I am a Seattle-based musician with experience in songwriting, audio production, and sound design.I believe that most of us perceive the world through our ears at least as much as through our eyes, and that with sound we can express anything.
I have a passion for experimentation, and love to learn new instruments, genres, and production techniques to find what works best for a project. I am classically-trained in a few instruments, and self-taught on many more, with a wide swath available at my disposal, both physical and virtual. I strongly believe that any object can become a musical instrument, including one's own environment. Even empty space has its own voice.
See also: my music portfolio and virtual band project.
Music and Sound Design
Games and Interactive
WORKSHOP 3D, LLC
Augmented reality
With WORKSHOP 3D, a full-service augmented reality solutions provider, I designed the sound for several interactive applications, including:
- The Goodship: using a combination of bespoke audio and client-provided stock audio, produced a cohesive sound design for an interactive flying airship
- ARt Portal: composed music and sound design for the pieces Dancing Cubes and
void *
- PropellAR: created cohesive sound designs for several realistic and not-so-realistic drones and various sound effects from the actions they perform
Refactor
Ongoing game design passion project
In 2015 I released an album, Refactor, which was inspired by my love of video game music. Over time I have been making short games for every song on the album, with the game's action tied to the music's rhythm. In addition, many of these games have additional sound design specific to the game.
HBO
Application sound design
For the 2014 HBO GO update on XBox One, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV, I worked closely with the UI design team to create a new sound design for the application based on HBO's luxury brand standards.
For the Emmy™-winning Westworld VR immersive experience, I worked closely with the sound designer to develop a successful workflow for producing a critically-acclaimed ambisonics soundtrack.
Game Jams
Time crunch extreme
I enjoy producing music and sound design under strict time constraints, such as during game jams.
- Brickris Tetout: A mashup game for Ludum Dare 41; original sound design, with interactively-mixed music that riffs on Korobeiniki
- CATcher: A C64-inspired game with SID-style music and sound effects
- Colorful Critter: An interactive coloring book with a minimalistic sound design to match
Or Die Trying: A puzzle game for Ludum Dare 35, with an interactive soundtrack and a classic console-inspired sound design.
The soundtrack is designed such that sections can be arbitrarily sequenced, and also so that they can crossfade between one another based on game progress.
Additionally, for Global Game Jam, every year I compose music for as many teams as will have me.
- Begin Transmission (unattached, 2018)
- Flippy Board (Flippy Board, 2017)
- Chatter (unattached, 2016)
- Bossa Move (Landlord Simulator, 2016)
- In The Lobby (Landlord Simulator, 2016)
- Ultimate Ritual (Snooz, 2016)
- r0r (Er:R0R, 2016)
- A Conversation (TaleSpinner, 2015)
Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination
Collaborative story-telling card game
I composed a number of short pieces to be used as "timer tracks," one of which was used as "SEROTONIN OVERLOAD" on the official timer button.
Broken Garden
Independent game by K. Thor Jensen
I composed several looping music beds along a common theme, and produced the various weapon and event sound effects to fit that theme.
Animation
sh8z
Pirate Scum!
Independent animated short film directed by Patrick Lake
I composed the majority of the music, recorded and edited the dialog (featuring the voice talents of Mark Farinas and Mo Mellady), and recorded and timed the majority of the sound effects. (IMDb listing)
Catophobia
Student project/fan film by Kimmo Lemetti
I produced the audio track, including sound design, foley work, voice acting, and sound effect creation. The music is excerpted from the Dwarf Fortress soundtrack.
busybee
Personal website
I composed looping audio tracks to accompany three custom animated error pages: access forbidden, file not found, and error 400. (You will likely have to press the play button in the upper-right corner to hear the music.)
Installations
whatwesaidwillbe
Looping ad infinitum
Inspired by Lucier's "I Am Sitting in a Room," this interactive piece continuously records the ambient audio in a space and reflects it back to the listeners, capturing and repeating conversations and noises to contribute them back into the environment, using a combination of physical reverb and computer-controlled feedback. The control software also projects an ongoing visualization of the current past-present-future of the sound.
Installation history:
- v0.1: The More Things Change, Seattle Center on Contemporary Art, February 19 — March 20, 2015 (space designed by Ray C. Freeman III and Peppé) [gallery] [article]
Standalone Music
Original Tracks
Sockpuppet
Virtual band project
Others
Collaborations and not-so-secret identities
- The Elements Of Style (Octothorpe): spoken-word poetry jam (lyrics by Aaron Ondek, lead vocals performed by John X. "Mad Dog" Ambrosavage)
- Rhymes With Lucia (<3): harmony in rhythm
Remixes and Covers
All songs © their original composers
- Spookstep (Toby Fox, dubstep remix)
- A Problem of Perspective (King Arthur, cover)
- Yellow Lasers (John Benjamin Nolt, cover)