Some of them are inspired by the cover art of my pieces, other are the result of my incompetent dabbling with AI generated video. Particularly, in my Liquid Dreams series, I’m exploring the process of generating fantastic landscapes out of abstract images, like vivid dreams emerging from the myst of sleep.

Every Fragment, a page of my scrapbook, is available as a NFT, free to mint on Zora. You’re welcome to tear off a page and take it with you; you may also win some of my music limited editions in the process, since I plan to regularly have raffles for the Fragments holders.

I will regularly update this page as I add new Fragments to the collections so bookmark the page and come back often! :)

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/1

Inspired by the cover art of The Joy of Sailing Away

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/2

Inspired by the first of my Liquid Dreams, an improvised piece based on a sample of “The Joy of Sailing Away”

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/3

Inspired by the cover art of Oil and Water

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/4

Inspired by Liquid Dream No. 2, an ambient sketch where all the sounds are made by morphing a single sample from “Oil and Water”

“Oil and Water” emulsify two themes taken from previous Moods and Modes pieces: Marilyn for the slow section and Geronimo for the fast one.

https://skeeboo.bandcamp.com/track/2-oil-and-water

NFT Edition

I am releasing 25 digital copies of “Oil and Water” as limited edition NFTs on the platform sound.xyz, my second release after “The Joy of Sailing Away”.

All the revenue will be used to give life to a special edition (with a new mix, new master and new art) of the original piece “Marilyn” or “Geronimo” (the Golden Egg collector will choose which one). All the collectors will have access to the presale of every future releases and to a copy of Tableaux Electroniques. You can be part of the family by minting one of the 25 copies below:

nft://10/0x272679632D91fE9A76F88bB933235691caFcAD04/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true&size=small

Liquid Dream

“Liquid Dreams” are small ambient sketches where every sound is derived from a single sample, manipulated and warped like dreams do with our awake memories.

To create “Liquid Dream No. 2” I took a short audio clip from "Oil and Water" and subjected it to a series of transformations and manipulations, obtaining a series of sounds belonging to the same sound space as the original piece but at the same time distorted and dreamlike.

The short piece is available only on sound.xyz and collectors may win up to 5 editions of “Oil and Water”.

nft://10/0x77C2A421535Afef9EFF830e98E77010997E2E180/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true

Fragments

An uncanny animation of the cover art is one of the “fragments” inspired by the piece. This video clip is also available as a free NFT on Zora (collectors may win one edition of the “Oil and Water” piece:

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/3

While this is a video clip animating the cover art of the derived “Liquid Dream No. 2”. Like all Fragments, this is free to mint on Zora:

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/4

Update (2023-09-21): release of the second Fragment and conclusing thoughts

Me (and you)

First of all, nice to meet you!

If you care to know something more about me and my music, you may hop to my website or read this nice interview in the Alternative Friday blog (and maybe you’ll discover some new indie artist while you’re there!):

https://alternativefriday.com/2020/07/05/q-a-skeeboo/

If you’d like to say hi and tell me more about you, you may send me a DM on Twitter or Instagram or, better still, hop in my new Discord server and have a chat!

The Song

“The Joy of Sailing Away” is a downtempo sailing trip in the company of a flute, a couple of violins, and some raucous beats. The single is taken from my new album “Tableaux Electroniques” but it’s available also on every streaming site.

https://skeeboo.bandcamp.com/album/tableaux-electroniques

All the songs of the album are electronic remixes or recombinations of music taken from my lifelong project “Moods and Modes”.

Valeria, my 11-year-old younger daughter, has gifted me with a videoclip of the song, in her first ever video editing experiment. Indulge this proud dad and let me show it to you:

Limited Edition NFT

As my first toe-dip in the web3 waters, I released the song as a limited edition of 25 on Sound.xyz. By collecting it you can patronize the remastering and onchain release of one of the songs which I sampled for this piece: “For The Joy” or “Sail Away”: the Golden Egg winner will choose which one!

nft://10/0x42a9307b9CdAAe543272D10FF748cEe2C95e7e05/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true

Fragments and Liquid Dreams

The piece is also generating some derivative works in the form of Liquid Dreams (short improvisational pieces of music) or Fragments (small video clips). All these derivative works are published as free or very cheap NFTs, so they are the perfect point of entry if you want to be a part of my musical world.

Every “Liquid Dream” or “Fragment” collector will indeed get access to a reserved channel on Discord , to all future presales and will get a chance of winning editions of the song.

The fist work available is a Fragment inspired by the song (free to mint on Zora)

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/1

The second derivative work is “Liquid Dream No.1”, a short improvisation based on a sample from The Joy of Sailing Away.

nft://10/0x58C54C73e4E4D5446E8E69ab143E9B333C47f3CE/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true

And here’s the last one: a video clip Fragment inspired by the improvisation above, free to mint on Zora:

https://opensea.io/assets/0xA6A0B2e460b3AA01dbb73DFa0865598fA893BD6c/2

Conclusions (and beginnings)

There are some things of this first foray in onchain music (or what do you want to call it) that I really liked, some positive sensations that reignited the spark of creativity and the pleasure of sharing my music:

• the personal connection with the people that collected my works, and the new friends I made along the way. That’s so distant from the impersonal world of music streaming, and much more linked with the deep reason why I share my music (the hope that it could resonate in some way with the soul of a fellow human)

• the feeling of control on your cultural product: there are no middle men that impose formats, behaviours or correct ways to share: you can try (and maybe fail) on your own. And you can learn from your mistakes. What more could a man want?

So those are my conclusions but this is just the beginning. The Joy of Sailing Away is the first of a 3-part instrumental suite. Next step: Oil on Water !

The pieces are collected in volumes of 6-7 songs each, released on Bandcamp and on every streaming site.

The short pieces are also intended to be used as source material for extensions, recombinations and contaminations. So they are often subject to remixes, both by myself and by musician friends, spinning side projects like the recent album Tableaux Electroniques.

Bookmark (or collect!) this page and come back often if you’d like to join me on this exploration trip. Welcome to my musical world!

NFT Collections

All the tracks of the project will eventually be released as NFTs and find their permanent home on the blockchain. These are the different releases that will spin from the project:

• Every “Moods and Modes” piece will eventually be remastered and “eternalised” as 1of1 or limited edition NFT on Ethereum

• Every remix will be released as a limited edition on Sound.xyz on Optimism and the revenue will be used to remaster and publish the original songs.

• “Liquid Dreams” are small improvisations inspired by the remixed pieces released exclusively as open editions on Sound.xyz. “Fragments” are small video clips on Zora that document my experiences onchain, like a sort of digital scrapbook. Both “Liquid Dreams” and “Fragments” collectors will have access to all future presales and to a dedicated space to help shaping the project (a dedicated channel in my discord server). If you like what you are hearing, these are maybe the easiest point of entry to my musical world.

Volume I

“Moods and Modes vol. I” collects 6 pieces written in musical scales with less than 7 notes:

• For the Joy. Jump for the joy with this major pentatonic tune. Remix: The Joy of Sailing Away.

• Sail Away. Gently roll on a minor pentatonic boat. Remix: The Joy of Sailing Away.

• Geronimo. A hammond organ make the blues scale rock. Remix: Oil and Water.

• Marilyn. An electric piano makes the blues scale swing. Remix: Oil and Water.

• Sunrise on Mars. An alien synth salute the rising sun with a major pentascale tune. Remix: From Dusk Til Dawn.

• Autumn Sunset. A latin jazz mood inspired by a minor pentascale. Remix: From Dusk Til Dawn.

Volume II

“Moods and Modes vol. II” collects 6 pieces written in different flavors of the C major and A minor scales:

• Simple Dreams. A simple emotional sketch in C major.

• Serenidad. A serene latin dance in C major.

• Easy Goin’. A happy fiddle stroll in C major with a blue note.

• A Glimmer of Hope. A symphonic sketch in A minor.

• Scheherazade. An eastern vignette in A harmonic minor.

• Sound of Past Moments. Retro sounding rock in mixed minor mode.

Volume III

“Moods and Modes vol. III” collects 6 pieces written in D Dorian (one of my favorite modes) and F Lydian:

• Fanfare for a Jester. The renaissance flair of the Dorian mode

• Clouds on the Road. A minimalist piano piece in Dorian mode

• Door to Elsewhere. A jazz sketch in Dorian mode.

• Gentle Rain. A gentle ballad for winds in Dorian mode

• Liaisons Dangereuses. A soft waltz with a swing heart in Lydian mode

• Summer Sky. Ambient track in Lydian mode.

Volume IV

“Moods and Modes vol. IV” collects 6 pieces written in other modes without accidentals (well, mostly). The first 3 pieces are a short trip around the world, the other 3 a short trip inside a mind.

• Duende. A passionate piece with a spanish tinge in E Phrygyan

• Kurai Umi. A fantasy japanese trip along some dark waters in the Insen scale

• Ceilidh. A new take on a celtic jig in G mixolydian

• Changes. Subtle mood twists in B locrian

• Don’t Worry. A carefree swing track in C major blues

• No More Fears. A small rock anthem in A minor blues

Volume V

“Moods and Modes vol V” will explore the G major scale and the moods it suggests to me. Pieces released so far:

• Come Out and Play Again. A simple power pop ballad for complicated times

• Rags to Riches. A ragtime piece with a suspenceful twist

• Let’s Walk and Talk. An easy listening nostalgic piece

• Synesthesia. Dance to the sound of colors!

• Empathy. A cheesy pop song about caring for each others, in G Harmonic Major

• Serendipity. Happy surprises in troubled times, in G major and F lydian