I’m a big fan of Just Plain Folks, a grassroots non-profit organization of independent musicians, songwriters, composers and performers. Its founder, Brian Austin Whitney, has been tireless in his crusade to: (1) expose the rest of the world to “the other 98% of music” and give the people creating it the recognition they deserve, and (2) provide an excellent community and resource base for those same people.
A major aspect of the JPF world is the Just Plain Folks Music Awards, the largest independent music award ceremony on Earth. When I say largest, I do mean large; at the 2006 awards, where I received wins for “Best Techno Album” and “Best Techno Song”, there were over 350,000 songs and 25,000 albums submitted for consideration.
Fittest, the multiplayer, Geometry Wars-inspired arena space shooter I scored is now available on Xbox 360 Community Games! For the last two weeks, Fittest has been an IGN.com Top Pick among Community Games with only a handful of others, so you know it’s gonna be good.
Welcome to the revamped zircon website, now with a new URL. Over the next few weeks you’ll probably see various aesthetic and color changes to this template, but the content and general layout will remain the same. You’ll notice a whole lot of new content, such as the Discography page which contains a list of all eight of my album releases, complete with multiple purchase links and descriptions.
Other additions include six new songs available at the Music page, which is now much more streamlined, plus a completely revamped Store with new items, deals, and a better design. The whole site should be easier on the eyes and more interactive, with the ability to leave comments on any page.
As for Zircon Studios, that site isn’t defunct; it’s now next on the redesign list. Zircon Studios will become my “composer” site, featuring music I’ve written for games, TV, film, etc. You’ll be able to read about my services in detail, read testimonials, view credits, and even license music directly from a catalog of available tracks.
I’m proud to introduce my newest album, the FITTEST Original Video Game Soundtrack!
This is a full-length (60+ minute), 14-song video game soundtrack spanning a number of electronic genres: ambient, Genesis electro-funk, synth pop, rock/metal, psychedelic, breakbeat and more. The compositional style is a blend of tributes to classic game soundtracks like Turrican, Mega Man, Donkey Kong Country and Contra, influenced by modern artists such as BT, Hybrid, Joshua Morse and Jake Kaufman.
The game itself is an arena space shooter a la Geometry Wars set to be released for Xbox 360 Community Games sometime in Q3 2009. You can watch a trailer of the game in action by clicking here.
The FITTEST Original Soundtrack is available as a digital download at CD Baby or the web store for just $10. To whet your appetite, here are some free, full-length streaming previews via YouTube. Feel free to leave comments and rate the videos if you enjoy them!
After over six months of meticulous editing, my new sample library, Groove Bias: Vintage Drum Sounds, is now officially available through Impact Soundworks! You can download it in Kontakt/EXS-24/HALion format for just $99 or in Reason’s NN-XT format for $89. Visit the Impact Soundworks store or the product page for purchase links!
Haven’t heard of Groove Bias yet? It’s a 4gb collection of old-school drum sounds, recorded using all-analog gear, vintage mics, busted consoles and, of course, TAPE. It took three separate studios to record the 3,500+ samples of 24/96 content, which comprise three custom acoustic drum kits and a set of assorted percussive instruments. Here’s a video of the library in action, courtesy of Brandon Bush:
All formats of Groove Bias are unlocked for your editing and re-mapping pleasure, and with 5-10 round robins and 5-16 velocities per switchable kit component, you’ve got a lot to play with!
You can find more audio demos and detailed product information at the product page. I’ve been having a blast with this library for months now, so I’m happy it’s now open to everybody else. :)
Fittest - Original Soundtrack
Features trance, classical techno, chillout, psychedelic, ambient and more styles, all inspired by classic video game music.
Fittest, the multiplayer, Geometry Wars-inspired arena space shooter I scored is now available on Xbox 360 Community Games! For the last two weeks, Fittest has been an IGN.com Top Pick among Community Games with only a handful of others, so you know it’s gonna be good.