Incompetech: September 2007 Archives

September 2007 Archives

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September 21, 2007 - Westerned Out

Oh man... I've had quite my fill of Westerns... not to mention a pile of scrap music that doesn't quite work. I think these will be the last 2 in the genre for a bit.

Western Streets - an all percussion chaotic thing
Martian Cowboy - umm... yeah. "Dark, Eerie, Epic, Somber, Unnerving" about says it.

September 17, 2007 - All over the board

Craig and Tony came over the other day, and I showed them what I was working on for Westerns. They said it sucked, and gave me some actual Westerns to look at. So I did. And my music was hideously wrong. So here's my shot at making it right.
Smoking Gun

But my Westerns were interrupted by an emergency request for a new-age Celtic (Scottish) piece. It is quite different-sounding than the last Celtic piece I did... due to the new-agedness of it.
Skye Cuillin

And a simple rock piece just for fun.
Beach Bum

Some days I wonder how such dissimilar music can come out of me in a single day.

September 15, 2007 - Celtic-sounding

Sandy had an idea... "I need something Celtic, but nothing really upbeat."
Ok, this one clocks in at 90 beats per minute, which isn't really upbeat - but it isn't slow either. I probably won't be doing this kind of music again soon, as the number of hours spent on learning that darned whistle part almost doesn't seem worth it.

Achaidh Chéide
Man... love that fiddle...

And having vanquished all the ethnic requests from the queue; one thing that has been abundantly clear in the last few days is that everyone wants Westerns. I'm looking at four requests from completely different people. I'll see what I can do!

September 14, 2007 - Logic Studio

Well, I didn't get as much work done today as I had hoped. My brand new copy of Logic Studio showed up today... and it took about 4 hours to install the thing... and another 8 hours to play with it.

Here's what I did do...

Chris had more ideas... "the paradise cantos?"
While not exactly paradise, this is certainly ethereal... and very cantos. Maybe that'll make up for it.
Arcadia

Jonathon had an idea... "Is there any way you could make some Maltese music?"
I have no idea. I'm not really an enthomusicologist, but I was provided with some samples.
I don't even know what instruments they used - but I tried to get close.
East of Tunesia (as a side note to Chris, this also may be useful for ancient Sumer)

I was having so much fun with the Maltese music, I kept going... and ended up in a disco.
Balzan Groove

And now, a complaint about Logic Pro 8. There used to be a way to change the routing of an instrument. It is STILL in the interface (e.g. "CoreAudio: Inst 1") but you can't change it! It is greyed out, and is making me crazy!
Yes, I CAN add multiple lines routed to the same poly-synth, but muting one mutes them all, and soloing one solos them all (changing the icon changes all the icons, etc). It properly opens old projects where they are routed correctly, but seems to be confused when you change something.
Anyway Apple; I LOVE the new interface... please ungrey out that line for me.

Thanks.

September 11, 2007 - More Requests

Keep them coming, folks!

Forrest had an idea... "More Kevin Organ!"
Okey Dokey. Here's some crazy funky musics with a B3 monster organ in it.
Fork and Spoon

Chris had an idea... "Wandering through the land of the dead."
I'm not sure about you - but here's what that sounds like to me...
Land of the Dead

John had an idea... "[I'd like something] about 4-5 minutes long, start off with a theme that builds towards the end, with a feeling of hope and potential. Something piano based, with perhaps more instruments towards the end."
This one took longer to get than I thought...
Eternal Hope

And I actually had an idea. I've been seeing the "Deliberate Thought" piece show up in quite a few places, so I made a sequel by taking out all the things people like, and amping up that parts that people don't care for. While I do understand this is possibly the worst way to make a sequel, it certainly was fun.
How it Begins

Also, for Chicagoland peeps: Get Downsized, a play I did the score for is playing for the next couple of weeks. Go see it.

September 08, 2007 - Some Requests... sort of

Here's the first batch of requests from people... They're not all exactly as requested, and I certainly did not do them all!

Erik had an idea... "I think it would be cool of you to compose some Japanese or Chinese music (classical type music, not the modern stuff)."
Well, I don't know anything about the genre, so I just listened to a few clips off of Amazon. I might have this completely wrong - but this is what it sounds like to me.
Ishikari Lore

Lynette had an idea... "How about some music that could go with footage of driving on a roadtrip? "
Okey dokey. Here's another genre I have little experience in. So, I cranked up the GarageBand to see what it can do.
Matt's Blues

Kristin has an idea... "How about some ancient type music. Or something that's reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Like harps and flutes in a minor key."
This one is a quite reserved sort of formal dinner kind of ancient music feel. I still might do another one that is more militaristic.
Temple of the Manes

And, I have an extra one... "Ominous Intro". This one was written for a stage production that opened yesterday in Chicago. So if you're in Chicago, go see this. It is very VERY good. And really REALLY inexpensive pound-for-pound considering the enormous entertainment it dishes out.
Get Downsized. I personally guarantee you will enjoy it... and I don't care what demographic you're from. mmm... maybe not Goths. But maybe! If you're a Goth, and you go - let me know what you think of it!

September 06, 2007 - Requests?

Kevin is out of ideas for music. Do you have any? Email them to me! The more odd or specific the request, the better the chance I'll pick it to produce it. If you request "more rock music"... I'm probably not going to pick that up. If you want something like "low-production-value 1980's techno fused with easy-listening soprano sax"... much more likely... but I'm not doing that.

Come up with something new, exciting, fun, or bizarre!

Email me at kevin@incompetech.com, Subject "I have an idea". Let's see how this goes!

September 03, 2007 - Contest!

Who wants to see an ad about ketchup?
Me too!
And you can vote for a commercial that I scored. It is called "Respect the Taste" and is quite good.
Find it, vote, and enjoy.