Thursday, July 17th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 11 Aug 2005)
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Ah, it’s nice to have this remix done. While I enjoyed writing the original “Journey” midi, this song has been in desperate need of an mp3 mix for awhile.
There are several noticeable differences between this and the original; I’ve tried to rewrite some of the weaker sections without changing the song too much (it is, after all, a theme song hehe). Also, the change of the lead instrument to a Spanish trumpet turned out as good as I could have hoped for. Spanish trumpets are awesome!
Many thanks go out to Kroc for all he’s done to help me out these past few years. This song - as well as Leaving Millie and Retribution are my small way of saying thanks!
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Thursday, July 17th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 12 Aug 2005)
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“Leaving Millie” is an interesting addition to the theme of Kroc’s life (my source material for this “Kroc’s Symphony” experiment; see also Retribution and The Journey). In spring 2005, Kroc shared with me a series of remarkable stories. One of the recurring characters in these stories was a girl named “Millie,” and she is the inspiration for this song.
My hope for this was to accomplish several things. I wanted a piece that sounded pretty and pleasant (not dark or dreary), but I didn’t want to go so far as “happy,” per se. I wanted it to be the kind of song you could contemplate to. I also wanted it to start simple, but progress into a more complex ending that stayed true to the simpleness of the melody. It’s designed to be a sort of musical conundrum. :) I’m rather fond of it.
Again, thanks go out to Kroc for all he’s done to help me out. This song, as well as The Journey and Retribution, are my small way of saying thanks.
By popular request, I have also included a “live piano” version of this piece. In this version the piano track was recorded as MIDI through my keyboard and recreated via soundfont - so it’s not entirely “live”, but the notes are an exact replica of me at my keyboard. In my opinion, this version has more grandeur than the all-electronic version, and although there are some dissonant notes at the end (oops!), I find this to be a nice improvement on an already excellent song.
Posted in Character Theme, Love, Music | No Comments »
Monday, June 23rd, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 Apr 2005)
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“A Memory Away” is one of the few songs that - from inspiration to composition - changed hardly at all. After writing “Faith,” I found myself trying out various variations on that same chord progression but not finding anything that worked. It wasn’t until I heard “Not Enough” by OLP (Our Lady Peace), which uses the same chord progression as “Faith” and “A Memory Away,” that I realized the kind of style I wanted to try to achieve with MIDI. I’d never heard an intelligent pop-rock instrumentation in MIDI, so this was a bit of a gamble. I worked off the instrument mix OLP used and put together what I guess is really a variation on “Faith” with a strong OLP presence. Go figure.
As soon as I heard it, I knew this would be a perfect female character theme for the lead character of Defiance, one of the story premises discussed by the video game team I was working with at the time. The protagonist of the story was a girl named Cara, who I see being comparable to the main character in “Underworld” (if you’ve seen the movie; it’s a good show). Cara was a strong, action-oriented girl who ends up falling in love with a man she thought she was saving. Thus the song is a - perhaps odd - mix of electric guitar and other rock instruments but with a mellow melody.
Technically-speaking the song may not be anything outstanding, but I’m pleased that my first attempt at trying to produce a realistic alternative-type song using nothing but MIDI instruments worked out. Ideally, I’d really like to work with this instrument mix again in the near future…
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Friday, June 20th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 Apr 2005)
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“Remember” is a simple remix of the 2nd half of “Cyaron’s Gate” - which tells you how long ago I wrote it (~1999). Despite its age, I still find it to be one of my more majestic themes. I wrote this song for piano probably a good year or two before I used it as part of Cyaron’s Gate, and the short piano version of it on T.H.I.S. M&S (mp3 format) demonstrates what it originally sounded like. I’ve not done much to change it from the piano version to the MIDI version, and I don’t know that I’ll ever change this theme much. There’s something invariably nostalgic about compositions from early in your career, and “Remember” has a lot of meaning to me still.
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Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 Apr 2005)
Download here: Fate.mp3 (1.7mb) | Fate.mid (17kb)
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Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 Apr 2005)
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Posted in Character Theme, Music | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 |
(Originally posted on THIS 1.0 on 24 Apr 2005)
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