Friday, March 15, 2013

PIPE TROUBLE



Head over to www.pipetrouble.com to have a look at the great new indie video game "Pipe Trouble." Developed by Pop SandboxPipe Trouble is a re-imagining of an old arcade classic that challenges players to ferry gas and oil across a variety of challenging environments. In addition to its challenging gameplay, Pipe Trouble – now available for iOS and Android — is designed to explore both sides of the debate around energy extraction by putting the player on the spot when hard choices need to be made.

Myself and Mike from FU collabo'd to write the soundtrack, which is three separate levels of multi layered, gameplay-based music. As the game gets more challenging and hectic, so does the music.

This was my first real foray into electronic music composition (though there are a lot of analogue instruments involved as well), and the first time i've had to contribute to songwriting which has no linear or structural goals beyond its own infinite repetition. These are not songs as much as it is 'music,' or at least an abstraction of it. Focusing so closely on one musical cell gets you closer to traditional ideas of composition -- the development of one musical idea through a long piece of music -- but based on how passive and repetitive video game music has to be, one is forced to simplify every urge to diversify what you're coming up with. While any canonical approval a la Super Mario or Tetris is probably a long way off, this was a much needed stretch of creativity.

HERE is a link to a trailer for the game.

Here I am in digital format. They even nailed my jumper.


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Ricercar



Scott Cudmore and I will be reprising our previous sonic effort for the Design Exchange at Long Winter Program this Friday -- reworked, slightly more civilized, and with the voices of the great Romy and Sari (Tasseomancy, Austra).

Cast of Characters --

Sari
Romy
Bell Tower, Amsterdam
Department Store, Tokyo
Air Duct, Istanbul
A Very Low Frequency
Electronic Effervescence
Freight Train, Junction, Toronto
Deep, Dark, Hum
Electricity Arcing
Electricity Humming
Earth's Rotation
Tokyo, and a gong falling.
Motor running
Avalanche
Single tone on a Fender Rhodes
"Plasmashot"
 Applause (please)



--LONG WINTER PROGRAM--
JANUARY 11TH, 2013
THE GREAT HALL
1087 QUEEN STREET WEST
TORONTO, ONTARIO
8PM

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

CHERRILHO BEACHINHO



Brazilian pressing of Career Suicide's "Cherry Beach" is now available! This no doubt waxed, tanned, and Orfeuian beast is now available in the streets of Rio, Brasilia, and Sao Paolo. But, you should play fisherman, cast a line, and reel this piece of ice cold Canadiana over to wherever you're from.

WE NEED TO PLAY A SHOW THERE.


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Forking Paths



Once I sang a Christmas Carol with my wife.
We sang it, recorded it, dubbed, and sent it off to our little niece in Wales.
Her sister, who was a little older, and probably too cool for Christmas Carols needed a song too.
I wrote a song that "sounded like the Goo Goo Dolls."
(apparently my level of being 'in touch' is through the roof)
An opportunity arose.
Instead of a gift,
it became an article of labour.
Now it's a song that AC Newman sings on.
Now it works for me.
We still owe her a present.

THE ORIGINAL

THE FINAL