Here is a little ditty I worked up a while back and then forgot all about. I rediscovered it while digging through some files on my machine. Actually I rediscovered a lot of half-finished ideas and songs, which I really should get to some sort of completed state, just so I can post them here.

You might ask why I post unfinished ideas at all. I like to archive my ideas on this site so that when I am working on new projects, I can use it as a reference library of sounds, phrases, mixes, and ideas. Its much easier to browse things here than on my hard drive, inside a maze of folders, etc.

Hence the “journal” title of this website. I am working on a portfolio of work though, which I should be able to launch later this month - stay tuned!

Back to this track: I am not really sure what this would sync well with. The bongos are reminiscent of a tiki-torch party on the beach, but the guitar is more like something you would hear in a dark smokey jazz club. Then there is the mysterious and ethereal song structure…which is out of place in both of those settings. But the end result of these combinations is something else entirely. If I had to pick, I would say it would fit with some sort of Vegas casino theme. Maybe a fashion scene in a heist movie…

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.

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).

This is somewhere between a soundtrack and a soundscape, with little percussion / beats, and a sort of wandering structure that unfurls towards the end. I am no Brian Eno (although I am a fan of his), but I do like the ambient genre now and then. There is something psychologically liberating about working on a track once I’ve decided that it is evolving into an ambient thing, like at that point I can basically do anything I can think of.

In this case, that included appropriating a bit of Carl Sagan. The end result is something you might be able to listen to as you fall asleep.

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.