the Junkyard: Printer Friendly (SleepyBrightEyez (Musician))

How did you get started in music?

When I was fourteen, I found my dad's old acoustic guitar. It didn't take long before I was writing and recording my own songs. My recording rig back then was a clock radio with a built in tape recorder and microphone. That's all it took. I have been addicted to it ever since.

What, if anything, gives you inspiration?

Listening to my favorite bands. Playing with other musicians. Hearing the ambient sounds in the middle of the night.

What are your interests outside of video gaming and 2845?

I would have to say that my biggest interest right now would be spending time with my son. I have been teaching him how to play the snare drum. He is always banging things against other things or dropping them on different types of flooring to hear what it sounds like. Of course, there is also the curious way he speaks only in variations of "da".

What are some of your favorite games?

There are many games over the years that I have enjoyed playing. Currently I play Joint Operations: Escalation and Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour. I am looking forward to Battlefield 2.

How did you become involved with SS:2845?

One of the original modellers on the team suggested I apply. So I did.

What is your role within ClanCore and what does that entail?

I am one of the composers working on the original Starsiege 2845 soundtrack. I get to do what I love to do the most. Write music. And what better than to write the soundtrack of someone else's impending doom?

What are the worst things about being on staff?

With it not being my full time job, I don't get to spend as much time working on the project as I would like to.

What are the best?

The ability to work from home, in my own project studio.

Were you a fan of StarSiege and if you played it, what made you like it enough to make 2845?

I played the original Starsiege a good deal. My favorite part of the game was the ability to create your own load out. So many combinations. Starsiege 2845 builds on that idea with the addition of infantry and smaller vehicles. If you were a fan of the original game, why wouldn't you want to be a part of this?

What hours do you typically work on 2845 and how does this hurt the rest of your life?

During the week I usually get one to two hours at night after my family is asleep. On the weekends I have more free time.

What's the process you go through to make what do?

I've created two different styles of music for the game. Half of it is ambient, while the other half is more structured and instrumental. Both are created in different ways. However, I never really have an idea of what the end result will sound like when I start any song. It's always an experiment.

Ambient tracks begin as a sample of a spoken phrase by myself. What I say doesn't really matter. Through a proccess called granular synthesis, the original sample is rearranged into rhythmic noise. The goal is to have a slow moving ambience, so the sample must then go through time stretching and compression until it is a few minutes long. Even though the tones in the piece are changing slowly, there is still a roughness to the sound. To fix this, I add multiple layers of reverbs. Along with pitch shifters, the song reveals its haunting voices.

The instrumental songs usually start as ambient noise loops. However, in these songs, the ambience is often created from a drum loop though much proccessing. I like to browse through different patches and experiment with different sounds. I spend a lot of time with unique effect chains for each instrument. The song sort of creates itself. When I find the right sound, its part is clear. I write original loops for each instrument, until there is too much going on. That's when it is time to start breaking things apart, and create an overall arrangement. After all of the songs are written, I properly mix them and finally they will be mastered, along with the ambient songs.

Anything in particular you want to do when your finally done?

I'll be putting my portion of the soundtrack onto two CDs for free give aways.

Final Thoughts:
Is there any one thing that you or another staff has made or is doing that has got you really excited?

Say it with me. SCARAB. That's right boys and girls. S – C – A – R – A – B.