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Some of the things that this music was originally made for: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 ]]>Usually I do a whole album in a month for Novembeat but this year I was dealing with some annoying physical and mental health issues so I took it easy this time around and just made some small video game soundtracks. But what happens, happens, and some music is better than no music.
Also I’m not pretending to be a whole band this time. Sorry for breaking the illusion. It’s just me.
This is the background music from Snack Stacker.
A preparation song from the game Pawmune
#CD #GameJams #Novembeat #OST #SeattleIndiesSlowJam #Classical #Folk #Jazz #Instrumental ]]>My fifth annual song-a-day expression for Novembeat.
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
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.
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
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 Hello, the Internet Hello, the Internet (Internet) Hello, the Internet (Internet) Hello, the INternet (INternet) Hello, the Internet (Internet) Hello, the Internet (Internet?) Hello, the Internet (Internet!) Hello, the Internet (Internet…) Hello
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 ]]>