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Thief Inspired & Other Original Music


ascottk

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Hey all! I joined the Dark Mod about a month ago doing some various modeling & texturing. But that's not why I'm here today. As the the topic description says, "WARNING: Shameless self promotion!". This is copyrighted material so please ask permission for their use.

 

I'll be starting my masters in music program this fall with an emphasis in composition & here's some of the music I wrote over the years. Some of these compositions were inspired by experiences I've had, including the "Robbing the Cradle" level in TDS:

 

A House with Bad Dreams (2004-2005)

 

This piece was originally written for the Sound Moves ensemble at Western Oregon University. Since then, it was arranged for the Thelema Trio (http://www.thelematrio.com/).

 

A House with Bad Dreams title was a part of a quote taken from the 'Thief: Deadly Shadows' video game. The main character, Garrett, says in the game's debriefing:

 

The Shalebridge Cradle. It used to be an insane asylum, and before that it was an orphanage. One night a fire started, no one knows how, and after that they left the place abandoned. If there's a way to cram more misery into one building's history, I can't think of it. I'm here to learn about the old woman who attacked me in the Keeper Compound. Drept said he saw the hag here at the orphanage long ago, when his childhood friend was murdered. He’s never dared to come back, but I don’t think I have much choice. It’s a thin lead, but it’s all I have left. I’ve never robbed an orphanage before, and I can't say I'm looking forward to this visit. There's no telling what I'll find inside. I'm used to the dark, but this feels like a house with bad dreams." (
)

 

The alto saxophone's main line represents the childish innocence of Laurel, the ghostly apparition Garrett encounters in the level. The trombone/bass clarinet part compliments the alto saxophone part, while the piano underlines the general creepiness of the surroundings.

http://home.comcast.net/~alter-id/audio/Ba...helema-edit.mp3

 

This was a contemporary composition assignment (yours truly on the violin):

http://home.comcast.net/~alter-id/audio/Finally.mp3

 

Utaqiliugigvin is King Island Eskimo meaning "I'll Wait for You". This was inspired by my trips to Alaska the last couple of years.

 

*Sorry, this file didn't want to upload :( EDIT: fixed

http://home.comcast.net/~ascottk/mp3s/Utaqiliugigvin.mp3

translation:

King Island, where have you gone?

Not far now.

King Island, when do we meet?

Soon?

It's been a long time.

I'll wait for you.

 

Written for the Serpent sequence for John Dreyden's "The State of Innocence and Fall of Man". This was the scene where Lucifer turns into a serpent and plucks the apple from the Tree of Life.
(virtual realization)

http://home.comcast.net/~ascottk/mp3s/serpent.mp3

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Very interesting. I was considering going into a Composition Major myself at one point--but my interests didn't really lie in contemporary music, but rather, in film music and that sort. I wasn't very interested in writing the kind of music I would have to, I didn't particularly enjoy the new classical movements (but rather, I was only interested in the Romantic periods and previous to). I figured that if I truly wanted to write music, going to music school wasn't preventing me from following that dream, and I could actually pursue something that could potentially be a good career in the future.

 

Who knows how things will change eventually, but as for now, I'm going into History and pre-law, a talent I've had in high school that I figure should not go unexplored. I do wish you good luck in the future, but to be quite honest, I have no interest in contemporary classical music. Case in point, even the classical music you hear on the radio is not contemporary--it is art, but I don't believe it is quite what people are looking for. It's not particularly the art that says anything to me--and in all honesty, the pieces sound more like a dress rehersal (before a concert) than an actual piece itself.

 

I don't mean to sound rude or discouraging (and I'm sure this isn't the first comment you've heard either of its type), maybe you could say that I simply "don't understand". I believe that an artist should produce works outside of any sort of movement, rather than conforming, and find ways of expression that suit them best and please them most. This might apply here, but I think I'll stick to more commertial music. (And I prefer the electronic atmospheres that I believe truly do invoke a mood presented in the Dark Mod as well as the Thief games). No worries though!

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I don't mean to sound rude or discouraging (and I'm sure this isn't the first comment you've heard either of its type), maybe you could say that I simply "don't understand". I believe that an artist should produce works outside of any sort of movement, rather than conforming, and find ways of expression that suit them best and please them most. This might apply here, but I think I'll stick to more commertial music. (And I prefer the electronic atmospheres that I believe truly do invoke a mood presented in the Dark Mod as well as the Thief games). No worries though!

 

The "I don't understand" part is one I get all the time :P It's interesting you wanted to score films, but that kind music uses contemporary techniques all the time: modality, atonality, minimalism, indeterminacy, textural ("painting" with the timbres of instruments), and extended instrument techniques to name a few. The music I posted in this forum uses quite a few of those techniques. Even the number-based theories (set theory, twelve tone) I use in my compositions have tonal implications in them, mostly step-wise ideas as as a structural device.

 

Also, this music doesn't have a lot of repetition (although Finally and Utaqiligigvin uses a similar idea as minimalism). So if you like Phillip Glass or rap, this music is not for you :D

 

I did make an attempt to make this music more approachable and less mathematical sounding. A House with Bad Dreams nearly wasn't written because it sounded too mathematical. One of my instructors started playing the main melodic line on the piano & he had a free rhythm to it so I incorporated that same feel into the piece & it worked a lot better. It's actually a lot more simple than Stravinsky or Schoenberg's music.

 

Besides, composing is merely arranging sounds. In a university setting, the more clever you arrange those sounds, the more your composition instructor will like you B) There's another reason this music sounds the way it does. Instructors tend to get bored with tonality after the 5 trillionth analysis.

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Nice. I think I like the King Island one best so far. :)

 

Edit: I'm listening to the Serpent one now and that's even better... hehe.

My games | Public Service Announcement: TDM is not set in the Thief universe. The city in which it takes place is not the City from Thief. The player character is not called Garrett. Any person who contradicts these facts will be subjected to disapproving stares.
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Pretty good stuff there, ascott. Great to hear some modern music for a change (so many people on the internet in my experience try to stick to romantic or classical idioms, usually unsuccessfully).

 

We all know I'm a CLASSICAL guitarist but look what I dun in my other half of life: www.myspace.com/unspecificcollective

 

YES IT'S MYSPACE, anyway I wrote the top 3 songs and played the guitars and recorded it all, my best friend is the singer.

 

Just a bit of fun, eh.

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Well, I thought that was pretty impressive stuff personally. Well put together and interesting to the ear and, as if it makes any difference, I've got a small history of song composition. Wasn't particularly keen on the last piece, I find MIDI tones terribly grating, kind'a reminded me of Deus Ex though. The first two were cool though, something gripping about them, very well done :)

 

EDIT: Hey Fingernail, I'd like to hear your stuff and your link doesn't seem to be valid anymore?

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  • 3 months later...

I found myself signing up for a myspace artist account:

http://www.myspace.com/ascottk

 

There's a couple of new pieces on there:

To Sleep poetry by John Keats

O soft embalmer of the still midnight,

Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,

Our gloom-pleas'd eyes, embower'd from the light,

Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:

O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close

In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes,

Or wait the "Amen," ere thy poppy throws

Around my bed its lulling charities.

Then save me, or the passed day will shine

Upon my pillow, breeding many woes,--

Save me from curious Conscience, that still lords

Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;

Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,

And seal the hushed Casket of my Soul.

Sang by Katey Bridge with Karley Herrick on piano.

 

& The Cabal, music for the Flesh Eater's TDS mini-campaign.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey Ascottk-

 

I know I'm a little late to the game here but I really appreciated your pieces.

 

Utaqiliugigvin had a nice melodic-minimalistic feel to it.

The Serpent sounded like it was inspired by the Hexen or Heretic series of games. Even the choice of MIDI voices and textures sounded similar.

Bad Dreams was my favorite overall. I thought the melodic line on the saxophone was great (of course, I would being a saxophonist myself). But the balance of tonality with the bass clarinet and the piano were wonderful. Would you be interested in having it performed sometime? I would be up to it!

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."- Frank Zappa

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Hey Ascottk-

 

I know I'm a little late to the game here but I really appreciated your pieces.

 

Utaqiliugigvin had a nice melodic-minimalistic feel to it.

The Serpent sounded like it was inspired by the Hexen or Heretic series of games. Even the choice of MIDI voices and textures sounded similar.

Bad Dreams was my favorite overall. I thought the melodic line on the saxophone was great (of course, I would being a saxophonist myself). But the balance of tonality with the bass clarinet and the piano were wonderful. Would you be interested in having it performed sometime? I would be up to it!

Hell yeah B) Any chance of having my pieces performed is good in my book :)
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  • 3 months later...

I helped out a film composer from LA on April 16. I gave him a demo CD of my compositions (with my email of course) & pointed him to my myspace url. We were recording the Western Oregon University Chamber Singers for an independent film called "Drawn Home" that'll premier at the Sundance Film Festival. Anyway, Chris Thomas the LA composer who wrote for an episode of the TV series "Lost", just sent me an email:

Hey Scott!

Chris Thomas here...composer from LA. Sorry for the late reply, last 2 weeks here have redefined insanity for me. But I listened to your CD on the ride up to Portland, and checked out you myspace page. Your abilities and creativity as a composer are spectacular!! I love how your music is so accessible yet doesn't rely on traditional orchestration or harmonic language. Very tough to accomplish, so well done.

 

Do you intend to go into film music? If so your demo thus far will give directors a concert vibe, which seems to scare them. I have the same problem, and finally had to start writing a few pieces that were purely cinematic. If film is in your future, I know you are MORE than capable of writing some simplified scores that exploit cool colors and melodies. That's the stuff that gets the jobs in the film business...just don't ever quit writing your concert works because of film!!

 

Take care, and e-mail with questions should they ever come up...

~Chris

 

I ended up taking a bunch of pictures & video of the recording session, and recorded the last piece, so I might post those somewhere over the weekend.

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Cool! Always nice to get praise from people working in the industry that you want to get into. :)

My games | Public Service Announcement: TDM is not set in the Thief universe. The city in which it takes place is not the City from Thief. The player character is not called Garrett. Any person who contradicts these facts will be subjected to disapproving stares.
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

More music on soundclick.com!

 

http://www.soundclick.com/scottkingston (BEWARE - hi-fi links on the music page PLAY TOO FAST!) FIXED

 

16 streaming mp3 files for listening including the ones in this thread, some recordings from my senior recital, older recordings from various concerts, and new electronic pieces. I may subscribe to the VIP account so I'm not limited by bitrate or file size.

 

The main list:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=714844

 

Acoustic

Bb+/-Eb (performed & interpreted by Simon Bielman)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460033&q=hi

 

Canelloni Sonata: I Allegro (string ensemble with me playing horribly on 1st violin)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460057&q=hi

 

Canelloni Sonata: II Adagio

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460082&q=hi

 

Theme and Variations: Cuckoo She's a Pretty Bird (woodwind quintet)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460102&q=hi

 

Sing Freely (SATB)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460004&q=hi

 

Electronic

Exploitation (electronics with electric guitar)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460146&q=hi

 

helios 501734 (electronics with electric guitar and bass)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460154&q=hi

 

Garden of Terrors (electro-acoustic)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...459937&q=hi

 

Words without Thoughts (electro-acoustic)

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...459964&q=hi

 

Written for video

The Day Called 'X' Recored

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460189&q=hi

 

Longing for Space for Michael Kingery's "Lighthouse"

http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m...460179&q=hi

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That's some nice work you got. I'm gonna be listening to that throughout this coming week. As for what I was referring to earlier here it is.

 

Exactly at 00:44 seconds. That is the ending music for Thief: Deadly Shadows. I also love the music when you're in Garrett's apartment. It's so nostalgic.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

The film composer, Chris Thomas, who came to WOU for a recording session (this post: http://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?s=&am...st&p=110911 ) has been nominated for an award!

 

I just got this email:

Dearest everybody!

 

For the 2007 FILM AND TV MUSIC AWARDS Christopher Thomas has been

nominated for BEST ORCHESTRATOR against 4 of Hollywoods top talents.

As the youngest contender, he needs YOUR help to win!

 

To vote, you must register. (No worries, nobody will bother you by

mail or phone). It takes 2 minutes.

 

Please vote before the DEADLINE OF OCTOBER 15!!!

 

To begin, go to this link:

http://www.filmtvmusicawards.com/login.php

 

Create an Account

(Primary Industry - Choose "Other")

 

Click - "Go to members area"

 

Click option 3 - "Enter or Change Your Votes"

 

Under "Orchestration"

1. Best Orchestration: Christopher Thomas

 

Under "Film" category

1. Best Score for an Independent Feature: Austin Wintory

2. Best Score for a Student Film: Austin Wintory

 

CLICK - SUBMIT at bottom of page.

 

PLEASE SEND THIS LINK TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW! A victory over the big

dogs is another victory for our generation of musicians and

filmmakers. Vote for the underdog!!

 

Many thanks to all!

~Chris Thomas

 

http://www.filmtvmusicawards.com/login.php

 

I heard his scores & they are awesome! So help a fellow composer win an award!

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Wow ascottk, that music is fantastic. It all sounds cool but I love the music of the late Medieval to early Classical Western so the Canelloni is my favorite. I vote for your friend as well, good luck to them.

 

Are you familiar with the works of Unico Willem van Wassenaer, "Sei Concerti Armonici"? Six concertos from a extremely talented individual, the works were attributed to the wrong composers for centuries because Unico did not want to claim them.

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