Name: Abstraction Music Two-Hour Album Challenge @Teuthida
Uploaded: 2026-09-29T08:17:00-05:00
Duration: 8 min 17 s
Description: Abstraction Music Two-Hour Album Challenge

Abstraction Music Two-Hour Album Challenge

Teuthida 2026-09-29 | Abstraction Music Two-Hour Album Challenge

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Dust Man Act 2 (Classic Style) (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-25 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

The only thing stranger than covering your own song is covering your own song in a 'downgraded' style, and the only thing stranger than that is 'downgrading' your own remix of someone else's song. The process for this cover was surprisingly involved, since I had to figure out how to properly write and mix metal music with patches that their creators never imagined would ever be used for metal. While I'm not entirely satisfied with the results, I think they're perfectly reasonable given the time constraints I was under—I wrote about half of the cover during breaks between classes.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1J_tNKQh6VbTJWUqbsslbvQmTVIor7mMo/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Centaur Man Stage (Classic Style) (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-23 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

Centaur Man's theme plays in a water level and uses the Mixolydian mode, which basically makes it the perfect Mega Man song by my metrics. While Woodfrog's modern version of the song moved its swirly, psychedelic grooves in a more energetic direction (youtube.com/watch?v=tmCFGbII4SM), I tried to mimic the unorthodox vibes of the original, figuring that someone looking for an 'authentic' version of the music would take more kindly to a cover that matched Yuko Takehara's style. This is another piece that failed my personal '1-minute or over' rule, but I tend to relax my standards when it comes to 'purist' pieces.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1LfnDNJVGKWABfNAg1swre0KLXuU0SQ3h/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Charge Man Stage (Classic Style) (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-21 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

I wasn't originally planning on doing any Wily Wars-style covers for Sequel Wars—I figured that AmouredStruggleWagon and Forple were already doing a great job handling it—but approaching SAGE deadlines have a way of upending the status quo. Thankfully, most of the 'real work' (getting the instruments, figuring out mixing and sound design) had been hashed out by the classic soundtrack team by the time I arrived on the scene—the only thing left for me to do was writing the notes.
Even in the context of a Wily Wars style cover, I still value the importance of a solid rearrangement. My take on the piece starts out more or less transcriptionally, but progressively adds in chords and other layers (as much as the patches' limitations allowed) as it continues. Make sure to give some partial credit to Woodfrog for this track, as he changed several of the instruments around to be more 'warscore.'

One thing you might notice about the module file here is its .dmf file extension. Wily Wars-style songs have no need for FM macros or extensive SSG-EG jank, so I stuck with a simpler tracker to reinforce those compositional principles. Thankfully, Furnace can open .dmfs just fine, so don't feel like you need to download an entirely new tracker just to listen to it.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1B_nnBtV0_DfY2UKTP9VxGXLPT9PSfx0I/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Demo Title (Light Lab) (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-19 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

Just covering NES tracks was bound to get stale after long enough, so Woodfrog and I both tried our hands at covering tracks from the Game Boy Mega Man titles to flesh out Sequel Wars's soundtrack. The boundless optimism from this Mega Man IV piece (youtube.com/watch?v=4HmrdCmlzuw) was a perfect match for the FM techniques I was testing at the time—so much so that I added an original B section just because I could.
Even though I intended the track for a shop or trailer theme, it ended up as the title theme for the game's SAGE demo. It lost its A section in the transition (space limitations and all that), so this video is—for now—the only way you can hear the cover in its complete form.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1pbv1bvok-d-okaNFyhw4YNTVI-bmkE_V/view?usp=sharing
Module File (Trailer Edit): drive.google.com/file/d/1kJbN6KeA1pbZ-NOusqp98S4xAsqp4fMo/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - MM4 Password (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-17 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

It's really quite odd—I genuinely had to wrack my brain to come up with interesting tidbits about some of Sequel Wars' multi-minute tracks for these video descriptions, but it's the 2-measure loop that has the most complex lore out of all my arrangements.

I couldn't have joined Sequel Wars at a more opportune time. Only a single week passed between my admission to the music team in January and my discovery of Furnace, a tracker that—by adding two common-sense features—instantly revolutionized my approach to FM writing. FM patch macros and linear pitch mode bridged what I falsely assumed was the permanent gap separating FM and PSG sound design, and the soundtrack gave me a ready reason to start experimenting right away. In essence, mm4_password.fur (a name tildearrow doubtlessly hears during his rougher nights) is nothing more than a frantic showcase of what Furnace could deliver over Deflemask's rudimentary feature set: punchier leads, dynamic percussion, and sounds that aimed to be as 'non-Genesis' as possible. The entire track came together in a single day, partially from the sheer adrenaline rush that comes from any new tracker, and partially because of a bugged copying mechanic that strained my arranging endurance by forcing me to mindlessly copy individual channels between patterns. Of course, 'the entire track' is something of a misnomer; Furnace's next release revealed to me that many of the 'features' I used for the song's sound design were really emulation bugs in disguise, and a lengthy reworking process, interwoven with me begging tilde to keep the program's legacy bugs, ensued. The version you're hearing right now, while almost identical to its first iteration in sound, resulted from several major changes to the module's internals; to the best of my knowledge, the 'original' module sounds absolutely awful in Furnace 0.6 (I also removed a sample of a voice saying 'Please enter your password' in Russian from this version, which a) took up too much ROM space in the game and b) nobody liked).

As for the track itself (290 words later), MM4's password hits my two covering sweet spots: short looping tracks and widely-disliked pieces. Both traits lend themselves to freer arranging styles, since I have no need to worry about parsing intricate song structures or radically altering the piece's musical DNA—if it's already topping 'worst Mega Man song' tier lists, what's the harm in going the extra compositional mile? My 'solution' to the piece was threefold: introduce the two melodic 'segments' separately to let the listener absorb their undeniable weirdness in installments (Quartal harmony? In my Capcom game?), add a bassline and some slight melodic variation to keep the piece grooving, and swap out the awkward quasi-jazz backing track for a layered, house approach. The end result is, more or less, exactly what I hoped it'd become, and I hope it helps you appreciate the musical talents of Minae Saito just a little bit more than you already did.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1StxgoJO0fpdzvXFuNShHOD7_asX8CkSl/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - MM5 Boss (SAGE Demo Edition) (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-09 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

I wasn't planning on uploading this song at first. Normally, I have a strict policy against sub-minute-long arrangements—the main reason why my previous covers both have unique second loops—, but the tight deadlines for the demo forced me to stick to the original song's curt 40 second runtime. I'll have an updated version of the track at some point in the near future, but this should do nicely for the two people who DM'd me after the demo's release. As for the track itself, there isn't much to say about it other than a few new techniques I tried out for its sound design (chordal FM patches, scaling the operator MULT factor for a psuedo-resonance effect) and the fact that it stays true to the original song's intentions by leaving the game's 3 sound effect channels open in its intro (Woodfrog used a few sampled effects for Charge Man that clash against these goals, but it's a minor problem).

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1ULElT9rZsc9w4QGhdraMNar9xmcuyhzl/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Dust Man Act 2 (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-09-06 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

Besides just remade levels, Sequel Wars also features EX Mode, a separate campaign that reimagines the NES games' stages with new enemies and hazards up to par with the new hardware. Keeping true to the classic Sega spirit, each EX stage is split into two 'acts', the second of which uses its own unique music based on the original games' tracks. Dust Man's second act—the one you'll find in the SAGE demo—expands the incinerator from the NES game's boss room into its own full level, so its music naturally had to match the intensified scenery. As such, I went with an aggressive metal arrangement (plus a short slap bass solo) that transforms the somber melody into an invigorating anthem. If you've been paying attention in your music classes, you'll notice that the chorus is now in 13/4: a nod to the original track's 13-measure phrase structure in the verse, and if you've been paying attention in your late 2000's country-pop classes, you'll notice that the drums are sampled from a Taylor Swift song.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1ItRh2PA8yLlwl2dOScALUo8r2wMLu5kg/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Dust Man Stage (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-08-30 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

With its warbling synth intro, unflinching snare rhythm and 13-measure phrase lengths, Dust Man's theme is one of the most unique tracks in the entire Mega Man series. The track's blend of funky syncopations and Russian macabre undertones necessitated a harsher set of instruments than the rest of my work for Sequel Wars, emulating the mechanical clanks and hisses that Mega Man might hear as he makes his way through the rusted remains of his brethren. Along with my poor attempt at creating a convincing choir sound, the second loop features a short stylistic nod to a certain other action gaming classic famous for its dead (and undead) characters.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1URFZ5aO7esfbpPG3rMBOrbnZz8XfiGH6/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man: The Sequel Wars OST - Pharaoh Man Stage (YM2612)

Teuthida 2022-08-15 | This is one of several covers, arrangements and original pieces I've written for Mega Man: The Sequel Wars, a remake/remix of the last 3 NES Mega Man games for the Sega Genesis. You can follow the game's development on its Twitter account (twitter.com/MMSequelWars) or YouTube page (youtube.com/channel/UCh6puDO3hd_Tz_zCiDoD2lQ/featured), and be sure to keep an eye out for more demo releases in the future!

Minae Saito managed the impossible with this track: an Egyptian stage theme without a single prominent instance of Phrygian dominant. Realizing the original song's funky disco energy was top priority for this arrangement, so I added some Nile Rodgers-esque guitar parts and re-phrased the original bassline just like a true session bassist would. Much of this song's sound design relies on Furnace's FM macro feature, with several parts that Deflemask users would struggle to even imitate—expect this to be a running theme throughout my contributions to the soundtrack.

Please reserve your many 'now I've got your power' jokes for my next pharaoh robot-based upload.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1_eNEfelIm-E4JacQU5lqO0iEGCGsOikN/view?usp=sharing

Mega Man Dimensional Analysis - Lead Lobster! (Lobster Man) [Famitracker 2A03]

Teuthida 2022-05-17 | My status as a squid musician legally entitles me to write any and all 'water level' themes in the games I compose for, and Mega Man: Dimension Analysis—an upcoming fangame by J8-Bit—was no exception. Lobster Man's stage takes place in a secret underwater base, so I put together a disco-fueled, groovy piece to capture the excitement and danger the player should be feeling as they work their way through its dank corridors. I eventually became so immersed in the track that I ended up writing lyrics for it, but those will (thankfully) never see the light of day.

Module File: Coming eventually
Join the MM:DA Discord server: discord.gg/HWvWJHzuJD
Lobster Man art by Valo: deviantart.com/neoman95
Lobster Man stage tiles by minkcar

Eine Kleine Chipmusik (FamiTracker, MMC5 + FDS)

Teuthida 2022-05-14 | This piece was written for my music theory class's final assignment (as for why I went with a chiptune module over something more traditional, I'll leave you with some words of wisdom: pieces are much easier to perform when you let a computer handle all the work.). Conceptually speaking, it's a variation on the baroque ritornello with an added stylistic dimension; structurally speaking, it brings progressive metal, 70's R&B, and baroque fugues together under one ~5 minute roof; musically speaking, it's probably the most effort I've put into a FamiTracker song in a very long time.

Downloading the module file for this will also let you hear a part of the piece's 'performance' that didn't make it into this upload: a short 'tuning' section I used for a bit when I first presented the piece.

Module File: drive.google.com/file/d/1kN3g2JDL63FjKQ9f7KR1XpeIm3cuKJdm/view?usp=sharing

Deltarune Deflemask Cover - A CYBERS WORLD? (YM2612 + SN7)

Teuthida 2022-02-19 | Like all self-respecting netizens, I spent the bulk of last September holed up in my room playing the latest chapter of Deltarune. As much as I loved the new characters and designs in the game (especially a certain [[Long-Nosed Doll]]), Toby Fox's music couldn't help but hold my attention throughout the entire experience. When it came time to decide what track I should cover, I ultimately settled on Fox's lone foray into overtly electronic music on the soundtrack—melodically strong as it may be, I felt like it lacked the punch the song needed to truly shine (I also needed a place to test out my new bass patch, but that's another story entirely).

This will probably be the last of my Deflemask covers—from here on out I'm switching over to Furnace, an open-source tracker with all sorts of extra features.

Module Files ([[Two For One Specil]] edition: one loops, the other doesn't):
drive.google.com/file/d/16LF_67cgM3khaSYy8ZiNmf6aEF3KS4ef/view?usp=sharing
drive.google.com/file/d/1MRsjk8ih_6HBgQn7c5ZRWWS4XqZgGIWL/view?usp=sharing

Cooler Covers:
youtube.com/watch?v=XaqDQNIxo0M
youtube.com/watch?v=PfS2lbQGJEc

Compose Man 3 - J.S. Bach - WTC 1 Prelude No. 10 in E Minor

Teuthida 2022-02-01 | This piece is part of Compose Man 3, a multi-artist collaboration hosted by Chips 'n' Cellos (twitter.com/ChipsNCellos) to arrange great classical pieces with a new age retro twist!

The Prelude in E Minor (apologies to my fellow fugue lovers - I simply couldn't find space for it in the arrangement) may not have the dense polyphony that characterizes Bach's other great works, but it more than makes up for it with the almost inhuman level of tension it creates in preparation for its fiery Presto section (take notes, dubsteppers of the world—this is how you create a drop!). I haven't the ego to alter any of Bach's melodic decisions for this cover, but my extra layers of phrasing and percussion should add a new level of depth to an already-fantastic piece.

I'd also like to thank the late Sviatoslav Richter for his piano interpretation of the piece (youtube.com/watch?v=wp5mPL7IPMc) without him, I highly doubt I would've developed the same love for the prelude as I do now.

Module File: Coming soon!

Compose Man 3 - Philip Glass - Japura River

Teuthida 2022-01-31 | This piece is part of Compose Man 3, a multi-artist collaboration hosted by Chips 'n' Cellos (twitter.com/ChipsNCellos) to arrange great classical pieces with a new age retro twist!

My decision to cover this piece emerged from a simple desire to see more modern classical representation in Compose Man's repertoire (look forward to my 4'33 cover for Compose Man 4!). Japura River was my first exposure to Glass's music, and its intoxicating looped rhythms made it both the perfect introduction to the composer's oeuvre and a perfect choice for Compose Man 3's endless stage theme. 'Traditional' endless stage themes have strong electronic music influences, so I paired the naturalistic sounds of the original with an intense, dynamic percussion track—almost every frame of the drum track is unique. For what it's worth, I also have it on good word that this is the only Capcom style piece out there with a hardware sweep.

The hardest part of creating this was remembering how many l's were in Philip Glass's name.

Module File: Coming soon!

Compose Man 3 - Edward Elgar - Salut dAmour

Teuthida 2022-01-30 | This piece is part of Compose Man 3, a multi-artist collaboration hosted by Chips 'n' Cellos (twitter.com/ChipsNCellos) to arrange great classical pieces with a new age retro twist!

Learning Salut d'Amour was a key part of my cellist upbringing. When I grew tired of rehearsing the main theme, I would reinterpret it in a swing style to amuse my instructor—you can think of this cover as a tribute both to her and to the Mega Man series's long lineage of dummy jazzy menu themes.

Module File: Coming soon!

Compose Man 3 - Cécile Chaminade - Arabesque No. 1 (Op. 61)

Teuthida 2022-01-29 | This piece is part of Compose Man 3, a multi-artist collaboration hosted by Chips 'n' Cellos (twitter.com/ChipsNCellos) to arrange great classical pieces with a new age retro twist!

Of the six full pieces I completed for Compose Man 3, this was one of the only ones I didn't choose myself—Chaminade was already on the roster of stage themes by the time I signed up. The piece has an adventurous, boldly curious tone that fits Mega Man's characteristic style perfectly, and I tried my hardest to match her level of musical creativity in my own arrangement decisions. Expect some dynamic accompaniment and heavily reworked sectioning—it's what Chaminade would've wanted.

Module File: Coming soon!

Syrup Jive feat. Reyn the Insane (Syrup Woman Theme) - Mega Man Eleventh Hour

Teuthida 2021-05-15 | Golly gee, it's been some time since I last put out a record! I can only hope it's been worth the wait—this spiffing-new 45 is the cure for all your square ailments. Featuring the swellest rock and/or roll rhythms and the latest and coolest electronic sounds, if this 'sweet' 11-bar number can't get your girl out on the sock hop, nothing can!

This song's hair-raising, hip-shaking verse was all thanks to Reyn the Insane. You can find his equally-groovy songs anywhere where fine records are sold, or through this network link: youtube.com/c/ReyntheInsane

If you want to stay hip with this soundtrack, you can stay in touch with your fellow fans and favorite musicians through Discord, the latest in all-American atomic communication: discord.gg/9ZQkBRh

Mega Man Eleventh Hour is a non-profit fan-made project created by the Eleventh Hour Crew and is not affiliated with Capcom in any manner. The Eleventh Hour Crew does not claim ownership of Mega Man or the Mega Man franchise. All tracks uploaded to YouTube prior to the soundtrack's release are subject to change and do not represent the final product. All assets, whether used or unused, are exclusive to the Mega Man Eleventh Hour project and are not available for public use without permission.

Model CHP-3Y Chiptune Cover - No Post on Sundays

Teuthida 2021-01-26 | Please wish a chiptastic birthday to Model CHP-3Y (youtube.com/channel/UCwkTHFmxlvl8mjsy0TNuNkA), a better musician than I can ever hope to be.

Inspired by a tweet (twitter.com/mackbookpro_/status/1350218353890242562), I decided to cover Chip's hypest track, No Post on Sundays from Mega Man: Eleventh Hour (youtube.com/watch?v=xmFK-wNGELU), giving it a more EDM-based sheen that, in my opinion, reflects its underlying melodic genius far more than Capcom style. Besides just changing the overall texture, I also added some extra sections and little melodic flourishes to add my own touch to the track.
The compositional process for this track was an arduous one—none of my music projects have been free of challenges, but they usually aren't all manufactured by Konami. I knew this remix needed a semi-realistic piano intro and outro to really shine, but I also knew that the meat of the track would be worthless without any interesting synth effects. This ultimately meant that I attempted to wed both the VRC6 and the VRC7 for the cover, resulting in what can only be described as a mixing nightmare. With 14 total channels, half of which operate on an entirely different volume control system from the other, tedium became the norm at several points in the project as I painstakingly replotted volume column entries and instrument macros and strained my creativity to give roles to each channel. While I'm satisfied with the result, don't expect too many multichip covers (or originals, for that matter) in the future. In the words of a great 20th century intellectual:
"I may have gone too far in a few places."

Module file: drive.google.com/file/d/1qvgSI7fg581rsljWOKBZnMW7bMbddnXo/view?usp=sharing

Bionicle FamiTracker cover - The End (Mata Nui Online Game)

Teuthida 2021-01-08 | Flash is dead and the Mata Nui Online Game turned 20: it's time to cover Bionicle music.

Bionicle was one of the major constants of my childhood, and the Mata Nui Online Game was one of the main sources of its appeal. The game's (seemingly) massive world and epic, yet carefully controlled scope brought 6-year old me a sense of wonder and exploration that I had rarely seen in games before, feelings that I have attempted to recapture several times in my music and art. A few months ago, I revisited the game, partially to whittle away a bored Tuesday evening, but partially to put my past to the test.

There's always a certain danger inherent to looking back to one's childhood interests—in a society where children's media is often treated as a creative afterthought to be rushed out and commodified, one can easily discover that a beloved childhood memory was actually a shallow, cynical marketing ploy. And this danger was doubtlessly present in MNOG. There is no reason whatsoever why a 2001 Flash game, developed by a hired production company to sell LEGOs, should ever approach anything even resembling a quality title.

But somehow this was not the case. By my own personal metric, MNOG has weathered the passage of time incredibly well (give or take a few speed issues), with beautiful art, intricate world design, and a surprisingly deep plot. Some of these assessments might just be nostalgia clouding my better judgement, but rose tinted glasses cannot account for all of my praise; reading about the development of the game (medium.com/subpixelfilms-com/the-making-of-the-mata-nui-online-game-98d41dfa8089) reveals the developers as conscientious workers who were deeply aware of what themes and messages they were conveying to their audience.

Among these positive qualities was the game's music. Fitting Bionicle's original concept of mechanical beings juxtaposed against lawsuit-worthy tribal culture, MNOG's score consists of distinctly human choirs and instrumental performances fastened by the best drum loops 2001 had to offer. This musical concept wasn't anything groundbreaking at the time—one of the founding principles of techno was that anything could sound good under a 4/4 drum beat—and Flash's compression has done a number on its objective audio quality, but the ambience and emotions conveyed by the music manage to shine through regardless, greatly enhancing the overall experience. I knew for a fact I had to cover something from the game. But what?

Soon, the choice became obvious. January 1st, 2021 signaled two things: the death of Flash and, therefore, over 2 decades of open, user-driven content creation (yes, Ruffle exists, but let me have my eulogy here!), and the end of 2020, a year that stands as the worst for many millennials and members of Gen Z: precisely the generation that grew up on Bionicle. It made perfect sense, then, to capture these twin feelings of destruction and creation by covering a piece that did exactly that, 20 years ago.

MNOG's ending theme is a beautiful work, but it's also where the soundtrack's loop-based approach begins to falter. After the first 5 repetitions, the composer has already presented all of their material, with no room for further development. As such, I sought with this chiptune cover to bring 'The End' to new heights, with tighter sound design, dynamic percussion, and new melodies harkening back to other MNOG themes—in other words, to recreate 'The End' as my childhood self imagined it. This took the work of two different expansion chips, with the VRC6 applying its traditional '2A03+' timbres and the N163 cushioning the harsh pulse waves in soft, harmonium-esque chord pads (Islands by King Crimson, my favorite song of all time, was a major inspiration here).

I understand that this cover may feel a bit hollow now; many now think 2020 was merely the beginning of something greater. However, I continue to believe, in the face of everything, that life will go on, and that we will continue to survive and endure so long as we believe that we can:
"So. You have surprised us again, Chronicler.
We feared your courage led you to a final adventure.
But it seems you may have many more in the future.
You seem afraid.
I know what you saw in that cave.
Our Prophesies said the Makuta's defeat would end our troubles.
But the Prophesies have changed.
Something yet darker looms ahead of us.
But for now, put these thoughts from your mind.
Come!
Let us leave this windy beach and return to the light and heat of Ta-Koro.
Many friends await you there.”

Download Link: drive.google.com/file/d/1Y0dPCzDvHz6_uH_HqBX73Ji_fVM43uhZ/view?usp=sharing

king crimson famitracker cover - cadence and cascade (2a03 + vrc7)

Teuthida 2020-12-27 | They told me I was mad for attempting to create a lo-fi hip hop version of a King Crimson song. They told me I was madder for trying to do it all in FamiTracker. They were right.

This song, a cover of Cadence and Cascade from King Crimson's second album, In the Wake of Poseidon, is partially a tribute to the late Gordon Haskell, whose reluctant performance on this song and many other Crimson numbers became one of their most essential components.

I came up with the idea for this cover while listening to the original song on a bored Friday morning. As my muscles relaxed and my mind entered a state of calmness, I realized that the emotions I was drawing from this song—a nearly 50-year old piece of music, mind you—were almost exactly the same as what today's youth found in modern lo-fi hip hop. One VRC7 patch-making session later, and I soon had more than a basic outline for the rest of the track, and I saw the cover's completion no less than a few days after starting—the video and thumbnail actually took longer than the music it's 'accompanying!'

In essence, my hopes with this cover are to combine old melodies with new styles in a way that can further people's appreciation for both. Even though many of my favorite parts of the original piece (Michael Gile's drums, Keith Tippet's piano lines, among others) had to be removed for the sake of the style, I hope that my arrangement choices have still breathed new life into it. Or maybe not, and I will be quickly exposed as nothing but a musical fraud:
"Sad paper courtesan
they found him just a man"

Download Link: drive.google.com/file/d/1auIrZEQtrbFoRLwHQxB2YE6A-bHQnlEF/view?usp=sharing

Next_Never_Now_

Teuthida 2020-11-19 | "2050: The interconnective powers of the internet have lead to nothing short of a revolution. People from all corners of the globe live in perfect harmony, linked as tightly as web pages by a shared yearning for understanding and peace. The scrappy young technocrats who fostered this prosperous era now oversee us as our benevolent rulers, and their flawless judgement has eradicated nearly all of the world's former ills. Global warming, world hunger, and all manner of diseases are nothing but footnotes in schoolchildren's Digibooks, and people from all walks of life, able to procure all of history's knowledge at an instant, have found their ways into society's highest echelons.
The greatest pleasure in this utopian present is the club, a centerpiece of mankind's ever-expanding leisure time. No matter where they are, the citizens of the world all dance in metaphorical lockstep to the genres first pioneered in 2000—a rhythmic and energetic style, laced with the latest and greatest of timbres—united by the drum machine and the synthesizer."

While I've never expressed it on this channel before, I have a slight fondness for the so-called 'Y2K aesthetic,' a design style that reigned from roughly 1998-2001. Bolstered by the approach of the 'new millennium' and the seemingly limitless potential granted by the personal computer, designers embraced blobby curves, transparent surfaces, and extraneously ornamental circuitry designs in a reckless push to create the fashion of the future. Accompanying this new visual style was the recent popularity of techno music, whose washy synthesizers and relentless grooves were effectively the aural equivalent of the dreamlike CGI spaces omnipresent in Y2K-era art. All of this media is extremely dated now, of course, but that's why it appeals to me so much—2020 makes it very tempting to escape into idealized depictions of the future!
In an effort to capture the sound of 2000, I used several samples from E-MU's Orbit-3 and Proteus romplers, as well as the Methods of Mayhem loop pack, but I added EQ, reverb and other post-processing tools to them to keep the tone 'modern.' I also found a recreation of Korg's famous Ice Field patch from a Reddit thread (reddit.com/r/FL_Studio/comments/d9ss56/does_anyone_know_any_alternatives_to_this_preset), which became an invaluable part of the overall track (that patch is everywhere, by the way—look for it in almost any Y2K-era techno song!). In the end, the song ended up much longer than I originally anticipated, but I'm still happy with the results.
I'd like to shout out Synamax (youtube.com/user/SynaMaxMusic), whose Metroid Prime samples source videos were what introduced me to E-MU, as well as Froyo Tam of the Y2K Aesthetic Institute (y2kaestheticinstitute.tumblr.com), an invaluable source of references and inspiration.

Soundfonts used:
SupSawA (from 25 Free Synth Soundfonts)

VSTs used:
3xOsc
SANA 8-Bit VST
Matt Montag's NES VST
TX16Wx

Samples used:
Vocobeat 35-12-01 (Methods of Mayhem)
LFO LFO Impact 09 77-09 (Methods of Mayhem)
Overtone Bass 65-03 (Methods of Mayhem)
Ugly 23B 23-08 (Methods of Mayhem)
Mr. Jolly 89-01 (Methods of Mayhem)
Analoop 05 02-07 (Methods of Mayhem)
Beat 08 14-01 (Methods of Mayhem)

Cloud Pad (Emulator-X)
Resodive 2 (Emulator-X)
Resodive 4 (Emulator-X)

Slap Pop (Emulator-X)
Yeayeaz (Emulator-X)
Piano (Emulator-X)
Major 11th Hit (Emulator-X)
Major 7th Hit (Emulator-X)

NO GREAT DEED IS COMMEMORATED HERE

Teuthida 2020-10-31 | "A great field of spikes.
Sand-worn pillars and cracked obelisks with carved faces contorted in anguish.
A darkened chamber, every possible surface coated in indecipherable codes, tables and symbols.
All I understand are the words engraved on a metal plaque:

YOU ARE ABOVE A SHAFT.
DO NOT DIG HERE.

...

As if mere text could fool me into turning back. I take out my drill and begin to tunnel below."

drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

drive.google.com/file/d/1kKSeuhpl9FhOJKPAc9YPSbVzMCz5j_5p/view?usp=sharing

Soundfonts used:
Secret of Mana (SOM Gamelan)
Final Fantasy VI (String)
Super Metroid (Tampani, BrinstarChoir)

VSTs used:
Sytrus
3xOsc
SANA 8-Bit VST
Matt Montag's NES VST

Sample sources:
youtube.com/watch?v=iutuQbMAx04

j0CC-FamiTracker Expansions Teutorial-Part 2: The VRC6 and =xx

Teuthida 2020-10-22 | I have returned once again with yet another expansion chip Teutorial! This time, we're covering the Konami VRC6, which is probably the most famous of all the expansion chips - relatively speaking, of course. Despite its simple facade, this chip has quite a few interesting features up its sleeve once you dig past the surface, so I hope that this video will help you understand those and apply them to your own tracks.

In the time it took to release this video, a whole new version of j0CC came out: version 0.6.3! Luckily, the link I sent in the first video just links directly to the most recent build, so everything still works as intended. Furthermore, there's been an entirely new fork of j0CC called Dn-FamiTracker. While I plan to stick with j0CC for this series for consistency's sake, Dn looks very promising, and you can expect a Teutorial series on it in the future.

Note: this is a reupload of a previous Teutorial that corrects a few errors.

0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Expansion Chip Instruments
1:20 - The VRC6 Instrument Editor
4:01 - The Sawtooth Channel
6:44 - The =xx Effect

Quick Guide:
The Konami VRC6:
-2 pulse channels with 8 duty cycle settings
-1 sawtooth channel

Volume Depth: Same as 2A03 for pulse channels, 64 steps for sawtooth
Pitch Mode: Same as 2A03
Range: C-0 to B-7

Effect Differences:
-Hardware effects do not work

New Effects:
=xx-VRC6 Phase Reset Effect (*)
xx = Dummy Variable (00)

Review:
As mentioned above and in the video itself, the VRC6 is easily the most prolific of all the expansion chips. Part of this is simply because of its inherent privileges - its appearance in a popular Famicom game, its status as FamiTracker's first expansion chip, its subsequent popularization by well-respected chiptune personalities like virt and RushJet1, to name a few - but it's impossible to deny the chip's inherent appeal. With two pulse channels and an unorthodox third waveform channel, adding the VRC6 to a module truly feels like working with a souped-up 2A03 (in addition to the one already in the module!), something that anyone, even casual listeners, can understand and enjoy. For this reason, though, the chip has garnered something of a reputation as an overplayed and overrated chip, as despite its advantages, many of its users - still learning how strong sound design works - end up gravitating towards certain timbral cliches: sawtooth bass backed up by a triangle wave, bright 37.5% pulse waves with two channel echo, and a general disregard for arpeggio and pulse width macros. This is an entirely unfair judgement, though; those who put in the effort towards fully grasping how to shape and sing with the VRC6's nine registers will be rewarded with a powerful chip with endless and, dare I say, innovative possibilities.

I Like Trains - Travelers Training (Orgmaker Original Song)

Teuthida 2020-06-22 | This song is one of the five tracks I've written for a friend's Cave Story mod, Traveler's Training. The mod isn't out yet, but I'll include a link to it here when it is.

Although I thought I'd be done writing OrgMaker music after my initial four uploads, I ended up getting pulled in to do some further pieces for the mod (don't worry - I'm getting paid in art). This piece was made for the game's train stage, and features a fast swinging jazz rhythm combined with a variety of jazz chord cliches, including the I-bVII vamp in the verse, the ii-V-I progressions in the chorus, the tritone substitution in the intro, and the line cliche in the bridge. Additionally, to represent the locale of the track, I included several panning effects that emulate the feeling of passing by scenery on a train, so headphones are definitely the ideal way to listen to this song.

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project or Orgmaker content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

j0CC-FamiTracker Expansions Teutorial-Part 1: Introduction to Expansion Chips and the MMC5

Teuthida 2020-06-20 | "There is still one subject left to cover: expansion chips." -Me, July 25, 2017

After what may be the worst hiatus I have ever found myself in, I have mustered the will to return once more to the world of video guides. Now that I'm armed with After Effects and a stronger knowledge of FamiTracker, I hope that this new Teutorial series can be even better than its predecessors. For this first video, we'll be covering the MMC5, one of the simpler expansions available in FamiTracker, along with the basics of using expansion chips in general.

Although it doesn't matter much for this video, later installments will heavily depend on you having the latest fork and version of FamiTracker, j0CC-FamiTracker 0.6.3, which you can download for free here: github.com/nyanpasu64/j0CC-FamiTracker/releases

0:00 - Intro
1:18 - Adding an Expansion Chip
2:25 - MMC5 Overview
3:36 - Using Expansion Chips
4:32 - Removing Expansion Chips

Quick Guide:
The Nintendo MMC5:
-2 pulse channels, identical to the 2A03
-1 PCM channel, unused as of j0CC-FamiTracker

Volume Depth: Same as 2A03
Pitch Mode: Same as 2A03
Range: Same as 2A03

Effect Differences:-H/Ixy do not work

Review:
What makes the MMC5 such an interesting chiptune from a community standpoint is that its strongest fans and most devout detractors both make what are essentially the same points: that the chip adds little diversity to the Famicom's timbral palette. For some, this makes the MMC5 the perfect way to get a stronger sound out of the 2A03 without losing too much of its essential qualities, while for others, it makes the chip a worthless addition that would work better with any other expansion (not helping the chip's case is the fact that its features are technically encompassed by the VRC6; anything the MMC5 can do, the VRC6 can do better). Ultimately, I think there is some truth to both sides. Sure, the MMC5 lacks any kind of 'X factor' that will wow listeners with unique textures⁠⁠, but not every module needs 8-step pulse width or wavetable synthesis. Sometimes, you simply need some additional channels for bass or effects while still maintaining the 2A03's character⁠—and when those moments arrive, the MMC5 will be there for you, waiting patiently on the Module Properties window.

Temporary Secretary - Travelers Training Music (Paul McCartney Orgmaker Cover)

Teuthida 2020-04-30 | Mister marks can you find for me
Someone strong and sweet fitting on my knee
She can keep her job if she gets it wrong
Ah, but mister marks I won't need her long
All I need is help for a little while
We can take dictation and learn to smile
And a temporary secretary is what I need for to do the job
I need a
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary
Mister marks could you send her quick
'cause my regular has been getting sick
I need a
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary
Mister marks I can pay her well
If she comes along and can stay a spell
I will promise now that I'll treat her right
And will rarely keep her 'til late at night
I need a
She can be a belly dancer
I don't need a need romancer
She can be a diplomat
But I don't need a girl like that
She can be a neurosurgeon
If she's doin' nothing' urgent
What I need's a temporary, temporary secretary
I need a, I need a
Temporary secretary. temporary secretary
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary
Now mister marks when I send her back
Will you please make sure she stays on the right track
Spoken:
Well I know how hard it is for young girls these days in the face of everything to stay on
The right track
What I need's a temporary, temporary secretary
Temporary secretary I need a
Temporary secretary, temporary secretary,
Temporary secretary I need a
Temporary secretary. temporary secretary,
Temporary secretary.

drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

real sadboi hours - Travelers Training (Orgmaker Original Song)

Teuthida 2020-04-26 | This song is one of the four tracks I've written for a friend's Cave Story mod, Traveler's Training (this friend also made the thumbnail for this video as well). The mod isn't out yet, but I'll include a link to it here when it is.

For the first level of the mod, my friend wanted a synthwave song. As it turns out, emulating a genre based on liberally using effects and filters is very difficult when you're working with a program whose most complex feature is stereo panning. That being said, I think I did a good enough job transferring the feel of the genre within Cave Story's limitations. In order to keep the song 'floaty,' all of the harmony is based on motion in thirds, and most of the melodies play the extended parts of the chords, not the triads.

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project or Orgmaker content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

On Your Marks - Travelers Training Music (Orgmaker Original Song)

Teuthida 2020-04-22 | This song is one of the four tracks I've written for a friend's Cave Story mod, Traveler's Training (this friend also made the thumbnail for this video as well). The mod isn't out yet, but I'll include a link to it here when it is.

This is one of the two original songs I wrote for the soundtrack. My friend wanted a theme for a time trial mode he was adding to the game, so I came up with a driving, fast-paced track that will hopefully be very motivating to any speedrunners that attempt this mod. One of the challenges of this song was the beeps at the start; while I knew they had to be part of the track, using them meant sacrificing several sound channels.

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project or Orgmaker content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Pokémon DPPt: Lake - Travelers Training Music (Orgmaker Cover)

Teuthida 2020-04-18 | This song is one of the four tracks I've written for a friend's Cave Story mod, Traveler's Training (this friend also made the thumbnail for this video as well). The mod isn't out yet, but I'll include a link to it here when it is.

This was the first track I made for the game. Covering the song itself wasn't that much of a challenge, since the MIDI files for the game are freely available, but making the time signature change work within OrgMaker's limited features, while not impossible, required a bit of lateral thinking. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the cover!

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project or Orgmaker content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Warm Below the Storm (Chiptune Original Song)

Teuthida 2020-04-14 | "We would be warm
below the storm,
in our little hideaway beneath the waves..."

After writing a bunch of complex tracks, sometimes it's fun to leave the world of 5/4 and modulations and go back to the basics. I had been immersed in the more progressive side of music for a while, so this song is something of a return to my old, more melodic style, but now upgraded with a stronger knowledge of harmony and style—not to mention an actual DAW! The style itself is a fusion of Carribean techniques, like dense, rhythmic percussion lines, with a structure reminiscent of a lively gospel performance, where each voice (including a few...*memorable* brass samples) takes turns performing a verse before reuniting for a chorus: the perfect form for a happening beach party.

The background in this video was made using After Effect's 3D layer feature, combined with some displacement maps and masking. I put a good amount of effort into it, so I hope you enjoy it.

This song will be used (with my permission) for the upcoming game, Project Amaranth, which you can play a demo of here: store.steampowered.com/app/544360/Project_Amaranth

You can download an MP3 of this song (along with all of my other non-project content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Soundfonts used in this track:

Touhou Soundfont (Kalimba, Romantic Tp)
The Ultimate Megadrive Soundfont (Pizzicato Strings)
Sax Tenor (Tenor Hard Oct)
SGM V2.01 (JAZZ Drumkit, STANDARD 2 Drumkit)
Pokemon GBA Soundfont (Trumpet)
TGSF21 (Steel Drum)

VST Instruments used in this track:
Matt Montag's NES VST
3xOsc
BooBass
AZR3
SANA 8-Bit VST

In the Land of Grey and Pink - Caravan SID Cover (C64 6581)

Teuthida 2020-04-09 | "So we'll sail away for just one day
to the land where the punkweed grows
Won't need any money,
just fingers and your toes..."

I was originally introduced to In the Land of Grey and Pink (the album) by a forum poster who mentioned that the album 'sounded like mario music,' and, to my suprise, he was almost right! In reality, it actually sounded much closer to something that Alberto J. Gonzales would compose, so I decided to port one of my favorite tracks from the album to Europe's favorite sound chip. This is only my second SID cover, and I had a ton of fun testing out the chip's sound design features (I'm particularly happy with how the organ patch turned out). Hopefully, you'll enjoy it as well. I'll try to find time to make more SIDified 70's prog in the future...

The background for this video were made using After Effects warping and color shifting effects, coupled with a simple dithered gradient made in GIMP. YouTube's compression algorithm does not play well with it.

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Luau Surf (Luau Man Theme) - Mega Man Eleventh Hour

Teuthida 2020-03-13 | Somehow, I managed to finally upload a video to YouTube (no wonder the algorithm doesn't like me...). This time, we have a preview of one of the songs from Mega Man Eleventh Hour, a fan soundtrack project run by Reyn the Insane. Here are the other two previews songs from the project, written by Reyn and Chips 'n' Cellos:
Reyn's Song (Green Man): youtu.be/Q0eUmjKVbRQ
CnC's Song (Norse Man): youtu.be/v94nSNy_wRs

Additionally, you can check out the 'official' Discord server for the project right here: discord.gg/9ZQkBRh

If you've been following this channel, you'll notice that I posted a previous version of this song a while back. Since then, the Mega Man Eleventh Hour project has gone through some major restructuring, and I've heavily updated Luau Surf to match this. The sound design has been greatly improved (thanks to Reyn the Insane and Threxx), and the chorus has been completely redone. If you liked the old song, I'm sure you'll enjoy this new and improved version even more!

Mega Man Eleventh Hour is a non-profit fan-made project created by the Eleventh Hour Crew and is not affiliated with Capcom in any manner. The Eleventh Hour Crew does not claim ownership of Mega Man or the Mega Man franchise. All tracks uploaded to YouTube prior to the soundtrack's release are subject to change and do not represent the final product. All assets, whether used or unused, are exclusive to the Mega Man Eleventh Hour project and are not available for public use without permission.

Begin a Journey (Tropical Mix) - MMBN2 Genesis Cover

Teuthida 2019-11-30 | If you've been following me on Twitter, you'd know that I've started working with Deflemask Tracker, a program that can emulate a wide variety of retro sound chips, one of them being the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive)'s YM2612 and SN76489 combo. For the most part, I've just been experimenting with FM synthesis sounds, but during my trip to Maui last week, I decided to finish a track: this cover. It's a reimagining of a fairly underrated song from Mega Man Battle Network 2, one of my favorite childhood games, in a reggae/latin rock style. I hope you like it!

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Aristillus - Camel SID Cover (C64 6581)

Teuthida 2019-11-03 | Recently, I started using GoatTracker2, a program that lets you write music for the Commodore 64's famous SID chip. I found the interface to be a little too minimalist, but I still really enjoyed trying out the sound chip's capabilities. (download it here: sourceforge.net/projects/goattracker2)
To ease myself into the program, I tried covering one of my favorite tracks from Camel's album, Moonmadness. I had to take a few liberties with the cover (the original song has 5 voices, which had to be compressed into 3 for the SID) but overall I'm happy with how it turned out-and I learned a ton about the SID while making it.

You can download the source module for this song (along with all of my other non-project content from 2020 onwards) here: drive.google.com/open?id=1hbNGJyRt-cxUPUCgWgAxv3fiXdIdpAUR

Revocation - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-28 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"Yet another pun based doctor theme. As I explain in the "Challenger" description, I started writing this track with the main boss theme in mind, but as I wrote it, it shifted to being the final boss theme. Here, the doctor's original leitmotifs are sped up and distorted to make them more intense. The general sound design is based off of hard rock songs."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Within the Doctors Terraces - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-27 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"The second to last track in the album is also the theme for the last area in the game and the last song I composed before I quit the project. The opening is a reinterpretation of the first area's theme (with the Doctor's leitmotif substituted for the original hero's melody) that then moves into a rock section, and then again to a baroque prelude before repeating. It's probably my least favorite part of the soundtrack, but I don't think it's completely without merit either.
The version of the song you hear on this video and on the album is not exactly what you would hear in the module or in a game, as it actually ends during the final cadence instead of looping."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

The Illusionists Empyrean - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-26 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"Similarly to the village and the grassland area, this is a tower level located inside the volcanic area the previous theme was used for. In place of the clever melodic alterations I made with that pair, for this one I just slowed down the original riff and added a quick chord progression. This was the only track the developer actually rejected in its original form, but a quick tempo change and drum track changed his mind."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

The Illusionists Malborge - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-25 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"It was at this point in the soundtrack that I realized I hadn't written any tracks in an x/16 format yet-this track fixed that by being almost entirely in 13/16 (3+2+2+3+3). The opening is completely unrelated to anything else in the song, and a few of the more dramatic moments recall HertzDevil's metal tracks."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Cold Embrace - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-24 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"The developer asked for an 'calm' theme for the ice level, so I may have overdone things a little... The general structure of the track, including the triangle solo halfway through, was inspired by FearofDark, one of my all time favorite chiptune musicians. Despite the icy sound design, my friend still insists it sounds like a beach level."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Hydrozoa - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-23 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"Despite all the troubles I went through with this soundtrack, I always enjoy composing themes for water levels. Taking inspiration from Brad Smith's soundtrack to Lizard, I wrote a floaty, almost ethereal track that would go well with the game's marine cave areas."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Challenger - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-22 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

Boss music time. The action-y theme I originally wrote as the boss theme turned out to be a better fit for the final boss (which you can hear as "Revocation" on this album), so I had to write something less intense for the others. Rather than the hard rock style of that song, I took the tried-and-true path of the SNES boss theme-get as close to rewriting Tarkus as possible without alerting Keith Emerson's squad of lawyers. Odd time signatures and quartal harmony abound in this one."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Stoneface - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-21 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"This track always irritates me when I listen to it, but not because of anything specific to the song. My plan was to have all connected areas be in related key signatures, and this area, intended to be a 'hub' for everywhere else, received a matching theme-the intro rumbles outline a full diminished 7th chord, which can resolve into 4 different keys all on its own. (This is also reflected in the song's original name, "Wheel and Spokes.") However, the game's layout was later changed so that everything fed through the first area instead, a theme that had no full diminished 7th chords. As such, listening to Stoneface just tends to remind me of how frustrating it was to work on the soundtrack..."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

PhD in Evil - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-20 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"One of my few enjoyable moments in the soundtrack was coming up with jokey titles for the villainous doctor character's themes. The developer wanted a comical, yet driving track for whenever he opened his mouth, so I wrote a comical, jazzy piece that suddenly adds the 'driving' part in when I realized I needed to meet at least some of his demands."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Assorted Fanfares - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-19 | This is a compilation of all the fanfares from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

Fanfare 1: Teuthida
"One of the stipulations of any game I compose for is that I include a version of this little jingle as a musical signature of sorts, and this project was no exception. It's pretty similar in style to the version I used for Spacey Dungeon, but with more refined sound design."

Fanfare 2: One Step Closer
"A Metroid-ripoff item room theme also demands a Metroid-ripoff item fanfare. I think I did a decent job making it sound different, but you never know for sure... To make the two tracks connect, I put them in the same key."

Fanfare 3: Stop the Doctor!
"A simple game over theme that was clearly based off of Journey to Silius. It marks the introduction of the low warbly instrument that I use throughout the soundtrack whenever I need an ominous noise."

Fanfare 4: The Doctor Prevails
"The developer wanted to add lives to the game, so that if you died too many times in the game, you would lose all your progress (a bit of an odd choice for an exploration-based game, but...). This is theme that plays during it, a more dramatic, extended version of the normal game over theme."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Hibiscus in the Brush - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-18 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"I'm quite happy with this one, even if it's a little unoriginal. The theme was meant for a village in the first grassland area, so it's based entirely on taking the ideas in that theme in a more peaceful direction. The B-D# motif is harmonized with a major chord instead of a minor chord, and the 5/4 section is presented as a 6/4 without a beat instead of 4/4 with an extra beat, making it feel more lyrical and less stilted."

Oscilloscope video rendered with corrscope.

Record Room - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-17 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"Protip: if your riff is getting old, move it up a few semitones. If it worked for Giorgio Moroder, it'll work for you.
7/4 funk grooves for life."

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One of the Doctors Creations - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-16 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"A simple item room theme, clearly based off of Metroid's, but with a little more melody. Aside from the ELP-inspired arpeggios, there's not much to be said about it."

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Foliage Field - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-15 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"This was the first complete theme I wrote for the project, after a few fanfares were done. Although its accompanying area, a grassland, usually demands happy, cheerful music, the game's Metroidvania nature meant I needed to make something darker to accent the exploration mood. Overall, this is probably my favorite compositionally-unlike the other tracks, I don't feel like it sounds like any preexisting piece, and it has some interesting harmonies as well."

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Commencement - The Unknown Soundtrack (FamiTracker Original Song-2A03)

Teuthida 2019-10-14 | This is a track from my latest album, The Unknown Soundtrack! You can check out and download all the songs on my Bandcamp page: teuthida256.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknown-soundtrack

"Probably the most straightforward piece in the soundtrack. This was meant to be the title theme, with a rockish groove and a simulated electric guitar."

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AY Chipper - Beatles j0CC-FamiTracker Cover (5B Only)

Teuthida 2019-06-25 | ♫She was an AY Chipper...
Sunsoft driver yeah
It took me so long
to find out, but I found out♫

This is the second installment in my series of pun-based Beatles covers (suggest more ideas in the comments!), this time using only Sunsoft's clone of the AY-3-8910 chip, the 5B. Even with the 5B's limitations, I had a lot of fun doing this cover, and except for some out of tune bass notes, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Forum Thread: forums.famitracker.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&p=23984