Posts Tagged ‘Sample Packages’

New Remix Under Review Installment:
Sephiroth’s Wake

Well, needless to say, it has been a busy week and a half since the last time I posted, but now I’ve been able to steal away for a short time to post again!  This week, we’re returning to Remix Under Review with a new track to look into!   Not too far back, I reviewed a piece from Final Fantasy 7 called Frozen Landscape. That arrangement was done for the OC Remix project Voices of the Lifestream.  Well, this time around, I’ll be reviewing the other remix I did for the project: Sephiroth’s Wake.

Source:

Remix:

As you can hear, the original source material doesn’t really lend itself to much interpretation.  Nobuo Uematsu really used the piece to create a very dark and ominous feel to this particular section of the game.  He didn’t seem to use any kind of tempo or rhythm scheme, so that was left up to me.

At the time of doing this remix, I was going though a major Harry Gregson-Williams kick and was really vibing his work on the Metal Gear Solid series.  Harry has a very particular style of music that he does very VERY well.  I classify it as the “infiltration” genre.  Check this YouTube Video to hear what I’m talking about.  After listening to this style from HGW a bit, I decided I wanted to try it.  From that idea, this remix was born and my goal was simple: What would it sound like if Harry Gregson-Williams composed music for Final Fantasy 7?

I never really anticipated being able to replicate the genre as well as I did, so I was extremely happy for how it turned out.  This piece was done in the late winter/early spring of 2007 which means this was in the day of me using nothing but Reason for any music I wrote.  I ended up primarily using the samples that come with the program when you buy it.  There were a few samples that I used from the Total REX sound library that really helped with the ambiance in addition to some ethnic drum samples from the Sonic Refills: World Percussion sample set.  The french horn sample came from a sample package I bought called Quantum Leap Brass (this is the same company that makes the orchestral sample package I currently use.  QL Brass is an OLD sample package they produced long ago).

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of incorporating orchestral elements in different genres, so you can imagine I had a great time with this piece!  The string samples came from Reason’s default library, and while they are certainly not the best things in the world, I’m still very pleased with how well they worked.  I’ve contemplated going back into this piece and replacing the orch samples with the awesome library I now have.  Create Sephiroth’s Wake 1.5, if you will.  That may happen, but maybe not.  Either way the track was a major stepping stone in my growth as a composer, programmer, and arranger and it has stood the test of time so far.  You can see what OTHERS HAVE SAID about the mix too!

T|M is working on several animations, original tracks, and in the process of planning a new potential project.  Be sure to check back very soon as there will be some very exciting updates on the way!

T|M Programs Orchestral Music for Journey to Everest Film Trailer

A new documentary film from the good folks over at Epiphany Productions has been released.  The movie is called “Journey to Everest” and is the story of six Americans who set out to trek up a portion of Everest!  The film was created and directed by a talented guy named David Kiern who is in the process of releasing several new films and features.

The music for the film was composed by Bob Farnsworth, President and Creative Director of Hummingbird Productions in Nashville, and the programming was done by Larry Hall.  The music has a very strong John Williams vibe throughout, but it also contains ethnic and cultural elements.  The movie is about 70 minutes long and features original music throughout!  The film itself can be purchased at the MOVIE HOMEPAGE and is definitely a good watch.

T|M was brought on to program some of the orchestral music for the theatrical trailer.  Most of the music can be found in the film itself, but the last musical cue (last minute of the trailer) was composed specifically for the teaser.  The piece was actually fashioned from a temp track that the director had placed.  The piece came from the movie “The Island” which was composed by Steve Jablonsky.  Tweex Music, in association with Hummingbird Productions, wrote and programmed the final piece.  Of all the music in the trailer, the last minute is easily the climax!  T|M was able to use the new addition to his studio (EWQL Symphonic Choirs) for the track.

As always, the trailer can be found on the SFX DESIGN page.  If you enjoyed the trailer, be sure to check out the complete film; it will be time well spent.  Be sure to check back here at Tweex Music for new updates and more exciting news!

New Software Additions to the Tweex Music Studio

Tweex Music has recently added to its list of software samples and virtual instruments.  The two new packages that will be apart of the T|M studio are Quantum Leap SILK and EWQL Symphonic Choirs.  Each package contains state of the art software allowing the user to emulate its given sample selection.  The packages are coming from the good folks over at Sounds Online, the creators/distributors of the enormously popular sample collection, EWQL Symphonic Orchestra (the very sample package that Tweex Music makes use of).

SILK is a package that contains samples from all areas of Asia.  From the Chinese Ehru, to the Indian Tanpura, and even the 30 piece Persian bowed string section, all of these, plus many many others, have been masterfully sampled for anyone’s use.  The samples where performed by the world’s leading virtuosos of each instrument and they were recorded and captured using state of the art equipment.  Be sure to check out some of their DEMOS.

EWQL Symphonic Choirs is a sample package dedicated for the use of full male, female, and boys choirs!  The package contains hundreds, if not thousands, of articulations within the human voice.  With the aid of Word Builder, programmers can even have the choirs sing entire phrases!  The quality of the samples is unmatched today and this package is WIDELY used by the programmers on the market now.  As with SILK, check out some of the DEMOS.

Tweex Music has several projects that will be making use of these two pieces of software.  By taking the Tweex Music quality and combining it with fantastic software from Sounds Online, you are sure to be impressed with the up and coming work.  Don’t miss out on future updates debuting these amazing packages!