This week’s selection is a lyrical orchestral cue for solo woodwinds, piano, and strings, from the film Against Time.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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First Kiss | |
This small slice of acoustic/folk pop heralded a sympathetic character’s arrival in the film “Siren”. Unlike an actual pop song, it doesn’t so much as end as ease out – a common technique to let the score exit gracefully without the audience becoming too aware of the change. Guitars courtesy of the ever-talented Tom Strahle.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Jay’s Theme | |
When writing this dramatic cue, I was seized with the notion of using a choir of flutes instead of the more traditional string accompaniment. The effect is both colder and more intimate, which seems perfectly appropriate for a scene about acceptance of death, set in a morgue.
In addition to the standard C flute, you’ll hear alto and bass flutes in the mix as well. Piano remains in the foreground throughout, reinforced by cello and a glassy electronic pedal.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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At Rest | |
The game Wizard Ops for iOS and Android was just updated with some brand-new content, so I thought I’d share some of the new music. This selection is your textbook boss music. (For non-gamers, this means the intense fight music that accompanies extra-tough challenges at the end of a game level). In this case, the boss is a warlike dirigible that keeps pelting me with fatal bombs. I have yet to get past this level, and it’s becoming a bit embarrassing.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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The Evil Blimp | |
This lyrical orchestral passage accompanies a turning point in the film Against Time, where a warm moment of bonding becomes foreboding. The score follows suit, opening with a nostalgic theme for strings and woodwinds, then shifting to a darker texture.
A simple three-chord progression represents the good feeling; at the fulcrum where things turn ominous, I invert the progression so that it starts to descend. Normally I try to avoid “intellectual” maneuvers in music, but in this case I thought the gesture really worked. Shortly after, the French horns enter with a disquieting sound that lets us know that the mood is turning darker.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Two of a Kind | |
