I watched a fantastic film about Amazonian tree frogs on PBS one day and this piece came almost immediately after it ended. A mellow, woodsy marimba is sequenced to represent what I imagined it would be like to hike in the Amazon or really any place that was near the equator.
With Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Terminator films in mind, I began creating a dark landscape. Sometimes I really like digging in and creating something that would be at home in a sci fi, dark fantasy, or even a futuristic horror flick or game.
You know, I really can’t help it. I love everything Vangelis does. I’d have to say that Blade Runner is definitely my favorite film he scored, but this one is also very, very nice. This also has a sort of Enya-like feel, perhaps like Book of Days from the Far and Away trailer.
Several people tell me that this sounds like something from Tarrantino or Rodriguez, which is a great description – and compliment – for this piece. I was in a very Strat guitar phase when I wrote many of these samples from last summer. Love that Strat! I also love how moody the organ is, which fits the midnight/moonlight feel of this one.
In Farm the Ville, I wanted to incorporate more plucked string instruments, like banjo and guitar, but you can always expect me to want to make it big somehow…I ended up adding strings to it. What inspired me for this piece was definitely the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy theme, both the one from the old BBC TV show and the reworked one from the feature film that came out some years ago.
I really enjoy this type of theme. Simple rhythmic synth lines, arpeggiated and very mechanical. When I came up with this sample, I was watching a lot of Cosmos and old anime cartoons I loved as a child and still enjoy as an adult.
With this sample, I wanted to use effects samples and synthesizers to create something a little different from my usual fare. I’m getting more into sound design and working on integrating it more with music pieces. I’ve been interested in producing sound for video games and applications, so this is something for the more gritty, dark-themed sort of world.
This style was inspired back in 2003 when I was living in Colorado. It began with some slow-moving synthesizer chords and evolved to include a pan flute-like sample and some orchestral elements – strings and drums treated with heavy reverb.
This sample style is a minimalistic attempt at the style of one of my favorite composers, Angelo Badalamenti. Written after a marathon viewing of the entire Twin Peaks collection in one weekend. Brush kit, booms, vibes, upright bass.
