Bells toll while fragments of forgotten memories drift through the air.
This one is melancholic, dark, and has religious overtones. It could be useful for particularly stark, poignant, or introspective scenes.
This track owe's it's bell-like quality to Arvo Pärt's tintinnabulation technique. The fragmented processed piano bits in the background were created with some custom software I put together in max/msp.
While I initially set out to create a loopable track, it ended up not feeling right by the time I was done writing. In an effort to make this track flexible for use in film, animation, games, etc, I did render out separated piano, processed piano, and bass stems, as well as include 2 different stingers to use as an "end" in case you need to stop the track before it comes to a natural conclusion.
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 free loop, please message me for attribution requirements.
You can't tell if your eyes are open or closed. The air feels wet all around you and you have a splitting headache. You catch echoes of what sounds like distant cackling, but you're sure it's just the wind. You sit up and hit your head on a rock. Are you in a cave? Slowly your eyes adjust to the darkness and the real horror of your predicament sets in. You are in the presence of The Goblin King.
I felt the need to do something dark and electronic recently. This track is inspired by the music of S U R V I V E (Stranger Things), the witch house groups such as Salem and White Ring, and John Carpenter.
This track includes the typical full track, intro and loop edits, as well as 2 stingers (one for each chord) in case you need to edit in an ending.
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 free loop, please
message me
for attribution requirements.
It started out like any other job: follow the suspect, gather intel, and report your findings to HQ. Never once did it cross that thick little skull of yours that the alleged double agent would be a dame. It was an amateur assumption. Your training readied you to deal with all manners of thugs, firearms, and dangerous scenarios, but nothing could have prepared you for the sultry stare of those emerald green eyes. Sometimes the most dangerous weapon is the sweetest whisper.
This track was inspired by classic noir fiction by the likes of Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, and Raymond Chandler. I wanted to do something sneaky, light, and a little seductive. Musically, some of the inspiration came from Gabor Szabo, Mel Young, Henry Mancini, and John Cacavas.
If you intend to use this track for film, some of the horn stabs may conflict with dialogue or other on screen events. Because of this, I've provided versions of this track with them as well as the solo horn stabs for maximum editing flexibility. I've also included a brief stinger so you can edit an ending to the track should the need arise.
In an odd but welcome coincidence, I was working out the melodies for this piece when I got news that a game I had written a bunch of "spy jazz" for was finally released. If you enjoy this track and would like to hear more in a similar style, please consider checking out Burglars Inc. on the Apple Store. The demo version is free and allows you to play for hours before hitting a paywall.
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 free loop, please message me for attribution requirements.
Burglars Inc. is an exciting new plot driven puzzle game centered around a collective of thieves who crack safes with benevolent intentions. As a huge fan of 1960's era heist movies, Archer, Venture Bros, and Cowboy Bebop, I may or may not have squealed a little at the prospect of scoring this game. Here's a little bit about the process of writing one of the main character themes.
Chase is new to Burglars Inc. She's playful and fun but her youthful veneer belies her natural talent for burgling. The levels she's featured in are fast paced so the challenge was create a sense of urgency while keeping the music light enough to fit her personality.
My initial demo took stylistic cues from shows like "The People's Court", "The Powerpuff Girls", and "The Venture Bros". I wanted the actual substance of the music to be all business, while the instrument choices wrapped it up in a cutesy package. I'd describe myself similarly, but personal experience has taught me it tends to work better as a musical approach than a dating strategy. The rhythm ticks away regularly to mimic the feel of seconds counting down on a mechanical clock. All of this is against heavy piano stabs which add a little more emotional weight and allude to a sense of danger. Since the piece needed to be able to loop infinitely, I opted to keep the melody simple in an effort to avoid annoying the listener upon the 150th repeat. This first demo is provided below:
While I received some positive feedback, the general concensus was that the track came across a bit too modern and dark, and not jazzy enough for the style of the game. In short, it felt too "Brock Samson Smash (Venture Bros)" and not enough "Rusty and Danny Ocean (Ocean's Eleven)". I created another version with some horn parts sketched in, but it felt a bit forced so I went back to the drawing board.
In the next round I shifted my focus to music that had more of a straight jazz feel. I took more influences from the likes of Lalo Schifrin, Mal Waldron, and of course, Yoko Kanno. As it turns out, having an awesome name is like 80% of writing really great music. Forget studying theory/orchestration/sound design/etc. From now on I will be known as Bif LeStrange.
I decided to go with a more identifiable melody - something that even amateur burglars could hum to themselves while cracking safes at home. I kept the plucked strings and glockenspiel from the first demo, but pushed them into the background and used the falling line in the glock to paraphrase the melody played in the saxophones. I slowed the tempo down quite a bit so that I could add a bit more rhythmic density. Protip: Hand drums always make jazz cooler, and when in doubt, add more shakers! Taking cues from the epically named composers above, I let a funky bass line drive the piece. The overall effect was the following demo:
This track was received much more favorably and I got the thumbs up to move forward. After that, it was simply a matter of fleshing harmonies out, developing the material, and hacking away at finessing the production.
I wanted the melody to grow like a Chia Pet in an advertisement, so I started each phrase as a thin line, and gradually fattened it as it went along. This was also a dating tactic of mine, and it worked as well as the last one I mentioned. I'm beginning to suspect I'm not very good at courtship. I added a countermelody in the trombones to give the repeated sections a little more spice. At this point the plucked strings were demanding too much attention, so I dropped them down an octave and pushed them further back in the mix. I also decided the solo needed to be played on the flute because obviously...the solo needed to be played on the flute. It captures Chase's playful qualities, and creates more diversity in sound. Also jazz flute is funny.
I'm incredibly happy with the way the music came out! I'm rarely able to work on this type of music so I had a blast with this project. Overall I contributed three tracks, and my only regret is that I couldn't contribute more. On the plus side, there's a fair amount of demo material that didn't work out for this project. Perhaps I'll finish some of them up and put out a Burglars Inc B-sides and Rarities collection someday. Until then, check out this game. I'm sure you'll have at least as much fun playing it as I had composing for it!
You say we'll get coffee at quarter to 8
you make a promise you won't be late
you must have lied again
cause baby, it's half past 9
You say we'll split even but you're always broke
won't buy packs, but you'll bum a smoke
you'll trade five for ten,
Well you ain't no friend of mine
Okay, those lyrics are terrible; nobody ever accused me of being a librettist. Most music from this genre/era originated as a song, so it's fitting to think of something singable when writing a melody. I tend to think more in terms of syllables, general character, and plausible phrasing than concrete words (though "ain't no friend of mine" seemed to fit pretty early on). I figured the lyrics would have been something in the spirit of "The Lady Is a Tramp" or "Hit That Jive, Jack". The rest was improvised for this post. What do you want from me?
This track was inspired by a humorous montage of "Things Animation Girls Say"created by the very talented Rebecca Parham of Let Me Explain Studios. I was impressed by the writing, artistic style, and overall execution. Despite the absence of music I kept hearing this gypsy jazz-ish clarinet riff in my head. I had some time before I needed to start the next project, so I sketched out fragments of the melody and changes over the next few evenings while riding the subway to and from various engagements, and produced the track in a little over an evening. While the production is a little rough in some spots, I'm happy with how this one turned out considering it's a first attempt at producing something in this specific style of jazz.
This is the original video which inspired the music. While Rebecca was extremely supportive, she was understandably unable to alter the video without losing the current number of views, commentary, and general stats in the process. Please subscribe to her YouTube channel. It's full of creatively awesome things.
This loopable track is distributed with several options. Clarinets have the tendency to fight with the frequency range of spoken word, and the guitar solo may be too busy to work as background material for your project. Because of this, I've included a version with JUST rhythm guitar, drums, and bass as well as a sololess version with separate stems for the clarinet and guitar. This way you can edit together whatever version of the track works best with your project. I've also included the ending tag melody as a separate stinger so you can edit in an ending wherever you see fit.
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 free loop, please message me for attribution requirements.
