Hello there!
Examples of my past work as a songwriter and composer are further down the page, but first:
Examples of my past work as a songwriter and composer are further down the page, but first:
MUSIC FROM & INSPIRED BY...
The thing that interests me most about doing music for Atlas is the possibility of writing original songs for the film—needle drops, credits music, songs that don't appear in the movie that are still on the soundtrack for some reason, etc.
...so I went and worked up some demos of a few possibilities that I'm picturing:
...so I went and worked up some demos of a few possibilities that I'm picturing:
ATLAS: The DEMO TRACKS
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OPENING CREDITS: What better way to musically set up the main character's humdrum existance than with some upbeat suburban angst, à la Ben Folds or Fountains of Wayne—the perfect soundtrack to a same-y modern life.
That's the sound of somebody who needs more clean living and proper training. And training calls for a'...
TRAINING MONTAGE! And you gotta have an 80's synth/metal jock jam for a good training montage. This demo's mostly inspired by the pump-up masterpieces of Survivor, with a bit of Western flavor inspired by the Arizona ranch setting:
Turns out Survivor + cowboy = something a lot like Muse's "Knights of Cydonia". Go figure.
(No vocals on this one yet—I need to recruit someone who can actually sing like either of the lead singers from Survivor. I tried my best to stretch my vocal range to sing on the next one, but I'm no Peabo Bryson either.)
END CREDITS: Every 90's Disney movie ends with a pop ballad over the credits, so why not Atlas?
WHAT ELSE?
A sweet party jam to play over the end credits, either before or after the ballad?
A sad song to walk home to after being rejected?
Music for the bad guys hang-out spot:shady dive bar with a lounge singer? Slick club with slick dance music? Or are they more cultured, listening to concertos while committing felonies?
How about the bad kids? What do they listen to while they're causing trouble? Punk? Metal? Nu Metal?
We can do that, and more. The sky's the limit!
A sweet party jam to play over the end credits, either before or after the ballad?
A sad song to walk home to after being rejected?
Music for the bad guys hang-out spot:shady dive bar with a lounge singer? Slick club with slick dance music? Or are they more cultured, listening to concertos while committing felonies?
How about the bad kids? What do they listen to while they're causing trouble? Punk? Metal? Nu Metal?
We can do that, and more. The sky's the limit!
SO, THAT'S MY PITCH.
Like I said, I'm most excited about the songwriting potential here, so if you're at all interested in songs from me, even if you want another composerfor the score, I'd be happy to contribute just the songs. (I can be very flexible on the financial arrangements; I know you're only budgeting for one music person.)
If you don't see needle drops actually working into the movie itself, but you like the idea of a OST album generally, that could still work—we could just lean all the way to the "inspired by" side of "music from and inspired by the animated movie".
If you don't see needle drops actually working into the movie itself, but you like the idea of a OST album generally, that could still work—we could just lean all the way to the "inspired by" side of "music from and inspired by the animated movie".
And now, actual examples of my past work:
PORTFOLIO / EXPERIENCE / WHO AM I?
I'm a songwriter, composer, sound designer, and home recordist with 15 years experience, primarily working in theater (the Audio page has a more complete listing of the shows that I've worked on).
I've divided my work samples here into songwriting and scoring:
I've divided my work samples here into songwriting and scoring:
SONGWRITING
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WIZARD ROCK:
Since 2007, I've recorded original wizard rock (music about Harry Potter) under the band name Alas Earwax! Here's one of my more popular songs:
And another, in a very different style:
You can hear more wizard rock by CLICKING HERE.
AD COMMISSIONS:
This one is called "Good Boy", but sometimes I just call it "the sexy dog song":
It was comissioned by the makers of a dog-themed board game—the brief was: "Oh Yeah" by Yello, but for seeing a cute dog rather than looking at something sexy.
MUSICAL THEATER:
An Awfully Big Adventure was an outdoor audience-interactive play based on J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. I composed five songs, including this lullaby to be sung by Wendy:
And this pun-based recruiting song for the pirates:
COMPOSITION/SCORING
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SUPERHERO THEME(S):
Grey Golem is a play about a superhero (loosely based on Batman) whose old-school campy style and black/white morality runs up against the Dark Age of comics. I composed all of the background and incidental music for the show, including a theme tune for the titular hero.
Since the plot revolved around the clash between different eras of superhero trends, I tried to imagine what the campy 60's theme song might have sounded like:
Since the plot revolved around the clash between different eras of superhero trends, I tried to imagine what the campy 60's theme song might have sounded like:
And then how that same melody might appear in the soundtrack to the gritty reboot:
HORROR VIDEO GAME:
Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom is a play about a horror shooter MMORPG, and a lot of murder, blurring the line between game and reality. Again, I composed all the incidental music, with a sonic pallet inspired by horror game soundtracks, and bands like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.
This was the music that opened the show:
This was the music that opened the show:
FANTASY ACTION:
From Kings To Controllers was another play revolving around a fictional video game (this time a fantasy adventure hack-n-slash). Again, I composed the incidental music, including a main theme for the game with variations for different characters and moods. Here's one variation:
Thanks for your consideration!
More work samples in different styles and genres available upon request.
Cheers!
~Gordon
Cheers!
~Gordon