Before I moved to Japan I used to watch a lot of anime. In particular I liked most of the Studio Ghibli and Production I.G stuff (Spirited Away, Ghost in the Shell, etc). There are a lot of musical themes that both studios return to again and again, and it really creates a vivid world for the viewer.

Anyway, this is a track that is sort of tribal and mystical. Something about this track reminds me of the forest spirits in Princess Mononoke, but there are touches of the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack, too. It is a very dramatic and open track - I tried to keep the “curve” of the arrangement relatively flat - no sudden changes or jumps - like a river flowing along.

Reading the entry for Joe Hisashi, who composes the music for many Studio Ghibli films, I was surprised to learn he was a typesetter! I think many people who are interested in graphic design are also interested in music composition - after all, arranging a layout and arranging music share many things in common. I would love to ask Mr. Hisashi what he thinks about this idea.

This is music designed to fit with a questing / fantasy game. Something along the lines of the Zelda series: cute, fun, magical. Elves, mazes, tunnels, goblins, swords and armor, magic items…that sort of thing.

As you listen, you will hear the following segments:
INTRO (0:00): The music you hear during the main menu, before you start the game
EXPLORING (0:24): The general theme of the tune…traveling, questing
PUZZLE SOLVING (0:55): Presented with some sort of test / trial / puzzle
EXPLORING REVISITED (1:12): Back to the wandering theme, but fuller, more triumphant.
BATTLE (1:51): Attacked! Imagine the clashing of swords over this segment
DEAD (2:10): You sustained one blow too many, and keeled over. Hope you saved!

All of these instruments are MIDI instruments, tweaked and played in Logic Pro 8. I am a big fan of the toy piano sounds, I think they hold the whole piece together, and give it a fun feeling.

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.