At work this week: I just completed this musical theme / signature for a cool-sounding video podcast - 10 Things TV. I really enjoy working with websites that have a video series or video podcast - I think this has been an area of rapid growth on the internet, and will continued source of interesting material and edgy approaches to connecting with audiences.
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There is a ton of stuff I’ve worked on over the last year that is languishing on my hard drive. Some are mostly finished, some are pretty embryonic - but I don’t want them to slip through the cracks. So hold on to your butts, ’cause here they come.
First up- this funky clavichord thing that I love. I think this will be included in some form on an “album” (I use that term loosely) of electro-space-funk that I intend to release later this year. It’s going to be extremely ill.
Until then, this is a tidbit of what you can expect. Funky beats, throbbing bass, hot synths, and percolating keyboards. Hot, sticky, mildly-stinky space funk. It’s like you got sprayed by some sort of alien skunk…and you LIKED it.
This is something silly I whipped up after I somehow wound up with a recording of my better half doing her sarcastic rendition of “Baby Got Back”. Sir Mixalot would be…proud?
After fooling with this, I decided to make it available as a ringtone for the iPhone. You can download the ringtone here:
Download “White Beans And Rice” in the iPhone ringtone format
Once you download it, you should be able to add it to your iTunes library and from there sync it to your phone. Have fun!
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.
Arthur C. Clarke died last month. He was a visionary - and his brilliant mind, with Stanley Kubrick’s genius, is responsible for one of my favorite movies: 2001: A Space Odyssey.
One of the memorable traits of that film is the use of classical music to frame sequences of vehicles delicately dancing through the void. As much as I love these moments in the film, I have always agreed with Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra’s contention that “Space is the Place”.
There is something about laser beams, black holes, and big rockets that says “funk” to me. With that in mind, here is a space-funk riff for the next time you venture into the abyss.
I think this funky / rockin track would go well with a movie or video game about bank robbery, or a casino heist (a la Ocean’s 11/12/13). I think it could also work with a sports game. I can visualize it to the intro cut sequence of the players walking onto the field, and then clashing together in the game as the music starts rocking.
I organized it into the following sections: Intro: Men in Suits Walking in Step / Big Time Player Theme / Neon Breakdown / Big Time Player Theme End.
With the exception of one drum loop in the background, all of these tracks were played by me, mostly using MIDI devices, but the guitars and bass are “real”. The drums aren’t programmed, I played them on my Roland MIDI kit. I mastered and re-mastered this track quite a lot, trying to make it “hot”, and the end result turned out pretty well I think.
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I was pleased to be hired by OysterCatcher Studios to contribute some music to an excellent film about the SEA Semester study program.
I had this idea for a song that was heavily inspired by a Sir Douglas Quintet tune, but the more I tried to go for that feeling, the trickier it got. Instead of a 1-4-5, I wrote a 1-4-1-6m-6# (?) sort of thing.
It’s sort of feisty, which I like. But the keyboard part is too ‘Baba o’Reilly-meets-the-circus’. Maybe I’ll take it out.
Since my wife and I are living overseas, away from our immediate family, we uploaded a video of our daughter to YouTube so relatives could see her. I was compelled to create some silly baby-esque music to accompany the video clips. For some reason I got it into my head that it needed to be a video-gamey kind of thing…
One interesting thing about being a parent is that you’re always singing - bedtime lullabyes, TV show sing-a-longs, playing pat-y-cake, etc. I enjoy it more than I would like to admit. Now if I could only keep myself from bursting into Old-Mac-Donald-Had-A-Farm when I am waiting by myself on the train platform.
One of my favorite things to do on a rainy, grey day is to visit a park, especially the tradtionally landscaped ones here in Japan. The mossy rocks and trees take on a deeply green color, and the stones are stained dark grey. Everything glistens in the overcast sunlight.
It was on a day like this a few months ago that I began the idea for this song. Normally people associate sad (minor scale) music with rainy days, but I wanted to capture some of the moody yet inspiring aspects of a stormy day.
Here is a snip of a tune I am working on for Nathan & the Naturals. I’ve been on the fence about what direction to take this song in. Right now it seems like it’s on the verge of being an upbeat Bill Withers tune (Good!) or one of Michael McDonald’s later works (maybe not so good).
(Guilty admission: I love Keep Forgettin’.
All instruments by me (guitar, midi instruments, samples. Software: Logic).