Metal Mech NSF1
Metal Max NSF93
Uses several Logic pad samples, Jamaican Jaeger drum sample, and an African Seed Caxixi sample.
Taking the original River City Ransom: Underground track into a faster, harder place while maintaining the original flavor
Sultry, yet sometimes harsh, female vocalizations over a chipwave beat.
Upbeat little number to get things going. Just beats and GB piano/bass instrument help.
Gathered around a campfire after a long day, we break out the slide guitar as we look toward the stars.
Inspired by two dissonant and tense-sounding chords on the piano, this little dance hall fiasco was born.
Op. 1, No. 1 is a loooooooong bout of off-and-on work. Many iterations and reinventions have lead up to its final form. After 11+ years, I think I'm finally done with molding it into existence.
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Affectionately known as "Dumeh", this piece could be referred to as contemporary classical, but I really don't know the "correct" genre. Regardless, Dumeh is in a modified sonata-allegro format with piano being the star. The string section is no slouch, however, and I had fun writing those parts to complement the keys. It's the one piece of music in my repertoire that I'd love to hear performed live at a concert, just as if I were one of those stodgy, yet eminently professional composer/conductors.
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"To be is to do." - Socrates
"To do is to be." - Sartre
"Do be do be do." - Sinatra
"Du. Meh. Dumeh." - Me
Chemical Music is a song created with help from the Molecular Music Box program (www.tomsnively.com/games/MolecularMusicBox.html). Once the initial piano loop was created, I got a little dark and a little angsty with it.
Unused in the game, but meant to loop over a title screen, ever beckoning you into the fray.
Plays on loop as you explore the seemingly endless forest of Marco's Minefield.
Replacement intro music for an existing podcast that did not end up being used.
Demo track for a non-existent game, done in the style of Starcraft's Terran theme.
Written for the Composer Quest Challenge #7, this is my virtual recording of a bass piece I wrote for my Valentine to play.
A friend wanted a theme song, so I sketched this, which is more of a theme "beat" than anything.
Written as a challenge on Reddit's /r/Guitar subreddit, I added a beat and other instruments to a guitar loop, played on a single string, someone posted. Here's the full thread: www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/ud27o/the_single_string_challenge/
My stab at the intro theme, as done by someone on the Hotline Miami soundtrack.
Intro theme, courtesy of my obsession with the National Broadcast Network.
Hotline Miami's music was a big influence on me, and I had to try making one of our outro themes sound like it belonged on the soundtrack.
The National Broadcast Network is a fine band you should look up at some point. In the meantime, check out my imagining of them doing the outro theme.
You've sneaked up on something in the unrelenting desert...but what do you do about it?
Mars's moons make for some interesting progressions. Thanks to Garageband's arpeggiator for this one.
Mars's moons make for some interesting progressions. Thanks to Garageband's arpeggiator for this one.
I was thinking about both Disasterpeace's "Syncrosynct" from the FZ: Side F remix album, as well as groups like Savoy when making this. Big sound that kind of starts off the album right.
I really just wanted something that evoked the original, but was a little less manic and a little more...authoritative? Man, that's a bad word choice, but that's what you're getting from me. Neil Baldwin is the man.
Source: Drop Zone (NES) - Title Theme, by Neil Baldwin
This devilishly magical blues track plays when you're hanging out in Zoso, a place renowned for its miscreants. I've loved it for a long time, and the version done live by the One-Ups finally made me decide to cover it. Not much of a remix going on in terms of style or arrangement, but I think the instrumentation fits it well.
Source: Final Fantasy 3/6j (SNES) - Slam Shuffle, by Nobuo Uematsu
Just say no, kids.
While the NES version of the venerable arcade classic was definitely inferior, the music didn't suffer too badly. The rocking tune that plays for several stages tries to be as muscled as it can using the 2A03, but I used modern technology to push it much further.
Source: N.A.R.C. (NES) - Stage 1/5/8/9, by David Wise
I never got very far in Uninvited, having much more success with the other Kemco point-and-click adventures, but this little tune always stood out to me as being a great little funky jam that didn't seem to fit the rest of the soundtrack. It's basically made for my style of lighthearted jamming.
Source: Uninvited (NES) - Cookie Monster Jam, by Hiroyuki Masuno
The entire Fez soundtrack is sublime and amazing. To pick just one track from it to cover is a difficult choice. "Beacon" felt like something that would benefit from playing it live on acoustic instruments, but learning it from scratch was a decent challenge as my usual strategy of finding MIDIs or tabs of it failed. The time signature changes and slight tempo changes further convoluted the process. Disasterpeace is kind of a genius.
Source: Fez (XBLA/PC/Mac) - Beacon, by Disasterpeace
Boasting one of the coolest secret agent themes besides Bond's, Golgo 13 was an odd game, based on a Japanse manga, that mixed up different play styles in one package. All of them were kind of NES-difficult, so I definitely never made it far, but I've heard the title theme countless times. One of my very first MIDIs I ever tried to make was this track, and so now, in 2013, I finally get to cover it with guitars and funk bass.
Source: Golgo 13 (NES) - Title Theme, by Michiharu Hasuya
There're plenty of NES-era soundtracks I adore. Some are iconic, some are just fun, and then some are just so accomplished, despite being 30-second loops, that it's kind of hard to comprehend.
Faxanadu was an interesting diversion from the norm, based on "a mixture of Norse...and Japanese mythology with some derivatives of Eastern religion", so says WikiPedia. It had a cool "title" ranking system for each new level of experience you attained. The world seemed huge, too, especially for a young child, and so the task of beating it was monumental.
That...and the soundtrack was just unique and epic. The section with fog covering everything clicked with me and so I chose to kind of take that even further by musically adding a haze to the whole thing, a la one of my favorite tracks by Washed Out.
Source: Faxanadu (NES) - Fog, by Jun Chikuma
Rez is full of amazing music to go along with its psychedelic rhythmic shooting action. Stage 5 just features the best track.
It's been remixed a few times, but the stems became available and I knew I needed to take a crack at it. My aim was to simply make the clever and lumbering original into a more manic and exciteable realm, and hopefully I succeeded.
Source: Rez (PS2/XBLA/Dreamcast) - Fear (Stage 5), by Adam Freeland
Bonk's Adventure, man! Just thinking about the Turbografx-16 brings back so many good, credit-card-sized-game memories. Bonk still ranks up there for me as one of the best platformers, not only because it had good music, but because you ate meat and your head exploded and you jumped on springy flowers and you essentially cracked eggshells with your head to win the game. Also, everything about its design seems sooooo weird and Japanese to me now, but in my youth just came off as charming. I guess I just accepted a lot of things without question then.
The original track has a more world/tribal drumbeat behind it, but I found a drum loop in Logic that just kind of hit it right on the head, and so this remix was born.
Source: Bonk's Adventure (TG16) - Boss, by Hirohiko Takayama
There weren't many games outside of the Kemco point-and-click adventure series that were like Deja Vu. Originally done on a computer with a mouse and keyboard, using the NES controller to move a pointer around was inferior, but at the time I knew no better. Finding clues and figuring out how to clear my name with the right combination of evidence was quite compelling, especially set to a smooth, jazz club soundtrack.
This remix's style, which contrasts greatly from the original's jazz club mystique, kind of started as a simplistic test, but the melody just works so well sped up and going nuts that I couldn't resist it.
Source: Deja Vu (NES) - Peoria St., by Hiroyuki Masuno
A slightly underrated action/adventure game, Strider was another one of those games that I didn't think anyone really played, but they should have. The music is a great mix of mysterious, almost-spy-theme-like tracks that were often fast-paced and grooving.
Just to introduce some variety into the album, I went waaaaay off-script with this remix. The short loop that plays while you're racing across a rail car gets turned into a lounge jazz-cum-chamber music offtime thingy. It was a challenge and a delight to try to turn a straightforward tune into something new and different, while (hopefully) still retaining recognition.
Source: Strider (NES) - Rail, by Harumi Fujita
River City Ransom is a stone-cold classic. This is not news. It has a rocking soundtrack. This is also not news. However, it has some sweet, more laid-back tracks that might not always get recognition. Thus, I chose both the Password and Cutscene ditties and combined them into one.
The former is in 3/4, performed like a waltz, but the latter is regular 4/4 and so I had to massage it a bit to get it to fit (how's that for some assonance?). Take a partner and enjoy River City High's annual "Squid Dance", won't you?
Source: River City Ransom (NES) - Password/Cutscene, by Kazuo Sawa
Rad Racer was one of the first (if not *the* first) racing games for the NES. It's been immortalized in the movie The Wizard. However, there's a better racing game on the NES and it is R.C. Pro-Am. Control a remote-controlled car around a track at break-neck speeds, all the while trying to avoid oil slicks and picking up letters in the publishing company's name. It was a blast.
As the album closer, I knew a straightforward cover of this rocking tune would be easy, so I once again went in a totally different direction using some very different instrumentation to act as a coda to the whole thing.
Source: R.C. Pro-Am (NES) - Title, by David Wise
Covering a Satriani B-side (Speed of Light), but changed the key and speed.
Proper melodies exploding every which way from Wednesday.
MUSIK - Quest for Blue remix
The World of Beatcraft takes a trip to Asia and back.
World of Warcraft OCRemix entry remix
Portable gaming has never tripped out quite like this before.
MUSIK remix / DS samples
Covering Neil Baldwin NES game music (Ferrari Grand Prix and James Pond Jr. crossover track)
There aren't many solo guitar pieces in the Final Fantasy catalog, so this jumped out at me the first time I heard it. It's also relatively simple to play, but still sounds pleasing every time.
Original composer: Nobuo Uematsu
Source: Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack
A spare classical piece that I had fun embellishing just a 'ittle bit.
Original composer: Francisco Tarrega
When a jam session coalesces into something with more rigid structure, something like Dearly comes into being. Playing in open tunings (DAGDAD) is kind of a joy, no matter what you're playing. Kind of a companion piece to Beloved.
One of the most trusted arrows in a classical guitarist's quiver, Romance Anonimo is one of my favorites to play and listen to.
Solipsism is the belief that your own self is all you can be certain to be true, and all other things are uncertain. Man, don't you just feel that way all the time? No? Hmm.
Joe Satriani may be primarily well-known for writing and playing blistering rock solos, but occasionally he creates these wonderful little nuggets on a single guitar.
Original composer: Joe Satriani
Album Source: The Extremist
The lead track on the Smashing Pumpkins' double-CD masterpiece is a quiet piano ballad with a cello lead over it in the middle. I once found an arrangement of the piano for guitar (adjusted to C for ease of play) that I really dig, and thusly recorded it.
Original composer: Smashing Pumpkins
Album source: Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness
Initially written for a sick friend as a form of cheer-me-up medicine, this piece doesn't really reflect that attitude at all, really.
316 was written for Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen's son) to commemorate his birthday. I can't replicate the incredible tone Eddie gets when he plays this on his (presumed) Music Man guitar through CRAZY SWEET audio system, but the general mood is there.
Original composer: Van Halen
Album source: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
A very unique piece that doesn't really sound like anything else Satch has done. It's pretty rocking and fairly difficult to play at times, too. Hitting multiple frets over almost 3 whole steps in the middle of the fretboard is not easy.
Original composer: Joe Satriani
Album source: Not of This Earth
Lengthy, almost progressive rock in nature. Several different parts that (hopefully) segue between each other well enough. Kind of a companion piece to Dearly.
The town theme from Diablo 1 that you know and love, but done in my own special way.
Original composer: Matt Uelmen
Source: Diablo Original Soundtrack
I was tasked with learning this to play at a wedding, and I liked it so much that I recorded a version of it.
Original composer: Dan Fogelberg
This is only the last minute of the original song, as it seemed almost off in its own little world.
Original composer: Joe Satriani
Album source: Engines of Creation
A nifty little funk jam that goes into hard rock overdrive and back to lithe funky something or other.
Blues rock for those who like their blues with no words and some harmonica and their rock with the usual amount of guitars.
A little rocktronica thing where I actually played the solos live using my MIDI keyboard (not something I do often)
I've gone long periods of time just listening to chiptunes. NES, SNES, GB, and GBA are my favorite "artists". The soundtrack to Startropics always puts me in a jaunty mood. However, the treatment of Captain Bell's Memorial heard in Breaking the Captain is something I can only attribute to something that kept reoccurring in my head every time I listened to it. The spaces between each drawn out note just sounded like it needed crazy animal drum fills. And there you have it.
The NESkimos do a bang-up job of covering Bionic Commando's "Area 5" theme in a more predictable manner, and so I figured I would try something different. Instead of your typical guitar/bass/drums combo, I threw in some piano/horn stabs, some acoustic standup bass, and a toe-tapping big band rhythm to, uh, jazz it up some.
A straight-ahead rocker from Maniac Mansion. Dave's Theme has some truly bitching solos that I did not have the patience/skill to emulate, so I improvised. Otherwise, it's pretty faithful to the source material.
Until recently, when Nintendo blessed the Virtual Console on Wii with this hidden Sunsoft gem, I'm pretty sure no one knew much about Ufouria(E)/Hebereke(J). Hell, I didn't, either. When I was searching for NES chiptunes to download one day, this game stood out because of its developer's notoriety of making badass game music (Blaster Master, for example). Thankfully, I snagged it and found a new favorite. The "underground" theme that plays in the game was just enough riffage to extrapolate into the MASSIVE riffage that Undereke brings to the table.
Shuffling good time with some old-school synths that might actually make you want to dance. The original tune from a oft-neglected bit o' awesomeness that is "Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom" was short and sweet, and I had fun expanding it in weird ways.
Shadowrun is a cherished RPG from the SNES era. It's the kind of game you can just play and over and over every few years, always as if it were the first time. The melody should be familiar to anyone who played the game, but it's stuck in there and it's taken out of its natural context, wrapped up in a pseudo-Indian vibe. The tambura groove is very enveloping.
This is the kind of video game theme cover that is predictable. Matoya's theme has been covered by a lot of people and it's almost always done up in the Big Rock Fashion. This is no different, but it starts and ends in a new way that you might not predict.
Metal Gear 2: Snake's Revenge has been maligned a bit over the years, as it was not worked on by the same team as the first, and even Hideo Kojima has slighted it in interviews. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun, or that the music didn't have some choice tracks. The "Jungle Base" theme, while not nearly as awesome as Metal Gear 1's, is still pretty slick, and I took it to a more orchestrally-electronic pitch.
All of the Dragon Quest/Warrior games have epic Sugiyama music, with a classical feel reminiscent of Middle Ages music. The themes themselves are just as indelible as their unofficial rivals, the Final Fantasies. The "Castle" theme from DW4 carries some good memories for me.
I asked a friend to suggest a video game theme to cover to add to this collection, and they suggested Mega Man X. Furthermore, both the Boss Select screen and Storm Eagle theme. Two great themes that go together quite well, with the rawk ratcheted up a few notches.
Another idea contributed by a friend, quite a long time ago. They wanted to hear a reggae rendition of the main Bubble Bobble theme. Well, that's not my usual style, and I'm not sure this actually qualifies as "reggae" proper. It's got a lazy, island vibe, though, and the jangly guitar's emphasis is on the upbeat, so it's close.
How does one make the haunting melodies of Shadowgate even more haunting? Change those square waves to choirs and add breakbeats! Right?
A little known game from the NES era called "Magician" exists. It is tough. I've never gotten very far in it. But I've listened to the chiptunes from it many times, and this theme is just epic. I basically run it into the ground as best I can, leaving you winded and exhausted at the end.
The last project I did that was this ambitious was for M.U.S.I.K. 2006, when I did a five-part, interwoven orchestral opus. It was sprawling and touched a few musical genres during its lengthy stay in your consciousness. Choosing to cover the ENTIRE "Sword of Hope" soundtrack for the Game Boy was difficult and my sequencer crashed several times while creating it. Your love for the music of SoH must be strong like it is for me to tune in for the whole thing, but I promise you it's good.
Soundtrack to the video of the same name. Heavily-influenced by pop sensibilities, car commercials, and "Buildings and Mountains" by the Republic Tigers. I ended up getting married at the building created in the video, actually.
This started out as a solo piano piece, but took on more of a life once it got a video companion. The title doesn't quite fit the sound anymore, but I like it enough to keep it anyway.
Matched with the "A Day in the Life" video, this really makes my typical workday seem a lot more exciting than it is. I enjoy the buildup in this piece, with the heady release of tension that the big guitar chord brings.
Epic RPG-ish rock march music. Used in a video to convey the epic epicness of a recent cruise to Alaska.
Dorky little suspense/spy theme. Silliness abounds in the video it's used in, "TiVo on the Lam."
This piece was once the theme for "Six Easy Steps to Happiness," a short six-picture slideshow/video thingy I made about my at-the-time girlfriend's new bed's construction. I improved the instrumentation and made it a little more rocking to accompany the video "Stroganoff Delight" where I once again joined my now-wife in making something.
Imposing title, no? My intention was for this to be played behind the opening credits for a suspenseful thriller movie. Or me skulking around my neighborhood at 11pm on a weeknight. Whatever works.
This started out as a simple bass sketch called Trailing. It was also the first time I'd ever used a significant number of Apple loops in a piece, so...the name kind of came about. Guitar samples ahoy make for a rock song on speed.
Is it supposed to make you think of Jack-Be-Nimble, Jack-Be-Quick? No. It is supposed to be a fun, little bouncy tune.
The main melody a little past the half-way point was something I played on my electric guitar many years before this song ever came together.
An ever-so-smooth electronic trip that gets a little noisy before the ever-so-smooth ending.
Beepy jaunt that turns into a cavernous rock-a-thon and back into a beepier jauntier...thing.
Once again, a piece that lived as one kind of piece is transformed into something else. Kind of progressive rock-ish in its scope, this rocknum opus has a lot of stuff going on.
A bookend to Ing, this showcases a nice 5-4-3-2-1 descending drum meter with some caaaaaraaazyyyy guitar soloing.
Welcome to Average Town! Enjoy your mediocre stay and don't forget to refer to us neutrally in passing to your acquaintances at some point.
Descending into the cave, sagging stone structures fill your eyesight. The underground city of New Halveshire beckons and then swallows you whole.
Running. Tracing. Acing. Win the Tracerace against time or lose your mind.
Also makes for a good ringtone.
You've been tagged, flagged, and bagged. But there is hope yet. The out is in Discoverton, exactly where you came in.
Forgetting you ever found Average Town even remotely hospitable, a long journey home along the pathways of Nyxville is your only real escape.
When I think of RPG title themes, my mind goes to places like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. A soft, lilting opener, a crescendo, ending with a looped main theme. It's main purpose is to gradually engage you into the virtual world of the game, leaving you humming some kind of melody while the game loads.
Now that you've sat and listened to the title screen and started the game, the story can begin. The world is initially unveiled to the player at this point, their faculties becoming sharp and focused on what it is this game is all about for the first time. Equal parts curiosity and awe are mixed into the presentation.
Meet Olos. He's a saxophonist. He's currently unemployed, and he's seen better days. Living in a run-down (is there really any other kind?) shack off a major thoroughfare, largely wasting the days away, his macabre sense of self-worth is yet still more deflated than even a popped balloon. No one wants a solo saxophonist at their wedding, bris, or funeral anymore. Female prospects have dried up more than a pool on the sun. Times...they are tough. Sure, since you're playing an RPG, and he's the main character, things are bound to get supernaturally crazy or else this game would be fairly pointless, but for now...the theme connotates a plaintive malaise.
Meet Claire. She's a starry-eyed, twenty-something destined for greatness. Or so she thinks. A quiet feeling of dread permeates her soul, however. Despite the high bounds of her optimism she knows it could all be a lie. Left for dead by parents massacred in a great war two decades ago, Claire has found her moral and ethical compass composed of the world aroud her. Scrappy, yet kind, she's sure opportunity is out there somewhere, as long as she keeps looking for it.
Meet Senegal. Well, it may be hard to actually meet him, as he's the shadowy, odd one of the bunch. A mix of the feral Gau and mysterious Shadow from Final Fantasy VI, Senegal's not from around here. In fact, his homeland, known only as 'Chirrum,' disappeared from the face of the earth centuries ago. No one really knows his lineage or nationality, but his long, unkempt hair, battle scars, and prowess with just about any kind of weapon definitely pegs him as a combatant. His motivations are unclear and his desire to help fluctuates with the passing of time. He's a crazy fellow, yo.
The quintessential theme of any RPG that requires transportation on foot is that of the Overworld's. You'll be hearing this one even more than the battle theme unless the enemy random encounter algorithm is ridiculously overbearing, so it's gotta be jaunty; a theme that gets you moving and has a cute little melody on top of it.
An enemy approaches! Start the battle theme! Whip the heroes into a lather! All good RPGs have that ritualistic conflict known as battle, and while the swords and spells are being wielded to take out the enemies, an onslaught of music fills the voids between menu clicks and fight animations.
After all that adventuring through the land of Ebben Flow, it's nice to be able to duck into a town for some much needed respite from all the randomly encountered enemies plaguing the dangerous lands that abound. Another idea heavily-borrowed from my adventures with old-school RPGs, 'Riveria' hails from the Dragon Warrior-style of composition with a thick layer of modern pop sensibilities.
It appears you've stumbled into a dungeon, cave, evil temple, demon tower, vortex of chaos, or other foul-tempered den of iniquity. Cue the moody interior music!
The game is called Ebben Flow, so you'd expect to go underwater at some point, right? Good guess, because once you've figured out a way to plumb the murky reaches of the sea this theme will become your new friend.
Not all of life is considered happy. The opposite of happiness is sadness, and it wouldn't be a good RPG if it had no sadness/death theme. When the chips are down and things look bleak, or there's just a quiet serenity needing to be reached, look to 'Trickle.'
This is it. It's the final clash between good and evil. Both sides have prepared for this encounter since the beginning of the game and all bets are now off. It's on. Who or what is 'Gnostis'? If only the game existed, you could find out. Instead, you'll have to imagine the epic war waged presented by this theme.
The final story unfolds as our plucky protagonists finally find out the secrets behind the world of Ebben Flow. Created to play over the end cutscene as well as the credits, it all comes down to this. Strings, percussion, bass, guitar, marimba, and several woodwinds are all used to saturate your ears with melodic and rhythmic bliss. RPGs were created solely for themes like this to exist.
A little coffee shop classical guitar. Eventually turned into FLV's "Even Tide".
Medley of some of my favorite instrumental surf tunes (Pipeline, Miserlou, and Walk Don't Run)
There was some pop song back in the 90s that I heard a lot on the radio, and it inspired this song's rhythm
Nice little electronic boop
Just rock and drum my face off, please
A pleasant little rock number turns into something very repetitive and sinister, indeed.
Kind of an odd trip-hop thinger
A mood and a force
Logic loops always sound better, more commercial. Of all the songs on this album, this sounds the best-produced. It needs to be behind some kind of Drupal PR video.
Autumn is coming.
Written for a Composer Quest. Challenge was to make a piece of music for the Fall, to be played by a small orchestra, but mine didn't make the cut.
Written with a girlfriend in mind, this was one of my first forays into contrapuntal, stereophonic recording. Also, it's just kind of a weird repeating phrase that gets faster with some insane noodling over it.
Made from the samples I got from an electronic music magazine, this is industrial from the mind of 2003-era me.
After listening to Dream Theater long enough, you start to get delusions of grandeur.
The best part of this is that it features no oboe, nor is it a recital. Also, it sounds like me trying to do Squarepusher lite.
The main rhythmic motif is in 6/8, but over a 4/4 beat. It sounds nice. Also, a peccadillo is a "little sin".
This may have been made in Fruity Loops (don't know where the original project is anymore).
Updated version of the track from MUSIK 2006, now with drums and strings and distortion
You'd be amazed what you can come up with when it's late, you're probably behind on homework, and you think your printer is actually kind of rhythmic.
A funky little number that Sam Begich and I wrote via Facetime/Google Hangouts for a Composer Quest Quest #2 - Conversation.
Initially, a random guitar progression. Later, added drums to it, despite it not being an even beat.
Taking Disasterpeace's lovely album-ender from LEVEL and updating the chiptune style to Logic Rock style.
Rad bass aside, I think this track could be played during a montage where the heroes are breaking into the villain's hideout.
Titled by my girlfriend-at-the-time, this track is apparently a wacky processional theme for the soon-to-be-wedded.
If this had words, it could easily be an alternative rock smash hit. Moods swing wildly throughout.
PAIN and DESPAIR and LOATHING. Otherwise known as "ouch, the title sounds genuinely alarming".
Depending on your OS and media player, this may or may not actually be exactly a minute long.
Jazzy and bouncy acoustic guitar doodle I tend to make a lot of the time. Eventually becomes "Luz Oscura" on Rusty Crab's debut EP.
My first attempt at a traditional punk song, but with no lyrics, as was the style of mine at the time.
Original Track: Batman - Boss
Original Composer: Naoki Kodaka
Influences: Rock music, in general
Original Track: Kick Master - Sector 7
Original Composers: Nobuyuki Shioda, Yusuke Takahama
Influences: Rock music, in general
Original Track: Goonies II - Maze
Original Composer: Satoe Terashima
Influences: Street Cleaner, Carpenter Brut
Original Track: Golgo 13 - East Berlin
Original Composer: Michiharu Hasuya
Influences: Jam rock, spy movies
Original Track: Solar Jetman - Level 6
Original Composer: David Wise
Influences: Native Instruments Kontakt samplers, stringed instruments
Original Track: The Immortal - BGM3
Original Composer: Douglas Fulton
Influences: Hip-hop, dispassion
Original Track: TMNT - MiniBoss
Original Composer: Jun Funahashi
Influences: Post-rock, jazz
Original Track: Pictionary - Move Piece
Original Composer: Tim Follin
Influences: Funk, Big Band
Original Track: Willow - Town
Original Composer: Harumi Fujita
Influences: Orbital, D&B
Original Track(s): Solomon's Key - Various
Original Composer: Michiharu Hasuya
Influences: Orchestral, hip-hop
Original Track: Magician - Game Over
Original Composer: Neil Baldwin
Influences: Neil Baldwin, trip-hop
Remix of two tracks from Disastepeace's Limeade Grin: Neon Levee and It's Her Ex.
I'd love to cover this with live acoustic guitars, but I don't think I have the skill.
RPM challenge song that is brought to you by my daughter's mind and brought into existence by whatever talent I may have.
Sometimes the things that take us to the edge are the only things keeping us from going over it.
Useful theme for Youtube video intros/outros, or when you just need to introduce something.
Mega Man has used a particular theme for the "show the boss you just selected in a dramatic way" moment, and I decided to slow it down and make it funky.
When I was really into RATM, I decided to play one of their early riffs, and then slow it down, down, down.
Why play the strings on a guitar below the nut when you can play them above the nut?
I apologize for the terrible Chris Cornell impression. It will be noted in my permanent record.
I'm cool like dat, I'm cool like dis, and I played my acoustic guitar like a stand-up bass.
When you need to score a chase theme between a lion and a pack of desperate gazelle.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded in a day for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006.
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Written and recorded for Music Unsolicitedly Started Idiosyncratically for Karma 2006
Later redone with lyrics as a Pure Yellow Colour song
Sometimes I just can't decide whether I want to make a rock, blues, or jazz track. This is the result of that indecision.
"The Devil's Ladder" in Latin. This went on to become the basis for part of Fly Like Venus's "The Ladder".
Add a chord progression to searing guitar leads, synths, and the ending speech from Neo and you get this cool track.
Inspired by a terrible voice mail transcription, this song involves a lot of nonsense that somehow makes sense the more you listen to it.
Challenged by a friend to make a simple song with three chords, I just looked around at my current surroundings, and this is what came out.
Another acoustic sketch that finally turned into a real, live song with lyrics.
One of my earliest compositions. I had no idea that Ozzy had a song called this when I wrote it.
Nanostudio has an interesting arpeggio sound that I found neat enough to make a track around it.
Updating an old chestnut originally inspired by a girlfriend and jamming with her boss's husband.
Written for the Composer Quest Challenge #7, this is my virtual recording of a bass piece I wrote for my Valentine to play.
Written for Composer Quest #19. Challenge was to take someone else's MIDI and re-orchestrate it.
Written for Composer Quest Olympics #4: Hurdles
Hurdles:
"Charlie will provide a lead sheet for you to compose over. Each measure will have one chord (the hurdle), and you decide how to compose around it, in any style. Provide a recording to share with the group."
The chords:
Bb F Gmin Eb
Bb F Gb Db
C Fmin F
Bbmin Bbmin/Ab Gb Db Gb Db
C F Bb F
Gmin Eb
Bb F Gb Ab
Bb
Written for Composer Quest Olympics #5: Relay Race
Relay Race:
"Charlie will randomly assign you to a team of 4-5 composers, and you’ll collaborate on a composition by passing it from one person to the next. You decide as a team who will go first, and each person will contribute 20 – 30 seconds of music until you have a roughly 2-minute collage composition. You can also decide as a team if you want to notate it and have someone record it as a whole, or you can send recorded chunks to each other."
Written for Composer Quest Olympics #6: Composer's Choice
Composer's Choice:
"Maybe you can’t compete in a REAL Olympic event, but you an at least compose something in honor of one. You’ll pick an event and decide what style or form captures its essence. For example, if you picked javelin throw, you might compose a long continuous arc in your melody. Or maybe you want to capture the improvisation of a boxing match with competing jazz solos. Or maybe you just want to write a song about a bobsled team. Provide a recording to share with the group, plus a short written description of the event you chose and how you represented it in your composition."
Ninja Gaiden's music is so bouncy and fun, and I just wanted to augment it a bit.
Cover of "6 PM Theme" by Kazumi Totaka from the Animal Crossing New Horizons soundtrack.
Cover of "Waiting on a Miracle" by Lin-Manuel Miranda from the Encanto soundtrack.
What started as an interpretation of a fellow musician's theme became something entirely different when I just wanted to rock.
There are those we put our faith and trust in to have a better life, whether they are actually faithful or trustworthy.
Originally entitled "Stone Ratchet", the current and final title of "Confounded" sums up this mostly instrumental guitar jam.
Originally called "Coffee Shop", an acoustic track done for a daily challenge, but now realized by a full band in all its glory.
Made of an assortment of samples and synths from the Neon Metropolis Live Loops chiptune pack in Garageband, cleaned up and modified in Logic.
A friend who is really into an old electronic thing called Merlin wanted me to write something using its sounds...so I did.
Originally started as a theme idea for a podcast, I decided to flesh it out into a mallet instrument jazz thing.