For my second AOR pop/rock album, I aimed to create an uplifting atmosphere. We all face challenges in life, such as love, personal issues, and social connections. The songs explore the journey of guiding the spirit through darkness, finding inner strength, and recognizing issues before following a beam of light and hope.
Production & Style
I arranged the songs in my own style and taste of music, disregarding current trends. I played keyboards, guitars, and bass, performed backing vocals, composed, arranged, wrote lyrics, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered the album.
This project was a long endeavor (2018-2024), starting right after my first album. It required significant time and effort to shape the songs into their final form. A new feature of this album is the use of AI to enhance the lyrics and vocal tracks. While I sang all the vocals, the AI helped to refine the overall sound for the main vocal tracks.
Listening Experience
I wanted to give you more than just mp3's on some boring online music service. Here you can read the lyrics and short stories of the songs; while listening to them.
Get your coolest headphones or turn your hifi stereo set on, hit the play button and enjoy.
Out of the Darkness
Heikki Vähänen bass |
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Lately, I've been slipping through dimensions
Like a waning moon, my light subdued
In the depths of my troubled soul's vibrations
Is a raging storm, in angel's form
I open up my mind and come into the light
I don't give in this time anymore
Oh Lord, please let me out of the darkness
I wanna see again the light of day
Oh Lord, please let me out of the darkness
I wanna leave my shadow far away
I come out of the darkness
So many truths offer liberation
Like grains of sand, in the palm of my hand
Maybe I was too much wrapped in illusions
In a journey within, like a phoenix rising
I'm useless like a shadow in the night
I know I could be so much more
It has been so hard to live in a lie
When I spread my wings, I'm ready to go
Have you listened to the great Toto IV album? This song draws inspiration from that style and vibe. I wanted to create a rocker tune with some twists. It was a lot of fun playing the guitar tracks on this one.
Going Home
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
I'm looking at my car keys for the nineteenth time
My work is over, and it's Friday night
I'm driving like a madman on my way back home
'Cause she's there, waiting all alone
I'm going home
Nothing can stop me, nothing at all
I'm going home
I gotta say, gotta find a way
I'm going home
Now's the time to make a decision
I'm going home
Gotta know if there's love for me
Gotta know if it's over now
So many years ago, we had a shine in our eyes
As time went by, we got lost in our lives
I don't wanna start again without real love
Maybe I'll be there all alone
Say again that you love me like you did before
Say again what I am waiting for
It's game over if your words are not what I want to hear
This is the to make it right, when I'm coming home
More 80's Toto influence... maybe too much? ;) I don't really care. If it sounds allright, it IS allright!
House with Broken Mirrors
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
I was a no good son
My father gave me a gun
What a big mistake!
He said I gotta be a man
One day I'll understand
Other men are fake
There was nowhere to run
And nowhere to hide
The voices yelled in my head
He hit my mom again
I said this is the end
In my mind he was full of lead
I saw my old man
Crying in the house with broken mirrors
Blood from our veins
Dripping in the house with broken mirrors
Smoke from my gun
The father and son
We both were emotionally numb
cause we broke everything
in our house full of broken mirrors
A lawman in his car
parked by our lawn
Pointing gun at my head
Mom lying face down
blood in the ground
We thought she was dead
The lawman pushed me down
Guilty I was found
My father had a reputation
There was nowhere to run
and nowhere to hide
But the voices kept calling my name
I knew what I did was wrong but I knew it must be done
The look in my fathers eyes told me I wouldnt need to run
in the house with broken mirrors
I wanted to write a country song with a cruel story. One version of this was a true country & western arrangement, pedal steel and acoustic guitars. Yiihaa! Still, I preferred a more rock oriented flavour. The story is NOT true. But could it be?
Save My Soul
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Save my soul
I'm lost in the darkness, out of control
Save my soul
I'm falling away into the darkest hole
The sky is pitch dark
Stars have lost their shine
I'm waiting in line
And saying goodbye
And looking at the light
My life has been a battle
Between two sides of me
A moat and a castle
Defenses so real
defenses strong, they could never be breached
Closing my eyes
Leaving behind
All the people in my heart
Avoiding the lies
Trying to find
An escape from my mind
Nobody's asking
How I really feel
My pain is ever-lasting
Does it matter if it isn't real?
Eyes tightly shut, I escape the world
Leaving all worries behind
No more stress, no more pain
My dreams find light again
In the darkest hour there is still a glimpse of light for the one who reaches for it. My vision for this song was people in line in Hell, waiting for their turn to fall even deeper. But a dream powerfull enough can lift you up from the line and leave the place.
Deadly Combination
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Forgiven and forgotten
Weapon laid on the ground
She got me many times
I can't make a sound
She's a mystery to me
The sweetest girl without empathy
She's a deadly combination
She plays with my emotions
She's a cruel heartbreaker,
She's a real undertaker.
I don't need another open wound inside my heart
She led me on
Never missing a beat
Found my weakest part
What a glorious anger
of a broken heart
She's a danger to me
The sweetest girl without empathy
A story about dealing with a narcist who was always on the lookout for weaknesses of other people. After leaving this person everything in life feels so much easier.
Saint in Disguise
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
She was an ordinary girl
Nothing special in my eyes
Like a grey small pearl in the middle of butterflies
She didn't talk at all
Always keeping to herself
I didn't know her name; I was looking at someone else
One day, I smiled with sadness in my eyes
She came to me like a blue-eyed mystery
Wiped my tears away
That ordinary girl, maybe she was a saint in disguise
Something in her smile and the brightness of her eyes
That ordinary girl must have been a saint in disguise
Compassion in her eyes made me realize
Somehow, I knew she was bringing me a message
Like a goddess of love and hope with all her blessings
My thoughts weighed me down, lying on the ground,
She came to me, like an angel of mercy,
Gave a hand and lifted me up
That ordinary girl had love in her eyes
That ordinary girl was a saint in disguise
Sometimes just a small gesture can make a world of difference! I had this happen at my work one day when a colleague looked at me with eyes full of empathy.
I Will Make It up to You
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Time hangs heavy on my hands today
But I will make it through somehow, again
With guilt in my heart and soul
I'm sorry for what I did to you
Tonight, I will make it up to you
I give you my word
I will make it up to you
I never meant to bring you down to your knees
But why am I always playing the clown for you?
With a frown on my face and in my heart
Time heals everything
And we will have memories
Tell me why I'm always acting like a fool when I'm with you
Is it all that I can do to make it better?
Forgiving and asking for forgiveness. If you want to grow, you have to look at the mirror and truely face yourself wiht full honesty. Then you can feel sorry for what you have done.
Something
Heikki Vähänen bass |
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Something in your eyes, a hidden light
Something you said made me ignite
Something in your words, driving me insane
Something I can't grasp, like a twisted game
Maybe someday I will know what you mean
Maybe someday
I need to find a way to read my heart and embrace my shrouded destiny
I tried to understand your words to me, but they remain a puzzling mystery
Transforming pain into wisdom, making myself whole again
But the secrets you keep leave me wondering why
How does one know which path to find?
There is a force around you I can't describe,
But it feels so good, I'm completely mesmerized
It pulls me closer, like a magical tide,
When near you, I feel alive and energized
Trusting my intuition to guide me, with every step, I'll find my way
If I'm leaving behind confusion and breaking all illusions,
Will you stand by my side, our hearts aligned?
Some people are just mysteries, enigmas, intriguing and awesome! Being around them feels energizing and uplifting. They can draw you to higher sphreres if you want it and allow it.
Talking in my Sleep
Matti Kärki lyrics and music
Talking in my sleep
Monday dawns, I'm out of my mind
Another week without you
Tuesday night, no smile on my face
And I'm feeling like a fool
Wednesday comes; I'm falling again
I am fading like a flower
Another night, and Thursday's all right
There's hope for me after all
The weekend feels like a new life 'cause I could be with you
Chances are that I will find you
If my cry is getting through
Maybe I'm just talking in my sleep
The weekend feels like a new life 'cause I could be with you
All my dreams of tomorrow,
They finally will come true
It's just a new day when I'm talking in my sleep
Talking in my sleep
Friday night, I'm so ready for you
I 'm planning all the things we would do
Saturday, a whole day for us
Long walks in the downtown
Sunday ends, and time runs out
Not enough hours for love
Another week presses me down
Friday keeps me alive
Let's go through the weekdays :D The weekend is the best time! It's like an unopened chocolate bar on Friday and the remaining crumbles and wrapping on Sunday evening! But you have to wait for it from Monday till Friday.
BTW, when does weekend start? On Friday or Saturday, what time?
