Hypnomancer

cinematic songwriter

As a wordsmith, my curiosity and passion for blending diverse musical genres provides an ideal way to explore songwriting as a vehicle for cinematic storytelling. I approach each song as its own world, uniquely set in time, locale, and emotional tone. These vivid narratives include a wide range of characters and accounts from the wired anxiety of an unfolding political intrigue to the fumbled lines of a chance romantic tryst, a moment of prayer, a rant, or an alien encounter on a back country road.  The creative scope of these sonic dramas has been greatly expanded by the advent of generative AI, which enables my poetic stories to quite literally drive musical expression. Generative AI sound-making tools allow for quicker production timelines, lower recording costs, and a greater choice of musical setting. More importantly, this emergent technology liberates the songwriter to imagine far beyond the confines of a singular iconic voice to become the multitude we are!

Find many more songs here, from blistering rock to adventurous forays across foreign lands and desolate sci-fi soundscapes. soundcloud.com/iotronik

  • Hypnomancer (aka David Stout) is a musical shape shifter exploring the world of hybrid sound cultures blending a wide array of genres from folk, rock, country, jazz, and global fusion to widely divergent electronic styles, abstract soundscapes, minimalism, and contemporary classical music. His compositions, songs, and scores are produced with a variety of instrumental approaches including modular synthesizers, custom soft synths, field recordings, folk instruments, generative AI, and session instrumentalists. David received his MFA in Film-Video & Music from the California Institute of the Arts followed by an active professional career as a professor and celebrated performance director leading diverse interdisciplinary production teams and teaching effective skills for collaboration across the arts. He is among a growing number of multi-disciplinary artists exploring the power and potential of new and emerging media.

    Learn more at davidstout.net

Ballad, Poetic, Cinematic, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Country, Gothic-Country, Country-Rock, Electronic, Ambient, Shoegaze David Stout Ballad, Poetic, Cinematic, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Country, Gothic-Country, Country-Rock, Electronic, Ambient, Shoegaze David Stout

Wild Skies

It all begins with an idea.

Wild Skies

A gothic country ballad with a hint of techno recounts the inability to save someone who cannot see their own plight or admit surrender to the well-meaning care from others.

Ballad, Poetic, Cinematic, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Country, Gothic-Country, Country-Rock, Electronic, Ambient, Shoegaze

  • There was that awkward pause in her parting phrase,
    going down this road before the world was paved.
    That silent ah--awards an early grave,
    is our bridge too far for those we want to, save

    When all the time was just another shifting load,
    on the shoulders of three brothers down the road.
    All hesitating and unevenness displayed,
    on the bridge too far for those we want to, save away

    Ohh, the wild skies are not safe shelter in the storm
    But their beauty is a fury we all know
    Down from heaven, into heaven we all go,
    from these fields of dust and clay where we were grown.

    When your sister, or some mother sits alone
    In a cell made out of cardboard for a home
    In a nest of all the troubles she can claim
    the bridge too far for those who won’t be saved

    Ohh, the wild skies are not safe shelter in the storm
    But their beauty is a fury we all know
    Down from heaven, into heaven we all go,
    from these fields of dust and clay where we were grown.

    Ohh, the wild skies are not safe shelter in the storm
    But their beauty is a fury we all know
    Down from heaven, into heaven we all go,
    from these fields of dust and clay where we were grown


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Alt Rock, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Spoken Word, Dramatic, Hypnotic, Poetic, Gritty, Trip-Hop, World, Jazz, Noir David Stout Alt Rock, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Spoken Word, Dramatic, Hypnotic, Poetic, Gritty, Trip-Hop, World, Jazz, Noir David Stout

Voltage in the Wire

It all begins with an idea.

Voltage in the Wire

Jazz inflected groove with a nod to music of the Middle East gives a dark and unflinching look at human frailty and the consequence of our choices.

Alt Rock, Soundtrack, Songwriter, Spoken Word, Dramatic, Hypnotic, Poetic, Gritty, Trip-Hop, World, Jazz, Noir

  • This small man goes bumpin' to the top
    where the sad man sits shattered and lost
    There were two men in the ring for a night
    Neither man had a stomach for the fight

    This blonde chick goes bendin’ for some cash
    where tha blue girl’s slippin’ roofies down the hatch
    both women with a leper’s luck to lose
    skippin’, flippin’ in some shiny shiny shoes

    When one turns on the other turns on the other turns
    When one takes a swing, takes a drink, takes another never learns
    When one turns on the other turns on the other turns
    When one takes a swing, takes a drink, takes another never learns

    Two kids wearing daddy’s pistol just for fun
    Swipen’ comics, Shootin’ bottles, Chewin’ gum
    One trips, loses balance, on the curb
    Nails the other, in the silence, not a word

    Two men, cutting corners, carved in steel
    Shaking hands, behind our backs, cementing deals
    Both, tongue waggers wielding armies, might and fire
    Set a scene, where no one will escape the voltage in the wire

    When one turns on the other turns on the other turns
    When one takes a swing, takes a drink, takes another never learns
    When one turns on the other turns on the other turns
    When one takes a swing, takes a shot, takes another never learns

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Anthem, Singer-Songwriter, Poetic, Nostalgic, Glam, Rock, Emotional, Bowiesque, Epic, Introspective David Stout Anthem, Singer-Songwriter, Poetic, Nostalgic, Glam, Rock, Emotional, Bowiesque, Epic, Introspective David Stout

Twin Flame

It all begins with an idea.

Twin Flame

Soaring 70’s era British glam rock with impressionistic lyrics for time travelers tells a tale of alienation, loss, and bittersweet illumination. Channeling an uncanny early Bowie vibe, the singer watches from a distance as his old comrades fall in ruin unable to keep pace with life’s challenges.

Anthem, Singer-Songwriter, Poetic, Nostalgic, Glam, Rock, Emotional, Bowiesque, Epic, Introspective

  • and those other men left wanting
    without wings they cannot fly
    though the era they were haunting
    left them standing by the side

    of the road that glowed in ruin
    never reaching far inside
    they are frozen left there standing,
    when the center starts to slide

    here we are a place apart
    so near we are to center
    here we are a place apart
    the port before we enter

    and those other men left wanting
    without wings they cannot fly
    in this era we are haunting
    wait and watching by and bye

    here we are a place apart
    so near we are to center
    here we are a place apart
    the port before we enter
    here we are a place apart
    so near we are to center
    here we are a place apart
    the port before we enter

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