Here's a piece of music I wrote for the Christmas season. Again, it's written for a full (90pc) orchestra and uses all products from CineSamples (CineBrass, CineWind, CineStrings, CinePerc & CineHarp) as well as some sleigh bell samples I found somewhere! This piece was heavily influenced by Grant Kirkhope's 'Freezezy Peak' (Banjo-Kazooie), but I also took influence from 'Yodelling Brass' and accidentally ripped off the chord structure from 'Calypso Carol' (oops). Still, happy with out it turned out. Enjoy!

Winter Whimsy

There's no way I could orchestrate a Mario soundtrack (https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/smb3endtheme) without doing a Sonic one! The recognisable theme kicks in around 30 seconds. This was created entirely using products from CineSamples (including CineBrass, CineWinds, CinePerc, CineStrings, and CineHarp). I originally stuck a choir in there too (using Voxos) but took it out as it seemed a bit over the top. Very happy with the final version!

All credit to original composer, Masato Nakamura.

Sonic 2 End Theme

Here's the final version of my 'Overture' piece. I wrote this music a while ago (original here: https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/overture) and, despite reworking it (https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/overture-1-1), I've never really been happy with it - until now. I've made a few minor tweaks to the notation but the main changes are to the string section which now sounds a lot more substantial. I'm really happy with how this sounds now. I'll leave it alone!

Overture 1.2

My version of the Super Mario 64 ending music. I nabbed the Samba drums pack from WavesFactory for the intro (well worth a purchase) and used other libraries from CineSamples and Cinematic Strings for the rest.

All credit to original composer, Koji Kondo.
RIP Mr. Satoru Iwata.

Super Mario 64 End Theme

Here's a more developed version of my original 'Rise Up' track (original here: https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/rise-up). I really enjoyed writing this first time round but, looking back, I thought I could do better. So, I've had a go at extending this resampling it using new instruments. It's pretty upbeat. It might make a good morning alarm.

Rise Up 2.0

The Christmas version of 'The Jolly Jelly' (https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/the-jolly-jelly): The opening theme of 'The Early Wobble' with https://soundcloud.com/thejellyman on BBC Essex (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02dhg8r/episodes/guide).

The Jolly Christmas Jelly ('The Early Wobble' theme)

Here's a preview of my "Bills" cover (by Lunchmoney Lewis). You can grab the full version below:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bills/dp/B01BIQOKXW/
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Blb4orlxsckcszo4riiw3axnd4q&tid=song-Tswq7lcaloq4ajguwgtlt44xgqe

"Bills" (Lunchmoney Lewis) preview

Here's 'Flying Battery', an iconic track from the classic Sonic & Knuckles game. I loved this music when I was a kid, so I thought it would be a nice piece to orchestrate and make sound a little more epic. The electric guitar is 'Ample Metal Eclipse' (from Amplesounds.net) run through Cubase's distortion filter.

All credit to original composers, Howard Drossin and Jun Senoue.

Flying Battery Zone (Sonic & Knuckles) Orchestrated

Another version of my 'Christmas Castle' piece. I decided to redo the chorus in this as I completely ripped off 'Angels We Have Heard on High' in the original(https://soundcloud.com/dangurn/christmas-castle). Oops. Everything else is the same. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Castle v2

The most terrifying music from my childhood. I decided to do a cover of this to see if I could make it even more terrifying. This was also a good excuse to try out the updated CineStrings library from CineSamples, and I love it.

Sonic Drowing Music

My cover of Elton John's 1978 track 'Song for Guy'. I recorded the piano part live and added an orchestral backing track over after. This is such a powerful track, I tried to recapture the feeling with the instrumentation. I hope it did it justice.

Song For Guy (Elton John) cover

Here's my orchestrated version of 'Star Light Zone' from Sonic 1. This track has a nice mix of slow and more lively sessions, but I like a challenge.

Star Light Zone (Sonic 1) Orchestrated

Here's my attempt at writing a piece of music for musical theatre. Something a bit cheesy, slightly over the top, but catchy. It was also a great opportunity to try out CineSamples' new 'CinePiano' too. A very nice library, that.

Theatre Song

To celebrate the release the of Sonic Mania (Plus), here's my orchestral arrangement of the iconic 'Green Hill Zone' music.

Green Hill Zone (Sonic 1) Orchestrated

My cover of Elton John's 'Your Song' on the Harp. This is my first attempt at using CineSample's CineHarp, but decided to throw in a string section (Halion Symphonic Orchestra) and some drums (Cubase 5 + CineToms).

Elton John 'Your Song' (Harp)

Here's my attempt at some old-western style music. It started out as a simple piano rag but I thought it had an old western style to it, so added in a double bass and violin. I wanted to add in an accordion (and even a guitar) but didn't have any decent samples of them. I might add in a bridge section one day if I get round to it!

I achieved the out-of-tune effect by applying a slight pitch bend to a bright piano and adjusting the EQ slightly. Thanks @thejellyman for the tip!

Saloon Rag

This was the only Mario game I ever finished as a kid - I remembered the music at the end being pretty cool though, so I dug it out from YouTube (http://youtu.be/k-V2wgsrfVE) and scored my own version. Didn't take too long at all in the end, and pretty happy with how it sounds!

All credit to original composer, Koji Kondo.

Super Mario Bros 3 End Theme

Having been a pianist for about 20 years, I started composing simple pieces for piano about 10 years ago and have since branched out to write full orchestral arrangements. While I originally started writing music as a hobby, I've recently been getting more involved in commercial work, scoring the pilot of a TV show, and various themes for radio (Phoenix FM and BBC Essex).

My main goal when composing music (no matter what for) is to write a distinct melody. My ultimate aim is to create memorable music that you'll find gets stuck in your head. If I've managed to do that, I'm happy.

I have a series of influences for my work. For piano pieces, I've taken a lot of inspiration from the songs of Elton John and, for the orchestral scores, Hans Zimmer. I've also a big fan of game composers, including Grant Kirkhope and Mahito Yokota who have produced some outstanding work.

I use Steinberg Cubase 5 for all arrangements and Sibelius 5 for scores. My main library consists of products from CineSamples (including 'CineBrass', 'CineWinds, 'CinePerc', 'CineStrings' 'CineHarp', 'CineToms', and 'HollyWoodWinds'). I also make use of WavesFactory instruments (for their acoustic guitar and ukelele) and, currently, the piano I use is Sampletekk's 'White Grand'.

My system:
Windows 7 Ultime
Intel i7 4770s Processor
32 Gb Ram
2 x 256Gb SSD

On my profile, you'll find some original compositions of mine, but also the odd cover of other's music I'm a fan of.

Thanks for listening!

dangurn

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