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SHIKASTA SUITE (2019)

by Benjamin Russell

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1.
Music of the Spheres 01:18
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2.
Clear High Place 02:47
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Clear High Place - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) From this clear high place I’m calling Doris Lessing From this clear high place My third eye is burning, pulsing Tuning into everything From this clear high place I can hear for miles I can see for miles and miles and miles… From this clear high place No drug, no religion I’m just tuned in No cult, no delusion I can touch you with my third eye From this clear high place I’m calling Doris Lessing From this clear high place
3.
Big World 04:19
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Big World - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) It’s a big world, a big world We just can’t imagine All the people and places We’ve never seen And we live here Our city We shape it and it shapes us In harmony That we need to survive Everything is as it should be And we all know that The things we do Fit in the big plan And we are happy Doing our part Tuning the flow That joins us to you In Rohanda, Rohanda All the stars and planets Are aligned and The stones of our city sing And we live here, Rohanda That’s how it was always But the future is something That we can’t see Blue the sky and green the plain And buttery sunlight swims in the air On the horizon A figure hovers Growing larger Coming nearer We welcome Johor "Take me to the giants, they must know There has been a disturbance in the flow There is danger "You don’t understand it but you must You know that I am someone you can trust There is danger"
4.
Shammat 00:35
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5.
Dancing with the Stones 03:27
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Dancing with the Stones - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) Sung: "We're dancing with the stones" Spoken: Before that time, the people were happy and lived long lives In harmony with their planet. Their cities were built with stones in patterns which helped the balance and aligned them with the stars. Johor came to warn them. He knew what would come. He told them to remember But he knew they would forget When the link was broken. He taught them to be kind, to be honest, to be brothers and sisters, not to enslave or dominate, and, especially, NOT to become intoxicated, dancing among the stones of their broken homes. Then Shammat broke the link and the cities went out of alignment. The patterns now caused pain. The people fled, confused. But they returned and debased themselves. Though it made them drunk and gave them headache They craved sensation and forgetting, They danced among the stones Sung: "We're dancing with the stones"
6.
Shadows 03:08
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Shadows - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) We who know no comfort In dull frenzy speak in tongues We who know no meaning Fear fills our lungs And we gather from the darkness For warmth among the flames And dancing in vain abandon Till we forget our names Shadows dancing in the night Who will give us peace (at last)? Who will give us life (unmasked)? who will give us reasons (I must ask)? Who will stop us racing, running? Shadows dancing in the night We don’t believe in magic And we don’t believe in dreams If it don’t sound too romantic Well, it’s exactly as it seems And the daylight hurts our eyes When we wake and blink in pain We go thickly through the ache Until we dance again Shadows dancing in the night
7.
Zarlem 02:51
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ZARLEM - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) Zarlem - submission oh great one! You are omnipotent! Zarlem Your power is exalted, overlord supreme Here is my report Harlem Their leaders are corrupted Addicted to our drugs They’re powerless to resist Thieves and pimps and thugs Harlem The truth now cannot touch them Their self-disgust and pride Fill up their heart and apart They splinter and divide Zarlem We gobble their confusion We suck up all their dreams We gorge on pain, their sweet pain Our pleasure is obscene Zarlem The hot perfume of hatred Now saturates the air A heady mix of conflicts feeds us everywhere Zarlem Submission oh great one You are omnipotent Zarlem
8.
Johor's Lament 02:37
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Johor’s Lament - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) It is so bad here I don’t complain, I volunteered But there’s so much pain I mourn Rohanda, now Shikasta It is so hard here The atmosphere of hate and fear Makes it seem in vain Our agents struggle and some stumble Some of them succumb Shammat feeds them poison Divides them into sects Hatred is the flower Shammat breathes its scent Substance of we feeling has become so weak This world is so bleak This world is so bleak It is so bad here I don’t complain, I volunteered But there’s so much pain I mourn Rohanda, now Shikasta Poor Shikasta
9.
This Child 04:01
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This Child - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) This child is a miracle And she’ll be redeemed When the world is better and she Carries all our hopes and dreams In her genes This child is our history And he’s so much more than he seems To you and me and One day he’ll remind us what We can be One day it will be dif’rent And we’ll all remember, the world is better when we Empathize with ev’ryone that we see This child, whether boy or girl Anywhere around this whole world Is a miracle that We must protect because they are the key You know in your bones that We have been much better And we will be stronger When the link returns Go to sleep little baby And dream of the day When you will be free Go to sleep and dream Sweet baby dreams You are the way
10.
War 02:27
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"That's a hoax... That's enough, put down the mic... You know what, we need border security. That's what we're going to be talking about. Border security. If we don't have border security, we'll shut down the government..."
11.
Help Dr Avery 03:15
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Help Dr Avery - song by Elyce & Benjamin Russell copyright © 2019 The Clear Blue Enterprise (socan) Help, help, help Dr. Avery If you can make the war, then you can pay the price If you can sell the bombs, then you can buy the rice Help Dr. Avery now All the new discoveries, all the new perfumes All the latest hit songs, it's time for different tunes Help Dr. Avery now The world is getting smaller, we're next door neighbours It's just another dollar, but it might save us (2x) Help Dr. Avery now solo Help Dr. Avery, it's your decision Help Dr. Avery - he says he can't go on Help Dr. Avery now
12.
The Leaf 02:32
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She picks up a leaf and she carries it home to her husband. And they stare at it there in her hand. Its shape is as perfect as a ship in full sail, brilliantly sculpted like the shell of a snail, it is perfectly real, so they feel. The world drops away All the poison and pain cannot compare with the universe there in her hand another world opens, balanced like a feather But stronger than lies Like a dove sent to her This old world will renew This is true Creative galaxies, explosions of light, they turn to each other, Their eyes become bright with hope Is that faith
13.
Clear High Place (instrumental) 02:44
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14.
Shikasta Finale 01:06
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about

A unique mix of pop and classical, electronic and acoustic, best described as Chamber Pop, SHIKASTA SUITE is a concept album created in tribute to Nobel prize winning author Doris Lessing’s 1979 science fiction novel, "Shikasta". It is meant to be listened to as an album. Though the songs stand each on their own, the sum is greater than its parts.

Album Notes:

In 1979, Nobel Prize winning author Doris Lessing published a science fiction novel called, "Shikasta: Canopus in Argos: Archives, Re: Colonised Planet 5, Personal, Phychological, Historical Documents Relating to Visit by Johor (George Sherban), Emissary (Grade 9), 87th of the Period of the Last Days."

Benjamin Russell has been fascinated by this novel for years and has read it many times. He has always wanted to create an album dedicated to what he calls, "…a model of our planet and history from a cosmic perspective. It explains good and evil in a way I haven’t seen anywhere else."

This is the realization of that dream.

Written in collaboration with his wife, Elyce, it is a concept album which pays tribute to the book. Musically, it is hard to pin down with elements of pop, rock, folk, 80s and a generous dollop of classical instruments and stylings. "It’s a rock opera," says Elyce, "meant to be listened to as a whole, although the songs stand on their own."

When the album opens, the people are happy, living harmoniously with the universe. Then Shammat sneaks in and causes discontent, greed, envy and lust for power to infiltrate minds and souls. The people forget their innate goodness and struggle to understand why their lives are so stressful and seemingly meaningless. (Does this sound familiar?)

Meanwhile, Canopus sends its agents to remind the people what is necessary to fulfill their destiny.

It’s an epic battle.

SHIKASTA SUITE.

credits

released November 24, 2019

written and produced by Elyce & Benjamin Russell
copyright © 2019 Elyce & Benjamin Russell for TCBE Records and The Clear Blue Enterprise

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Benjamin Russell Montreal, Québec

Benjamin Russell is a multi-genre singer-songwriter, painter, graphic artist, videographer, writer living in Montreal, Quebec.

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