All posts by DJ DEK

CoolPad

CoolPad was one of those rare compositions that was actually done incrementally, bit by bit, over the course of a number of weeks. Initially, CoolPad started with a single pattern I was playing on a Reaktor synth that I was demoing. So, I recorded a loop of the pattern, and began adding on other sounds, including tones from Buzzer, Vanguard, and others. Finally, I threw on a fairly simple drum loop, and that was the basic sound. From there, more things were layered on, and various different sounds came into play, finally leading to a breakdown and another buildup (with some sounds almost reminiscent of “Midnight in Berlin”), before finally coming up with a decent ending.

Aside from the main Reaktor pad sound and a few others from the likes of Buzzer, almost everything in this track is done with an instance of Vanguard (except for some EXSP strings). The drum loops (there is actually more than one) are from Garageband Jam Pack 2.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/coolpad.mp3

AQ Theme Remix

So, way back in the dawn of internet time (i.e. some time circa the early 2000s or so), I played a flash-based game called AdventureQuest. I won’t provide a link to it here because, well, you can go into your neighborhood mega-mart and find point cards for the game on their giant wall of gift cards, which should really tell you everything you need to know about what the game unfortunately turned into. However, back in the beginning, it was a fairly small, fairly fun game with a pretty decent community, and I had a great time with it. However, at that time, the game didn’t have any music for it, aside from a couple of short sample clips hidden away somewhere on the website of one of the game’s artists. So, I suppose that makes this remix unique – perhaps one of the only remixes from a game that does not yet have music :)

This is a remix of one of the AQ title themes, from their “music development” website. The original track was only 4 bars long, so I had just a bit of work to get it to a piece that lasts over 3 minutes. Still, this track has some good effects, and actually manages not to be too repetitive, while improving the sound quality from the original recording. It is also one of the most complex pieces that I’ve put together using only Harmony Assistant.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/aqthemeremix.mp3

And, a random bonus clip:

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/thehit.mp3

Game Music

Battle Theme

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/BT-Synth-Stereo.mp3

Bell Ambiance

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/bell-ambience.mp3

Cathedral

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/cathedral.mp3

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/cathedral-extended.mp3

Crystal Cave

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/padsynth.mp3

Dark Ambiance

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/darkambience.mp3

Electric Piano Ambiance

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/elecpiano.mp3

Fanfare

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/synth_fanfare.mp3

Forest

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/metalsax.mp3

Harp Tune

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/harppad-noenv-harmonics.mp3

Victory Theme

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/victorytheme.mp3

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/vtheme_newsound.mp3

Elec

This is an odd, abstract, and kind of avant-garde electronic piece, with various widgy noises. It’s sort of darkly ambient in parts, with fun electronic beeping and otherworldly sounds. It’s generally quite a bit different than most of my other music. Basically, I was playing around in Live, and I decided I wanted to create something different, something that sounded a bit creepy and discordant, and this is the result. Overall, it’s not horribly complex, and I whipped it up fairly quickly, so it ends up being somewhat minimalist, but I think it sounds more direct as a result.

Created using Ableton Live. Drums are done using the built-in Impulse, other sounds from Green Oak Crystal, Reaktor Subharmonic, and the Beast. All midi programmed directly, no pre-fab loops.

http://www.idlecircuits.com/digintmedia/elec.mp3