Tag: Grammy

The music just keeps on getting closer and closer. A couple of days after finishing the music mentioned in the last post, I started a new piece. I’m just about done with it now, too. In fact, I burned my first test CD today of the entire album and handed it off to my wife for testing in her car. (I’m still on the “no drive” list, despite improvements thanks to my latest back procedure.)

The piece I’ve just about finished is ambient—or at least, that’s what I’m going to put in the tag for the Genre. I wrote some ambient stuff for Shadow Warrior, but nothing like this. It’s actually got melodic features and motifs over the top of a repeating drum line, with some aetherial chords and bird sounds in between. Technically, it’s done: it’s just a matter of getting beta tester feedback to see if it’s music or if it’s garbage. I’ve even mastered the piece, just in case.

So, as it stands now, the album will start with some hard-hitting guitar/electronica, with some levity halfway through the tracks, finished with a serene, “introspective” (someone else’s words, not mine) track.

Okay, all well and good. So, when does it drop?

Good question.

I’ve never put out an album in my life. I have enough tracks to do either a digital or a mixed release and still keep my Grammy voting membership alive. I’m not signed to a label (of course). How do I proceed from here? Well, I’m thinking about going with a service called CD Baby. It’s supposed to take care of all the details, including getting one enlisted in ASCAP or BMI. I think.

Seriously, folks, I can use all the help I can get with this. Is CD Baby any good? Do I have any other options that don’t require I pay a yearly fee? Are there any labels willing to pick up a VGM composer’s stuff? Please, if you know anything about the business, leave a comment or use the Contact page to get in touch with me. I would be eternally grateful.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been able to say this outside of the realm of a gaming environment.

I’ve finished a new song.

It’s got absolutely nothing to do with a game. It does have the sound of some of my previous game music, according to someone who’s heard it already. However, I write my game music with the intent of them looping. This one wasn’t intended to loop at all, meaning I could make it more complex than usual. I could actually give it a beginning, a middle, and an end (or a modified rondo form for my fellow music geeks out there).

It’s instrumental, as usual. Are you kidding? Honestly, I think I’d melt every microphone for miles around if I tried to sing. No, this piece showcases the mighty Roland SC-88Pro and its broad palette of instruments. I’ve also got a couple of instruments that use the Kontakt engine from Native Instruments’ Komplete 11. I’ll say this: there is a dearth of Rototom samples available on the web, much less tuneable ones. Please drop me a note if you know of a good source.

When will it be released? Well, I hope that I’ll be able to do that in April as part of an album containing the new music I wrote from the “20th Anniversary World Tour” version of Duke Nukem 3D. I need to release this in order to keep my status as a voting member of the Grammy organization. I’ll keep you apprised of the schedule.

Now it’s time to get another song going. Wish me luck!

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