Knock - But, enough reminiscing. We can look backwards towards better times, but the here and now still waits for us. My world contracts here with a solo analog pad from one of my vintage synths, giving way to piano.
- A Crumbled Soul - Piano takes over with the type of melancholy piece I would improvised sitting at the (admittedly somewhat janky) upright piano we had for a few years. It alternates between a sad waltz and contemporary chord dissonance.
- Offering to Mnemosyne - Mnemosyne: the Goddess of Memory, History, and Storytelling. Growing up Greek, I was of course really into mythology. I appreciated that the Ancient Greeks dedicated a member of their pantheon to memory, history, and stories. With my mom in the throes of dementia during this show (and since having passed away), plus my own memory issues due to a lifetime of abusing my brain and lack of sleep, fear of forgetting important things -- meetings, partings, life events -- is a common theme in my music. This offering is presented starting with the ambient electric guitar and then replaced by textural violas & cellos.
- Metempsychosis - "the supposed transmigration at death of the soul into a new body." The upheaval in my life and trying to find my way after felt like a death of the old and the beginning of the new. The "Offering to Mnemosyne" transitions into this, where it's joined by voice and a granular pad as I mentally transitioned away from the past to the future.
- Le piano électrique et le passage du temps - "The electric piano and the passage of time." The synths enter a holding pattern evocative of time passing while I improvise on the electric piano. Healing and growth just takes time. I had to learn to be willing to take that time.
- As a Child - And, during the passage of that time I took, I tried to think about the resiliency children have, myself included. Maybe it's because, as we age, the complexities of life make the times that you're hurt or the times that you hurt others leave so many deeper, indelible scars? Maybe the plasticity of a child's mind leaves them more able to deal with and heal from hurt? I don't know. As this song progresses, a kind of mind-poking higher granular synth grows; I wanted it to feel a bit like a gnawing in your brain.
- Ineventualities of Thought - The sound here was inspired by playing the pipe organ in my childhood church (with a bell appearing here and there). We can run from our thoughts -- lord knows, I tried, for decades -- but they arrive just the same, much like the storm in track 2.
- Bournonville Mutations - This is a shifting of gears. I often think in terms of choreography or dance in my improvisations, and in my mind's eye I could picture dancers onstage weaving and floating through the air. August Bournonville, was a 19th century dancer and ballet master, credited with creating 'a uniquely Danish way of dancing." The writer and ballet critic Ebbe Mørk says one of Bournonville's most distinctive features is “the illusion of imponderable lightness.' Polyrhythms and mutating arpeggios fill this piece.
- Shifts of Time and Space - We now give in fully to a vibe, with hardware & software providing me the ability to do intricate piano arpeggios, turning the instrument into more of a texture than a melodic instrument. The time ramps between deliberate and impossibly fast, serving as an introduction to…
- Self-Similar System - This song is a fractal. Around 6? 7? different piano instruments all take the same melodic line, but at different multipliers of speed and sound.
- A Place That's Yours and Mine (Unbroken Stillness I Version) - The original is a vocal & synth song I improvised in 2023, and this instrumental version hearkens back to it but with a very different vibe. The lyrics of the original are, "if we can look we’ll find / a day that comes in time / a place that’s yours and mine / the light that’s in our eyes / a life that’s yours and mine."
- Leaps of the Heart - A synth arpeggio I use in a couple of songs enters as the heart opens, to try and evoke feelings of awakening and, well, leaps of the heart.
- And After? - What comes next? This is more a transitionary piece, but as the leaps from the previous fade, stillness arrives again.
- Touch Forever (Unbroken Stillness I Version) - My signature pad returns for this instrumental version of Touch Forever, joined by a theme I first wrote in 1995, and heading towards a Byzantine chant-inspired denouement and another quick musical reference to "Epilogue."
- Song for the Pacing - I pace a lot. I think, I walk. This deliberate, slow piece is trance-like, with my ambient vocals coming in at points. This is what my brain feels like in the deep of night when I'm pacing, and thinking.
- When is Then - And, peace arrives, when "when" becomes "then." As a kid going to Greek Orthodox church, some of our holy days' services would feel endless. Holy Week leading to midnight liturgy for Easter was the biggest gauntlet of them all. 40 days of fasting, the last few days being very aggressive and traditional with literally no food from morning until receiving Communion after the midnight resurrection, would leave me feeling energized and with a remarkable clarity. I'd stare out of the window in the car ride home at 2am or so, feeling reborn and refreshed, but with an incredible sense of calm… or, an unbroken stillness.
- Forever Is (Chorus 6-10-23) - And we have come to the end. During this show, I went through so much of my life, so many of my memories. I had no idea where the show would go -- being fully improvised and all -- but it turned into what you hear now. And so, the full "Chorus" finally arrives, in a new form and with a new name: Forever Is. I don't know what lies ahead. I've made a new life for myself. In the process, I've both hurt people I care about & myself and I've uplifted people & myself as well. But this song is my prayer. All we can do is face the storms, face our memories, and continue looking skyward as we climb. Forever is what we make it.
Much love to everyone for your ongoing support, and I hope you loved The Unbroken Stillness as much as I do.
- Amazon Music: https://www.amazon.com/Place-Thats-Unbroken-Stillness-Version/dp/B0DJFBZGVP
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/the-unbroken-stillness-i/1774139401
- Bandcamp: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/album/the-unbroken-stillness-i
- Official Store: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/album/the-unbroken-stillness-i
- Soundcloud:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1lTNY8WR1TynrmhCRYgwN6
- YouTube:
The Overnight Train to Home
Improvised live on the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited
Released:
An improvised, full ambient show performed & streamed live in a private room on the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited going from Chicago to NYC. This show was streamed live on Twitch over 5G between Chicago, IL and a little past South Bend, IN as a part of the Harvest Moon virtual music festival, while returning home from KnobCon 2025.
When I booked my trip to KnobCon, I knew I was going to be taking a lot of gear with me, and I performed a live set while there. When the organizer of the Harvest Moon festival, Mroovki, reached out to me about having a set during the event, I originally thought "no way," because I'd be traveling.
But then I cooked up a crazy idea: what if I streamed from the train itself? I checked 5G coverage and it was decent enough through the corridor I'd be in during some available festival slots, so I signed up. It's funny; the Twitch parlance for these types of events is a "raid train," so I joked that it was "raid train on a train."
The night of, I boarded Amtrak train #48, Lake Shore Limited, and I hauled my gear into my private room. I went to work setting up; I knew I'd want a camera pointed out of the window to see whatever could be seen in the dark night. I also knew I wanted to keep things very ambient, so I turned to the virtual modular synthesizer system VCV Rack and tweaked some patches I'd previously made. I also wired up my Roland SYSTEM-8 keyboard, placing it on the bench seating next to me.
After lots of bandwidth tests and tweaks, I went live and improvised this set.
I believe it to be the first Twitch music stream done entirely on a train, though I might be wrong. It's definitely the first ambient music stream from a train, though!
If you purchase the album from my Bandcamp, bonus content includes a few photos from my trip as well as the full streaming show's video.
I hope you enjoy it.
- Amazon Music:
- Apple Music:
- Bandcamp: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/album/the-overnight-train-to-home
- Official Store: https://luquado.bandcamp.com/album/the-overnight-train-to-home
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/luquado/sets/the-overnight-train-to-home
- Spotify:
- YouTube:
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