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Track-by-Track: Xander and the Peace Pirates Outline Their Record ‘Order Out of Chaos’

Keith Xander joins us for a special track-by-track rundown of the new Xander and the Peace Pirates record, ‘Order Out of Chaos.’

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A man of great talent and great resolve, Keith Xander has something special coming for you next week. On May 6th, the London-based musician, along with his bandmates in Xander and the Peace Pirates, will release their brand new album, Order Out of Chaos (BFD/The Orchard). Featuring a barrage of haunting riffs, intelligent melodies, and that unique charisma brought to the table by Xander himself, the album only serves to further the band’s universal message of peace, love, and harmony. As a record, Order Out of Chaos goes to great lengths to express both our individual and collective struggle toward living peaceful lives connected by love and friendship.

Xander himself is a beacon of motivation and determination, defying all expectations, able to play the guitar, and play it well, without his right forearm. Born without any right arm below his elbow, Xander had no choice but to get creative to fulfill the obstacles present in his life. He uses a prosthetic with a hook and a guitar pick attached to it at the end to play guitar. He’s so good that you would never know he faced any obstacles to becoming a good musician. Xander and his band want to be heard, not just for their talents but also for their time, effort, and commitment.

To commemorate the upcoming release of Order Out of Chaos, Xander himself has joined us today for a special track-by-track rundown of the record, its more specific motivations, and his interesting, philosophical take on some important issues.

1. “We Cry”

“This song is about how when humans become divided within themselves; they imagine enemies that are not there. They no longer see that everything is part of what they are and divide up into things that they think they know and understand.

“Those who are in positions of power (or at least believe they are) are often living in a tightly held illusion that they are separate from the whole. Within that illusion, they appear to use their power to create enemies and wars between innocent people who would not usually have issues with each other, only to serve their personal agendas of control and power over the masses.

“‘We Cry’ expresses the struggle of all of our human family becoming divided through this persistent illusion of separation.”

2. “Leave The Light On”

“This song expresses how kindness to the homeless can help bring both the one giving kindness and the one receiving that kindness back into the light of wholeness. When we pass a homeless person who is often struggling with mental illness and trauma, we are actually ignoring the suffering that is also within ourselves. We turn away from what needs attention and healing because we fear it.”

Artwork for the single “Order Out of Chaos” by Xander and the Peace Pirates

3. “Soul Sailing”

“The song explains itself within this verse:

‘I met Death face to face, she introduced me to Grace,
Then there was no more looking back,
no more dreams for Me to chase.
I’ve found love and love’s found me,
I am everything and everything to Be.’

“‘Soul Sailing’ expresses the glimpses and realizations of what it is to reveal our true authentic, boundless self underneath the many layers of beliefs, conditioning, trauma, and false assumptions about who and what we are.”

4. “I’m No Good At Being Bad”

“‘I’m No Good At Being Bad’ speak to the struggle of temptation, a spark between two people being tempted by each other’s forbidden fruits, and the urge to indulge in a naughty, juicy one-night stand for instant gratification. It suggests that those who have seen that these temptations only come from a need to fulfil feelings of incompleteness are ‘No Good At Being Bad.’”

5. “Order Out Of Chaos”

“How many people in strong positions of power will wield that power to manipulate the masses, only to serve their own personal agendas and not the whole? And all of those agendas are born out of a need to become more and have more, and that false need is never fulfilled.

“Those who appear to be in power only appear to have power because the masses give up their freedoms, and unconsciously and seemingly without choice, trade that freedom for a role that serves those false beliefs, and thus continues to live in the illusion that they must do as they are told, so as to serve and please these false masters in illusory positions of power.

‘They are making us turn on our Sisters and Brothers,
Order Out Of CHAOS, Killing Babies and Mothers,
Tell me, tell me, DOES THIS FEEL RIGHT?’”

6. “Into The Water”

“The longing to be at home within oneself; how we so often wait to be free, instead of exploring the possibility that we are already free when we stop trying to overcome ourselves and win some illusory goal.

“So, the ultimate goal often becomes to seek total liberation. This is expressed in the opening verse,

‘I was waiting on the sea for you,
For the ocean to swallow me,
So I could find a place in my heart for you,
Where I can’t win, and you can’t lose the truth.’

“This verse is symbolic of how we believe and experience ourselves as always being on a journey to something better, something that will fulfil us and end that constant seeking.”

Artwork for the album ‘Order Out of Chaos’ by Xander and the Peace Pirates

7. “Kiss Your Rain”

“Love at first sight. It is about how an appearance combined with strong feelings of extreme beauty and grace can stop one in their tracks and reveal a love that is beyond all understanding and belief.

“The story of the song speaks of an immediate love that transcends space and time and often scares us, as we see ourselves in that beauty and feel overwhelmed with strong emotions.

“The second verse says:

‘I did not ever believe in love at first sight,
Cast away all the shadows with her light,
Now I see that was here all along,
Drowning out all the sorrow with her song,
I feel her pain, I kiss her Rain.’

“This verse points to the electrifying energy that is palpable between two people who are deeply attracted to one another on more than just a physical level and the love that arises out of that energy.”

8. “Breathless”

“Our words and beliefs create realities that often oppose ourselves and each other, and create imagined divisions.

“The thoughts we believe and the words we speak shape what we call reality and affect it in profound ways that are often beyond belief.

“If we believe that we have enemies, we create enemies. If we stop believing those thoughts and the words that arise from those thoughts, the negative actions can be overcome and then collectively all those apparent enemies no longer exist, as they are no longer perceived as a threat, they are perceived as ourself.”

9. “Fog”

“Attempting to describe the repetitive and distracting loops and habits that we become conditioned by and the fog of the mind that can arise when we overly identify with these overthinking, neurotic patterns.

The lyrics describe how we go round and round in circles looking for relief from seeking but never find that relief in seeking in a circle.

‘Round and round we go,
Habit keeps us
Locked into what seems,
To be a dream.
on and on we go,
Wandering through
The pathways of our minds,
Where do we find,

How To Wake up,
From the Fog of our mind,
How To Wake up,
From the Fog of our mind.’”

10. “Heart Stop”

“This last track on the album is a sexy song about lust and passion. It’s a bit naughty and adds a nice balance to the album, as none of the other songs address our natural animal instincts to express our love and attraction to our partners and become one in that passion for one another.”

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