The Cosmic Duck Pond Podcast: Recent Episodes
William Ireland
Blending downtempo ambient music with spoken word, electronic music artist, William Ireland (a.k.a. the Cosmic Duck), offers a new way to experience ideas and music. Immerse yourself in a hypnotic soundscape of playful synths, wide atmospheric pads, and downtempo beats, while the spoken words stream a river of ideas and wisdoms into your subconsciousness. Spanning topics from health, psychology, biology, relationships, consciousness, society, spirituality, and self-help, there is sure to be some resonance for everyone to enjoy.
This week I have another improv story for you all. It starts off by describing an unusual egg hatched by a chicken one day. And when the rest of the chickens in the coop come to investigate this egg, something completely bizarre happens. Follow along with this silly science fiction tale and find out what happens to the chickens of this chicken coop. The story is set to music by The Cosmic Duck (from the track, "Festi Parrotiki")
For this episode, I discuss some of my thoughts and ideas on the link between our physical health and our spiritual bodies. How are the ways in which we experience our physical bodies a reflection of how we feel in our spiritual bodies? There may be a trauma link to many of today's common health problems. Victim-hood may express itself as a certain set of health conditions whose physical mechanisms are not yet fully understood. The thoughts and beliefs about ourselves may in fact determine how our bodies function and express themselves externally.
I also introduce my own trauma story and go into the inspiration for the track, Alpha Lyrae 888i, as bits of the track play in the background of the monologue.
Welcome back! This episode of TCDPP follows the journey of two men, Razor and Shrye, and a leisurely race through the Ultra Violet Field in a distant solar system of the Milky Way Galaxy. After picking up a transmission from the center of this system's sun, what was a leisurely race turned into a race for their lives. Follow them through the Ultra Violet Field as that banter and problem solve their way out.
This improvisational story is based off the track "Solar Violet" from the album, Time Warp Zero
In this episode, I delve into the inspiration for my personal favorite Cosmic Duck track, "Don't Let the Light Go Out".
There is a force potential of darkness that dwells within all of us. It can be experienced as a voice, a feeling, or a seductive force. The call towards the darkness is the call towards death. This death can be of the physical body, or the death of a personal identity or strongly held beliefs of self. On the other side of death is rebirth, on the other side of all black is all white light. This track expresses the dance between both the light and dark sides of our being. It's a fast-paced track, that is simultaneously calm, somber, sinister, exciting, and hopeful.
Included in this episode is a remastered version of the original track from the The Cosmic Duck's first album, First Quacklings.
This is a story featuring the track "Cascading Sorrow" from the Cosmic Duck's album, Time Warp Zero.
Follow the journey of this special fungal spore through the forest and streams. Find out how it finally germinates, and what happens to an unsuspecting hiker that consumes this new mushroom. It's a calming, immersive, go-with-the-flow, and out-of-this-world experience!
We are here to turn this world inside out...Expose what's inside to the outside and watch the world transform before your eyes!
In this episode, I share a profound dream I had one night, where I learn a few valuable lessons and make parallels to my every day, waking life.
Then the episode transitions into an improv story of Ocello the octopus, whose (synthesized) voice is featured in The Cosmic Duck track "Ocello's Night Out".
Go on a journey with Ocello through a bustling coastal city scape, filled with nightclubs, flashing lights, and harsh conditions alien to Ocello's native world of the ocean.
The episode ends playing the full track from the album, Time Warp Zero.
Thanks and enjoy the show!
Welcome back!
This episode marks the transition from doing music/spoken word episodes, to simple Solo-casts.
In this transition episode, I talk about what inspired me to get into electronic music production in the first place, how I used music/spoken word as a vehicle for personal growth, and how I am looking forward to a new era of production as The Cosmic Duck.
This episode is raw and a bit emotional, and offers listeners a chance to get to know the man behind the Cosmic Duck a little better.
Stay tuned for more solo casts where TCD goes more in-depth with select tracks from previous albums, the meaning behind them, and further analysis on what makes them special.
Enjoy, and I'll catch ya next time!
Welcome back! This is the last episode of this spoken word podcast series (at least for now). And I saved the most vulnerable and introspective for last. I talk about how the pervasiveness of loneliness, especially in the life of a creative. I talk about my own experience with loneliness and music production. This shares signifies a turning point in my personal evolution. This share released me from the binds of music production and loneliness, to where I currently experience neither. I'm taking a break from music, I'm now in school, and now participating in multiple social activities. Express your thoughts to the world and watch your life barriers dissolve in front of your eyes!
Enjoy the show!
Welcome back! This week i bring up the topic of Narcissism, and the varying degrees of narcissistic behavior that pervades modern society. I admittedly have a history of narcissistic behavior, but not overtly and obvious. Narcissism can be expressed as selfishness and arrogance, or it can be expressed as complete selflessness and generosity. The narcissist can believe that the world revolves around them and no one else matters, or it can be the exact opposite: that they are invisible and that they are nothing in this world. The latter has been me. Trauma and fear is at the root of narcissism.
The takeaway message, is that the best way to loosen the grip of your shadow, narcissistic side is to admit out loud using your voice. Expose the darkness to the light, and it will let go
Thank you and enjoy the show!
It's coming...The merger between biological systems and technological systems is on the horizon. The possibilities are endless in how this merger will benefit us as humans, or harm us. In this episode, I throw in my two cents on the issue. How can scientists effectively make this link without sacrificing what it means to be a living, breathing human being? Maybe in order to create an artificial life, we need to incorporate life into it. I believe that furthering our understanding of the microbiome, and how it informs the whole human organism will help us in this quest for a healthy merger.
(90 bpm in B minor)
Track begins at 4:25
Enjoy the Show!
This week's episode surfs along the edges of the perceptible universe, while also looking at the Earth, and the humans on it, as objectively and holistically as possible. I revisit the importance of microbes to our existence. I make a case against A.I. being the cause humanity's downfall. I try to link self-growth and spirituality with our biology. I make another attempt at humanity's ultimate purpose. I try to visualize the fourth spatial dimension. And finally, I investigate ways in which we as humans can actually become enlightened beings, and what that looks like in terms of physical processes of the universe.
The music is ambient downtempo electronica, grooving at 90 bpm in the key of A minor Phrygian
The music begins at 4:10
Enjoy the show!
Time to zoom our perceptual microscopes down to the level of the Earth's earliest lifeforms. In this episode, I begin to open the Pandora's box that is my bundle of ideas and hypothesis surrounding the human microbiome and how they affect and influence every aspect of our lives. The basis of my ideas revolves around the complex communication process that occurs between microbes and our own cells. This one is short, but dense. Strap in and brace yourself for a torrent of whacky, yet intriguing ideas, set to an intense, rock/dubstep track
Track begins at 4:40
Enjoy the Show!
Why are we attracted to certain things and not others? What creates that magnetic pull towards certain people, places, or things in your life? It's one of my favorite mysteries of being a person. I believe the answer is impossibly deep and complex, but in this episode, I touch on one of the main reasons we are drawn into certain experiences. Not to be confused with the already popularized Law of Attraction, this version puts the universe itself as the center and director of our desires, not our egos. Tune in to learn more!
The music in this one is designed to engulf and entrance, and float the listener on a soft, soaring cloud of introspective thought (120 bpm in A major)
The track begins at 4:14.
Enjoy the show!
Let's face it, healing is hard. That's why people resist doing it. People are not only afraid of the pain that dwells within them, but people are also afraid of losing the life they've come to know that orbits that internal pain. Yes, it's true that you will have to give up some things in your life in order to heal. But it's an upgrade. Once healed, what will replace the old life will be better than you could possibly imagine. So strike up the courage inside you, and dive inward. Trust the universe will reward you for this, and let true Self emerge fully!...The music has a new-age ambient feel, with wide, soothing pads and a bopping beat to keep you moving. (101 bpm in A major)
Lay back, soak it in, and enjoy the ride!
"We’re not here to understand our egos...That’s not our objective. We’re not here to build an identity of ourselves. We’re here to build an identity of the universe...A very small portion of that whole [universe] is your individual, little “s” self. You do fit into this whole thing. But there’s a lot of that [ego] puzzle that doesn’t need to be put into place. You can still accomplish the ultimate objective of being a human without building an ego identity around yourself. You can carry out everything and much more, in fact, when you’re not wasting energy building an identity..."
Topics include
- Belief systems
- Science
- Psychedelics
- Identity
Set to dark-ambient-house music (117-120 bpm, G minor)
Track begins at 4:16
Enjoy the show!
I get a little silly with this week's episode. Allow the playfulness to capture your own sense of absurdity and silliness. The main focus of discussion is on Truth. What do we mean by truth? Can we separate subjective and objective truth? I encourage folks to share their own personal truths. Not your opinions, but the truths that were developed through your own perceptual and emotional processing of reality. The more we share those truths, the more we embody those truths, and the quicker we grow past them
The music is ambient tech house, going at 122 bpm in the key of F minor. The track starts at 3:50
Thank you for listening, Enjoy the show!
Welcome back to the Cosmic Duck Pond Podcast! This week's episode is a remake of an old, unreleased talk if gave back in April of 2018. I delve into the topic of Belief Systems: the set of ideas and stories we subconsciously carry around with us that shape many aspects of our perception and our experience as humans. It is becoming humanity's imperative to loosen our grip on our beliefs, so we can ride the leading crest of consciousness into a bright future.
The music is ambient house, going at 115 bpm in the key of D major. The track starts at 4:25
Thank you for listening, and enjoy the show!
Where is humanity going? What is the ultimate ecological role and objective of humanity? Is it our objective to "shoot for the stars"? A stream of consciousness recorded in May of 2018, set to ambient, electronic, chill-step music (138bpm in B major)
Topics for this episode include:
-Future of Humanity
-Microbiome and Human Behavior
-Victim Psychology
-Human Sustainability
(Track begins at 2:56)
Enjoy the show!
Dive into the infinite waters of the Self. In this episode, I dissect the desires for having an intimate partner relationship. I make the claim that all we need to be happy and fulfilled lies within us, and there is not any one person out there that can make our lives complete. Relationships become a choice (instead of a compulsion) when one has found the wholeness within themselves. The music has a crisp, clean, fairy-tale vibe that is sure to tickle and delight (122bpm in F major)
Topics in this episode include:
- Personal development
- Spiritual growth
- Self discovery
- Relationships
The track begins at (5:18)
Enjoy the show!
Time for some love sap. In this week's episode, I pull from a talk I did after my last breakup. The first half of the talk is speaking primarily to those who are going through relationship struggles, breakup, or heartbreak, but the second half contains some thoughts about Love that everyone can relate to and take something away from. The music is gentle at times, playful at times, piercing at times, but all flows well with the spoken word. (120 bpm in E major)
Topics in this episode include:
-Break-ups
-Relationships
-Compassion
-Self-Love
The track begins at (4:10)
Enjoy the show!
There is no better time than now. It's time to take responsibility for yourSelf, your state of consciousness, and for the life you were born into. Learn how to manage your empathic, easily distracted nature, plus a little dose of advice for those who are in positions of influence. We all start this game from different places, but the ultimate goal is achievable for everyone. Tune into this talk I recorded in May of 2018 to learn more. The music in this one is laid-back, quirky, and slightly de-tuned downtempo electronic music (110bpm in Bb minor).
Topics for this episode include:
- Openness
- Psychophysiology of Empathy
- Sugar's hidden impacts
- Equality of Suffering
- Humbleness
- Privilege
- Discipline
(Track begins at 3:48)
Enjoy the show!
Welcome to the Cosmic Duck Pond Podcast!
Episode 2 - The Music of Emotion
What is the nature of emotions? Why do we suppress them and what happens if we do? How do we dispel negative emotions without passing them on to other people? All this and more in this non-emotional episode about emotions. The talk is set to ambient, electronic, house music (120bpm in Gb major)
Topics for this episode include:
- Origin of Emotions
- Emotions and Health
- Cravings
- Anger
- Shame
(Track begins at 2:56)
Enjoy the show!
Welcome to the Cosmic Duck Pond Podcast!
Episode 1 - Change Your Personality
Are you tired of your personality? Do you wish you could switch certain aspects of your personality upside-down? Well change is more than possible! Tune into this talk I recorded in May of 2018 to learn more. The music in this one is quirky, playful, ambient house electronic music (120bpm in A minor).
Topics for this episode include:
- Pain Aversion
- Behavior Conditioning
- Self-Consciousness
- Plasticity
- Personal Growth
- Dreams
- Hyperdimensionality
(Track begins at 2:35)
Enjoy the show!