Music
You may wonder why a visual artist would have composed so many pieces of music. There is a simple answer…
I live within walking distance to Blizzard Headquarters. I repurposed the time, which might otherwise have been wasted on commuting, and dedicated it to exercising as well. Moreover, I saw this as an opportunity to maximize the use of my time and, in the meantime, developed one of my passions, which is music.
I spent countless hours walking and writing music on my Ipad. During this time I could focus almost uninterruptedly on music creation – but, of course, keeping an eye on the traffic too.
I believe that a deeper comprehension of the sonic field increases one’s ability to convey appropriately feelings, emotions and sensations, visually, as well.
This page contains some of the music I wrote. There is more in my SoundCloud and YouTube channels.
Flight Over Earth – Ground Zero
A Sci-Fi theme. In 2917 A.D. humans return from their moon base to earth, centuries after having destroyed the civilization in a nuclear war. The planet is desolated but showing traces of what was, one day, a prosper planet. But there’s hope to start over, from ground zero.
Venus Descending
This piece has a main theme and some sub-themes. I had the intention of changing the direction a few times before going back to the main theme and played with dynamics for solo instruments (piano, clarinet, violins and sax alto) as well as for the whole orchestra.
Andromeda
This track has influence from composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos, Bach, Eric Johnson, Keith Emerson and John Petrucci, with distinct cold and warm sections.
Neutrinos
Neutrinos are subatomic particles, similar to electrons, but with no electric charge. Because of that, they don’t react to electromagnetic forces and cross vast distances through the space, without being affected by gravity, facing no resistance from matter and are even capable of passing through the entire Earth in less than a second. If you pay close attention, you can hear the sound of some neutrinos being captured in this music.
Solitude in Space
This is a little piece I wrote to picture the solitude I imagine one would feel from being away from earth, in empty space…
Sub Zero
All-hardware synth track. A Moog Sub 37 was used for the bass, main melody and some background bubbly lines. A Korg ms20 was used for the high pass filter melodies, noise and some extra bass lines. For the pads, a Novation Mininova and a Roland Gaia were used. All guitars were recorded with Positive Grid’s Bias FX and mixed on Propellerhead’s reason, where the drums were added.
Introspection
I started this piece about 20 years ago and recently decided to finish it. The middle section took an entire different direction from what I imagined originally and the name – Introspection – came from that part… I found myself deeply introspective while composing it. This music is dedicated to a friend who doesn’t know me and is also in deep introspection state. We’re waiting for your return…
Fanfare for the Common Man
Although this music was composed by Aaron Copland, I’ve heard it played for the first time by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. This is a small tribute to Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Thanks for the memorable music you’ve played together through all these years.
The Heliocentric Model
The Heliocentric Model. This music was written by Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century. Nicolaus Copernicus was a metal headbanger (certainly the first) who liked to sometimes venture into Progressive Rock… well not really. Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the Heliocentric Model and I just wrote this music in reverence to him.
Neptune
With Neptune being far away from the sun and, therefore cold, a piece of music named after it couldn’t be different. I opted for a minimalistic approach, featuring a simple harmonies and motifs started by synthesizers and reinforced by violins, a space-opera chopped choir followed by pernicious singing life forms.
Sunset
Originally, this piece was titled “Sunset in Mercury.” I’ve always been curious about what a sunset on that planet might look like, given its proximity to the sun. I envisioned an extremely dense atmosphere, one strong enough to sustain water and the entire ecosystem of the planet. I pictured the sun descending and disappearing behind the horizon line, with the sky filled with hues of orange, red, and purple. These colors would be reflected on the calm beach waters, all framed by lush, alien fauna and flora..
Arrivals and Departures
This is a spiritual song about lives arriving to and departing from this planet. Think of it as an unpretentious and spontaneous track, the guitars and keyboards were recorded in one single take, one try. It is what it is.
Contact
This music is a combination of retro-futuristic synths, high energy fields and the unknown.
ISS
This track is a homage to an important chapter of mankind’s space exploration – the ISS. I used samples of historic moments as a sort of narration. It starts with the launch of Zarya from Kazakhstan, the very first ISS module, in 1998. Next, a few samples of STS-112, launched in 2002, continuing the assembly, followed by a beautiful tribute from Columbia commander Rick Husband, STS-112: “It is today that we remember and honor the crews of Apollo 1 and Challenger. They made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in service to their country and for all mankind. Their dedication and devotion to the exploration of space was an inspiration to each of us, and still motivates people around the world to achieve great things in service to others. As we orbit the Earth, we will join the entire NASA family for a moment of silence in their memory. Our thoughts and prayers go to their families as well.”. The last section is from STS-135, when, for the last time, Atlantis docked to the ISS.