T w e n t y S i d e d

Once again, my goal here is to use this project to push me into doing something new. So this time around I’m going to tackle the Deus Ex: Human Revolution soundtrack. I didn’t really fall in love with this soundtrack when I played the game. I didn’t even really notice itAside from the callbacks to the original Deus Ex., but now that I’ve taken the time to listen to it properly, I have to admit it’s really amazing:

I’ll be honest: This is a stupid idea. I’m not remotely skilled enough to take on something like this. And even if I had the skill, I don’t have the equipmentEquipment needed: An orchestra. And singers. And someone who can conduct them.. Here is what I think is distinctive here:

1. Orchestral instrumentation. Unlike the Half-LifeHalf-Life 2, really. track from a few weeks ago, this stuff isn’t filtered, distorted, bit-crushed, or synthesized. Bring a real orchestra or GTFO.
2. Vocals. I can’t tell what they’re saying, but gosh those singers sound amazing.
3. It mixes some electronic pulsing with the above, to give a nice contrast. It’s a blend of new and old, much like the style of the game, which mixed renaissance fashion with cyber augmentation.
4. Is awesome.

I did what I could. Here is what I came up with:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Project Button Masher: Sarif Gift Card”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

In 1994 I discovered that the only reason I listened to all that nu-wave synth-pop in the 80’s was because I was waiting for someone to invent proper electronic music. I don’t know where music historians would say electronic music beganProbably something like Kraftwerk, way back in the 70’s, actually. but for me it began with System Shock.

I usually rank this as one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. But look, this game will turn 21 this year. I was a different person when I played it, obsessively, for the better part of a year. I can’t untangle my nostalgia from my musical taste when it comes to this soundtrack. In fact, when I hear the music all I can see is the levels they belong to.

If you’ve never heard it, or if you’ve forgotten it, here is the whole thing, exactly as it sounded to 23 year old Shamus in 1994:

The tracks range from quasi-industrial to straight electronic. I can’t capture all of that in one track, so for inspiration I looked to “L02 Research” “L06 Executive” and “L08 Security / Bridge”.

Distinctive characteristics:

1. Very basic synth instrumentation. Unlike (say) Doom, these instruments aren’t pretending to be electric guitars or string instruments.
2. Take a simple melody, and then take 2 of the notes and yank them way up a couple of octaves.
3. Bitcrush the drums. This is something I hadn’t worked out until now. You can lower the bitrate on the drums (or other instrument) to make them sound more raw and 1993-ish. It’s the audio equivalent of pixelating an image. Doing this to the drums really gave it that System Shock feel.
4. In a couple of tracks I noticed this stylistic quirk: The drums tap out a slow, steady rhythm, but then once in a while with suddenly do this rapid-fire snare for a couple of seconds.

Here is what I came up with: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Project Button Masher: Triop Employee of the Month”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.