My latest EP, Beauty in the End, has just been released! Last year I set a goal for myself to write and record 5 or 6 songs and learn how to mix music. It took a year longer than I planned, but 2020 was kind of difficult (also mixing is really hard). Alas, it’s finally finished.
These songs were written before and during COVID and definitely reflect the mood of the past couple of strange years we’ve lived through.
I wrote this song last year for my upcoming EP. After listening to it on a recent walk, I felt like the music and lyrics really resonated with the current moment we find ourselves in, so I decided to release it early.
The musical movements in the intro tell a story of struggle, then acceptance and, eventually, an emergence from darkness. Ultimately, I feel that it’s an optimistic song that reminds us that, even when times are difficult, we can still find something beautiful if we look for it.
I hope everyone is staying safe and that you are able to experience/create some beautiful moments despite these challenging times.
❤️ D
Note: I’m currently releasing my music under the band name Lost Like You. You can find this song as well as future releases on Bandcamp: https://lostlikeyou.bandcamp.com/
This is my first proper classical composition. I stumbled across this chord progression while studying some different piano chords and was very moved by it. I found myself playing it over and over again. As a gentle rain storm set the mood outside, I spent several hours piecing the composition together into its finished form.
The piano part is composed of two separate parts that were combined together. It modulates back and forth between C Major and F Minor every two measures which creates an emotional kick.
I’m very proud this piece and find myself coming back to it again and again to help me relax and to put my mind in a good place. I hope it has the same effect for you too.
I’m very happy to announce the release of the Tipping Point Soundtrack! All of the music from my point-and-click adventure game has been remixed & remastered and is now available to download.
Most of the music was recorded 25 to 30 years ago, so a lot of work was put into cleaning up the original master recordings. The Tipping Point game has been updated with the new versions of the music. Note: Tipping Point will be available on Steam soon for PC & Mac. The soundtrack will be included with the purchase of the game.
Here is a sample of the songs that I wrote and recorded in Charlotte, NC between 1991 and 1995. All songs (c) 1991-1995 Dan Russell-Pinson
Carnival: Charlotte – Spring 1995
Sometimes I peer over the wall
To catch a glimpse of all the business
Suits lining up in the hall
Do I have to say hello to them all?
Never seen a carnival at night
I always left before it was too late
Rides spinning out of control
As I dig my way into this hole…alone
Watching it all like it’s on TV
Waiting to see what becomes of me
Like a playing piece in a childrens game
Moved around to serve the natural urge to win
Too many people to make a dent in this world
Seems to live to be consumed
By energies still beyond our control
Should I be what they would have me be?
Breathing: Charlotte – Winter 1994. Colin Cooler plays lead guitar.
Could it be like the dream?
In the winter of time
A wide-open path or an empty highway
An absolute directionAnd the snow’s packed so high
I could pull my sled up…
To the overpass
And slide down the other sideAll my life
Following this idle scenery
All my life
Searching for the end of this white seaAnd I can’t look behind
There are city lights ahead
With amusement rides hiding choking women
And I could go there…God stop this light
Just for a little while
No sight, no sound
just la la la…All my life…
And the sun shines so bright
Melting this world
I can’t stand this white
I can’t stop the time
Ticking on…Desolate white, even at night
The lights becoming thinI see myself from above
When life’s a dark and lonely street
I walk the path that’s put in place
By people who have died before meWill I even try?
I know there’s got to be a place to hide
Will I even try?
I know the door is open in my mindWalk up to the edge
Put a hand through the fragile paper
Not a second thought before I realized
That I was breathing…
To The Water: Guy Traynham plays lead guiter on this one.
Shattered:
Monotony: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Hidden:
Overboard:
Terrain:
Waiting:
Message Hidden in a Dream: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Experiences: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Here are most of the songs that I wrote and recorded with Arek Greniuk between 1991 and 1992. All songs recorded by Dan Russell-Pinson, Arek Greniuk (c) 1991-1992 Dan Russell-Pinson, Arek Greniuk
Another Town:Dan Russell-Pinson, Charlotte – Summer 1992
I’m closing in
on a dream to leave
There will be places
There will be reasons
Peace of mindAnother town
Another time
I can see you
You’re right next to me
We’ll see the lights
We’ll be freeAnother town
Another time
Technology:Words and music by Dan Russell-Pinson
Caught daydreaming through the hallways
Spinning thoughts about the future in our hands
I thought of how it is unwritten
Or am I going through motions of design?My white shirt sleeves have both shrunken
Seemed like such a big injustice at the time
Watching company leaders smile
On the aging telescreens sent from JapanIt’s a holocaust living life this way
Sometimes I think it’s just the price I payI thought I’d leave to watch the sunrise
It’s worth the risk to leave this madness for a while
I see my place in this creation
Is just a speck it doesn’t matter anymoreIt’s a holocaust living life this way
Sometimes I think it’s just the price I pay
Theory of Everything:Words by Dan Russell-Pinson, Music by Dan Russell-Pinson and Arek Greniuk
Wasted tears falling down
The floor provides and opposing force
To make the crash more interesting
Fluorescent light refracts inside them
The laws allow no choice
But to follow and obey their messageHow long was the moment that we shared?
The feelings that we held inside
The ones I could not justify
I can’t explain these thoughts inside me
I can’t measure them to figure out
Maybe I’ll never know because I’m..Caught in the myth that it can all be explained
Caught by the myth that we can all be saved
Someday… someday…
Someday we might make some sense of this
Someday we may find the theory of everythingI live my life to plot these points
Equations for our lives
But the overhead has conquered me now
I cannot fight these tides that drive me
To end this futile quest
And to find the god who started all this
Caught in the myth that it can all be explained
Caught by the myth that we can all be saved
Someday… someday…
Someday we might make some sense of this
Someday…On the crossroad of our life
Living off this borrowed time
Without a sign to tell us why
So many questions in our time
Makes it hard to reach tomorrow
So we lose ourselves to find the gatewayCaught in the myth that it can all be explained
Caught by the myth that we can all be saved
Someday… someday…
Someday we might make some sense of this
Someday we may find the theory of everything
Dying:
In My Room:
Before the Rains:
A Night Like Tonight: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Here is a sample of some of the songs I wrote, recorded and collaborated on between 1989 and 1990.
Light: I recorded this during some school break when everybody at the apartment/campus was gone. I was pretty proud of this song/recording at the time.
Downtown II:
New Gown:
Reservations:
I Dont See the Point:
Good Clown Gone Bad: Recorded by Dan Russell-Pinson, Heather Russell, Finley Lee, Mike ?
Hubbaneebee: Recorded by Dan Russell-Pinson, Amanda Huber
You Dropped the H-Bomb of Love on the Hiroshima of my Heart: Recorded by Dan Russell-Pinson, Heather Russell, Finley Lee, Mike ?
Just a Song: Still learning… the lyrics aren’t exactly a triumph of the written word, but you gotta start somewhere.
I lived and worked at Gulf Islands National Seashore (near Pensacola, FL) during the summers of 1987 to 1990. From my house, I could see Ft. Pickens (see above) which is an old civil war fort.
In 1989, I brought my fostex 4-track recorder with me and recorded several songs. These were pretty much the first complete songs I ever wrote and recorded by myself. Everything you hear in these songs was produced with just an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drum machine and a shortwave radio using a multi-effects unit and a digital delay pedal.
All songs Recorded by Dan Russell-Pinson (c) 1989 Dan Russell-Pinson
Lonely Searching:
Mothers Day:
Leaving:
Free:
Night Hype:
Off Again: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Asleep at the Wheel: This song appears in my online game Tipping Point.
Words Instrumental:
Untitled with Matt Glass: I recorded this with my friend Matt Glass at my house on the island. He played lead guitar and I played bass and keyboards if I remember correctly.
Craig Cochran – Vocals/Guitar Doug Ferrell – Keyboards Mason Wells – Drums Dan Russell – Bass
Formed while students at Clemson University, we were a cover band with a few originals and managed to play our share of downtown clubs and fraternity parties for the two semesters we played together.
Then…
and now… (Restless Leg reunion: December, 2001)
All songs recorded by Restless Leg Exhibit (c)1989 Restless Leg Exhibit
In the Glow: In the Glow was one of only two original songs that we actually got on tape. We recorded it at WSBF (the Clemson radio station). The first attempt at recording this song didn’t turn out very well, but we learned a few lessons in the process. This is the second version.
Your Legacy: A Craig Cochran composition also recorded at WSBF.
South South East (Live): This is a Restless Leg Exhibit original written before I joined the band.
Dan Russell-Pinson 