Sonic Labs - Emotions in music

The Lady Noire - Marion Cotillard

2009-09-14T18:21:00.009+02:00

The music bed has been edited in some places to match the lenght of the video but they did a nice job overall.

Dior's The Lady Noire

2009-09-11T15:33:00.010+02:00

My composition Lexington & 3rd is currently featured on Christian Dior's website.
In this interview fashion designer John Galliano shares his impressions about the short movie "The Lady Noire" starring Marion Cotillard and directed by Olivier Dahan. The same soundtrack has been used for Marion's interview, I will youtube it as soon as I have the movie.

Man in the mirror

2009-08-18T13:39:00.004+02:00

Sampled pianos have come a long way!

Little Wing

2009-08-04T18:28:00.006+02:00

One of my favorite songs, still I am playing this a bit nervous trying to imitate a guitar :)

Green Zion

2009-03-30T13:53:00.006+02:00

Green Zion! As in "Iron Lion Zion", a place of peace and unity. A physical place or a mental state.
My good friend and musical partner Chris is on bass, making that thing groove like crazy.
I had mucho fun writing this piece, it's some post-modern reggae slash whatever it is. It's always diffcult for me to put a tag on my music, way too many influences.
What should we call this music? What style is it? Any idea?

The Labs are down ...

2009-03-17T18:23:00.004+01:00

It's a mess! I snapped this picture yesterday as I had to replace a fried motherboard on my main audio computer. As a youngster repairing or upgrading computers was a hobby, I could spend nights tweaking my machines ... well not anymore! But the job had to be done so I dug in. On the other hand I'm glad my machine is not a Mac, that would mean an even longer downtime (no hate mail from Mac fans please, I am typing this on a Mini).

I also took the opportunity to partly rewire the studio, solder some more audio cables and install a few new pieces of gear, so it's still a mess! I can't wait to finish it all up and make the Labs neat and pretty again :))

There's a lot of music I need to post, stay tuned.

Regis

Wheels

2009-01-22T13:55:00.003+01:00

It is said that dreams actually last a few seconds while we are under the impression that we have been dreaming all night.
I spent last night inside a giant stopwatch - or was I super shrunk? - and I was trying to escape the nasty clock wheels that were bending out of shape in order to get me. It went on for hours ...
Here's a musical illustration of my creepy nightmare that probably only lasted 30 seconds!

The Groeg assignment

2008-09-19T17:29:00.011+02:00

This piece is scored as a theme for a FPS (first person shooter) game, you know these games where you have to kill kill kill people! Although they are not my cup of tea I imagined the following scenario:

You, as part of the Special Forces are called upon to defeat a terrorist cell that is based in the small village of Alkhan Yurt, Chechnya.
It is now 0346 hours, your ODA (Operational Detachment Alpha) whose specialty is counter-terrorism has just been deployed in the area and is in stealth mode. Visual contact with the terrorist cell has been established thanks to your NVGs (night vision goggles - do I have to explain everything to you? Gee ... ). A group of five heavily armed men are gathered around a campfire, dissimulated in a cornfield are what looks like eight old Al-Samoud II Iraqi missiles that have been modified to be truck-launched.
The lives of thousands of civilians are at stake. The adrenaline is pumping and your men are ready to go. You have to disable this cell. This is operation "Diving Mosquito" ordered by your old friend General Groeg who is back home waiting to kick your butt if this mission ever fails!

Feel free to comment on the music.

TGI..Saturday

2008-09-13T18:32:00.005+02:00

Please let me know of any issue with the mp3 player I am using. It works on both my Mac and XP machines but acts up from time to time. I wanted a simple solution for a flash player and that one was easy to integrate into the blog. However I am still looking for a better player, so any suggestion is welcome.
I am having a music-free weekend, this week was crazy.
See you soon for more music

Regis

Fushimi Castle [30s]

2008-09-06T13:17:00.010+02:00

A thirty seconds clip that I first started back in 2004. As I was cleaning up some old hard drives I found a sketch I had made with only the low voice chords and the percussion beat. So I scored it as I would for a tv commercial or a short presentation, adding some japanese flavor on top. Your comments are welcome as always.

Lexington & 3rd

2008-08-31T19:57:00.044+02:00

I was stuck in traffic the other night, trying to escape the city on one of the main avenues and get home. It had been raining all day and the temperature was more of a November evening than a summer night.
After twenty minutes -yes I am that patient- I decided to find a shortcut and save myself the horror of sitting in this monster traffic jam for another hour or so.
Finally, without really knowing my way, I ended up in a part of town I had never been before ... caught in traffic again! Except this time I was in a popular neighborhood where the streets were narrow and the sidewalks crowded. As I sat in my car I was watching people out on the street trying to stay dry, franctically getting in and out of stores, moms struggling with their strollers, some kids wearing raincoats having fun splashing each other, all in all I was given to see some simple scenes of the urban life .
Neon signs and city lights were all blurry because of the light rain on the car's windows. With the windshield wipers and motors providing a steady beat, I got a little introspective and all of a sudden, appeared this very simple melody ... Piano, just piano ... It had to be piano.

I finally got home and jot down the melody before I forgot it. So there it is.
... (of course the jazz lover in me had to add its grain of salt).

It's called "Lexington & 3rd" because you'd end up driving for hours (just like I did that night) if you tried to find that intersection in NYC, the capital of jazz. See how perfect that title fits? ;)
Please share your comments, take a break from the crazyness around us, hit play, close your eyes and tell me what this piece describes to you.

La Girafe [excerpt]

2008-08-30T16:55:00.013+02:00

Underscore that would work great for a scene from an animal documentary.
The mood is peaceful, innocent and serene. I am featuring the english horn as a lonely voice singing a melancholic melody while the harp plays a steady pattern. Other woodwinds such as a tenor flute and bassoon contribute to the noble character of this piece. Adding the ethnic, rooted tone is the marimba along with the hybrid percussion.
Feel free to post a comment, feedback is always welcome!