Miscellaneous ambient and background music for TDM

[Petike the Taffer]

Hello, all.

This thread is meant as a follow-up companion piece to my previous thread listing royalty-free music by Kevin MacLeod that could be usable for new missions for The Dark Mod.

In this thread, I take a slightly different approach. Instead of focusing on one author and his royalty-free music, I'll be writing an ever-expanding list of songs, compositions tracks and ambients by various musical artists that could come in useful for mission makers working on FMs for TDM.

Aside from ambient music for background atmosphere, I'll also be listing some historical music and compositions from the real world's ca 14th-17th century that are in the public domain and could be used as background music in your missions, provided that someone does a royalty-free recording of them (i.e. not released on some payed-for album, but at most a royalty-free album or online collection/archive).

Please note that, though I will try to provide you with links to royalty-free versions of historical compositions in particular, I sometimes might not be sure of the status of some of these recreations/recordings and you'll have to snoop around for their royalty-free status on your own. However, if you do confirm that, e.g. some freelance artist recorded a well-known 16th century piece of music, and is giving it away royalty-free, possibly with the only necessity being attribution, then please let me know and I'll include any download links and the details concerning necessary attribution. Thank you !

And now, it's time to begin...

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Royalty-free ambients

As in "free to distribute and use (though possibly with attribution)", not necessarily "free of the TDM universe royalty".

Free Music Archive (FMA)

From his particular website, I'll only be including tracks that have broad Creative Commons licenses or free licenses, and tracks that are suited to both Non-commercial and Commercial use.

In other words, largelly CC BY 4.0 and CC BY 4.0 Deed. It's better to search for ambients and tracks that are more lenient with their licenses. 


Lee Rosevere

- All the Answers
- Awkward Silences (B)
- Baldachin
- Betrayal
- Compassion (keys version)
- Delayed Reaction
- Edge of the Woods (kind of too modern sounding in parts, but maybe you could find a use for it á la some of the old grungy-sounding ambient tunes in Thief)
- Expectations
- Everywhere (sounds like a calm but moody mansion ambient to me)
- Gone
- Her Unheard Story
- It's A Mystery
- Not Alone
- Old Regrets
- Reflections
- Slow Lights
- Snakes
- Something To Fill The Space 
- Thoughtful (especially the first half to first two thirds, before the more electronic beat kicks in)
- The Long Journey
- The Nightmare
- The Past
- Time to Think
- Under Suspicion (maybe the bit between 2:26 and 2:48 would be the best for a tension sting, the rest sounds a bit too modern spy-fi for the TDM setting)
- What's in the Barrel ?
- You're Enough (A)
-
 

Maarten Schellekens

- A Bit of Discomfort
- Daydream
- Deliverance
- Free Classical Theme (arguably more like for an SF film with classical music portrayed electronically, but not bad)

 

Salakapakka Sound System

- Aiti, joku tuijottaa meita metsasta
- Holle
- Kadonnut jalkia jattamatta
- Privatomrode i Vasteros
- Syttymissyy tuntematon 1
- Syttymissyy tuntematon 2 

 

Sawako albums

- 098 (ambient for background humming and buzzing, perhaps machinery, electricity, industrial ambience, etc.)
- Billy Gomberg Remix
- If You're Ther (odd city ambience, between moody music and city background ambience, mild background thumping)
- Lisbon ambience (maybe usable as background ambience in some mission set at a more Mediterranean city)
- Mizuame (Sawako Sun) (could work as ambience for a larger baths or spa hall, with the sound of water, and human voices occassionally heard in the background)
- November 25, 2007
- Snowfall
- Spring Thaw
- Tim Prebble Remix
-


UNIVERSFIELD

- A Beatiful Sky (this track would actually be good for a church or cathedral interior)
- A Calm Soulful Atmosphere For A Documentary Film (calm but somewhat mysterious ambient, reminds me of some of the Dishonored ambients)
- A Grim Horror Atmosphere
- A Music Box With A Tense Atmosphere
- Atmosphere for Documentaries (rather suspensful ambient with an undertone of woodwind instruments)
- Background Horror Tension
- Beautiful Relaxing Ambient (a calmer ambient that's good for a location with some degree of grandeur or one that provides relief to the player)
- Blood-chillingly Creepy Atmospheres
- Bloody
- Cloaked in Mystery
- Corpse Rot
- Crime City
- Dark Background
- Deep Space Exploration (has a nice atmosphere of mystery and exploration)
- Drifting in Harmony (calm but suspensful ambient)
- Embrace of the Mist
- Exoplanet (mysterious ambient, could work for various environments)
- Exploring the Cursed Cemetery (short, fifteen second tension sting with piano)
- Evening Meditation In The Open Air (could work for a number environments during evening hours)
- Fading Memories
- Gloomy Atmosphere for Documentaries
- Gloomy Reverie
- Grim Atmosphere
- Horror Atmosphere (Version 2)
- Horror Background Atmosphere 6
- Horror Background Atmosphere for Horror and Mystical
- Horror Background Atmosphere for Scary Scenes
- Horror Background Atmosphere for Suspensful Moments (1)
- Horror Background Atmosphere for Suspensful Moments (2)
- Horror Dark Atmosphere (Version 1)
- Horror Music Box
- Intergalactic Ambience (good calm theme of mystery and wonder)
- In the Embrace of Darkness
- Mars (suspensful ambient for a suspensful location, with a metallic undertone in its melody)
- Meditation in Nature (aside from outdoor environments, could work in a number of other environments as well)
- Melodies of Fear
- Midnight Secrets
- Mild Heaven (a calm ambient, maybe could work for night time city streets and city rooftops)
- Moment of a Dream (suspensful theme, hopefully not too electronic in undertone)
- Mysterious Passerby
- Mystery Atmosphere
- Mystery Horror
- Mystery House
- Mystical Dark Atmosphere
- Nebula Soundscape (sounds like a good ambient for outdoor or cave environments or maybe even churches and city rooftops)
- Ominous Criminal Atmosphere
- Sad Emotional Piano for Documentary Films
- Scary Dark Cinematic For Suspensful Moments
- Scary Horror Atmosphere
- Sinister Mystery
- Sinister Piano Melodies (short, fifteen second tension sting with piano)
- Siren's Call (I feel this one has more limited uses, though maybe it could work for suspense in an industrial environment)
- Soothing Serenade (calm, soothing ambient, with a slight hint of mystery, could work for several types of environments)
- Soothing Soundscapes (calm, soothing ambient, with a slight hint of mystery, could work for several types of environments)
- Spooky Hallway
- Suspense Atmosphere Background
- Tense Dark Background
- Tense Horror Atmosphere
- Tense Horror Background Atmosphere
- The Box of Nightmares
- This Sunset (good for an evening or night time ambient, even includes subtle cricket chirping sounds)
- Tropical Escapes (good for an outdoor environment with a waterfall, flowing stream or falling rain)

Many of these tracks by UNIVERSFIELD are quite short, about a minute or slightly under a minute, but good as tension-building themes or as suspensful ambients.

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Historical background music - lute and similar string instruments

La Rossignol ("The Nightingale"} - a Renaissance era piece, anonymous composer. This one was written as an instrumental duet for two musicians. So, if you'd use this for a scene of AI characters playing their instruments, you should use two such characters for added believability.

Here's what the composition sounds like when played as a duet on:

- lute (obviously the most medieval/Renaissance instrumentation)

- acoustic guitar (example 1) and acoustic guitar (example 2)

- 11-string guitar what it sounds when played as a duet on an 11-string guitar

- licensed album version (presumably lute)

If you find any royalty-free version in good quality, let me know.

 

Lachrimae ("Tears", sometimes known as "Seven Teares") by John Dowland - another Elizabethan era piece, by a 16th-17th century composer. Various reconstructions:

- on lute (example solo performance at the Metropolitan Museum)

- on lute, with vocal accompaniment (lutist and female soprano)

-  on lute, violas, and other (six musician ensemble performance)

- on viola da gamba (five musician ensemble performance)

 

Lachrimae Pavan ("Teary Pavane / Pavane of the Tears") by John Dowland - a variation on the previous composition, for the Renaissance pavane style dance. Various reconstructions:

- on lute

- on acoustic guitar (example 1), (example 2), (example 3)

Again, I'd like to find a royalty-free version of these two compositions.

 

Frog Galliard - one more by Dowland, for now. Another composition for a Renaissance dance style, the galliard. Reconstructions:

- on lute (solo performance)

- on lute, deeper sound (solo performance)

- on acoustic guitar (example 1), (example 2), (example 3)

Royalty-free version would be appreciated.

 

Greensleeves - by an anonymous 16th century author, quite possibly a folk song of the era. Trust me, you know this one, even if you don't know the name. It's one of the most well-known bits of Renaissance secular and courtly music in the popular imagination. (Trust me, it's been referenced in everything. Even the first Stronghold game from the early 2000s had an in-game character sing a made-up ditty to the tune/melody of this song.)

Reconstructions:

- on lute (solo performance)

- classical guitar (solo performance)

- acoustic guitar (solo performance)

I bet there's a royalty-free version of this one somewhere. I'll snoop around, and if you find one before I do, let me know.

 

In taberna quando sumus ("When we are at the tavern") - anonymous period song from the 14th century, of Goliard origin. Written and sung entirely in Latin (so if you can explain Latin within the TDM setting or use only an instrumental version, go for it). An unabashed drinking song, you could use this for more rascally Builder priests/monks or for various commoners and lower-ranking noblemen while they're having a good time at the inn. A pretty well-known song even nowadays (though the most famous melody for it might be the more recent arrangement). Reconstructions:

- example performance 1

- example performance 2

Again, an entirely royalty-free version of this one could come in handy.

 

Historical background music - by Jon Sayles

Jon Sayles is a musician who runs the Free Early and Renaissance Music website. His recordings are in .mp3 format (so you will need a conversion to .ogg) and Sayles has made them all freely available. The instrument he used for his musical reconstructions is the classical guitar. Some examples of Sayles' reconstructions of period music by anonymous or known authors:

Saltarello, based on the late-medieval and Renaissance dance tune from Italy

Madrigal by Anthony Holborne

Al fonsina by Johannes Ghiselin

Ich weiss nit by Ludwig Senfl

So ys emprentid by John Bedyngham, mid-1400s

Riu, riu, chiu, famous 15th century Spanish Christmas carol

Fantasia, by Orlando Gibbons, late 16th and early 17th century

Die Katzenpfote, German-speaking lands, anonymous author, 15th century

A gre d'amors, 14th century, anonymous French author

Nightengale (unrelated to La Rossignol), by Thomas Weelkes

El Grillo, 15th to early 16th century composition by Josquin des Prez

The Witches' Dance, by anonymous, Renaissance English composition

Ma fin est mon comencement, by 14th century composer Guillame de Machaut

In Nomine, late 15th and early 16th century composition by John Taverner

Ricercare ("ricker-caré", nothing to do with rice or care), by Adrian Willaert

Fantasia by Thomas Lupo, 16th-17th century English composer

The Nite Watch, composed by Anthony Holborne - appropriate for TDM

Plenty more where these came from...

 

Historical background music - from the A-M Classical website

This website offers plenty of freely available, royalty-free .mp3s of early and classical musical compositions and instrumental songs.

The only thing you need to do is provide attribution, as everything on the site is via a Creative Commons license (this is noted on every page).

Counting Christmas songs from the Middle Ages and Renaissance alone, I was able to download loads of them already years and years ago.

Though they're far from epic recordings, if you're just looking for a competently done free version of these compositions, this is an excellent site.

A few examples of medieval music from the A-M Classical site: Angelus ad Virginem (played quietly on organ), Diex soit en cheste maison by Adam de la Halle (organ and other instruments), Greensleeves (this is for a carol version of the lyrics, but the melody is the same as standard Greensleeves)

 

Historical background music - by Vox Vulgaris

The Swedish band/ensemble Vox Vulgaris aren't very active nowadays, but they did plenty of early music recording in the early-to-mid 2000s. From what I've read about their song releases, they're okay with others using the songs from their 2003 album and other material they've done. I don't know if their website is still around (there's an archived version) and whether you can still contact the band members, but if you'd like to be extra sure and ask, go ahead. I don't think they've changed their copyleft stance to their own works, but it pays off to be sure.

So, here are some of VV's own takes on period music:

Cantiga 166 - based on the eponymous song (full title "Cantiga 166 - Como póden per sas culpas (os homés seer contreitos)"), by Spanish composer Alphonso X from the 13th century (yes, king Alphonso X ! They didn't call him Alphonso the Learned for nothing). To provide you with a point of comparison, here, here and here are versions by other artists. (If I remember correctly, this particular VV song was also used by moonbo in his Requiem FM, as part of an inn's muffled background music. I did a real double-take when I played the mission for the first time and recognised it.)

Cantiga 213 - based on the eponymous song (full title "Cantiga 213 - Quen sérve Santa María, a Sennor mui verdadeira"), again by Spanish composer, king Alphonso X from the 13th century. To provide you with a point of comparison, here and here are versions by other artists. 

Saltarello - based on the well-known melody for the Italian late-medieval Renaissance dance, the saltarello (also the saltarello trotto specifically in this case). To provide you a point of comparison, here and here are versions by other artists.

La Suite Meurtrière - I can't quite source this one, it might be their own original composition, though "in the style of" some particular period music.

Rókatánc (Fox Dance) - this is a really wild bit of period dance and festive music, possibly Hungarian-inspired, given the name. I think this would fit both a tavern environment or some public event for the nobility and patricians, including an armed sparring tournament or similar.

 

Final note from me

New suggestions are always welcome as I expand this thread. For any suggestions concerning Kevin MacLeod's royalty-free music, please use the other thread I've already made, purely for listing MacLeod's stuff.

Edited April 6 by Petike the Taffer
correcting typos and updating links

[Anderson]

A little random but coming back to TDM's origins, the sounds, ambients created by Trent Reznor for Doom 3 are impressive. The monsters may be useful in particular if you are not happy with stock TDM monster sounds.

https://download.cnet.com/Doom-3-Trent-Reznor-sound-pack/3000-7441_4-10309314.html

Trent Reznor talking about his experience with Doom at 5:43:

It can fit perfectly to many TDM FM's.  Including the monster sounds.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Anderson

[Anderson]

CookieSpy is back again with another Thief inspired ambient track.

 

[Anderson]

Actually Thief inspired. I think that Cookie Spy could provide music for people's FM's just in case if you ask him. His sounds are great.

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Anderson

[JackFarmer]

On 2/13/2022 at 4:53 PM, Anderson said:

Actually Thief inspired. I think that Cookie Spy could provide music for people's FM's just in case if you ask him. His sounds are great.

 

Do you have a possibility to contact him and ask if we can use his work? I do not have a google account.

[Zerg Rush]

5 hours ago, JackFarmer said:

 

Do you have a possibility to contact him and ask if we can use his work? I do not have a google account.

https://generative.fm Opensource with the possibility to record the tracks.

Quote

 

Creative Commons License
For anyone and everyone
Music from Generative.fm is officially licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Generally, you are welcome to use or modify the music for any purpose, including commercially or publicly, provided you give appropriate credit.

It's as easy as adding something like this to your work:

"Above the Rain (Excerpt)" by Alex Bainter is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Or even just:

Music by Alex Bainter / CC BY
See "How to give attribution" from Creative Commons. Please pretend to read the official licensing terms before using music from this service.

You can show your appreciation by making a donation.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Zerg Rush

[Anderson]

23 hours ago, JackFarmer said:

 

Do you have a possibility to contact him and ask if we can use his work? I do not have a google account.

[Anderson]

6 hours ago, Anderson said:

Email: cookiespy@posteo.net

Edited March 6, 2022 by Anderson

[freyk]

And found him at soundcloud:

https://m.soundcloud.com/cookiespy

Edited May 15, 2022 by freyk

[Petike the Taffer]

I've added new royalty-free music to my main post.