itch.io

Thanks! 
You were right! That whacky bit you’re talking about is a bar of 7/8 followed by a bar of 4/4. 

Thanks for checking it out! Drums make everything better :P  
Yes, while I do have some qualms with Logic, IMO it can't be beat for it's sounds and midi programming. (Haven't tried Cubase yet though... :P) 

hmmmm in terms of ideas...

- have it cut in and out?

- layer it with other 'noise' -  radio static/radio dial sweeps/distoerted radio-y vocals/satellite bleeps and bloops? 

- What made it especially obvious that it was a result of a noisy module/hum was that when the bass comes in it 'ducks' the noise, and it fades back in - making it clear that it's not an additional ambient layer on the composition. 

As I don't do much live/dawless stuff, the solutions above are maybe more acheivable in a DAW. Not sure how'd you'd go about some of those ideas on your rack... 

hahah glad to hear that :P 
Yes, tropes are very useful, and they became tropes for a reason. The whole tone scale itself has become a musical trope in itself! 

You're 110% right; VGM and Film music often has to get it's message across in just a few notes, and utilising the common musical tropes can be the most effective way to communicate to the audience. 

Nice aesthetic! Would suit a retro-sci-fi adventure perfectly! 

Tribulation feels like it takes some nods from Williams' Imperial March or Holst's Mars - great places to draw inspiration from for your theme! 

Go Home, Someday Soon was my favourite of the three; gentle, reflective. Very comforting, while lonely. Beautiful! 

This is really well done. You made a clear effort to incorporate the challenge, and executed it really nicely as well! 

Personally I didn't feel that I had returned to the cave (or at least, that it had changed significantly/cleared-out). While the melody was less dissonant and had changed sound, I don't think that was an obvious enough change, it just felt like a B section to the same song. A shift in the main pad/keys sound (brighten it up with an EQ/filter sweep perhaps) might have transported the listener into a more dramatically different space. 

Great choice to use dreams as a setting - whole tone has often been used to simulate a weightless feeling, and you captured that really well, especially in Dream Walking. 
The two pieces didn't feel all that connected to me, like quite different games; they might have made sense in a larger OST, but as two tracks they felt a little disparate.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed both pieces, just talking about the overall theme/intention of the 2 tracks :) 

Loved the energy - I'd be bopping along as I fought that boss! Great lead synth sound, cuts through and is 'fizzy' without becoming fatiguing :) 

Well done! Definitely the best controlled/treated orchestral VST's I've heard from this jam, strings especially - using different articulations and managing the dynamics really takes a few notes and tells a story with them! 

Definitely reached that 'soaring' epicness at the ~2 minute mark. The eagle cry was cool the first time, but felt a little overdone by the 3rd one, in my opinon. 

Lovely, sets a reflective mood, as if the hero is reminiscing on the journey that's passed. 
Nice chord progression, though I would have liked some variety as the piece continued, even if it just with the piano and violins changing their voiceleading through the progression, or their harmonic rhythm. 

Nice work! The rompler sounds are great! I remember making a tune with just the sounds fromthe Roland Sound Canvas library a while ago - so much fun, and instantly gives everything a PS1 era vibe :D 

Hell yeah, well done! Personal taste but I don't love the lead synth line (love the melody though!!) 

I think you nailed the feeling of an anime rock intro! Did you record the guitars yourself? They sound great! 

Well done sticking to the whole tone for the entire piece, and creating something with levity! My efforts always ending up darker. Sticking mostly to the first tetra chord worked in your favour, though it does feel like this piece is mostly Lydian, as opposed to really bringing out the essence of whole tone scale. Regardless it's a beautfiul piece and well done to pushing through with the challenge!!! 

Awesome! Some fantastic mood shifts in this piece, never staying still too long. Captured the essence of journey very well. 

I love all of the percussive elements panning around, and the interesting instrument combinations. So much fun, thanks for creating something so unique! 

I think you mixed your orchestral elements very well, tucked behind the electronic elements. If your orchestral elements were front and centre I think my impression of the overall quality would have been reduced, as they do sound very 'artificial' (or just like low-end VST's with not much automation etc). But as they weren't the feature it was a non-issue 

heck yeah that's some funky potato-chip-tune.
Excellent work, catchy melody and great energy throughout :) 

Awesome stuff! I really liked the second, upbeat jazz tune. In my mind these are great compositions, that deserve higher production values! I assume this was Musescore playback? 

Would be awesome to hear a version where you've programmed this into a DAW with some nicer VST's etc. Keen to hear what you do next ;) 

Nice work! All these pieces feel like a part of a cohesive whole, nailing your hypothetical game. Favourite track was Cereberus Circuit.
I agree with Skremzy that the lead synth lines could be a bit more upfront, treated like a lead vocal would be. Possibly why Cereberus was my favourite, the lead melodies jumped out more in this tune, switching between rhythm section jams, then a melody popping out in the next. 

Awesome work, I hope you're proud of it :D 

Wow! Amazing exploration of harmony, but for me it felt left like a composition and more of a keyboardist having a jam (probably because my ears aren't good enough to follow exaclty whats going on!). The absence of a clear melody (all notes being played simaltaneously, ~10 fingers at a time etc.) fatigued me a bit, and a change in texture, dynamic, instrumentation would have been welcome. 

Loved the foley percussion, very unsettling. Perhaps a little more variation on them, through EQ panning, or just volume could prevent them from feeling overused?

Loved the feel change when the four on the floor comes in, definitely hypes the intensity and would suit a panicked chase!

Thanks for listening! 
Your spidey senses are correct! I hope that's not because my piece seemed pretentious and stuffy.... :P 

Hell yeah! McGuffin was my favourite piece and gave me Core Keeper vibes - huge compliment there, Jonathan Geer is amazing. 
The flute was maybe a little too verby, as the tails of notes were overlapping with the next note, but loved it overall! 
Homecoming a close second favourite ;) 

Interesting approach to the brief! Are you the Hero on the Modular Synth journey!? XD 
Very gritty sounds coming from those filters. Can see it in a top down pixel art beat-em-up set in a dystopian future. 
Not sure how you recorded this, but seems to be a bit of noise/hum going on (especially noticeable at the start). Wasn't sure if that was an intentional layer or not; perhaps if it was meant to be intentional maybe make it more obviously so? 

Very cute! Loved the basslines throughout the piece, plenty of forward momentum and would suit your hypothetical game very well :D 
Felt that most songs had a good layered intro, but each song ended rather abruptly! Working on an outro, or even if it's designed to loop, just having a fade out could be nice :) 

Fantastic! Very impressed that you worked to create a full OST, and this feels cohesive, not just a collection of songs. Keeping the instrumentation similar always helps, but you also wove recurring motifs too! Fantastic. 
Also impressed that you acheived this with Bandlab! Can't wait to hear what you can acheive when you migrate to a fully featured DAW ;) 

Nice work! I think this piece matches your hypothetical game very well. While I understand Skremzy's point RE reverb, I think the style/genre you aimed for suits that drier tone. 
Awesome use of counterpoint!

There's some great bones here! Well done :) I agree with cjee246 below that working on automating the dynamics of the virtual instruments would really help take it to the next level.

Great work! Fantastic that you managed to create such a catchy melody from the whole tone scale, not an easy feat! 

Thanks so much for checking it out! :)

Thanks for listening! :)

Howdy!
I've just released my second Game Loops Pack! https://callumleegow.itch.io/sci-fi-ambience-adaptive-game-loops
This features 8 adaptive loops, each with 4/5 layers that loop seamlessly, allowing you to create dynamic audio solutions for your game. I'd really love any and all feedback, especially if anyone creates dyanmic/adaptive audio with it - was it easy etc. 

I really hope you like them, I had a great time making them and I would love to see them make their way into your projects!

Hey! Sounds intriguing, would love to hear more about it. Shoot me a message, Discord name is callum#2023

G'day - my names Callum and I'm a composer from Melbourne Australia. 

This is my first game jam, but I have experience working on moving images, and did the soundtrack for Squirrelville, a game up on itch.io now. 
I would say I have a broad compositional palette, but would love to work on something playful and quirky, or dark and grungy. Quite the spectrum! 

Showreel

Looking forward to meeting some of you! 

G'day, my names Callum, and I'm down in Melbourne, Australia. 

I've worked on one game before (Squirrelville, up on Itch.io), and several other moving image projects, but this is my first jam! 

Hoping to jump on a team and make some great music. 

www.callumleegow.com has my showreel on it for anyone who cares to have a look. 

Looking forward to meeting some of you all! 

Discord: Callum#2023