I have plenty of experience working with audio:
- Recording
- Editing
- Sample composition
- Filtering & effects
- Lyrics
- Production (I’m learning)
Misc. Instrumentals
Below is a small selection of instrumental audio tracks I have created. Some I have used as soundtracks to videos, some are featured in video games, as few are instrumentals to which I put lyrics, others have not been used at all.
Another Intro
Instrumental for an intro song on an old album (2009) that I can’t find at the moment. I was always frustrated with how my vocals turned out in the past, so in 2020 I took a production course online. Created with Cakewalk.
SteelDragon.X.J.04.N
The instrumental track for an original song I wrote. The various letters and numbers after the words “SteelDragon” are a part of the naming convention I use while I create audio in order to keep track of different versions and branches in the song creation process. Created with Ableton, Fruity Loops and Audacity in 2014.
Skipping Bits Across Our Digital Yesterdays
A soothing soundscape I used as a soundtrack for a short video about my first week teaching in Uganda the second time I visited. Created with Ableton and Audacity in 2014.
Johnny’s Diatribe (Instrumental)
The instrumental for a song I made. I like songs that have a dichotomy of pretty vocal samples and crunchy digital synths. For the song with lyrics I cut this short to about 3 minutes, but this is the entire instrumental. Created with Ableton, Fruity Loops and Audacity in 2014.
Asteroid Vacation
A simple upbeat track I created to use as a soundtrack in a video game I also created called AstroSkiOwSki. Created with Fruity Loops and Audacity in 2012. Later I turned it into a much more interesting track (imho) called Interstellar Vacation.
This is Important (Not Really)
A dense track with a fun operatic sample a friend gave to me. I used this as the soundtrack to a video I made about unpacking the Othermill hardware, a 16 lb. portable CNC I took to Uganda to teach kids how to make electronics. Created in Fruity Loops in 2011.
Hillbilly Cyborg B-Boy
A very silly, overly energetic track I made for fun. Originally titled Help! I’m Stuck in an Elevator With a Ninja. Someone in Brazil apparently loves it. Created with Fruity Loops and Audacity in 2010.
Static in My Thunderstorms
A long, melancholy song with a really long low key intro. It needs a low pass filter to get rid of the high frequency hum- which you may or may not be able to hear. Some day I may get around to removing that, but honestly, I probably won’t unless someone decides they like this song and want to use it for something. The beat drops in at 4:26. Made with Ableton and Audacity in 2014.
Autro Implementation
Outro track for an album I did in 2009. I can’t find the whole thing so bits and pieces are here on my website. Created with Cakewalk.
Mixtapes
Sometimes I make mix tape style remixes. usually for things like a close friend, an event that lasts more than a few months, or New Years.
MixTapeThis.Calm
- MixTapeThis.Calm
Here’s one I made in December, 2019 as a happy New Years declaration. I’ve got great memories of listening to this in Barcelona. I REALLY hope you had a pleasant 2020 (or at least as tolerable as possible). In hindsight I wish the year had been a little less memorable….
Click here for MixTapeThis.Calm download.
MixTapeThis.Calm [Excerpt 1]
MixTapeThis.Calm [Excerpt 2]
MixTapeThis.Calm [Excerpt 3]
InterseaFoastedMarshMurkey
I used to mess around scratching vinyl a fair amount. This is the only take I recorded from those times (2008). No editing, one live take. Scratching over two Justice songs. Just having fun, no plan, even sure it was actually recording. Hot mess. Very enjoyable to create.
InterseaFoastedMarshMurkey Download
Spoken Word
I used to do a lot of spoken word when I first moved to Colorado and couldn’t find people with whom I could make music. Here’s a couple recordings I made along the way.
Room With a View As Advertised
Written in 2009. Smartphones were just starting to become a thing. MySpace was still a thing, and no one I knew had a Facebook account. I had no idea how poignant this line would become: “My dear, welcome to these here first few years of what appears to be essentially, nothing less than the century of the zealously celebrated identity.”
The Supposedly Epic Journey of Marcus The Whale
This one is about a homeless guy who kind of accosted me at my job handing out ice cream samples on Pearl St. Mall in Boulder, CO. (2009) He said he was basically the ultimate freedom fighter/justice warrior, and since I was a captive audience (too kind to tell him to get lost, like most people probably would), he went on and on about all the crazy things he had done with his life. So I did the obvious thing. I wrote a nine minute poem about the guy, and then put together a soundtrack from a bunch of vinyl and recorded the whole thing. If he’s for real, he’s been given tribute. If he’s crazy, it still makes a great story.
Click here for the rough draft album I made as my first pass at really learning production.