These are some of the songs I've written or arranged in the recent past. Most recordings were done "at home" in some of the cities where I've lived during my latest travels. The great majority of them were recorded on portable BOSS digital machines, but lately I’ve been using a digital Recording Studio that includes some software called VSTs that beautifully reproduce the sound of pianos, trumpets, strings, drums and a whole set of other digital instruments. Included you may also find links to some short music videos I produced a few decades ago and to some videos showing some musicians performing their traditional songs in their own national environments. Finally, you may also find links to some well-known songs whose presence has been somewhat constant on my mind.

To listen to any of the songs, please click on the colored title. All songs and lyrics written by Salaroche, except for those marked with an asterisk (*)

Phoenicians (©Salaroche) Johannesburg, South Africa, February 7th, 2024. The Phoenicians were a Semitic tribe whose origins date from the 25th Century BC. They were originally settled mostly in what is now known as the country of Lebanon, but their habitat expanded to include what is now known as the country of Israel. The Phoenicians, who used to call themselves “Canaanites” because they came from their homeland of Canaan, were seafarers who specialized in trade, particularly trade with the salient civilizations of the time like Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, but also traded with other peoples along the Mediterranean coast, from the island of Cyprus and Southern Italy, all the way along the North African coast, down to the Iberian Peninsula. The Phoenicians don’t seem to have always had all-powerful kings. Their civilization was organized in independent city states with governments often influenced by oligarchies. Perhaps the most famous among those city states is Carthage, whose ruins are located in what is now known as the country of Tunisia. According to Legend, including Virgil’s Aeneid, it was Queen Dido who founded Carthage as she was running away from her tyrannic brother Pygmalion who ruled the city of Tyre (Lebanon). The most important legacy the Phoenicians seem to have bequeathed to the world is the oldest verified alphabet, which is related to, and seems to have been influential in developing, the Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets. Some historians claim the Phoenicians’ trade routes were essential in fostering the economic growth and the political and cultural development of Western Civilization. Phoenician influence in the area peaked around the 9th century BC, but it continued well into the 2nd century BC. I have somehow been interested in Phoenician history since my repeated visits to Greece between 2017 and 2021 and particularly since my visit to the island of Cyprus in January of 2019, but I gathered more insight into their cultural importance while living for a few months in the country of Morocco, Northwest Africa, this past 2023. To listen to “Phoenicians”, please click here.

Jennifer (©Salaroche) Remastered in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 20th, 2024. First recorded in Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, on May 14th, 2021.This little tune I wrote a few decades ago. I categorize it as “Old Time Rock & Roll”, with a style harking back to the early 60s, but with clear touches of Country Rock. Some Sax solos in it may have a certain Jazzy flavor to them, but that has to do with the different musical influences I’ve had over the years. “Jennifer” was inspired on a real-life girl I met a few decades ago while enrolled in a computer class at a college in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was just a spunky, good-looking, witty girl with a sense of humor I couldn’t help but like. I actually recorded the first verses of the song on a portable cassette player and gave a copy of it to her and she liked it. So we spent a whole semester sort of horsing around up until the Summer of that year, when school recessed and she had to go back home. But when September came along, I didn’t go back to school as I had already learnt the computer language I wanted to learn. Later that year I found out through Jennifer’s good friend Pat, that Jennifer hadn’t gone back to school either, as she had to stay back home for family reasons. The song “Jennifer” presents a vivid reflection of the memory I have of her. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. To listen to “Jennifer”, please click here.

Rattling the Beehive (©Salaroche). Johannesburg, South Africa, December 7th, 2023. This is yet another musical adventure. As usual, it all unfolded in a natural, spontaneous way: A new, pleasant musical form came to me while I was doing my dishes, so I went to my computer and wrote the notes down. Later, that musical form led to another, which led to the one that followed, which led to the next, etc., until at a certain point I had to figure out how to bring the whole project down to its end. Selecting what instruments to add is done almost instinctively and I take care of the instrument levels and the equalization as I go along. When I consider the piece finished, I do a fine, final retouching and I export it to the Mp3 format that you will listen to. I would like to again make it clear that the computer by itself DOES NOT do anything. I have to WRITE every single note that you will hear. I mean, I write every single note for the bass, the guitar, the drums, the horns, the strings, the piano, the organ, the bongos, etc. The computer only does what I tell it to do. It doesn’t do anything by itself. Here below I’m including a couple of graphics (screen shots) that show how I write the notes in my computer and how those notes look in the pentagram. Both those graphics are generated by the computer when I ask it to do it. To listen to “Rattling the Beehive” please click here. To see the graphics, please click here.

Essaouira Shuffle (©Salaroche). Essaouira, November 17th, 2023. This piece I wrote and produced entirely here in Essaouira. I conceived it gradually as a spontaneous cocktail, or quilt if you wish, or even as a smorgasbord of impressions blended, weaved, or mixed over a recurring rhythm. This is yet another piece I produced in a “write-as-you-go” fashion, meaning each consecutive movement is only the logical consequence of the previous one. Aside from the rhythm, not much else is premeditated in this piece. Actually, I never know in advance how this type of pieces will end, so that when I finally listen to the finished mix-equalization, I’m sometimes pleasantly surprised by the end result. I kindly dedicate this piece to the people of Essaouira, who have been quite friendly and welcoming to me and, according to my experience, are equally nice and welcoming to all the people who visit this peaceful seaside city. To listen to "Essaouira Shuffle", please click here.  

*My Small Tribute to The Father of Blue Grass: Bill Monroe (1911-1996). Essaouira, Morocco, October 25th, 2023. Bill Monroe wrote this song as some kind of waltz in 1945 and recorded it with his band "The Blue Grass Boys" the same year. The song was later recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957 and Paul McCartney has recorded his live version of it a few times, one of them during an MTV Unplugged program in 1991. Bill Monroe and his band are widely credited with creating the Blue Grass music genre, which is one of my favorite kinds of music that I have played extensively on my guitar while singing. Bill seems to have been an outstanding Mandolinist, which somehow explains the roots of Blue Grass. Blue Grass music is usually played with acoustic instruments including Mandolin, Dobro, Five-string Banjo, Steel Guitar, Double Bass, and Fiddle. The recording you’re about to listen to I recorded in my small apartment using a BOSS BR-600 mini-portable recording machine. The year was 2011 and at the time I was living in the seaside city and country of Djibouti, in Northeast Africa, right by the mouth of the Red Sea. I have included a link to a Photo Album in this Commentary thinking you might like to take a look at some of the pictures I took while living there. To listen to my version of “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, please click here. To view one of the photo albums I put together while living in Djibouti, please click here.

*We’ll Meet Again (©Charles-Parker) Remastered in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, on August 19th, 2023 First recorded in Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, on May 23rd, 2021. This is an English song dating from August of 1939. It was written by Hughie Charles and Ross Parker and was originally sung by Vera Lynn, a lady who passed away in June of 2020 at the age of 103. It was in September of 1939 that England and France declared war against the Germans after the latter invaded Poland in August of that year, so the song was used as a means to give hope to the English soldiers who had to go to the continent to fight the Nazis. “We’ll Meet Again” may be known to many as the ending theme for Stanley Kubrick’s movie “Dr. Strangelove”, which was released in the US in January of 1964. The song also served as the introductory theme for the Beatles Anthology, a documentary that was released in the US in October of 2000. Johnny Cash also recorded a version of it in 2002 but, as far as I know, it wasn’t a very popular one. I remembered the song back in May of 2021 while I was living in the small town of Kalives, so I decided to record it. The melody and the chord progression follow the same patterns Vera Lynn’s version follows, but the beat and the instrumentation constitute my own contribution to it. To listen to my version of “We’ll Meet Again” please click here.

Swakopmund Sling (©Salaroche) Remastered in Kochi, India, on July 6th, 2023. Firsr Recordced in Swakopmund, Eragon Region, Namibia, Southwest Africa, on June 24th, 2023. This is not really a song. The only way I can call this kind of music I have been writing and recording lately is “Musical Pieces”. The instrumentation I write entirely on my laptop using the keyboard and, whenever I think of a melody to sing, I record the vocals on my small, portable BOSS-BR800 digital recorder and then I transfer the vocals to my laptop. Some musician friends that I have talk to were surprised when I told them I have to write every single note using the laptop mouse and the keyboard. I explained to them that the computer does NOT do anything by itself, I must tell it how to do everything, from where the notes go, to the length of the notes, to the tempo, the volume, the equalization, the mixing, and the effects (if any). And this I have to do for each and every instrument I "play", from the Drums, to the horns, Bass guitar, saxophones, strings, flutes, keyboards, synthetic choirs, percussive instruments, etc. These pieces that I have been producing lately are not recorded in the way I used to produce songs in the past. For these pieces I am actually WRITING the notes, meaning, I am actually writing the partition, not playing those notes on any instrument. Think of any composer writing music on a pentagram and adding instruments to the music score as he/she sees fit. To give you an idea, here below I have put a link to a PDF page that lets you see, first, how the notes are written one-by-one on my laptop and, second, how those notes actually look on a pentagram. The notes on the pentagram are produced by a feature included in the recording software and are usually for printing purposes. The sections you will see are a just a couple of measures of “Swakopmund Sling”. Finally, this piece I named after the Namibian town where I presently am. To hear “Swakopmund Sling”, please click here. To view the computer writing and the partition, please click here.

Under Outlander Skies (©Salaroche). Remastered in Swakopmund, Namibia, on June 26th, 2023. First recorded in Barletta, Puglia, Italy, on May 18th, 2023 Try picturing yourself as a human asteroid, meaning, as some sort of freewheeling asteroid flying across the galaxies while most other people you meet are like planets or moons inexorably enslaved to an eternal orbit aound bigger, more commanding celestial bodies. In other words, picture yourself as someone who is almost always traveling around different places while most other human beings you encounter in your path are irresitibly bound to orbit around their particular ethnic, religious, cultural and nationalistic centers. If you have managed to picture yourself as such a human asteroid, then you and I could have a conversation about the subject of the human condition. There is basically nothing complicated about such asteroidal condition. It is actually something rather simple to explain. We could easily say that the asteroid-like human condition is not anchored anywhere, although we could also say that such condition is simply anchored everywhere. Take your pick as, in the end, both of them would apply. In the long run, what really matters is whether the asteroid path is the one for you to follow or not, which, in my case, it definitely is. Please note that once human asteroids find themselves walking around planet Earth, they become constant foreigners, otherwise known as outlanders. The piece you are about to listen to is just a short homage to all those human asteroids presently walking this Earth Under Outlander Skies, whose path you might cross on any given day, even if for whatever reason you may not be aware of such encounter. NOTE: The piece shouldn't sound too bassy or too bright. If it does, please adjust your Equalizer. All instrumental parts and lyrics written by Salaroche. To listen to "Under Outlander Skies", please click here. To read the lyrics, plese click here.

Patricia (©Salaroche). Remastered in Swakopmund, Namibia, on June 30th, 2023. First recorded in Barletta, Puglia, Italy, on March 28th, 2023. This was a song easy to conceive and relatively easy to record, but rather difficult to finalize. The initial inspiration for it came to me from an unfinished piece I had written for the guitar many years ago. The rest of the parts came to me as I was recording the first section. The difficulty in producing this piece was that, not long after I first started recording it, I also started moving again from one country to the next, so I could never take the time to continue working on it. Recently, however, something in the routine I have adopted here in Barletta told me the time to finish it had come, so, a couple of days ago, I hooked up my portable BOSS BR-800 and finally managed to record the vocals. Once that was done, doing the mastering was just a matter of a few hours. The name for the piece came to me when I came up with the bright female laughs and noises you will hear in the recording, which reminded me of Patricia, a friend I had many years ago. As almost usual, I wrote all the instrument parts and sang all the vocals. To listen to “Patricia”, please click here.

Rainy Day (©Salaroche). Remastered in Promajna, Croatia, on February 12th, 2023. Initially recorded at Salaroche's home studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, around 1988. I wrote this song one night that my ex-wife was away and it was raining outside. On hearing it for the first time, my friend Lyle Volkland, a rock lead guitarist, said out loud: “Burt Bacharach”, meaning he thought the song was somewhat along Burt’s style of writing. I didn’t think so, but Lyle’s remarks got recorded in my memory. The song features John Lisius on Trumpet and Dennis Freese on Clarinet. All other instruments and vocals by Salaroche. This song I recorded on an old 4-track analogue Fostex. To listen to "Rainy Day", please click here. To read the lyrics to the song, please click here.

The Ways of Love (©Salaroche). Remastered in Promajna, Croatia, on February 11th, 2023. Initially recorded at Salaroche's home studio in Summerland, California, in July of 1996. The inspiration for this song came to me from a few different sources, including some aspects of the mysticism involved in my Yoga practice. Overall, the lyrics reflect a real, palpable eye-opening moment in which I felt the power and the beauty of love in all its uplifting force. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. To listen to "The Ways of Love", please click here. To read the lyrics to the song, please click here.

Chanter Pour Toi (©Salaroche) Remastered in Promajna, Croatia, on February 8th, 2023. This little tune I wrote back around May of 2019 while living in the small city-port of Bar, in the country of Montenegro. The name may be translated into English as “To Sing for You”. A curiosity about this tune is the spontaneous way in which it came out. One early afternoon I was just practicing some chord progressions on the guitar when a melody in my mind started following the harmony. The melody and the chord progression made sense as they easily took the shape of a song. But I soon realized I had never heard that song before. So, I said “this song has to be mine”. After playing it a few times, I also thought I should put some lyrics to it and so, the words just started pouring out too. The curious thing is they started coming out in French, which is one of the languages I speak fluently. Later that day I tweaked a couple of things here and there and that is how “Chanter Pour Toi” became the fun little tune you can now listen to. The initial recording I did in my apartment in the town of Kalives, on the island of Crete, Greece, sometime in early 2021, using my small BOSS-BR800 portable little machine and the software Sonar Platinum, which I have installed in my computer. I also used some digital instruments called VSTs, which stands for “Virtual Studio Technology”. As usual, along with the guitar, I “play” all the other instruments you may hear and I sing all the vocals too. This is just a nice little tune that was floating around in the Montenegrin air that I was lucky enough to capture on my guitar on a peaceful sunny day. To listen to “Chanter Pour Toi”, please click here. To read the lyrics to the song, please click here.

Hélène (©Salaroche) Cua Duong Commune, Kien Giang Province, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, November 3rd, 2022. This piece is dedicated to Hélène, my ex-wife. Frankly, of all the blessings the Universal Forces may have granted me thus far, meeting Hélène is up there at the top of the list. No doubt both of us grew as human beings living together, but it is while sharing my life with her that I learnt so many important things about myself and humanity in general. Actually, the success I attained in my transcendental-philosophical quest was in very essential ways due to her entire support in my efforts and for that I will always be deeply thankful to her. Not only is she a beautiful woman (all her female friends call her “la Belle Hélène”, which in English means “Hélène the Beautiful”) but she’s also a woman with a remarkable cinematic, philosophical and literary depth, to the point that some of the books she has written are used as required readings in some reputable American universities. Tell me if I’m not a lucky one in having met her? I am. To listen to “Hélène”, please click here.

Phuket (©Salaroche) Patong, Phuket, Thailand, September 6th, 2022. This is definitely the last song I will have written and recorded here in Phuket, as tomorrow Wednesday I'll be catching a metallic bird out of here. Actually, this may well be the last song I’ll ever write here in Thailand, as I don’t know whether I’ll set foot on Thai soil ever again (9 times should be enough) Thus far, I'm very glad to say that my 4-month stay on this island has been mostly calm and pleasant. In case you didn’t know, the main attractions here in Phuket are the warm weather, the beaches, boat-trips to the other islands, meeting locals and foreigners and some water sports. Then there’s the abundance of alcohol in almost every corner and a good variety of food everywhere too, particularly some fresh, delicious, local seafood. Finally, there’s the proliferating Marihuana bars, now that pot is legal in Thailand and, last but not least, the availability of sex any time of day and late into the night. I stopped smoking pot decades ago and, now that I’m nearing the completion of my three quarters of a century on this planet, I no longer drink much alcohol nor eat much junk stuff either. The rest of the attractions are just part of the freedom of knowing they’re available, but aren't necessary at the top of my daily-consumption list anymore. As this song was almost finished yesterday, I still didn’t have a name for it, so I decided to name it “Phuket” as a means to remember the pleasant days I’ve spent on this island over the past few months. To listen to “Phuket”, please click here.

Gigi+ (©Salaroche) Patong, Phuket, Thailand, August 24th, 2022. This is one of those pieces I just pulled out of thin air. Just another one of those songs I call “write as you go”. It has a central melody but, overall, it is largely an “improvisational” piece. I first wrote the main piano section and then added the drums, base, tenor sax and strings sections to it. The conga part came later and, after that, the piece “naturally” evolved into a jazzy rhythm with the consequent sax and electric piano solos. But there was still something missing to it, so I added a melody to the introductory piano section. The thing is that, while listening to the ensemble as I had recorded it that far, the melody brought back to my mind the clear memory of a lovely girlfriend I had back around 1976 whose name was Georgia, but we all knew her as Gigi. So, I decided to name the song after her, with the “plus” sign referring to the jazzy section in the song. At a certain point, I thought the piece was worth finishing, so I added a second short melody in the middle, branched everything to the final section and, Voila¡ Here you have it. To listen to "Gigi+", please click here.

Seven Jewels (©Salaroche) Patong, Phuket, Thailand, August 8th, 2022. (Remastered in Swakopmund, Namibia, Southwest Africa, on June 29th, 2023) It seems like the older we get, the more some memories keep springing up in our mind. In my case, it could well be that, since these days I have more time on my hands to let the mind wander wherever it wants to go, my thoughts often take me back to some particular, determinant moments I have lived in the past. “Seven Jewels” is a piece based on a short melody I used to play on the harmonica back in the Spring of 1970. I never sang or played that melody on the guitar or any other instrument but, curiously enough, I never forgot it either. During that Spring, I was living in a small commune in the middle of a coffee plantation, on the skirts of the extint St. Vincent volcano, in the country of El Salvador. In Central America, and in other tropical areas of the world, many extint volcanos are covered with very fertile soil, which is the reason that they plant coffee and other crops on their slopes. In the early 70s, the civil war in El Salvador was still some 10 years away, so life could still be enjoyable over there, provided you were fortunate enough not to be part of the exploited classes. The plantation used to belong to a friend of mine who embraced the “Peace and Love” movement of the time and opened the doors of her property to a small number of us and whoever else wanted to visit us, who sometimes were many. Our social experiment lasted for about three or four months only, but it was a very intense experience to many of us, particularly because of the books we used to read and the conversations we used to have, which often revolved around yoga and eastern philosophies in general. The plantation grounds went a good distance up the skirts of the volcano, so it was large enough for us to take long walks among the small coffee trees whenever we wanted. I used to go uphill early in the afternoon and come back down before sunset and it was during those walks that I used to play this tune on the harmonica. The name of the coffee plantation was “Siete Joyas”, which in English means “Seven Jewels”, hence the name of the song. My friend sold the plantation about a year after our social experiment and I don’t think any of us ever set foot on those grounds again. She passed away about five years ago and of all the friends that lived permanently in the plantation during that Spring, the only one who remains alive is me. At the moment I don’t have a VST that reproduces the sound of a harmonica well enough so, to record the main melody, I used the sound of a digital Pan Flute instead. To listen to “Seven Jewels”, please click here.

Memories (©Salaroche) Patong, Phuket, Thailand, July 26th, 2022. This piece is a medley of two songs I wrote back in the early 1970s. I began recording it while living on the island of Zanzibar (Unguja) in Tanzania, East Africa, around September of 2021 but, because of my travels and other reasons, I shelved the project in a folder in my computer. Around March of this year, while living in the town of Ancona, on the Adriatic coast of Italy, I started working on it again, but my computer played a dirty trick on me and somehow erased a good number of measures in the recording. This incident was sort of discouraging to me, so I shelved the project once again. But now I've been rather sedentary for three months here in Phuket and, about a week ago, I managed to gather enough inspiration to start working on it one more time and was finally able to finish it yesterday. The first section of the medley, which back in the 70s I had named “The Beauty of It All”, I wrote using a six-string guitar thinking I should record it using a twelve-string guitar and, although I never did it, I never forgot the song either. The second section, which is some sort of minuet, I wrote on the piano of a friend of mine who had a baby-grand in her home’s personal bar. That song never had a name but, still, I also never forgot it. My living in Zanzibar was slow and easy, which is the kind of circumstance that may allow for some old pleasant memories to slip back into our conscious, and that’s how “Memories” began to take shape. Both those short pieces came back to me separately in the span of a week or so but, given that both of them are short, I decided to arrange them together. The intermediate parts you will hear I wrote only as links between the two songs and between the tempo changes. To listen to “Memories”, please click here.

*Girl (©Lennon-McCartney) Remastered in Phuket, Thailand on June 18th, 2022. "Girl" is a song written mostly by John Lennon that was credited to Lennon-McCartney because of contractual arrangements between the two of them. It was part of the album “Rubber Soul”, which was released in the US in early December 1965. I clearly remember listening to that LP several times in a row the day I got my hands on it later that month. I remember at first I didn’t exactly know what to make of it. It was definitely not the kind of music I was expecting from the Beatles. I wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed in them or just puzzled by their new approach to their music. I thought somehow their “cheerfulness” was yielding to something else and at first I didn’t know what that something else might be leading to. It took me some time before coming to terms with their new style, but a couple of days down the line I had already realized there were definitely some very good songs in it. Just recall that "Michelle", "Norwegian Wood" and "Nowhere Man" were included there. The thing is the Beatles were simply maturing and their maturity was clearly coming through in their music. “Girl” is a song I thought was particularly unusual and maybe that’s the reason that, since those days, it got imprinted in my memory in an indelible way. The arrangement you will hear I “wrote” in a very spontaneous manner one night I was performing at “Chez Yves”, a Nightclub-Restaurant where I played 6 nights a week for almost a year while living in Paris, France, back in 1980. For those of you who are familiar with that city, “Chez Yves” used to be located in the Rue Tournefort, which runs parallel to the Rue Mouffetard, near the Place de la Contrescarpe, in the 5eme Arrondissement. It was a place where they served French and Brazilian food, but the bar where I performed used to stay open until dawn. I played there as a soloist singer-guitarist every night, except Sundays, and I usually started performing around 11:30 PM. During those days I used to use a rhythm machine that was very easy to manipulate, and even though I had a selected series of rhythms already programmed in it, I also used to improvise rhythms at random whenever I thought the audience would be willing to go along with me in testing something new. So, one night, as I had already started playing “Girl” with a different beat, I stopped, quickly programmed the rhythm machine to reproduce that rhythm, and played the whole song in it. And the audience liked it. So, I kept that song with that particular arrangement as part of my repertoire. That rhythm, by the way, turned out to be a Cuban rhythm called “Guaguancó”. But as summer came and I went down to the French Riviera and performed there without the aid of my rhythm machine, eventually that arrangement fell through the cracks of time until one afternoon in early 2021, when I decided to record it using my small, portable recording machine and my limited digital software. At that point in time I was living in the small seaside town of Kalives, on the Northwest coast of the island of Crete, in Greece. The final version you will hear came out a bit jazzier than the original version I first played in Paris in 1980, but the concept and the rhythm are the same. As usual, I “play” all the instruments and sing all the vocals. To listen to my version of “Girl”, please click here.

Sylvia (©Salaroche) Remastered in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, on June 25th, 2022. First recorded in Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, February 16th, 2021. This is a Samba song I wrote circa 1985 while living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I wrote it with a drum player named Sylvia in mind, as she was and still is an excellent musician. One day she moved to New York where she eventually became well known in the Jazz scene over there. No doubt she deserves any recognition she might get for her talents. I, for one, acknowleged her uniqueness a few decades ago by writing this song inspired entirely on her early work. Sylvia and I recorded the song live back then with the help of a very good sax player named Ken, but eventually those tapes got lost in time. I never forgot that song, so last week I decided to record it again all by myself. The recording I did almost entirely on my computer using Sonar Platinum, a virtual studio software. I "played" all the instruments on my computer using some VSTs that reproduce sounds for piano, bass, guitar, drums, congas and brass plus some additional effects too. The vocals I recorded using a small, portable BOSS BR-800 machine. I recorded everything here in my studio in Kalives, while sitting at my desk overlooking the Aegean Sea. The song is entirely a product of my inspiration, music, lyrics and everything else.

It’s O’Rite (©Salaroche) Remastered in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, on June 23rd, 2022. First recorded in Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, February 16th, 2021. This is a song I wrote in December of 2020 while living in the small town of Almyrida, which is also located here on the island of Crete, not far from the town of Kalives. I have always liked country songs, dating all the way back to Hank Williams’ music, so one day I decided it was high time for me to write something along those lines, and that is how “It’s O’Rite” came out. For the lyrics I just thought of the general feeling I have developed travelling through 50 countries across 4 continents over the past 18 years, picking up my bags every so often to go to yet another country, province or village, and how after a while it all seems like reprising the same old story. After all, in spite of the different cultures, languages and nationalities there may exist, in the end we all draw our feelings, longings, passions and reactions from the same old pool of human conditions. But please don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of beauty in the human condition too, enough to inspire travelling bards like myself to write some little tunes every now and then. As almost usual, I “play” all the digital instruments involved in this recording and I record both vocals too, including the high-pitch one. Like 99% of my songs, this piece is entirely a product of my inspiration, music, lyrics and everything else.

Rumble (©Salaroche) Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania, December 5th, 2021. If, on a daily basis, you witnessed how a beloved friend or relative of yours was steadily going down the road to ruin, constantly inflicting serious harm on herself, would you just stand aside and become a simple, uncaring, detached witness to her self-destructive behavior? Or, would you try to do something about it? And, if there were really nothing you could do to help her, wouldn’t you at least try to warn her of the perilous road she has taken? I would. And I’m sure many of you would too. The piece you’re about to listen to represents my tiny two cents in warning my beloved USA of the dangerous road the country has taken of late. A road that will not lead America to its demise anytime soon, certainly not tomorrow or the day after. No, the American Apocalypse is not knocking at the door yet. As history shows us, empires don’t usually fall in a matter of days, months, years or, sometimes not even in decades. However, from my international perspective, I can see the serious, steady erosion the American Democratic System is suffering at this point in time. I can see how the Republicans are getting ready to stage other January-6-style efforts to overturn any electoral process that doesn’t bring their candidates to power, be it in 2022, 2024 or in any and all other elections thereafter. The troubling thing in all of this is the apparent absence of concern about it that prevails in the general American population. I have friends in California whose discernment is undeniably much above-average that are still unable or unwilling to see the imminent existential threat the Republican Party presently poses to American Democracy. In case you haven’t realized it yet, the Republicans couldn’t care less about our Democratic system. Keeping America as a Republic is all they really care about. But a Republic is not always supposed to be a Democracy too. Just look at “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, which is in no way “Democratic”, but is indeed a Republic, as it is not a Kingdom of any sort (would you like to live in a Republic like North Korea?) Or just check out “The People’s Republic of China”, which is indeed a Republic, although, quite unlike North Korea, doesn’t have any pretentions of being a Democracy. The ideal government the Republicans have in mind for the United States is somewhat similar to the one they have in China, although definitely not exactly the same. What the GOP leadership wants for America is a plutocratic, authoritarian, entirely pro-market, one-party system with marked Darwinist overtones. So please consider yourselves hereby entirely warned. Just let the Republicans get away with their nefarious wishes and that’s where our beloved United States will end: A China-style, authoritarian, cut-throat capitalist, undemocratic country. About “Rumble” all I can say is it is yet another “as I walk” kind of production. I first had a certain bass line in mind that I recorded on my computer. Then I started adding drums and other percussion on top of it. Next, I experimented with some synthesizers and other digital sounds untill I found something that fit the project and then I thought of some lyrics for it. In the end, the final result didn’t sound much like the idea I had in mind when I first started working on it, but since the results were rather pleasant, I decided to share it with you. To listen to “Rumble”, please click here. To read the lyrics, please click here.

Swahili Swing (©Salaroche) Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania, November 21st, 2021. It’s been approximately three months since I first set foot on this island and, thus far, I can certainly attest that life around here is mostly pleasant and easy. “Hakuna Matata”, we all say around here, which in Swahili language basically means, “no problem”. This little tune is supposed to reflect that general feeling of easygoingness that prevails in these whereabouts. Actually, that’s supposed to be the widespread feeling prevailing across the whole Swahili coast, which goes from south of the border between Kenya and Somalia all the way down to the border between Tanzania and Mozambique. Included in that area is, of course, the Zanzibar archipelago, namely the islands of Unguja, where I’ve been living, Pemba and Mafia, although included in the cluster there are also other islands. The northwest shoreline of the island of Madagascar is also part of the Swahili coast. There are coconut trees all over the place around here and some locals sell their coconuts in improvised stands scattered around downtown. This makes it that I’ve already grown sort of accustomed to drinking coconut water and eating coconut meat on a daily basis, sometimes even twice or three times a day. Just picture that the daily temperature on this island is usually 32°C (89.6°F), so just imagine how cooling some fresh coconut water would be. There are also plenty of Almond trees all over the place, with their leafy branches extended like canopies over the white-sand beaches. And that's the simple day-to-day scenery that inspired the little tune you're about to hear. When listening to it, therefore, try picturing yourself sitting by the beach on a comfortable chair under the pleasant shade of an Almond tree, with coconut trees scattered around you, contemplating the local traditional wooden fishermen and tourist-carrying boats floating on the crystal-clear, emerald-and-turquoise waters of the Zanzibar channel, while you enjoy a tasty and refreshing passionfruit Mojito. Welcome to Zanzibar. To listen to “Swahili Swing”, please click here. To read the lyrics to the song, please click here.

The Sun Shines on the Waves (© Salaroche) Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania, November 1st, 2021. This is yet another production I categorize as a “Musical-Digital Adventure” (Please read the text for the previous song “ZanZix”) My reason for categorizing it that way is that, before the final product revealed itself to me in the present form, I didn’t know how it would all turn out to be. The only clear idea I had in mind as I began working on this project about a week ago, was the rhythm or beat I wanted to use: a 6/4. But the 6/4 I had in mind had a slight syncopated twist. 6/4 is usually used for waltzes or other compositions along those lines, but, in my view, the last thing “The Sun Shines on the Waves” has is any resemblance to any waltz. The inspiration for this little piece I got it from watching the light of the Sun reflected on the small waves that gently caress the shores of the Zanzibar channel, which is directly connected to the colorful Indian Ocean. There’s a certain joy that, on sunny days, radiates from those waves and I think this song’s melody sort of reflects some of it. As it all turned out, this is yet another song I’ve written for saxophones. The lead melody is played by an Alto and some additional parts and solos are played by a Tenor. There’s an Alto, or Western Concert flute, involved too. I’m assuming it’s perfectly understood to you that these are all digital instruments whose sounds are generated by software nowadays known as VSTs, or Virtual Studio Technology. VSTs by themselves don’t do much. They don’t automatically produce melodies, rhythms or anything of that sort. For each of my songs, I actually have to write the partition for each instrument, from the bass to the drum cymbals, passing by the flutes, pianos and saxophones, note by note, except that I write those notes with my computer keyboard and in a particular digital format that forms part of the Digital Recording Studio software. In my view, the Sonar Platinum Digital Recording Studio is a real marvel. To listen to “The Sun Shines on the Waves”, please click here.

ZanZix (©Salaroche) Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania, October 25th, 2021. This is a piece I thought of recording just 3 or 4 days ago. Initially, the only clear thing I had in mind was the rhythm. Then I had a vague idea of how the saxophone part would go and how the piano part should be. I also knew I would have to include some percussion solos, but I didn’t know where in the piece I was going to put them or exactly what instruments would play them. It was a pure musical, digital adventure. In the end, the result was not bad at all, so I decided to upload it to my website. The name “ZanZix” is an acronym for Zanzibar and Six, with a little spelling twist. Zanzibar because that’s the name of the archipelago where I’ve been living for the past six weeks or so, and six because the song’s rhythm is in a measure usually known as six-eight (6/8) The fact is I’ve been listening to some songs in that rhythm playing over the sound systems in some restaurants and other places I’ve thus far visited here in Stone Town. There’s nothing new to that rhythm. Actually, there’s no longer anything new to any rhythm we may hear anywhere. In this sense, everything has already been said and done. Guys like me, who across the decades have always liked to hear and play all kinds of ethnic music, and most particularly those of us who have travelled rather widely across four different continents (49 countries and counting) have been exposed to basically all possible existing rhythms. At this point in time, therefore, there’s basically nothing we may hear that may be a total novelty to us. We may encounter any number of hybrid or “fusion” rhythms, but we may no longer find ourselves one day saying “I’d never heard that rhythm before”. The Greeks and, sometimes, the Arabs, sometimes play songs in rhythms that mix 4/4, 3/4, 7/4 or even 11/4 measures, but those are what I call “hybrid” rhythms, and they’re no longer anything new to me. Over there in America, be it on the whole continent at large or along the Caribbean coasts in particular, we have the pervading influence of African rhythms, all of it a legacy of the slave trade. For example, the rhythms they play in the islands of Aruba, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Cuba are directly related to the rhythms they still play here in Tanzania, or in Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa, among others. The same can be said about most of the rhythms they play in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama. Even the Tango of Argentina has some African roots. Obviously, the United States, being the so-called melting pot that it is, couldn’t afford to shield itself from the pull and the magnetism those rhythms exert over all human beings, and so it is that over there we developed what we now call “Brazilian Jazz” or “Latin Jazz” or even “Latin Rock”, as in the kind of music popularized by Santana. All those rhythm fusions, of course, have clear foundations in African rhythms. But I don’t want to get carried away with big names and big historical cultural migrations. This little piece is just a musical experiment that in the end turned out OK, so here it is. To listen to ZanZix, please click here.

*Diana, Denito & Salaroche (Video) Diani Beach, Kwale County, Kenya, August 29th, 2021. After writing and recording the song “Consolata” (to listen to it, please click here) the word that I’m a musician songwriter has spread fast in my closest whereabouts. As a result, sometimes I come out to the front garden of my resort just to hear someone asking me whether I’m the one who wrote and recorded that song. Today, it was Denito who asked me that question. It turns out Denito is a Kenyan singer-bass-player-guitarist-piano-player, so we ended up making some music together. The song Denito is singing in this video is called "Stella Wangu", and it's a well-known piece here in Kenya. The language he's singing in is Kiswahili. The song was originally written by a Kenyan songwriter named Freshly Mwamburi for a real-life Kenyan woman named Stella Wangu, both of whom are still alive and well. The song tells the story of Stella who was Freshly’s platonic love and was a student at the University of Nairobi. But Stella wanted to go abroad, so she went to Japan to continue her studies over there. The thing is that, a couple of years later, on July 17th, 1992, when Freshly went to the airport to greet Stella at her return to Nairobi, she showed up with her four-feet-tall Japanese husband (see picture here) Freshly was broken-hearted for some time, but eventually he forgave her and wrote the song for her. At the present time, Stella and Freshly are still friends and still talk over the phone from time to time. It seems that nowadays there's some sort of a tradition in Nairobi whereby people go to Nairobi's airport every July 17th to sing that song. The woman that appears in the video dancing and taping us with her phone is Diana, a Kenyan Tuk-Tuk maker (Tuk-Tuk= 3-wheeled motorcycle-taxi) who also happens to have been a professional boxer. The whole encounter was quite entertaining to the three of us and this video reflects the fun we had. To watch the video in question, please click here.

Consolata (©Salaroche) Diani Beach, Kwale County, Kenya, August 26th, 2021. This is a song I wrote and recorded over the past three or four weeks here in Diani Beach. It was actually ready a couple of weeks ago, but my short trip to Amboseli National Park and other related issues kept me from uploading it before. This morning I just added a couple of drum licks here and there, did a final equalization on it and here it is. The song is inspired in Consolata, the Kenyan woman in charge of keeping in good shape the Diani Star Resort where I’m staying. The name Consolata is actually a word in Italian that means “comforted” or “consoled”. Consolata is a very kind and attentive person whose friendliness was a very inspiring muse to write this tune. To listen to “Consolata”, please click here. To read the lyrics and some information about the terminology used in Consolata, please click here.

Be My Love (©Salaroche) Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, April 30th, 2021. Are we all supposed to start remembering our 20s and 30s when we reach our 70-somethings? Is such phenomenon as widespread as to happen to everyone my age and older? Don’t know how universal such thing is, but it’s certainly happening to me these days. Could I be experiencing this instead because of the rolling lockdowns I’ve been under and the general restrictions on movement that keep me tied here in Greece? Not that I’m complaining about being literally beached here. This is a beautiful country and the great majority of people here are very friendly to foreigners so, maybe it's all a combination of age and circumstance. But, what me worry? The thing is “Be My Love” is a song I wrote 50 years ago and it’s a song that was never part of my repertoire when I was an on-and-off performer back in the 80s and 90s, but it’s a little piece I’ve never forgotten. So, while I was working on another recording project a couple of weeks ago, all of a sudden I thought of “Be My Love”, but with a totally different rhythm. Actually, the whole song came back to me as if it were a different concept. Given that this song already had some mystical things attached to it, I told myself I should record it again. You see, the lyrics to this song came to me in my sleep, while I was taking a nap one Saturday afternoon back in the spring of 1971. Earlier that day I had been struggling trying to come up with somehing to say that would fit the melody, but at one point I just gave up. I said "well, maybe another day", and went for a nap. But when I woke up some 30 minutes later I had the full lyrics for the song clearly spelled in my mind. So I quickly went back to my living room and picked up my guitar, but there was something different going on. The version of "Be My Love" I heard in my sleep was in a different key. The first version, the original one, was in AM7 (A major 7th) but the version in my dream was in CM7 (C major 7th) and the beat was different too. It was the same song, but it was arranged differently. Something similar happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I remembered the song, but with a totally different rhythm and with a completely different arrangement. In addition, once I started recording it, a couple of new parts sprang up too. The result, therefore, would be a bit surprising to some of those old friends of mine who heard the 70s version. But the whole project turned out good enough to share it here, so, since all is well that ends well, or at least acceptably so, here it is. To listen to "Be My Love" please click here.

Aviva El Seso (©Salaroche) Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, March 31st, 2021. What better time to sit down in front of my computer to record some music than during Covid lockdown? The pandemic situation is not extreme here in “my” small town of Kalives, or even on the island of Crete, or even at large in the country of Greece, for that matter. At least not as bad as it may be in parts of my beloved California and elsewhere in the US, or in Czechia, Sweden or Brazil. And I say this without the slightest tinge of schadenfreude in my heart. The fact is I’m here in Greece because the Southeast Asian countries I would like to go to are closed to foreign visitors. But I’m not complaining either. Crete is a beautiful island and Greek people couldn’t be any nicer and welcoming to foreigners. Just picture that here most people are quite happy to speak to you in English. So, with all that free lockdown time in my hands, what better entertaining endeavor than to record my own songs? “Aviva El Seso” is a piece I wrote sometime back in 1972-73, while living in the city of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Back in those days you could still say the living was nice and easy over there. Not anymore. All those Central American countries, except for Costa Rica, have basically gone down the drain, mostly because of extreme gang violence or excessive authoritarianism in Nicaragua. Costa Rica, by the way, is today one of the most stable democracies in the world, much more stable than the one we have in the United States. Over there, everybody's quite happy with their democratic system, which is far from being the case in our beloved America. I’ve been to Costa Rica a few times and I’ve always liked it. But this song was inspired in El Salvador. I wrote it in Spanish, which is one of the four languages I speak fluently. I wrote it one night, 48 years ago, when I came back home after partying at a place where there'd been an orchestra playing Salsa music and I just told myself “why not write a song in one of those rhythms?” and so I did. The funny thing is one day, about a couple of weeks ago, as I was writing something on my computer, I remembered the whole song, harmony, melody and lyrics in its entirety, so I said “I should record this thing”. And here it is. In English, “Aviva el Seso” means something like “wake up” or “wise up” or “open your eyes to whatever is happening”. Aviva el Seso is not a popular phrase in Spanish, I got it from a poem by Jorge Manrique, a Spaniard who walked this Earth around the middle of the 15th century. I didn’t write this little piece with anyone in particular in mind. I just thought I should try to make it sound like a Colombian, Panamanian, Cuban or Venezuelan Salsa, which is a cluster of Caribbean rhythms that have plenty of African influence in them. As it turned out, I think I did manage to make it sound that way. To listen to “Aviva El Seso”, please click here.

Lena & The Beach Girls (©Salaroche) Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, March 9th, 2021. Malaysia is one of the 16 countries I have lived in and one of the 47 I have been to. I spent a few months there in the Spring of 2013 and I still have very good memories of those days. I don’t play Ukulele, but I sort of wrote a song playing one, with the help of Lena, a Malaysian girl who was living in a tent on the beach with some other girls of different nationalities. I spent a few happy days in Batu Ferringhi, the small town where Lena was camping out, but none of it would have been possible without the smart intervention of Eslan, a Malaysian guy who co-owned with his brother the small hotel where I was staying, “Lazy Boys”. By the way, the song "Lena & The Beach Girls" came out with some sort of "Ragtime" rhythmn along with some influences from Bluegrass music. To see a photo album showing the beaches of Batu Ferringhi and to meet Lena and the Beach Girls, please click here. To hear the song I wrote there, please click here.

WindRiding (©Salaroche) Kalives, Crete Island, Greece, February 26th, 2021. This is a song I wrote and recorded at home while living in a small town in the province of Gyeongsangbukdo, South Korea, sometime around the year 2006-2007. This is just a remastered version of the original recording, except that I added a Maraca to it. By "Maraca" I mean and empty beer can wih some raw rice in it. The song has a central, recurring theme, but it is mostly a series of improvisational movements. The recording and the interpretation are quite far from perection but, then again, so am I.

*Skadarlija, Belgrade, Serbia. (video) Bar, Montenegro, May 3rd, 2019. Something I instinctively have always looked for in most of the 44 countries I have been to is cultural identifiers such as local architecture, archeological sites, local cuisine and, of course, local music. Naturally, on my recent trip to Belgrade, Serbia, I repeatedly inquired with the locals as to where could I go have some typical local food and where could I go listen to some Serbian music. And everyone who had an opinion about it pointed me to the pedestrian zone of Skadarlija, both for the food and for the music. So, one night I went to have dinner there. The video you’re about to see shows a small group of diners surrounded by a group of musicians playing local music. In all frankness, some of the music those musicians were playing sounded quite similar to the music I’d heard a few times at Plaza Garibaldi, in Mexico City, a few decades ago. I taped this little video with my photo camera on April 20th, 2019.

*Some Romanian Folklore. (Video) Bucharest, Romania, September 1st, 2017. I taped this video in a restaurant in a district called “Old Town”, in the city of Bucharest, Romania, in August of 2017. In the first part the dancers are dancing to some recorded music and in the second part they’re dancing to the music played by the quintet performing live on stage. Please notice the Cimbalom, a stringed instrument similar to the Dulcimer, whose origins seem to date from 10th century Middle East. Cimbaloms, as well as some Dulcimers, are played by hitting the strings with some sort of small hammers. The song and dance performance is staged to entertain the restaurant’s dinner customers who at some point in the evening are invited to join the dancers on stage.

*Nepali Music II. (Video) Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, January 8th, 2017. This is a second music video I recorded in Thamel, a well-known neighborhood in the city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. During my 10-day stay I also heard a few other styles of music there, such as a Nepali-Jazz and Nepali-Rock fusions. Next time I go to Kathmandu I’ll make sure I record some of those.

*Nepali Music I. (Video) Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India, January 8th 2017. Walking up and down the streets of Thamel, a small well-known neighborhood in the city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, scouting around for things to do on Christmas Eve, I came across a group of Nepali guys having fun, playing local music at a small bar-restaurant, having a few drinks complemented with some hors d’oeuvres. So I went ahead and taped them.  

Lena & The Beach Girls (©Salaroche) (Video) Batu Ferringhi, Penang Island, Malaysia, May 25, 2013. This little tune is inspired on a special moment I spent at the beach in Batu Ferringhi, as I had just met Lena and her beach-dweller girl-friends. I actually wrote the song on Lena's Ukulele, but I don't play that instrument in the recording; my Malay friend Aslan plays it. All other instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*Love’s Been Good to Me (©Rod McKuen) Shanqin Bay, Hainan Island, China, March 29, 2013. The moment I first paid attention to the lyrics of this song I identified myself with it. While recording it live in my apartment yesterday, I just substituted the adverb “seldom” for its sibling “never”, so that the song would better fit my particular case. Not many things can be as pleasant to a constant traveler as having the good fortune to find amiable ladies along his way. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Attachments (©salaroche). (Video) Hong Kong, August 27, 2012. Recorded in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Central Asia, on August 20, 2012. This is not a song, but since it is an audio file, I decided to include it here anyway. I recorded it while I was waiting for my computer to restart after a failed attempt. Under those circumstances, I switched on my recording machine and recorded whatever came to mind. The result was a spontaneous bird's-eye view explication of one of the basic premises of Jnana Yoga. Transcript.

Golden Apples (©salaroche). Hong Kong, August 27, 2012. Written and recorded in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Central Asia, on August 14 - 19, 2012. This song is a clear product of my not having any obligations or any better thing to do for a whole week. It's all pure technical imagination with not much real inspiration involved. Nevertheless, since the final result didn't sound so bad, here it is. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics.

Recuerde El Alma Dormida (©Salaroche). Hong Kong, August 27, 2012. Written and recorded in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Central Asia, on August 5, 2012. This is a melody I wrote specifically to fit the lyrics of a poem written by the Spaniard Jorge Manrique back in 1476. I learnt the poem by heart sometime in the early 1950s and have never been able to forget it. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics.

*Can't Find My Way Home (©Stevie Winwood). Recorded in Djibouti City, Djibouti, East Africa, sometime in late May 2012. This is a spontaneous recording of a song made famous by the group Blind Faith back in 1969. The lyrics reflect the state of mind I was in during those days. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*Moliendo Café (©José Manzo Perroni). Recorded in Djibouti City, Djibouti, East Africa, on May 15, 2012. I've been playing this song for well over three decades now, but I'd never played it with the beat in which I recorded it this time around. The recording was made "live", which means it consists of one single guitar, one single vocal, and one single synthesized drum beat, all of it recorded simultaneously with no additional tracks added to it. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Samba Floyd (©Waters, Gilmour, Wright) Recorded in Djibouti City, Djibouti, East Africa, on April 25, 2012. This is an off the wall version of Pink Floyd's "Breathe", which was featured as the second song in the album Dark Side of the Moon. This recording is representative of a style of playing I had adopted during my 6-month stay in that East Arican country, where I would improvise some lead lines on top of the accompaniment. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche

Dimoriamo Verita (©Salaroche) Recorded in Djibouti City, Djibouti, East Africa, April 20, 2012. This song is sort of a curiosity, as it came to me in an almost already-made state, the melody along with the lyrics. But the real curiosity is that the lyrics came to me in Italian. I speak Italian rather fluently, but I had never before written any songs in that language. To top it all, I only had to correct or modify a word or two here and there. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche.

Wordless (©Salaroche). Recorded in Djibouti City, Djibouti, East Africa, on December 30, 2011. During my guitar practice over the last days I spent in Beijing, China, there were two or three improvisation patterns that kept coming back, but I didn't have time to record any of them over there. Yesterday I finally managed to connect my recording machine and recorded this one "live". This piece has the usual instrumentation: One guitar, one vocal and the digital drums. No lyrics. The file is a little over 9 MB, so please be patient when trying to listen to it. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche.

*Good Rocking Tonight (©Roy Brown). Recorded in Shishen, China, on September 30, 2011. Coming back home this morning I just felt like recording this seminal, historical piece. Very few things compare to playing some classic Rock & Roll tunes. The recording consists of one rhythm guitar, one lead guitar, two vocals and the customary digital drums. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Do It (©Salaroche). (Video) Written and recorded in Shishen, China, on September 9-25, 2011. My Chinese friend Cherry works 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. She has her own business up there in Beijing and she's making lots of money, but she's not having much fun outside her office. I wrote this song thinking of her and her situation. The recording consists of one single guitar, two vocals and the usual digital trap set. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Seasons (©Salaroche). Recorded in Shishen, Guangdong Province, China, on September 11, 2011. I initially wrote this song as a guitar piece in San Salvador, El Salvador, back in early 1971. After recording it I thought some background vocals would fit well and this is the result. The recording consists of one single guitar, 4 vocals and the BR-600 rhythm machine. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche.

This Highway (©Salaroche). Written and recorded in Pristina, Kosovo, on August 24-25, 2011. This short song is based on the thought of my growing impossibility to stay put in one particular city or country. The recording was done "live" on one single stereo track. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

A Bit of Joy (©Salaroche). Recorded in St. Etienne, France, on August 4, 2011. This little piece has a bit of history. The first part I wrote in San Salvador, El Salvador, back in 1970; the second part I wrote in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2009; and the lyrics I wrote here in St. Etienne, France, over the past two days. The recording consists of one rhythm guitar, two lead guitars, four vocals, and the digital drums of the BOSS BR-600. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

It Is She (©Salaroche). Recorded in St. Etienne, France, on July 28, 2011. I wrote this song around June 1996, while living in Isla Vista, California. The recording consists of three vocals, one guitar, and the digital drums built into the BOSS BR-600. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*No Soy de Aquí, ni Soy de Allá (©Facundo Cabral). Recorded in St. Etienne, France, on July 14, 2011. Guatemala is the country where Facundo last saw the light of day. He died there this past July 9th. While reminiscing on the time when I used to play some of his music, I came up with a little arrangement for this song. May this recording serve as a small tribute to the beauty of his music. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*The Letter (©W.C. Thompson). Rercorded in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 1, 2011. This is a spontaneous live recording of a song I hadn't played in more than 40 years. I wasn't going to include it on Salaroche.com, but some comments I got from some friends I sent it to were incentve enough to do it. A particularly encouraging comment sent by a friend from Talent, Oregon, said this recording had "Captured a Lightning in a Bottle", which I thought was really cool. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

SunGliding (©Salaroche). Written and recorded in Panjin, Liaoning Province, China, on October 3rd, 2010. This is just an improvisational piece. The instrumentation consists of one single guitar and the programmable built-in rhythm machine that comes with the BOSS BR-600 digital recorder. All instruments by Salaroche.

Be My Samba (©Salaroche). Recorded in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, on September 6, 2010. I wrote this song in 1970 and named it "Be My Love", but after jamming with it over a Samba beat with my rhythm machine a few days ago, I decided to change the name accordingly. The recording consists of one single guitar and a rhythm machine. All instruments by Salaroche.

Simple Songs (©Salaroche). Recorded in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, in June-July, 2010. I wrote this song sometime around 1977, but I hadn't played it in decades. I recorded it as a response to an old friend who sent me a variation of it he recorded on the piano. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Desire (©Salaroche). Written and recorded at home in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, in March-April, 2010. This is just a Rock song dedicated to that ideal imaginary woman that always is, has been and will always be the object of desire of a good majority of men. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*The Boxer (©Paul Simon) Recorded in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, in June-July, 2010. This is a song I've been playing since the late 1960's. I recorded it just for kicks, but it didn't come out so bad; so here it is. The recording consists of one single guitar, two vocals and a rhythm machine. No bass. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Adeus America (©Salaroche) (Video) Shanqin Bay, Hainan Island, China, March 29, 2013. I wrote this song as I was getting ready to go to France for the first time back in 1979. At that point I didn’t know that that country would come to play such a significant role in the unfolding of my destiny. As it turned out, I've even been a French citizen (among others) for a few decades now. Allons enfants! Guitar and lead vocals by Salaroche. Soprano sax by Dennis Freese; percussion by Al Guzman; Background vocals by Dennis and Al. Lyrics

*La Vie en Rose (©Piaf, Monnot, Guglielmi). (Video) Shanqin Bay, Hainan Island, China, March 19, 2013. This is not a recent recording, but it's a very recent discovery. It's part of a Demo video I produced and directed back in 1984 while living in Palo Alto, California. I play guitar and sing lead vocals, Dennis Freese sings background vocals and plays Flutes and Woodwinds, while Al Guzman plays percussion and sings as well. Not bad for a 29 year-old flashback. Lyrics

These are some of the songs I've recorded over the past 30 years, many of which were recorded at home on magnetic tape. Unfortunately, some of those tapes lost their original quality after being stashed away in a garage for a few years, but here they are anyway. "Transitions", "Nietzsche" and "The Ways of Love" were first arranged using a MIDI system and then recorded on a 8-track Tascam. To listen to any of the songs, please click on any of the colored titles.

All songs and lyrics written by Salaroche, except those marked with an asterisk (*) The lyrics for "Je Veux Faire L'Amour Avec Toi" were written by the late Vadim Matte.

For You Girl (©Salaroche). Recorded on a 4-track Fostex in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1983. Remastered at home in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, on July 28th, 2022. This song is part of a group of recordings I thought I had lost, but was surprised to recover during my trip to California in September/October of 2009. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Dreaming Nowhere Men (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, in 1990. Remastered at home in Patong, Phuket, Thailand, on July 28th, 2022. The lyrics to this song show how immersed I was in the early 90s in the practice of Jnana Yoga. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Lovely World (©Salaroche). Recorded in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1984-85 (recovered in 2009). It features Dennis Freese on Saxophones, Clarinets and Flutes. All other instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

I Can Promise You (©Salaroche). Recorded in Menlo Park, California, sometime around 1983-84 (recovered in 2009). This song is a mixture of imagination and real feelings for a real woman. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Mine, mine, mine (©Salaroche). Recorded in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1983 (recovered in 2009). This is just a Rock song. It features Lyle Volkland playing the guitar solo in the middle. All other instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Transitions (©Salaroche). Written and recorded at home on Kipling Street, Palo Alto, California, sometime around 1993-94 (recovered in 2009). This piece is a glimpse at a state of mind I often experienced when contemplating my daily life from the perspective of my Transcendental Jnana Yoga Realization. All instruments by Salaroche.

Nietzsche (©Salaroche). Written and recorded at home on Kipling Street, Palo Alto, California, sometime around 1993-94 (recovered in 2009). Initially inspired on Friedrich Nietzsche’s final years, in a way this piece represents the inexorable march of the human spirit towards eventual Liberation from the maddening chains of self-deception. All instruments by Salaroche.

Lady Lay Lay (©Salaroche). Recorded in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1983 (recovered in 2009). I wrote this song thinking of a very dear friend who even after all these years is still seriously devoted to her work. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Dreamer (©Salaroche). Recorded at home in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1983 (recovered in 2009). I wrote this song while reminiscing about the times I would take the morning Metro back home after spending the night playing guitar and singing in some parisian bars and nightclubs. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Fast (©Salaroche). Recorded in Menlo Park, California, sometime in 1983 (recovered in 2009). This is just a midnight summer stream of counsciousness. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Conversation (©Salaroche). A folk tune written for guitar between July and December of 2007. Recorded at home in Okye Dong, Korea, on February 2nd, 2008, using a Tascam US-144 computer interface.

Je Veux Faire L'amour Avec Toi (©Salaroche/Matté).Recorded at home in College Ave., Palo Alto, California, circa 1987. My friend Vadim Matté had written a poem for the girl of his dreams and asked me to put some music to it. I came up with a little melody, hooked up my guitar and a mike to my amp and fed the line output directly into a tape deck. The result was this song. Vadim eventually got the girl. Lyrics

Tamales con Arroz (©Salaroche). Recorded at Phil's studio in Palo Alto, California, sometime around 1982. It features Dennis Freese on flute, Mickey Jo on bongos and Salaroche on guitar and vocals. Lyrics

Harry Woarmie (©Salaroche/Romano/Romano/Laroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on Sandyland Rd., Carpinteria, California, on December, 2003. This song features Dominic & Hélène on vocals and Salaroche on guitar, congas and Black Peppercorn flask. Lyrics

Christine (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on Kipling St., Palo Alto, California, around September 1990. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Ramblings (©Salaroche). Recorded live during rehearsals at Gaucho's Club in Redwood City, California, circa 1985. It features Ken Dobro on Sax, Sylvia Cuenca on drums and Salaroche on guitar. I was lucky to catch Sylvia right out of San Jose City college. She is a great Jazz drummer who is now very well known in the New York Jazz scene.

I'll Say It Quiet (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, some time around 1989. This song already has traces of my encounter with Jnana Yoga. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

*Wave & When Sunny Gets Blue.Recorded live during rehearsals at Gaucho's Club in Redwood City, California, circa 1985. It features Ken Dobro on Sax, Sylvia Cuenca on Drums and Salaroche on guitar and vocals. Wave was written by A.C. Jobim and Sunny by Segal/Fisher. Lyrics

Quepos (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on Kipling St., Palo Alto, California, around 1993. I got the inspiration to write this song while driving on the road to the port of Quepos in Costa Rica. Quepos is located rather close to the famous Manuel Antonio beach. All instruments by Salaroche.

Megallusion (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, circa 1990. I wrote the lyrics to this song with nothing but my Yoga practice in mind. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Rainy Day (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, around 1988. I wrote this song one night that my ex-wife was away and it was raining outside. It features John Lisius on Trumpet and Dennis Freese on Clarinet. All other instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Samba del Sol (©Salaroche). Recorded at Salaroche's studio on College Ave., Palo Alto, California, around 1989. This is just a little Samba. All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Viña de Amor (©Salaroche).Recorded at Roberto Chiofalo's studio in San Francisco, California, circa 1990. This song is the same Samba del Sol, except that Roberto made an arrangement to it and I changed the lyrics and part of the melody. All band and string instruments by Roberto Chiofalo, including the Piano solo. Salaroche sings. Lyrics

These are some recordings that I have catalogued as "Sketches" or "Essays". Some of them are not supposed to be finished products and some others have glitches in the recording. Yet, looking at them from a basic perspective, there's a certain value to them. So, here they are.

The Fool on the Hill (©Paul McCartney) Recorded "live" in Djibouti on April 16, 2012. Another straight-forward recording of a song that I've always liked but was never part of my repertoire. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics. (Click here to see a digital montage)

Blue Moon of Kentucky (©Bill Monroe) Recorded "live" in Djibouti on April 10, 2012. Just a plain recording of a seminal song that has been an all-time favorite of mine. Guitar and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

No Walls (©Salaroche) Recorded "live" at home in St. Etienne, France, on July 31, 2011. This is just an improvisational piece based on some harmonic forms that sprang up during my guitar practice a while back. The recording consists of one single guitar and the digital drums built into my recording machine. The vocals are just sounds that came out while recording. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche.

When Sunny Gets Blue (©Fisher/Segal) Recorded "live" at home in St. Etienne, France, on July 20, 2011. Just a little arrangement to a classic Jazz tune I've been playing for a few decades. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Moon Shadow (©Cat Stevens) Recorded at home in Beijing, China, on December 30, 2010. This is a song I've been playing since the early 1970's. The recording was done spontaneously while practicing my guitar and vocals, so it is a largely improvised interpretation. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

In My Life (©John Lennon) Recorded at home in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, on April 27, 2010. In my view, this is one of John Lennon's most beautiful compositions. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Blackbird (©Paul McCartney) Recorded at home in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, sometime in April, 2010. This is one of Paul McCartney's classic forays into guitar-playing. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Los Amigos (©Salaroche) Recorded at home in Hanoi, Vietnam, in January, 2010. I wrote the guitar part and the melody for this song in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July of 2009. I wrote the lyrics to it in January of 2010 while standing on a sidewalk in Hanoi, Vietnam, waiting for some take-home Vietnamese spaghetti. The song is dedicated to some Central American friends who used to like to philosophize back in the 60's & 70's, but now seem to have their minds pretty much set on the material aspects of their lives. Guitars & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Barcelona Blues (©Salaroche) Recorded at home in Okje Dong, Gyongsangbukdo Province, South Korea, sometime in spring 2007. I wrote this song while living in Barcelona, Spain, in 2005. It is a tongue-in-cheek critique of certain aspects of life in Barcelona. Guitar & vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

La Violetera (©J.P. Sanchez) Recorded at home in Okje Dong, Gyongsangbukdo Province, South Korea, sometime in spring 2007. While improvising in the key of D one day, I came up with the melody for this 1960's spanish song. This is just a short improvisation. Guitar by Salaroche.

Love Has No Pride (©Eric Kaz/Libby Titus) Recorded live somewhere in San Francisco, California, sometime in 1994. This is a duet rendition of the same song made famous by Linda Rondstadt around 1973. Vocals by Lisa Rosen & Salaroche; guitar by Salaroche. Lyrics

Inundando (©Unknown) Recorded live somewhere in San Francisco, California, sometime in 1994. I'm not sure that "Inundando" is the real title of this song. I never knew who the authors are. Vocals by Lisa Rosen & Salaroche; guitar by Salaroche. Lyrics

La Justa Canción (©Salaroche) Recorded in Palo Alto, California, sometime around 1982-83. I wrote this song as a means to explain to some friends the socio-political situation in Central America during that time. Flutes, Tambourine & background vocals by Dennis Freese, Congas by Mickey Jo, Guitar and lead vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Soy Yo Soy (©Salaroche) Recorded live at the Lucy Stern Community Center in Palo Alto, California, sometime around 1982-83. This was only the second time we performed together with Dennis Freese and the first time we played together with Mickey Jo. Soprano Sax, Maracas & background vocals by Dennis Freese, Congas by Mickey Jo, Guitar and lead vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

These 6 recordings were part of a collection I recorded at home in Carpinteria, California, in 2003, using an analog 8-track Tascam. The collection consisted of over a dozen short song drafts I sent as demo to some musician friends who played with me at a special celebration I organized for a Franco-Russian friend in Palo Alto, California, in December of that year.

Most of these songs I sort of arranged only for that specific occasion and they're not part of my regular practice. The instrumentation for all of them consists of one single guitar, a pair of congas and a peppercorn flask. No bass. The vocals include two lead vocals and two background vocals.

Girl (©Lennon-McCartney) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Quiero Saber (©Gypsy Kings) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Tristeza (©Vinicius de Moraes) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Sway/Quién Será (©Pablo Beltrán Ruiz-N. Gimbel) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

That's What Friends Are For (©Bacharach-Bayer) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics

Les Chemins de Traverse (©Francis Cabrel) All instruments and vocals by Salaroche. Lyrics