I make a lot of music for things. Some of it ends up being used, some of it doesn’t. Much of it deserves to be heard anyway.
Some of the things that this music was originally made for:
Are you interested in having music like this in your project? Drop me a line, or see my commissions page.
Background music for an informational video welcoming visitors to the Trans Academy.
The video this was for was intended to be an overview of the Trans Academy and what it does, with several different motifs to indicate the different aspects of the world and community. The video’s scope had to be pulled back somewhat, but this became the basis of the overall musical design and audio logos I developed for the Academy going forward. You will hear the Academy themes and motifs in several of the other songs on this album.
Prototype battle theme made for an abandoned, untitled Pokémon fangame.
I ended up using this in one of my own games, although it was basically a last-minute shitpost meant specifically to have something that actually used the music in it.
A soundtrack done for a seasons greetings video for the Trans Academy.
This was done as a stylistic riff on the front half of “Linus and Lucy” by Vince Guaraldi, with a Motown-inspired jazz sound (and an anachronistic touch of disco, as has been my tendency lately).
Main menu music from Spooky Sushi, a VR game jam game.
In this track I decided to play with the idea of having the same simple looping melody that repeats while being recontextualized by the changing chords underneath it.
The composite soundtrack for Magnolia’s Early Morning Walk, a short game done for a game jam.
The different sections of this piece are the short looping motifs for the various scenes in the intended game, with different emotional variations on two overall themes that represent the protagonist’s state of mind.
This is another track that I composed Just Because. I was treading on the edge of consciousness and then this just popped into my head. I tend to write a lot of my music that way.
Diana’s character theme song from Full Course.
Diana was meant to be a very posh, aristocratic person with refined tastes, and this is the music that popped into my head based on that description.
Sometimes I compose music just for the heck of it. This is one of those songs that just kinda popped into my head and I had to make it.
Music made for the obligatory underwater level of an abandoned game jam prototype.
There are a few game jams where I regularly sign up to make a lot of music for others, and usually err on the side of making too much because more often than not, the music I make ends up going unused in the jam itself. It’s always a little disappointing when that happens, but at least it gives me more music to release later.
Caroline’s date scene from Full Course.
The idea I had for Full Course’s soundtrack was that each character would have a musical theme and a style, and different situations would cause one theme to play in another one’s style. I had decided that the dating scenes would be in the style of cheezy lounge jazz.
I also had started a jazz version of “Water to Wine,” Morgan’s theme, to represent their inner thoughts when alone in the restaurant, and I planned on completing it for this album, but without the impetus of completing the game it felt a bit gratuitous.
Caroline’s character theme from Full Course.
Caroline was to have an interesting story arc, and was going to have two character theme songs because of one of her traits. This particular song is for her extrovert mode (“Candy”), and was inspired by modern anime music. Its working title was “Every Anime Themesong.”
She also had an introvert mode, “Strawberry,” although I never started work on that theme before the game was canceled.
The main theme from Full Course, a canceled visual novel project.
In this game you would have played Morgan, a young adult who experiences multiple mental health challenges, and also “sees” other people as various foods befitting their personalities. This theme song is also Morgan’s theme, and was going to have several variations based on different moods and situations.
Prototype battle theme made for an abandoned, untitled Pokémon fangame.
If I had a nickel for every time someone wanted me to make battle theme music for a Pokémon fan game for a game jam and then disappeared on me without apparently having even started to make the game, I’d have ten cents, which isn’t a lot of money, but it’s annoying that it happened twice.
A looping background motif for an augmented art installation.
I composed a prototype of this while playing with a Sawbench, a minimal MIDI-controlled analog synthesizer, and eventually repurposed it for the art piece, making it a bit more ambient in the process.
People keep comparing it to Boards of Canada, which seems like a band I need to actually listen to someday.
A lo-fi background music track for a series of videos by the Trans Academy.
This is the primary “logo” motif of the Trans Academy, with my favorite gimmick of using an evolving chord progression to recontextualize the simple motif in different ways.
An alternate soundtrack for Magnolia’s Early Morning Walk.
This was done as a prototype while trying to figure out the right mood for the game, and was not going to be used in the game itself as it didn’t end up fitting the vibe. I still like it, though.
The screeching “synth” sound for the second half (the “walkies” section) is a guitar whose strings are being excited by electromagnetic coupling with an eBow. It’s a great sound and I don’t get to use it in my music very much.
An extended/enhanced version of the battle theme from Deck of Desire, an extremely NSFW card trading game.
In the original game there was a much shorter version of this song, in both chiptune and symphonic versions, as well as a bunch of other music. The game itself has been essentially abandoned as a “prototype” (despite having been very popular, and still tops my download analytics on itch.io years later!), but I had some ideas about how to expand the soundtrack into a full musical experience.
Maybe someday.
Paige’s character theme song from Full Course.
The request for Paige’s theme from the game’s creator was that it should be “That Distant Shore” from Steven Universe, which I took to mean being a nice gentle bossa nova tune where you can relax while swaying in the breeze.
Gameplay music from Spooky Sushi, a VR game jam game.
In this game you play the part of a conveyor sushi restaurant waiter, and must quickly tally up the bill for patrons based on the colors of their plates. I was trying to evoke the feeling of having to juggle several things at once while being simultaneously single-minded about it.
#CD #GameJams #GamesMadeQuick #OST #Disco #Rock #Instrumental ]]>An attempt at making a bunch of background music for video games that may or may not exist.
These are available as loopable game assets
Used in the game SHADOW PUNKS (https://potentialproductions.itch.io/shadowpunks)
Used in the game Currying Flavors (https://chinniedraws.itch.io/currying-flavors)
Used in the game SHADOW PUNKS (https://potentialproductions.itch.io/shadowpunks)
Used in the game SHADOW PUNKS (https://potentialproductions.itch.io/shadowpunks)
Used in the game Currying Flavors (https://chinniedraws.itch.io/currying-flavors)
Used in the game Currying Flavors (https://chinniedraws.itch.io/currying-flavors)
Used in the game SHADOW PUNKS (https://potentialproductions.itch.io/shadowpunks)
OST for a game done for Global Game Jam 2022.
My fifth annual song-a-day expression for Novembeat.
A song about getting away from yourself for a bit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavIAgVHi-A
You don’t go places that you used to You don’t enjoy the stories that you’re used to You can’t stand anyone you’re introduced to Sitting home alone is what you’ve been reduced to
Something happened long ago inside you Now it’s back, your life won’t be the same All of the signposts that used to guide you Got pulled up by something, don’t know when it came
But change is coming It’s funny and it’s faint Yes change is coming With noses thumbing Oh, change it is coming The running refrain So humming and strange Our upcoming change
Your friends they act like they don’t recognize you And all these parts they say now that comprise you They preferred the skin that once disguised you So hard to shake the thought, that they all now despise you
But change is coming It’s funny and it’s faint Yes, change is coming With noses thumbing, oh Change it is coming The running refrain So humming and strange Our upcoming change
The you that you are now’s the only you you are You can’t go back to who you once were before Got no choice, you gotta be true to who you are Genie won’t go back inside that bottle any more
Yes change, change is coming It’s funny and still faint More change, change is coming So I’m succumbing to What you’re becoming like an Oncoming train It’s humming and strange This upcoming change
Written on the night of the 2020 US Presidential election
We just don’t know If it’s gonna be all right We cannot know When it’ll be all right We gotta know That it’ll be alright I just don’t know When it’ll be all right
When it’ll be all right
We’re gonna know When it’ll be all right We’re gonna show When everything’s alright Don’t know where to go When everything’s alright But we’re gonna know That it’ll be alright
It’ll be all right
Music courtesy of the itty bitty ditty committee.
Written when the election results came in :D
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out We all know you are going to just scream and shout Take it back to Twitter with your remaining clout, don’t let the door hit you on your way out
At least half of the nation is so sick of you You are so much worse than the “just a flu” Nobody cares what you’re going to do, don’t let the door hit you on your way out
The past four years have been a tragedy And we have a long way to go we can all see To get a better world for you and me Well maybe not for you
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out We’re better off without you without a doubt Twitter says they’ll ban you so just quietly pout, and let the door hit you on your way out
As is tradition I tried to record one short song every day in November. I didn’t get every day this year and some of the tracks really sucked but a lot of them were a lot higher-effort than usual for Novembeat so I’m satisfied enough I guess.
binaural microphone experiment
I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you I don’t know what I’m saying But I’ll say it to you
The Song Fight! version of Lumetri
try me you want to fall to sleep try me i’m better than counting sheep
try me you’ll finally rest at last try me don’t think about the past
try me it’s time to tuck you in try me you’ll be asleep again
what it says on the tin
smooshing keys until something interesting comes out
I needed a new outgoing voicemail message
[dial tone] [DTMF tones spelling out NOVEMBEAT#]
I can’t take your call right now But I’m not picking up anyhow I will try to get back to you If you leave a message at the beep
I can’t take your call right now But I’m not picking up anyhow I will try to get back to you If you leave a message at the beep
I can’t take your call right now But I’m not picking up anyhow I will try to get back to you If you leave a message at the beep But I’d rather text
A song I wrote while waiting for the bus
it’s a bit long innit
an ode to what keeps me functional
i don’t know what i’m doing
this is problematic and appropriative
more garage than garage
like something from a vidya game
It all goes downhill from here
I don’t know what I’m doing But I’ll do it to you
images of childhood
A song done to celebrate the birthday of my friend Heather “moboid” Kelley.
Specific works referenced:
What’s going on there is nothing to do Everything I have makes me think of you What’s on the TV please give me a clue Maybe I’ll try to play something that’s new So I try to play a game But they’re all just all the same
Throw me some blocks flying through outer space Wearing a helmet that’s strapped to my face Something artistic, something with grace Something experimental that takes place In a world I call my own Makes me feel at home
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
Experiment with all the feelings inside Help me to find something i can provide Give me ideas, try not to hide from the Animals concrete the organs implied (I wanna pet the rabbit) (please help me pet the rabbit)
Look around corners that no-one could see Making a difference so expressively Craving rapport as we drift to the sea What are we saying, let’s talk about me, ‘cause I’m Valid and I’m proud Quiet scream out loud
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
Falling down through space Make friends with a place Keeping a straight face Save the human race
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
I think that I’ve played that game I think that I’ve played that game
I think that I’ll play that game I think that I’ll play that game
I think that I’ll make a game I think that I’ll make a game
Sort of a fitting conclusion to the month I guess
another video game soundtrack in my head
#Novembeat #SongFight #Instrumental #Lyrical ]]>Songs composed for games entered into the Strawberry Jam 3 game jam on itch.io, which is NSFW so keep that in mind when you look for it.
This is from a visual novel where you’re supposed to date various bugs or something. I wasn’t quite clear on it and unfortunately the project never got very far. Oh well.
Ludum Dare is a regular game jam event. The 41st installment had a theme of “Combine two incompatible genres.” During this jam I worked with a team to make “Brickris Tetout,” which was a mashup of Tetris with a blockbreaker game (such as Breakout or Arkanoid).
For the soundtrack I made two different and complementary takes on Korobeiniki that mix together seamlessly as the game progresses.
The best way to listen to the soundtrack is by playing the game, but you can hear the constituent parts here as well.
October has Inktober, where artists are challenged to draw one ink drawing every day throughout the month.
November, therefore, has Novembeat, making one short song every day.
This is the second such album I have done, and I feel that it is some of the best music I’ve ever made. It also follows the emotional arc of the month, due to some rather unexpected setbacks.
Think of it as a musical diary spanning one month in a not so great year.
I really liked Stranger Things, or at least its soundtrack.
It was cold out and my leg was hurting and I had a cat sleeping on my lap, so I decided to have some fun with a sonic soundscape that captured the feelings of winter cuddles.
The dark days were getting to me.
The depression was getting to me.
On Black Friday weekend I upgraded to KOMPLETE 11 and decided to play around with some of its presets.
This came out.
I started composing a tango song but it just wasn’t coming out very well. So I scrapped it and worked on a second take for the day.
The pain from the previous four days turned out to be due to a clot in my leg that was growing rapidly, and part of it broke off and went to my lungs, giving me a pulmonary embolism. Because of the clot I had to cease taking my HRT and start taking blood thinners. I was told I may not be able to get back on HRT ever again.
I was happy to still be alive but not looking forward to the impending hormonal crisis.
But I am still around, and defiantly making music.
My leg was hurting even more and my other cat wanted to get in on the action, so she wrote a song with me.
At this point I was just completely falling apart, due to basically going through menopause and feeling worthless, useless, and futureless.
I had been without hormones for a week and a half and my emotions were all over the place. Everything would set me off and I would cry and I was not in a good spot. So I wrote this thing to capture my feelings.
Without HRT I was losing track of time and my mental state, and every day was running into each other. I wanted to be kind to myself after my near-death experience but I also wanted to be productive. And everything felt the same as everything else.
I attempted to self-medicate my ongoing depression with some THC.
I may have used a little too much.
Hello, the Internet Hello, the Internet Hello, the Internet Hello, the Internet
I had trouble sleeping due to the increasing pain, and this music wafted into my consciousness.
I was spending way, way too much time reading Twitter instead of doing anything productive. The senseless repetitive noise of everything around me was more than I could take.
This is a song about a pawn shop bunny
going around as if it’s made of money
trying to buy some milk and honey
but it doesn’t quite care.
Just a little introduction to the album.
I woke up barely able to breathe, and went to the hospital.
It was an embolism, from a DVT in my leg that threw off a clot.
I composed this track from a hospital bed, using GarageBand on my phone.
A little scrap I had lying around, which was begging for a fuller orchestration.
It seems like every album of mine these days needs at least one semi-algorithmically-generated weird-time-signature experimentation.
And Werner just wouldn’t shut the heck up while I made it so I decided to record him meowing.
Oh and there’s scissors for percussion.
The first song I wrote on this day was not very good, but then I was noodling around and came up with this better song. It made me think of a wood elf in a forest grove or something.
The lack of hormones was really starting to get to me. Constantly tired, constantly struggling to wake up in the morning, but this music project kept me going.
Shout out to the Cupcake Royale in Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA, and the restroom cooling fan that was making this really cool grinding noise.
(It has since been fixed.)
This day didn’t go so well, so I was looking forward to a better one.
feeling like drowning, no escape
Met up with some friends at a coffee shop, took up way too much table space while I composed this attempt at making something Lemon Jelly-esque.
I was feeling aimless from my recent health issues, and felt like nothing was going anywhere and nothing was worth doing anymore.
I decided to make some disorganized fun.
My leg was still hurting. Really, really bad. And I was starting to have a pain in my shoulder as well. The pain was getting to be unbearable. So I wrote this track that captured the agony I was in.
Just a little tune that popped into my head that morning.
Ga ga dabba gagabagada baga Da ba baga dadabagada bada Ba ba bada bagagabada baga Ya ba bada yabadabada baga Ba ba baga dababadaba bada Bum ba bada bagagabada bada
Bum bum bum, ba Bum bum bum, ba Bum bum bum, ba Bum bum bum, ba Dum ba bum, ba Dum ba bum, ba Dum bum bum, ba Dum bum bum
I took a little trip down to my platonic cuddle-buddy’s home and I composed this while lying on his lap. It was nice.
Back in the early days of Song Fight! there was an occasional contributor who entered under the name Mouth Reliant. I felt like doing a tribute to his style for some reason.
I didn’t have the energy to clean my home but I made a piano-and-cello tune to help me clean myself, at least.
Pachelbel’s Canon is the bane of every cellist’s existence.
Inspired by the name of the previous track, I decided to go on a spelling spree.
The notes of the musical scale can spell words.
Not very many, though.
dead cabbage dead cabbage dead-ead, dea bae d dead (dead) cabbage dead-ead, ea bae d dead cabbage dead cabbage dead
#CD #Novembeat #Soundtrack #Instrumental #Lyrical ]]>A short album originally released in 2014. Contains songs about stuff, and also things.
image-werner.jpgwhere does the time all go I’m sitting waiting ‘round for you it’s the only life I know I feel like there’s nothing to do these are the themes
and then I get a friend you tell me that she’s there for me that really does depend on everything she does to me these are the themes of my life
you feed and treat me well at least whenever you’re around though I can never tell how late you’re gonna come around these are the themes of my life
and now I’m old and grey Decisions being made for me I hope that I can stay I hope that I can stay These are the themes of my life These are the themes of my life
The last time I was abducted by aliens, they were very excited to meet me.
I came from a place where there were things that were not made from corn, but they loved corn quite a lot. They took me in their corn-shaped space ship and brought me to their planet which was covered in fields upon fields of corn, and when the people greeted me they were wearing corn hats and corn shirts made from corn silk, and when the little children smiled at me they had smiles of corn with little kernels for teeth. And the airplanes left behind corntrails of popcorn, which rained down from the sky all the time, and they ate this popcorn with a corn butter made from corn oil and sweetened with corn syrup. All the children ran in fields of corn while carrying their cornphones that connected them to cornputers, and all they ate was corn, corn, and corn. For protein they had corn nuts, and for dairy they had corn milk, and late at night they’d watch corny movies and standup cornedians making corny jokes, and when they wanted to screw they’d watch hard-corn cornography. This world had a whole lot of corn. But their corn ship had broken down and they couldn’t send me home, so this is where I still live to this day. It is the planet on which you and I and everyone else are. Everything is made from corn. Except the corn. That is made from trimethylsalicylide.
i’m feeling numb head banging drum where i come from, i’ll die another day
what happened to me setting myself free an absentee I’m turning away
I know I could be stronger Hold on a little longer Try not to fall in the water But I’ve heard enough
I just keep going faster Heading towards disaster Too late to stop me after I’ve heard enough
Too late for me So let me be We’ll just have to see how this all works out
What things may come I’m feeling dumb Gonna succumb To another doubt
I know I could be stronger Hold on a little longer Try not to fall in the water But I’ve heard enough
I just keep going faster Heading towards disaster Too late to stop me after I’ve heard enough
How hard I try I’m asking why staying dry for now i’m fine
too late, it’s done it’s time to run under the gun your life is on the line
I know I could be stronger Hold on a little longer Try not to fall in the water But I’ve heard enough
I just keep going faster Heading towards disaster Too late to stop me after I’ve heard enough
I know I could be stronger Hold on a little longer Try not to fall in the water But I’ve heard enough
I just keep going faster Heading towards disaster Too late to stop me after I’ve heard enough
I heard what the robot said I’m going back to bed ‘Cause I know if I don’t get enough sleep I’ll just be seein’ red
I think I’ll stay inside No reason not to hide Maybe if they don’t hear a peep They’ll think I already died
How we gonna get ourselves out of this one Why can’t they just go and shoot the moon Someone should do something about this terror from outer space I hope that this bad nightmare is ending soon
I heard what the robot said I’m going back to bed Seeing that big pneumatic drill Fills me up with dread
I just can’t stay inside Even if they think I died Smoking crater where it was my favorite hill Maybe it’s time to hide
How we gonna get ourselves out of this one Why’d they have to go and shoot the moon Someone should do something about this threat to the human race I hope that this bad nightmare is ending soon
I heard what the robot said I’m going back to bed ‘Cause I know if I don’t get enough sleep I’ll just be seein’ red
You started out thinking you were headin’ for a revolution You got some friends together but it really got out of hand
Now you’re spending your nights singing songs in an institution And that’s what it’s like when you’re livin’ in a traveling band
Another day ending It’s getting cold Tired of mending It’s getting old What have they done to me
Feel it drawing nearer I’m sick of this place I look in the mirror So sick of this face What have they done to me
she said she would go she said she would she said she would go
Smelling the flowers I’m floating in space I’ve been here for hours With a smile on my face What have they done to me
she said she would go she said she would she said she would go she said she would she said she would go she said she would
I’m sorry if I bothered you I don’t know what I’m gonna do I have to find myself a place to think
I know what I did was wrong I hoped that you would play along, At least that’s what I’m told by my new shrink
I should make it up to you, So let me know what I can do, It would help make me feel so tickled pink
Please don’t simply turn me down Rejection’s gonna make me frown I think that you should know I’m on the brink
I’m feeling dizzy, it happened again What do you think I should do This person out there, I don’t think it’s me All that I know, I need you
I’m sorry ‘bout your other friend, Reliable until the end; This has been something of a trend I see
And what about the other one, Who thought that it would be so fun To gas himself, it was so Bourgeoisie
It’s simply very puzzling, Why no one can go on living, When they meet you, it’s dizzying to see
I’m sorry ‘bout the cyanide And the assisted suicide Oh look, another one has died
Not me!
I’m feeling dizzy, it happened again What do you think I should do That person out there is really not me I know that I know, I need you
I’m sorry but I have to run, It’s been nice, a lot of fun If someone asks, I wasn’t Here
I’m going out of town, I hope nobody drowns, I won’t be ‘round but I’ll Be near
I’m feeling dizzy, it happened again What do you think I should do That person out there I hope is not me All that I know, I need you All that I know, I need you All that I wanted is you
#CD #SongFight #IndiePop #Rock #Lyrical ]]>