The 2nd album in the Opus series, Vibrations has a distinct theme, based on electronic styles and rhythms, creating a blend of genres within the category. The songs are instrumental pieces, with a few minor exceptions, but no sung verses.

Rising Up opens the album, setting a tone in a pop-dance groove, with spoken phrases throughout. The “I am…” of course, refers to that which binds us, love, the awakening human consciousness… all of that.

Genuine Article kicks it up a notch, being carried along with a distorted rock drum groove. Synths and hits are introduced, with a menacing fuzz in the foreground, and an almost tribal loop underlying the drum kit’s aggressive pace.

Flawless brings us down into a more contemplative space. A flowing dance/house tempo carries the melody, and a hooky synth instills it’s catchy riff, amongst the “Flawless…” phrases. Throw in a funky guitar solo, and you have a dance-pop tune that sticks with you.

Trance Sends picks up the pace again, introducing a driving house beat and several synths. The song builds in waves as layered pads and loops blend with percussive synths and some electric guitar.

Determined slows it down a notch, but not in attitude. This one is more a trip-hop, clubby groove that creates an atmosphere of dark determination, building to a breakout when the mood shifts into more dance/house vibes playing synths and percussion against each other. Then, it starts over in a new key…

Juggler walks a steady pace. A feeling of introspection and discovery reverberates, with slightly jolting breaks and dynamics throughout. Ambient pads and ghostly swells enhance the underlying somber tone. Is there a resolution?

Listen starts out aggressively, with a chaotic blend of effects and disturbing edginess. Quickly, the pace begins, carried by a funky, driving loop, breaking occasionally for a breath before engaging again, coupled with a grungy wah-synth that echoes the slap bass groove.

Traveler brings us back to steadiness, with a solid dance/house groove, mellow synths and temperate flow. Imagine driving on a long, winding highway…

Blue Sky & Rain asks, how can you search for the darkness, when it’s a clear, blue, sunny day? It’s a steady pace with a dance/pop groove, synths, a few breaks, and an air of uncertainty.

Walking is straight ahead dance/house, with some additional percussion, pizzicato strings, solemn pads, and a flute, singing softly in the background. A piano tells of what’s to come…

Enchanted is a gentle, ambient-pop ending to this story, centering in a somber piano, that carries us out of the sonic adventure that Vibrations was.

© 2004 Nothing So Right Music

In the late autumn of 2002, a friend approached me that worked in an office close the studio I was creating in at the time. She stopped me and asked: “You write songs, right?” I smiled and said “Yes”.

She went on to explain how she’d been hearing so many songs on the radio about losing someone. But nothing was helping her, as she’d lost her son in a car accident the year previous “just like that, with no warning”.

She asked, with watery eyes, if I could write her a song about someone like that; someone who’d lost somebody close, like a family member, suddenly.

“Soul Survivor” was the result. It “came to me” one day shortly thereafter while I was driving to town. By the time I’d returned to the studio, I – with an abundance of goosebumps – had the complete thing written and composed in my head. So, it was needing a channel, or an outlet.

I gave her the recording, with a warning to not listen to it while driving. She seemed to find it quite helpful, as the next time I saw her, she was noticeably lighter, and happier.

That kinda stuff makes me feel good about what I do.

Soul Survivor
By Trance Blackman

I was given no warning
I was given no chance
To say… good-bye.
And now all that remains, is the question: Why?

I awake in the morning
See your picture on the wall
It makes… me cry
But I know with some time, that I will get by

BRIDGE
Only want to hold you once more
To tell you “I Love You”
Only want to see into your perfect eyes again…

CHORUS
‘Cause I am your soul survivor
You will never be too far from me
I am your soul survivor
Your memory will live on inside of me… always

So what awaits me tomorrow?
Should I go on with my life?
I’ll live for you…
Sometimes I hear your name, how I do miss you…

Now I laugh and I can sing
There is love still in my heart
And it makes me cry…
But I know you are safe, no regrets, no lie

BRIDGE
CHORUS

©2002 Nothing So Right Music

This song is an emotional one about facing the challenges of a relationship. It speaks to the moment when something changes, whether it’s a feeling or a knowing, when there may be no way to fix a problem, or reason to continue the journey together. It’s that feeling that arises at the crossroads and junctions as we trip and fall through making sense of ourselves.

Sometimes, it just wasn’t meant to be. These are the sensations we all deal with…

Sensations
by Trance Blackman

A sudden change appears
Feeling so many fears
Letting emotions flow
Does everybody know

Remember the sacred days
Those you and I spent away
Careless like winds and time
Now I know you are mine

A sensation arises within you
It’s there deep in your eyes to consume you
A sensation arises around you
Chase you every direction you run to

And now what seems to be
Is you’re in love with me
So call it destiny
So call it make believe

A sensation arises within you
It’s there deep in your eyes to consume you
A sensation arises around you
Chase you every direction you run to

Piano Solo

A sudden change appears
Feeling so many fears
Letting emotions flow
Doesn’t everybody know

A sensation arises within you
It’s there deep in your eyes to consume you
A sensation arises around you
Chase you every direction you run to

(2x)

©2002 Nothing So Right Music

I wrote this song for my good friend, and frequent collaborator Gypsy Butterfly, back in 2002. I think it captures her spirit pretty well, and it is one of my favourite little creations.

The song has a nice swing and flow to it, being born out of a quiet moment while driving the highways of British Columbia’s interior. She challenged me to create something on the spot, and so I did. This tune is the result.

Butterfly
by Trance Blackman

CHORUS/INTRO
White butterfly dances free on the breeze
For a wandering heart goes anywhere it pleases
See the butterfly dancing soft on the wind
Searching for a bed of roses…

‘Cause I believe what I see, when I see you
It’s the deepest of understanding
Oh would you believe me, if I told you
That I believe in you…

CHORUS

‘Cause I see clearly now I see, these thoughts that were mine
Found a deeper understanding
Oh would you believe me, if I told you
That I believe in you…

Inst. Solo

BRIDGE
Don’t believe the words uttered out of fear
Don’t believe it
You shall find, discover what it is I see in you…

CHORUS
REPEAT 1st Verse
CHORUS

©2002 Nothing So Right Music

It’s about you, and me, and how one of us keeps coming close, then moving away… Revolving You.

Ah, l’amour… We dance and we fight, we love and we hate. We battle and we break up. Sometimes we get back together again, but then realize that wasn’t a good idea and well, it’s complicated. Aren’t relationships fun?

Romance and all of it’s colours is what novels and movies are made of. The frustrations and emotions are powerful and almost always right there on the sleeves, awaiting another beating. Sometimes it’s bliss and rather beautiful. I think it’s purely relative as we’re all at different stages in our personal stories, and people always come into our lives when we’re ready for the next lesson. The trouble comes when things go out of balance, either within the dynamic of the couple, or within one of the individuals. It’s hard then to shield yourself from the fallout that can occur, but these days relationships are very much different than they used to be.

This song is a testament to some of the trivialities that get a good dose of emotional energy to create their own distinct monsters. Unable to break through old ideas, wounds, or otherwise, there’s little hope of making amends in this story…

Revolving You
by Trance Blackman

(intro) Will you know then the way that I feel for you is real…

I can’t afford to hide inside my thoughts
Battle everyday to untie the knots
You make me curious
Is this the two of us?
Will you settle for something good?
Yes I know you would…

I feel so good when you’re near my side
Grow stronger everyday learn a bit of pride
You turn and see my smile
I’m hoping all the while
Will you know then the way that I feel for you is real?

Time passes like clouds in the sky
Do you expect me to wait?
Oh no let’s leave it to fate
But if it reaches too late
Will you be revolving you?
Yeah revolving you
Oh, will you be the same again?
Will you know then the way that I feel for you is real?

Don’t really want to talk about it much
Travel every way so I can feel your touch
What’s with this mystery?
Don’t you believe in me?
When you’re ready please tell me
You know I’ll believe in you

You are all I think of nowadays
Jumping up and down my head begins to sway
You turn and see my smile
I’m hoping all the while
Will you know then the way that I feel for you is real?

Time passes like clouds in the sky
Do you expect me to wait?
Oh no let’s leave it to fate
But if it reaches too late
Will you be revolving you?

©2002 Nothing So Right Music (All Rights Reserved)

Finding your path, wandering through life… Listening to this song – easily one of my favourites – always reminds me of Jesse Cook. I’m hoping one day to perform it with him.

We all have our individual journeys on which we’re always changing, rearranging, and remaking minute to minute, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Thoughts and beliefs plant seeds, and all of these things you create ripple out into the world, as your own contribution to this chapter of the ongoing adventure that is humanity. It’s co-creation in grand form.

So be proud of what you have to offer, even it at times it doesn’t feel it, perhaps not even remotely. Beyond the feelings, attitudes, and emotions lies a truth and simplicity you never have to worry about. Know that you have something of value and worth to contribute. We all have our own path to wander.

Wander
by Trance Blackman

It arrives to me in a dream at night… time
It’s a picture created from far far away
As the path clears for me
So then I walk, and I wander the way I do.
Yes I do.

It inspires me to change re-arrange… things
Break the ties from a bind that’s holding me
As the path clears for me
So then I walk, and I wander the way I do.
Yes I do.

It appears to be such an easy sight… scene
It unravels before me and I dare to say
I see a path cleared for me
So then I walk, and I wander the way I do.
Yes I do.

CHORUS
Waking out of a deep dark dream
The methods are changing every stream
Shaking out of this tree I planted
Seeds fall… away.

It surprised my eyes to see the light…ning
Tearing clear across the midnite sky
Now there’s a path clear for me
So then I walk, and I wander the way I do.
Yes I do.

CHORUS (2x)

©2002 Nothing So Right Music (all rights reserved)

Relationships can be trying at times. “Don’t Tell Me” has a distinct angst and honesty to it. I’d originally written it for another artist to perform, but I liked how it turned out (they went another way) and so I ended up making a few alternate recordings of it.

It’s a catchy, bouncy pop/dance tune that can stick in your brain for a while. Most of us have probably had a similar experience in a relationship. Communication breakdown! Oh the drama…

Don’t Tell Me
by Trance Blackman

intro – spoken
Don’t tell me it cannot be… I won’t believe it…
No I won’t believe it… You can’t bring me down!

In my mind there’s a place where we can be what we want to
In my head it spins around and around there’s nothing else to do

Just a real honest friend is all I ever ask of you
Don’t play games, it’s a shame that I get to see worst in you

CHORUS
So enlighten me if you please
I cannot seem to understand
Your ways are such a mystery
So won’t you please just help me
Enlighten me if you can, I wanna hold your hand
This dream is so close and so real to me…

Don’t – tell – me – it – can – not – be

Spoken
What is this silly game with you and me? It’s breaking my heart, can’t you see?

So instead of the dream, I see myself in the mirror
It’s so weird that I’m down on the ground I beg you get nearer

Just a good thing that’s right! You never seem to forget it
How you say, what you feel, when were you going to share it?

CHORUS

BRIDGE
Don’t tell me it cannot be…
You’ll bring on a sad sight of me…

INSTRUMENTAL SOLO

In my mind there’s a place where you and I can be as two
In my head it jumps around and around there’s nothing else to do

Just a real honest friend is all I ever ask of you
Don’t play games, it’s a shame that I get to see worst in you

CHORUS (repeat and fade to end)

©2002 Nothing So Right Music (all rights reserved)

For notes and lyrics, see the original post. Click here.

Can you walk like this? It’s about finding your own pace, and your own stride… be confident in your worth to the world.

We’re always our own worst critics, and our own worst enemies. Sometimes, when we realize that we can in fact be our strongest ally, we can turn that nagging voice into motivation to grow, expand and rewrite beliefs and our ideas about who and what we are in this life. You don’t have to believe anybody, because after all of that, you have only your own heart and mind to deal with, so who do you really have to appease?

You can’t ignore instinct and intuition. You can try to suppress it, deny it, or try and train yourself away from it, but life has a way of pushing you back toward your truth, and ultimately it’s not about the struggle… It’s about trusting the process and just starting to walk your walk.

Walk Like This
words & music by Trance Blackman

Two times in a day it happened to me
You stepped in my face and challenged me
My my bold you’ve suddenly become
Oh my I don’t know what’s to be done

Too far! How it dares to walk from me
High time to step up fight it to be free
My mind is the constant battlefield
My mind is the sharpened sword I wield

BRIDGE
Do you want to learn how to walk like this?

CHORUS
When they say there is no other way
Are you gonna believe just what they say
Don’t change your mind for the face of an angel

When they say you have to be this way
Are you gonna bend over or make your own way
Don’t change your mind for the face of an angel

Can you walk like this?
Tell me can you walk like this?

One time too many we’ve been in this place
Gonna dance with the flames up in my space
The story will be told my point of view
You’ll say the words are really nothing new

BRIDGE
CHORUS

Stand up straight so they can count it right
I’ll run like a stranger into the night
My mind is the constant battlefield
My mind is the sharpened sword I wield

BRIDGE
CHORUS

©2002 Nothing So Right Music (all rights reserved)

This song is about stepping out of the trivialities of daily life and reaching for a broader perspective, both personally, and globally. We make intense drama out of issues that are frequently non-issues, or really don’t deserve the amount of energy we’re conditioned to give to them. It’s a result of man’s ego running rampant, and fear both feeding, and thriving in the belly of it.

In a grander sense, it’s about how we tend to deal with symptoms, not causes. Finding solutions for the problem, as opposed to preventing and healing it at the core, at the roots.

When you can step back from that, to reach into that higher wisdom that is within and all around you, it’s easy to see that so much of what we expend our life’s energy on really could be spent in more productive, less conflicting ways. To be free of the confines of limiting beliefs is to truly be free to soar like an eagle, using the winds and airwaves to flow along in life, knowing that being in a state of ease, grace, and joy really isn’t such a challenge.

What is your life really about?

Solutions
words & music by Trance Blackman

You look so angry, why don’t you learn to let it go
Why do you have to control
How they live
How they breathe

In hearts afire, there seems to be no way to see
Because you’re blinded by fear
If not today
Maybe tomorrow

There’ll be another solution…

Fly so high with me
‘cause like an eagle you’ll finally see
all the world
all the love…
you’ll see, you’ll see all the love…

With so many hungry, how can you throw it all away
You seem ungrateful to be
Free to create
Or to destroy

In a moment’s measure, the mirror tempts you to erase
The many tears in your eyes
Apology
Possibility

There’ll be another solution…

Fly so high with me
‘cause like an eagle you’ll finally see
all the world
all the love, for everyone

Fly so high with me
don’t be afraid to just let it be
all the world
all the love
do you see all the love?

Life is to be, just to be alive
Life is to be, just to be alive
Life is to be, just to be alive
Life is to be, just to be alive… (with fade out…)

©2002 Nothing So Right Music (all rights reserved)