Week 17.1

Context*:  The ionosphere plotting against humanity

Emotion*:  Dread, fear of the numinous

Other:  Something beyond human understanding

We seem to be on a space-oriented binge lately.  This one is full of strangeness, lots of synthesis.  Sort of in e minor, sort of e synthetic.  Some kind of starspawn, an abominational offspring of the two.  This one went better.  Working on the actual website et all.

~græy

Week 16.2

Context*:  A trucker named Jug swears vengeance

Emotion*:  Jog don't have no 'motions

Other:  Ennio Morricone with a dash of Johnny Cash

That one didn't go as well.  I tried to mix in some sprinkles of Cash, some classyness from Morricone, and a bit of disturbing cacophony from something 'Lynchian' like Lost Highway.  And didn't do particularly well.  But the new schedule is set, so it's done and up.

~græy

Week 16.1

Context*:  Space pool!!!

Emotion*: Supremacy

Other:  Cosmic shattering of planets for my enjoyment

Space Pool!  Well I started out trying to make it enjoyable and fun, but then I realized that this is 'cosmic shattering of planets'.  Slightly sinister.  Just a bit.  So I went with some crashy dissonance, this one is mostly synthesized to make it more in the science-fiction vein.

~græy

Week 15.2

Context*:  Last goodbyes
Emotion*:  Grief
Other*:  Two instruments

Did my best.  Again, I like texturizing these short , but I think this works without more orchestration.
I've always felt that the standard setup of major=happy, minor=sad doesn't strictly work.  I feel that there's a point while you're trying to illustrate emotion where minor and minor-based chords don't work for expressing the true depth of that sadness.  You've gotta flip it back around.

~græy

Week 15.1

Context*:  Running from a gang of percussionists in a giant cavern

Emotion*:  Heart racing, head pounding FEAR!

Other: "Drums in the deep"

I think this one came out well.  I need to get some more full orchestra percussion samples.  I had an awesome set sampled in a church, but I seem to have misplaced it during my musical hiatus, post Berklee.  Lots of deep choir bits, lots of tension.  The pattern is a Bmin-Cmin4-Fbmin-Ebmin4-Fmaj, or i-ii4-iii-iv4-V(1:30), not a standard progression but the 4ths make it fit (no, those aren't sus4, just drop the 5th, or you could look at it as a carry-over from the previous chord.  Without gettin all technical-like.)

Yeah, like I said, I feel that this one worked out well.  I'm going to attempt to do Tuesday/Thursday updates.  I need to get myself into the habit.

~græy