GL018 The Watchmaker's Daughter

Amidst the thicket of cogs and ticks, delicate hands work jewelers tweezers with a reluctant precision. Born into this trade, the watchmaker's daughter winds her days around twitching autonoma, toiling to keep time passing. While ever vigilant of her duties in the shop, her mind lives an artistic life in lands abroad. Mechanized monstrosities of her creation paint portraits, equally masterful and absurd. From humble beginnings hocking her wares on the streets of Paris, she gradually gains the attention of great galleries far and wide. Among those to exhibit her work is an eccentric yet dashing young man of ecclectic and strange tastes. His awkward yet endearing attempts to court her with tales of exotic lands and adventurous expeditions prove successful and they enter into a rock-skipping, wine-drinking, bike-riding relationship. Several decades later she unveils her life's greatest achievement - an army of automatons which wash away the drab hues of the towns and villages with a whirling dervish of quirky colors and shapes. Now old and tired with an equally time-worn lover by her side, she sighs wistfully hoping to find a way to freeze this moment so she can have it forever. The clock strikes one, and the watchmaker's daughter wakes from her slumber. Another completed clock is in front of her while an unfinished mechanical man is slumped in the corner. The vibrant hues of her imagination dim as she begins work on yet another watch.

This piece is loosely programmatic, meaning elements of the music directly correlate to events happening in a story. Symphony Fantastique is a piece which famously exhibits this technique and could arguably have set the stage for many practices now common in film scoring.

I'm trying out some new formats with this track. This site began as an opportunity to keep myself busy between projects as well as an excuse to experiment with various styles of music and production methods. That said, I am very aware that writing music for use in media is very different from simply writing music for music. Standalone pieces require a certain amount of drama and melodic dynamic to remain vibrant, while music for media typically necessitates low musical contrast so as to avoid stealing attention from dialogue or on screen action. To wit, good stock music is often boring and repetitive. How do I bridge the gap? I want to release music I would like to listen to, but still be useable by editors and directors? My solution is to start releasing "flexible compositions".

Basically, I'm going to start releasing options with each track. This may come in the form of multiple loopable sections or perhaps solo stems of parts that could potentially be too distracting for use in say, a 3d animation with the exact story I had written at the beginning of this post (hint hint). With this piece I've included the full track you hear above as well as a version which loops back on itself. I've also included a render that does not have the clarinet and piano solos, as well as both the clarinet and piano solo as separate tracks. I've also included the ending "ticking down" part as a separate file so if you'd like to tack an ending onto the piece, you can simply fade out the track and layer the ending over the top. Since it begins with a cymbal crescendo, it should be able to transition from almost anywhere in the track.

As with all the things posted here, this is freely available for use in games and/or animation projects. It also works as a short demo of my style and abilities. I’m actively looking for new gigs, so if you enjoy anything here please get in touch to discuss some custom work.

I’ve provided separate intro/loop files for ease of editing. If you would like to use this royalty free loop, please message me for attribution requirements.

GL018 The Watchmaker's Daughter Files

GL017 There's No Coffee In Hell

You've overslept, your shower breaks right after you apply shampoo, you realize you forgot to buy more coffee beans, you can't find your keys, you miss your train or bus, and by the time it's noon you've said every four letter word out loud 436 times. It's like being in Hell where, on top of overall general horribleness, there isn't even any coffee.

This kitschy track was written as a counterpoint to a hypothetical terrible morning. I don't know if there's much more to say about it. It's simple, light, kind of cheesy, and features piano, strings, trumpet with harmon mute, and drum kit with brushes.

As with all the things posted here, this is freely available for use in games and/or animation projects. It also works as a short demo of my style and abilities. I’m actively looking for new gigs, so if you enjoy anything here please get in touch to discuss some custom work.

I’ve provided separate intro/loop files for ease of editing. If you would like to use this royalty free loop, please message me for attribution requirements.

GL017 There's No Coffee In Hell Files

GL016 The Horror of Self

If you know me in real life, you probably know I absolutely adore early music. This piece borrows melodic sensibilities from Hildegard von Bingen - a female* composer noted for her ascending leaps of 4ths and 5ths. It's a melodic gesture that doesn't turn many heads today, but is something that wasn't really idiomatic for the 1100's.

This sketch came out of a personal low point. We work hard to succeed at doing the things we love, but sometimes a crack in our egotistical armor compromises structural integrity and everything comes crashing down. This short vignette is a lamentation of short-comings when your best is just not good enough.

The modal gestures are heavily influenced by Hildegard von Bingen, but the portamento violin takes its cues from appalachian music. The harmony is loosely based on Arvo Pärt's tintinnabulation technique, though I took liberties where I felt necessary. As part of an exercise, the tracks on this blog are typically written and produced quickly resulting in most being 2 minutes long or under. That said, this one keeps haunting me. I may release an extended version in the near future.

As with all the things posted here, this is freely available for use in games and/or animation projects. It also works as a sort of demo of my style and abilities. I’m actively looking for new gigs, so if you like anything here please get in touch and we can discuss some custom work. This piece isn't a loop, but I've provided files I think will be easy to work with. I've split the piece up into Drone/Violin I/Violin II files. This should make editing this piece for your project extraordinarily easy. I also provide the piece in its entirety. The track is short, but I think it says what it needs to say. If you would like to use this royalty free track please message me.

GL016 The Horror of Self Files

*The composer's gender is noteworthy as females were largely marginalized in this era. Aside from creating breathtaking music, her work encompassed medicine, visual art, and literature. She's a fascinating individual.

GL015 SNES Map Music

"Get your good walking shoes on, pixelated adventurers! Great riches and honor await as you embark on this new somewhat cutesy journey!"

This loop was created as the backdrop for the map world/level selection screen of an SNES influenced game. The developers requested music that sit somewhere between the "ready for adventure" feel of some of the earlier Final Fantasy music, but with a modern edge of the type of music used in Pocket Fighter. All that coupled with the cutesy bright colors this game was visually based on made it a difficult order to fill. I tried to use rising somewhat leapy motifs in the synths to mimic what I would typically do with french horns in a "hero's theme". Typically I would add a timpani to some of the strong beats, and a militaristic snare drum clattering in the background, but this didn't fit the style of game. I had to straighten out what would normally be dotted 8th note/16th note rhythms so I could add a light breakbeat to the background. I then added a lofi soundfont of an electric guitar (to get some of that cheesy sampled SNES goodness) during the bridge section to give it a more rocky feel. It works, but I would like to approach this track again in the future with less rigid constraints. I think the melody would even work well at a very slow tempo in harmonized woodwinds or french horns with tremolo violins sustaining an upper pedal tone to create a sense of morose but courageous expectation. Perhaps in the near future...

As with all the things posted here, this is freely available for use in games and/or animation projects. It also works as a sort of demo of my style and abilities. I’m actively looking for new gigs, so if you enjoy anything here please get in touch to discuss some custom work.

I’ve provided separate intro/loop files for ease of editing. If you would like to use this royalty free loop, please message me.

GL015 SNES Map Music Files

GL014 Sneak Attack

“The dossier is heavily guarded even at night. You must infiltrate headquarters undetected and record the documents on this microfilm embedded in the frame of your eyeglasses, then rendezvous at the designated extraction point by 0700 hours. Good luck agent 014!”

This track was created for Pixel Hero - Prologue (which is seeking funding). The developers needed a ~1:00 sneaky spy theme for some of the covert missions. I love love love anything spy, detective, or noir themed, so I was happy to oblige.

As with all the things posted here, this is freely available for use in games and/or animation projects. It also works as a sort of demo of my style and abilities. I’m actively looking for new gigs, so if you like anything here please get in touch and we can discuss some custom work.

I’ve provided separate intro/loop files for ease of editing. If you would like to use this royalty free loop, please message me.

GL014 Sneak Attack Files