Olafur Arnalds

So. I thought I might as well introduce you to some of my favoritest music ever.

Olafur Arnalds is an Icelandic composer and instrumentalist. He primarily just plays piano in performances but often has an accompanying band of several strings and sometimes another on the keys playing synth. His music is often described as "neoclassical" but speaking in pop culture terms it's more of an ambient experimental electronic. Yeah ... it's a lot easier to listen to than classify.

So, I suppose I'll show you two of my favorite tracks of his (so as not to waste too much of your time, especially in the case that you don't care for it) and if you like him enough you can explore the rest of his work.

This first one is from his "Living Room Songs" a small 7 track album he released for free to the public. He also uploaded videos of the performances to his YouTube channel, which is really cool. Here's my favorite track:

If you're interested, the entire album can be downloaded from his site, here. http://livingroomsongs.olafurarnalds.com/

The second is a track from the soundtrack to a British detective drama miniseries he scored.

Well there you have it. Olafur Arnalds. As you'll hear, his music is slower moving than most modern stuff, and so if you find it somewhat boring, no worries. I think it's just capital.

Cheers!

Daniel

Hiatus, or not?

Where to begin?  I haven't been very active on this blog for many months.  Should I return and continue posting, or abandon this site to be lost in the crevices of the interwebs?

Lots has happened since my last visit here.  I scored yet another short film; revised the score to Gabriel Everson's short film Unmerited (which I originally composed in May of this year); joined the forces of seven other composers in producing a cinematic album of Christmas music; and begun collaboration with composer James Everingham of the UK.

So back in August of this year, up-and-coming director Michael Payne Jr. had posted on an online forum about needing a composer to work on his short film Jamie Douglas: A Scottish Martyr.  I messaged him, we talked about what he was thinking music-wise, and before I knew it I was composing full speed ahead on the score!  The film is a historical drama based in The Killing Time of Scotland (1600s) and, as the name implies, follows the life of a young martyr.  As you can imagine, the film provided a setting for some very dark, heavy music.  The trick, though, was not in creating a dark soundscape, but in using this darkness as a contrast to light and ultimate victory.

The film has not yet been released, but it should up on YouTube for free viewing pretty soon.  For now, you can listen to the soundtrack on my SoundCoud page (I've embedded it below) and even buy it on BandCamp!  (It's only $5.00).  https://composerdaniel.bandcamp.com/

For more details on the film and to see the trailer, visit http://www.scottishmartyr.com/

Moving on.

Rehashing old work is never fun, but after Gabriel Everson re-edited Unmerited, a revision of the score so it could fit the new edit was a must.  It wasn't easy, but I'm glad I did it.  The film is now available for public viewing online, so I have it embedded below.

Right after finishing up the final touches on Unmerited, I moved straight into making an orchestral arrangement of the traditional carol "Greensleeves" to be published in the cinematic Christmas album Exaltation: A Cinematic Christmas Collection.  This was a very exciting project to work on and was the first collaborative music project put together by composers exclusively from the Rhapsodize Music Network.  Every one of us had different skill sets and thus were able to contribute to the production of the album in different ways.  The album is now available for purchase on iTunes, CD Baby, Google Play, and pretty much any other place that sells music online.  The still time to get it before the holidays are over!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/exaltation-cinematic-christmas/id763593891

Last but definitely not least, I have been collaborating with composer James Everingham of Bristol, UK in producing a few tracks for his music licensing company.  My jobs have primarily been orchestration and programming (basically, making the orchestral parts of the music sound realistic).  So far, you can hear one of these tracks which he's published on his SoundCloud page:

Working with him has been great fun and I hope to collaborate more with him in the future!

Well, that about wraps it up!  I hope you've enjoyed these ramblings on my latest endeavors.  Heck, I might just have to keep up this little blog.

Cheers!

- Daniel

Forgiveness

It's been awhile, but things have been busy lately!   Which is very good.  On the 13th of May I headed down to Charleston, South Carolina to compose the score to a short drama film directed by Gabriel Everson.  Unfortunately, the film is yet to made available for public viewing, so I can't show it to you yet.  But I do have one track from the soundtrack online.  So you get a better idea of what the music is attempting to convey, this particular track is from a part of the film where a man is forgiving wrongs done to him by his own brother.  Dramatic.

Any thoughts?

Cheers!

You Name It!

UPDATE: After much ado and advice from others (online and in person) I finally worked out a name for this piece: Memories. Hope you like it!

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So-o-o.  I just finished a piece.  It's different, but then again, I seem to be always going for different.  Attempting to expand my skills.  I wrote this piece with particular emotions or feelings in mind but nothing to name it by.  At least, nothing I would like to name it by.  So here's the deal: I want you to name it for me.

When you listen to this piece, what immediately pops into your head?  Eh?  A scene from a book?  A movie?  A place?  An emotion?  It can be anything.  If the piece does indeed evoke something (and hopefully it does) leave a comment describing it.  It might end up being, or inspiring, the future title of the piece!

Enjoy!

Sentientes

Things have been busy recently with Christmas and such.  Carols, presents, family, the celebration of the Child, I'm enjoying it.  I've considered whipping up a Christmas piece but also have several other pieces in the works right now.  We'll see.

Anyway, I just finished up a very emotional piece.  I have pictures of prodigals and forgiveness in my head when I listen to it and I thought about naming it "Forgiveness".  I wanted something a little more general and obscure so I went with the Latin word for sentiment: Sentientes.

Enjoy!

Origins

I had been working on two separate songs.  One slow and mysteriously bittersweet.  The other vast and epic in proportion.  I wasn't really sure where I was going with either, they were really just some expositions on various melodies and motives I had come up with in free time.  So, I decided to combine the two.  I liked how it worked out and decided to keep it that way.  It reminded me of the beginning of a movie, so I named it Origins.
  Origins by Daniel White Music


Oh, and Happy New Year!

Mysterium

The Second Post!  We're coming along here.  [Giddy-ness]

This is just a short neo-classical piece I wrote over the last week and a half.  It is titled Mysterium.  Tell me what you think.

  Mysterium by Daniel White Music