Last edited 6/12/2024
2021 was still a cursed year. COVID and the resulting chaos and lockdowns didn’t affect me as badly as some other people, but it still completely disrupted my life. I caught COVID once - maybe more - but luckily I was vaccinated and symptoms were very light. All my music jobs were gone and I was working 50+ hours a week at another job. So, not as much music as I wished. But at least I’m alive and so are my family and friends, so it’s a small price to pay.
#14: Surrendering to Peace
When 9/11 first happened, I participated in an art event meant to bridge the divide between East and West and represent the whole country coming together in the wake of this tragedy. My art teacher was well connected in New York and so she helped put together an exhibit of such works from me, my brother, and everyone in our art class. Now, 20 years later, we were asked to participate again in the Voices of Reflection. I am no longer doing graphic arts, but I was asked to provide something musical for the exhibit. What follows is an ambient piece meant for listening while perusing the exhibit. Here is my artist’s statement:
There's an eerie stillness that can come from time, where once visceral events lose their power over you and can no longer frighten or control you. What's left are the beautiful memories, even sometimes in the case of traumatic events. 9/11 happened once, but the outpouring of support and remembrance happens every day and will eventually overwhelm what happened to us with how we chose to respond. It is such an outpouring of love and community that, for those closest to it, can only be experienced.
The thumbnail art was provided by my brother, David. Check out his work here!
Extra #6: Vibeo Grames, Vol. 1
In the summer of 2021 I got involved in a game jam. This was my first (non-tabletop) game jam that I participated in. Unfortunately, no one actually finished their work except me, so… I went back to my tracks and gussied them up a bit so I could release them separately. There was no overarching theme I was going for, just some tracks that may or may not work well for a JRPG. Perhaps in the future I can reuse this material for a completed project, but for now, enjoy these individual tracks compiled into an album.
#13: I Will Give You the Sun and the Moon
At the beginning of the year I got to work with the Charity EP Jam, which puts out an album of tracks made by (mostly) video game composers. The album is free - name your price - and the proceeds go to the charity Able Gamers.
The theme for this album was, you might notice from the album art: Dreams. So I decided to go with something ambient. I’ll link you the original album on Bandcamp and the original track. But I’ve also put this track on my own Bandcamp page, so you can get it directly from there as well, as a part of the “Extras Pt. 2” EP. I’ve done this to keep my catalog as complete as possible, and also to make sure it’s online in case the original is taken down for any reason. Full disclosure, if you wish to support the charity Able Gamers you should purchase from the original EP. If you purchase from my Bandcamp you are supporting me, which is great, but not the charity.