Music
Here are some of the songs that I have made over the years. I offer them in two formats: Ogg Vorbis and MP3. I recommend Ogg Vorbis becuase it offers audio that is near CD quality and is smaller than an MP3 encoded at 160Kbps. Aside from the obvious quality and size difference Ogg Vorbis is also open and patent-free (you can't sell MP3s without paying royalties). If you have Winamp you can play Ogg files just fine. However I have made lower-quality MP3 versions available for those that only have Windows Media Player installed.
Lanalot Octoberfest 2004 Sountrack
Download: Ogg Vorbis | MP3
This was made for the opening ceremonies video I put together for Lanalot Octoberfest 2004. You can grab the video from the Motion Gallery page. It was created using Jeskola Buzz Tracker.
One Must Dance
Download: Ogg Vorbis | MP3
This isn't based off of any of the songs in the original video game sountrack. However, the title pays homage to One Must Fall and it's sequel. It was created with Impulse Tracker.
Sharp Edge
Download: Ogg Vorbis | MP3
Another One Must Fall inspired track. This song is unique in that it is the first and last song I've made using Microsoft's DirectMusic Composer. The different parts of the song that were supposed to be played dynamicaly in game were put together by hand to be released to the internet.
Oceanscape
Download: Ogg Vorbis | MP3
This was performed live at The California Institute of the Arts on May 6, 2000. It wasn't until a month or two later when I actually recorded it with all the parts combined for release on CD. It was composed using Impulse Tracker. The lead instruments were performed live and then mixed over the rest of the presequenced track.
The Story Behind the Music
This is an older photo of me at my "studio" taken in 2000. It consists of a relatively nice keyboard, a not so relatively nice MIDI controller (the smaller white keyboard in the photo) and my computer which was a Pentium II Celeron 333mHz machine at the time. Note to self; never buy a Celeron again. At the time I used Impulse Tracker 2.14 and CakeWalk Home Studio for my MIDI sequencing.
The only thing that has changed in my setup is the software. I now use Jeskola Buzz Tracker and CoolEdit Pro 2.1 (which is now known as Adobe Audition).
I actually started my studies in music. I credit my interest in music to Robert Allen and his work on Jazz Jackrabbit by Epic Megagames. The music was created with what is known in the demo scene as a "tracker". Basically prerecorded sound samples are played back and different speeds to create different notes. These samples are then mixed in real time. For a 486 the 4 channel music sounded quite good at the time. These "sound modules" or Mods had the capability to allow someone to make CD quality music without expensive hardware or software. With a small sample collection you could make decent sounding music in a small file size, even in those days, and the processing power needed to play them was acceptable. This appealed to many musicians and game designers. What got me interested in it was that the software that I used to play such files was actually the same software Robert Allen used to compose them. That program was Scream Tracker 3.
You've probably read some references to the "demo scene". A demo, as Scene.org puts it, "is the result of the cooperation of multiple young programmers, music and graphics artists. They work as a group (demogroup) on a demonstration program (demo) in which they show their skills at graphics and algorithmic programming, computer generated graphics and music.... The demos they create contain unbelievable pieces of 3D programming and complex routines to create fabulous graphic effects. Some even rivalling computer game industry effects.... These beauties of multimedia programs stretch the current computer hardware to it's edges and sometimes even further."
Scene.org also describes the demoscene "as important for the computer industry as street soccer is for the professional world of soccer. It is the breeding place for very talented programmers, musicians and graphicians. Stimulating young artists (programmers, musicians and graphicians) to measure their skills with others and to learn from eachother.... Lots of people who started out in the demoscene can now be found as experienced programmers, designers and artists at major softwarehouses, especially the gaming software area has found the demoscene as a great source of manpower (for example big softwarehouses as Bullfrog, Lionhead, Eidos, etc)."
I quickly started making tracks. I eventually joined an alternative rock band as a guest keyboardist which helped me realize that I needed a new keyboard. That new keyboard was an Alesis QS6 which I quickly sampled to death. Later that year I switched over to Impulse Tracker, a more advanced tracker. I then competed in MC6, a world wide music competition for the demo scene, in their veteran category. I started making songs on and off for a few years until I got word of one of my favorite Epic games, One Must Fall: 2097, had a sequel in development.
I have to admit right now that it was one of my dreams to work for Epic. Diversions Entertainment left Epic but I figured that was close enough. I started making some One Must Fall inspired songs to see if I would get their attention. Well, after learning their chosen music format, DirectMusic (which is a cross between a tracker and a MIDI sequencer with the inconveniences of both and more features than were really needed), I made a song that caught the developers attention. However by that time I had committed to something more important and was unable to work on the project; two months doing music for a game wasn't long enough.
Even though I now have decided to pursue graphic design for a career my experience in music composition has proved to be a valuable asset. My love for combining music and visual arts has gone a long way in my motion projects. Even now I'll end up composing a song if the project requires it.
Since the old days only a few things have changed. My taste for music is a little different (demo scene and new age to The Crystal Method and trance), I use Jeskola Buzz Tracker as my sequencer and I have more advanced audio editing software. However some things haven't changed. I still use my Alesis QS6 for samples and live performances and music is still as enjoyable as it used to be.
Favorite Musicians
Oh, why not. I might as well tell you who my favorite group is. I listen to The Crystal Method a lot, however the guy that I appreciate the most has to be The Alpha Consipracy. His roots are in the demo scene which has influenced his style and that's one of the reasons why I like it so much. The other reason is that the music rocks filthy. Go listen to it on his web page. Then buy all of his CDs. Support independent artists. You will like his music. You will obey.
Andrew Sega used to be known in the demo scene as Necros. If you have played the original Unreal or Unreal Tournament then you have heard his music. He wasn't one of the two main composers for the game (one of them was Alexander Brandon, he was my favorite musician at the time who is also a big demo scene composer), but his earlier songs, Isotoxin and Mechanism Eight, were featured in those games.
Unlike most of the trackers from the demo scene he's one that you actually hear about. He is still making really good music and selling his CDs. He has a very original sound. It's techno but it's light, fresh and melodic. I'm really happy that he is still around and is doing as well. To top it off, he also uses Buzz Tracker. So when it comes to my music he is my current role model.