Lifelines

June's album is a foray into all the melodies, riffs, and songs I have written over these many years that have stuck in my head and have personal significance. They return to my life and I record new versions over and over. These are all modern Secret Path versions (except The Ancient, and Lost at Sea demo version).....please enjoy!     Zelda's Hero

written, arranged, and performed by Lens Krafter and The Secret Path 5 

recorded and engineered by Flipping Pancakes at Spectral Studios 

mixed by Lens Krafter and Flipping Pancakes 

produced by Lens Krafter for Ancient Creative Entities LLC 

The Secret Path's cadre of helpful machines: Logic Pro X, SSL audio interface, 1978 Rhodes piano 88 key suitcase model, Korg Prophecy, Cordovox 'White Elephant', 1977 Gibson Grabber electric bass guitar, Acoustic Corporation 1973 Black Widow electric guitar, Acoustic Corp. 197? Black Widow fretless electric bass guitar, Optigan organ by Mattel (Mediterranean model), Aztec death whistle, 1977 Alvarez acoustic guitar, 1989 Seagull S6 acoustic guitar, MPC1000, Alesis electronic drum kit, Guzheng, Hohner melodica, autoharp, Moog Satellite, microKorg, human 

Lens Krafter: of course 

Radd Boggzz: drums 

Miles Kilometer: keyboards 

Spelle Krafter: harp, guitar 

Chieves Running: bass, recorder

The Pelican Song

A fitting final song for the June album, here is 'The Pelican Song'..... I wrote this one evening in San Diego while I was there for a good friends' wedding. I was sitting on this cool porch on a little cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, watching the sunset, watching a group of pelicans flying low in formation over the waves, surrounded by friends.....just me and my Seagull S6 acoustic guitar. Originally this song was called 'Friend', but a few years later I played it at a house party, and the next day someone told me "I really liked that pelican song that you played", and so it became 'The Pelican Song' from then on......a back to basics, (mostly) stripped down version, with acoustic guitar, bass, and voice. Partial arrangement credits to L. Allen

Link

The pelicans keep storming o'er the rocks

and the leverages on the waves can be a shock

I'd like for you to come and stay a while but

the shadows made me complicate my style

and I don't know why

we fall apart today

and I don't know how

to make that go away

and I don't know why

or how this thing will end

but I know you'll be my friend

Lost At Sea (Original 2006 Demo)

I've decided to include the original 2006 demo version of 'Lost At Sea' on the June album. I woke up one morning at 5:55 back in 2006, went down to my little home studio, and recorded these 6 tracks one after the other, without thinking about it. Took about 30-40 minutes. with synth, guitars, and voice! 

Check It!

The Secret Path 6

 Follow The Secret Path.................................

Lady Prism 7

The magnetic and mysterious Lady Prism's impressions of Lost At Sea....... 

Lost At Sea

As advertised, this track is all over the place! An epic journey with a tragic ending........filled with despair and madness; love and magic. Just like me..... featuring the Atlantic Ocean (via Ocean City, MD), guitars, organ bass, drums, synth, and voices carried on the wind over the endless waves......partial arrangement credits to R. Sharp and L. Allen. A crucial part of the soundtrack of my life, and the secret cry of my heart..... It's Here

In Rainbows 2

 Hi! Here is some more colorful stuff because I freakin' love rainbows!!!!!!!

Aged Ivory

The fourth song for our June album began its life during one of the rare jam sessions for the best band that never was, 'The Flow'......long ago in a distant galaxy known as 'The 90s' I played a version of this bass line, and it stuck in my head and periodically returns to this day. About 25 years ago, I recorded a version of this song as a hip hop beat, called 'Aged Ivory', and that has been its name ever since........with bass, drums, guitars, organ, and synth!

Check it out!

The Ancient

An ancient song written by infinity that is as old as time itself; this version was created using two humans, a 4 track cassette recorder, a Yamaha SU-10 sampler, a Korg Prophecy, and lsd 25 sometime in the mid to late 90s.....the master tape is long gone, so this version is a copy of a copy; a remnant of a remnant of a song that's been around forever. When we first created this song, I listened to it over and over, and slowly but surely it shut down all 1000 of the pathways of my internal dialogue, until I was gifted with sustained inner silence for the longest period of time in my life......I was literally nothing for hours on end, so when any one or anything was near me, I could see everything that they were so clearly because there was nothing else.....

listen carefully

Spectral Studios 8

 A little round robin of the current state of Spectral Studios.......lots of fun things to see here!

Lament of the Spider

 Song 2 for the 'Lifelines' album here in June 2024.....presenting 'Lament of the Spider'! Way back in high school I had eaten some special mushrooms one day, and at a certain point I picked up my generic, simple, plain wood Les Paul style electric guitar and lay down on my bed in the dark.....I started playing things, and eventually the guitar part for this song was created......I have used it many times over the years, including in a hip hop beat for a song that was at that time called 'The Moon Moves the Ocean'......here we have The Secret Path version, also with drums, bass, electric guitar, harpsichord, and synth......

Check it Out!

Mystery

 A special treat for June!! The universe has compelled me to make an album called 'Lifelines' this month, whereupon we visit old songs, melodies, bass lines, guitar riffs, etc., that we have written and recorded time and again over the years.....things that stick in our heads and return to the forefront of our consciousness from time to time......the first song here is called 'Mystery' and it began when I was much younger, living in the desert in Arizona.....I found a cassette for 25 cents in a bargain bin at a thrift store called 'Rosewood and Silver' that was a bunch of flute and acoustic guitar duets, and I sampled the main riff here to make a hip hop beat that we would freestyle over at parties and clubs.....we recreated that here with Mellotron and acoustic guitar, as well as drums, bass, Korg Prophecy, and synth.....now we present to you the modern day Secret Path version......... Enjoy!

Additional Gamer Art

 Hi friends!..... here is some additional artwork from the 'Gamer' sessions......lots of fun stuff going on here!......

Astral Record Player 6

 The triumphant return of the Astral Record Player!..... came across this bad boy at a random hotel in Washington DC. It was part of a display set up by M.org, an institution dedicated to raising awareness for the many excellent qualities of the letter M....... (their slogan is 'mmmmmmmm')....a very cosmic record (and player) as you can see, that has a colorful light display when its playing! This record is a promotional record for the organization that features several different versions of the 90s song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies, all performed by bands that start with the letter M, like Manhiem Steamroller, Maroon 5, Megadeth, and Mr. Bungle.....seeing and hearing felt educational, like an episode of Sesame Street hahaha!......