Man, it’s been a while since I added anything to this blog! Here is a trance-y kind of electro club beat thing I created as the soundtrack for a promotional video. Its all Logic sounds - no external plugins. Pretty basic stuff - but the basic sound presets in Logic are damn good. Normally I might start with them and then move away from the standard patches as the arrangement comes together, but this one sounded pretty coherent as it was, so I left it alone.

I’m working on this music for a video / commercial that is going to go on the web somewhere. This is version A of two options I am going to present them with…Listen to it and see if you can guess what the temp track was in the version they sent me.

Materials used: Omnisphere, Miroslav Philharmonik, Logic 9, EXS24.

This is actually the final version of “An Epic Ran” that I posted a sketch of before. In that entry, I talked about how Jordan came in and recorded the beats, and since then I’ve been chopping them up and adding instrumentation / arrangements over them. Here is the result.

This composition basically sets up a kind of riff, with an abstract kind of melody and syncopated arpeggiation, and them proceeds to modulate through the circle of fifths (this happens every time the slides change in the presentation it was designed to complement). There is probably no need for you to listen to the whole thing - its practically a soundscape in that it doesn’t really go anywhere - it just keeps modulating.

The instruments are: Mr. J. Siegel on the rented Mapex kit and an old Ludwig Snare - which we mic’d with an APEX DP-2 mic kit. Software instruments: sampled upright bass, Spectrasonics Omnisphere, sampled 12 string guitar.

As Gabe said: “It sounds like Mannheim Steamroller…” Indeed.

This is a sketch that was one of several options presented to a client. I think this track would work great behind underwater footage, like an ocean documentary or some sort of travel-channel scubafest.

Speaking of underwater - why don’t they rerun more of the old Jacques Cousteau specials on TV these days? Especially considering the popularity of movies like The Life Aquatic, which are obviously riffing on the JQ legend. Sidenote: can you believe that movie came out in 2004 - 5 years ago? How time flies…

Tools used on this track: Logic, EXS24, Spectrasonics Omnisphere & Stylus RMX.

Haven’t posted in a while - here is a recent track I was commissioned to make for an animated presentation - complete with some “whoosing” when stuff flies on and offscreen. If this video goes online I will post a link to it here later on…

Tools: Logic, Superior Drummer, various compressor plugins. All performed, except for 1 blippy sample which is so low in the mix you probably won’t hear it.

Lots of things in the works, new music, site redesign, and more. Its all going to have to wait until I can make some time to do it the right way, but Fall 2009 looks like an achievable deadline. Stay tuned…

Here is another sketch for the same project I mentioned in the previous post (The Wild Frontier). It is a 30 second logo spot / bumper. The client wanted something less orchestral and a bit more alternative, so I used rock instrumentation and fleshed it out with some blippy excitement.

The feeling with this track is “standard” enough, it could go lots of directions. Mainly “parent company” logo animations, with the beginning have a montage of people - as the music builds it speeds up and resolves into the logo at the end.

The ending is a little abrupt, but it’s just sketch, so I try not to spend too much time fussing until I know the client likes the style we are using.

This is a short 30 second bit that started as a sketch for a work project. Its the kind of thing that would be the opener / title sequence for a show on the Discovery Channel or the National Geographic Channel. It has traditional western orchestration with some world instruments, and an exciting driving beat.

I have been getting some serious mileage out of the Miroslav Philharmonik plugin recently - the samples are very high-quality, and, despite some initial confusion I experienced, the interface is pretty friendly. Now that I have a larger keyboard (thanks Tom!) I need to start to use some of the performance-controlling capabilities (controlling the bowing of violins and stuff like that).

Here is another soundtrack for a corporate-related video. This is a more worldly company, as you can tell from the slightly “world” rhythm track. Again, some breakdowns and build-ups that are based around interview segments and news clips.

This was my first time experimenting with Stylus RMX from Spectrasonics. It was very useful - I was able to quickly establish the basic rhythms I wanted, and get to the arrangements earlier than usual. If I can find a way to smoothly trigger Stylus RMX with my MIDI drums, it would be pretty hawt. But the Stylus RMX interface is not really geared for this, so we will see if I can work it out.

Posting soundtracks without the video is a drag, but I’d rather log my work here than wait for the video permission, etc. So here is yet another tune I did for a corporate client who shall not be named. Imagine lots of bright stage lights, some talking heads, footage of live performances, etc. Anytime there is a slow segment, chances are that is a person speaking over the track.

In this mix I am experimenting with some of the PSP Audioware plugins - they make some compressors and EQs that are quite nice, and really bring some excitement into the mix.  The audio instrument / plugin field is bursting with options these days, and I am in the process of trying to find out what I need, what is useful, and what sounds like crap.

This is a piece I created for a video that was to be shown at an executive annual meeting for a company who shall remain nameless (but whose products you almost certainly own). I wish I could post the video here - but I think it was for “internal use only”. I will find out for sure and post it if I can.

UPDATE: You might want to turn down your volume down a bit, because this track is a bit louder than the others for various reasons.