2008
Title |
Description |
Link |
| Doctor Who - Nightmare Groove |
Equipment: Korg MS2000B For my last Doctor Who Cover I wanted to create a dark dance version of the theme. Whilst this didn't turn out particularly dark, it certainly has a 'killer' beat and I believe could be played in a club without too much persuation. I finally managed to duplicate some of the sounds from the Peter Howell original in this track. |
|
| New Dawn |
Equipment: Korg TR-76, Korg MS2000B This track is another demo for the TR-76, this time with Vocoded Vocals from the MS2000B overlayed over the top. I wanted to try and capture the sort of atmosphere that bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead evoke during their music, whilst still maintaining the definite style that I've obtained. The result is something relaxing yet posessing a definite amount of pace. |
|
| One Last Chance |
Equipment: Korg TR-76 This track is a demo I composed for the Korg TR-76. I wanted to experiment with trying to get an authentic rock sound out of this synth and whilst the result is far superior to anything the CS1x could produce, it still sounds terribly synthetic when compared with the genuine article. A failed experiment perhaps, but not without its merits. |
2007
Title |
Description |
Link |
| Doctor Who - Howellaround |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B Howellaround is a fusion of the work that I did for Epic and Redisclosed. Whilst I am pleased with the result I think that the bass could have been less subtle. The vocoder section is now a lot more electronic in an attempt to match the sound of the Peter Howell original. |
|
| War of the Worlds - The Tripods |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B The Tripods is much more electronic than my previous attempt at the War of the Worlds theme. This is a complete re-recording, nothing from the original recording is reused. Once again, most of the synthetics are provided by the MS2000B and the 'classical' elements are provided by the CS1x. The opening narration was re-recorded and now has a heavy chrous effect applied. Also I sing during the bridge. It's not as bad as it sounds, honest. |
|
| Desert Island Paradise Remix |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This track is a fairly straightforward re-recording of the original. There's new percussion elements and the bass line has been made more 'groovy'. The structure of the lead melody has also changed. A bass pad was added to aid in adding some low level harmonics, however I find it difficult to tell if this succeeded in its purpose. |
|
| Cyber War - Metal Remix |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B The Metal Remix of Cyber War is a full-length version of the theme that was used for the first part of the Cyber War audio series. The theme was re-recorded for the remaining 3 parts, the full length version of which is featured on my first album Transient Reasoning. Originally the concept for this track was a kind of electronic march that kept a constant beat with repetitive bass and backing behind the melody. This I thought would capture the feeling of the Cybermen from the TV series: Powerful, Relentless and Indomitable. |
|
| Everything in Sprite's Place 2007 |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B The 2007 re-recording of Sprite's Place is what the original should have been. The only elements provided by the CS1x are percussional. There's vocoder present throughout and I feel I've put a bit more of my own ideas into the mix with the introductive build-up and the improvisation in the middle. This is far superior to the original. |
|
| Begin Again - Full Circle |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B Due to the poor quality recording that blighted the original Begin Again I decided to re-record the track now that I had access to stereo recording equipment and the MS2000B. In fact, all the synthetic voices are provided by the MS2000B with percussion and classical elements provided by the CS1x. The piano introduction was also added in an attempt to wrong-foot the listener before the track started proper. Lyrics were also added for the chorus, provided by the MS2000B's Vocoder. As the track builds it culminates in an epic finish. |
2006
Title |
Description |
Link |
| Starfox Odyssey |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B I've always been keen on music from computer games. The themes found in Starfox 64 (or Lylat Wars if you live in Europe) are brilliant and memorable. This track is a cover of the main theme, 'danced up' for more general listening. |
|
| Absense Yields the Heart |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B I wanted to experiment with creating a truly emotional track using mostly electronic sounds. This track only involves piano, strings and vocoder. The main theme of this track would go on to be featured in Tears for the Eternal as the third part of that track. |
|
| Doctor Who - Redisclosed |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B Redisclosed is an update to Undisclosed using sounds from the MS2000B. There are also additional percussion elements provided by the CS1x. This Doctor Who theme cover is the one I am most proud of as it evokes memories of the series and still maintains enough of a beat to maintain pace. |
|
| Forever Rain |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Forever Rain is an emotional dance track. I wanted to compose something relaxing but yet emotional which still maintained a beat. This is the result. |
|
| Lovin It |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Korg MS2000B This track is a demo of the Korg MS2000B. I thought that composing a simple track would give me a good idea what kind of sounds that the machine is capable of. There's vocoder, trance-like leads, groovy bass and the slogan for McDonalds liberally sprinkled throughout. The only elements provided by the CS1x are the percussion loops, and even then these are re-used from Begin Again. |
2005
Title |
Description |
Link |
| Desert Island Paradise |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Desert Island Paradise was an experiment to create relaxing electronica which still had a definite rhythm. This track later became 'Paradise of Life' released in my first album Transient Reasoning. Many of the original elements were carried over from the original. The bass in this track is a tad intense, watch your speakers! |
|
| War of the Worlds |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x I've always been a fan of Jeff Wayne's musical version of HG Well's classic novel. I remember being terrified by it as a child and when I felt confident enough I decided to compose a cover of the main theme. Ultimately not a bad effort, but it didn't feel electronic enough so I ended up re-recording this in 2007 and renaming the cover The Tripods. The track opens with the opening narration (as read by Richard Burton in the original) read by myself. |
|
| Doctor Who - Undisclosed |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x I decided to apply what I learnt during the composition of Begin Again to the Doctor Who theme and this track resulted. I named it Undisclosed after the theme for the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential. There's definitely inspiration taken from this version of the theme. A slow but atmospheric start leads into an understated dance version of the seminal TV theme. |
|
| Everything in Sprite's Place |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This is a cover of the track 'Everything in it's Right Place' by Radiohead from their album 'Kid A'. Personally, I didn't like the track and a friend of mine that did asked me to put my money where my mouth is. Ultimately I think this cover failed. It's too forward and bright, lacking atmosphere and the percussion adds a feeling that the track is plodding. Hoever, please see the 2007 version in addition to this. |
|
| Doctor Who - Forever |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Again, this track was recorded with only mono recording equipment. The track itself is a take on the Keff McCulloch version of the theme with some percussion elements and undertones of the original theme in the melody. However the percussion ultimately didn't work too well. |
|
| Begin Again |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This could be said to be the track that began my first album. The track is pretty much an attempt at a dark Trance track. I only had the same recording equipment as with Odd Dwarf so the entire thing is mono recordings mixed into stereo. There's a half decent beat and a good build-up to the 'chorus' but the 'verse' is lacking in harmonic depth. In subsequent recordings I never managed to duplicate the same bass voice, which is a shame as I feel it's quite distinctive. |
|
| Odd Dwarf |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Odd Dwarf is a bad (very bad) cover of the Red Dwarf theme tune. At the time I only had access to mono recording equipment so the mixing is lacking. Although the link is here to tempt you, don't! Just, don't download it! Don't say I didn't warn you... |
2004
Title |
Description |
Link |
| Doctor Who - Chimera |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x These two tracks aren't Doctor Who theme remixes but rather my first attempt at composing music for video. The two tracks are for the first two scenes of the Doctor Who fan film Chimera (I believe to be still available from DAM Productions) however the full score was never finished. These tracks are only really offered for completeness. |
|
| Doctor Who - Epic |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Epic was an experiment. I wanted to create a full sounding mix using samples from the original Doctor Who theme. What I ended up doing however was taking the original Doctor Who theme recording and playing brass, strings and timpani over the top. Considering how basic the editing techniques used to create this were I'm even now pleased with the outcome. |
|
| Doctor Who - Cold Blood |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Cold Blood was the title of the first story of the first season of Time Tunnel Audio Adventures. The title seemed to fit the darkness of the titles used for this season so I stuck with it. The mix itself is more or less counterfeit recorded with the expectations sound bank. There are also some new pads present to help flesh things out a bit. There are 3 versions: Opening and Closing Titles as well as a full recording which is 2:45 in length. |
|
| Doctor Who - Expectations |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Expectations is really a development of Counterfeit. There's a change of bass, a lot more effects and generally a feeling of increased urgency about the mix. I also wanted to get some speculative ideas as to what the new series theme might sound like. |
|
| Doctor Who - Counterfeit |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This mix was an attempt to create a sound similar to the 1980s remix of the theme provided by Peter Howell. As such this mix is provided in opening and closing titles versions. The soundscape itself is quite sparse and to an extent understated. |
|
| Doctor Who - New Age |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x During the first 4 years of my composing and recording music the Doctor Who theme managed to capture my imagination quite completely. Over the course of those 4 years I have composed no less than 9 different variations on the theme. Some of these are developments of the tracks that came before, others are unique to themselves. But listening from the first to the last clearly shows evolution. |
|
| Dalek Universe |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Dalek Universe was the first audio drama that I acted in. I started talking to the director about the possibility of composing the music for it and recorded this as a test set of titles music. The melody would eventually stay, but this recording would go ultimately unused. Both Opening and Closing Titles are available. |
|
| Hitchhiker |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x, Guitar performed by Zyklon Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has to be one of the funniest series of sci-fi books, radio and TV productions. One day a friend and I decided that performing a cover of the theme tune from the TV series would be a good way to pass an afternoon by. And here it is. |
|
| Finest Hour |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Finest Hour was among the first tracks that I recorded. I became so fond of the melody that I ended up making this re-recording. My line of thinking was the sort of music that about sums up the courage that must be required to make the ultimate sacrifice for 'King and Country'. |
|
| March of the Zignians |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x Long ago I attempted to create an animated Doctor Who episode using Flash-based animation. I ended up composing this for a test shot of the final moments of the last episode. Ultimately the project was never completed but I ended up composing an extended version in any case. |
|
| Mars |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This short track was composed for an interactive school report about the viability of Human colonisation of Mars. There are obvious similarities between the melody of this and Holsts Mars. However, lacking the experience and materials necessary for recording an orchestra, this had to make do! |
|
| Spaced |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x I experimented with Arpeggiators for this track, which provided both the bass and the drums. Largely successful, I feel this track stands up to the test of time and stands almost on par with my recent efforts. |
|
| Themes of Epic 2 |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x I initially invisaged Themes of Epic as a 3-part track, however the third was never recorded. As can be observed, the 2nd part is more dramatic than the first. The third would have been more dramatic than the 2nd. |
|
| Themes of Epic |
Equipment: Yamaha CS1x This track has the dubious honour of being my first ever recording at the young age of 15. The finished article has little in the way of mastering, or editing, or even time keeping (it was recorded without a metronome, at least I recall that it was). Each part was recorded seperately 'as live'. This practice continued until I became aware of various editing techniques and loops. |