"Dustland" is a cinematic sounding improv that I recorded with the Fence Bass. This instrument has a rough and edgy sound since it's all made of metal, so I imagined a piece that could work in a modern Western film, I'm a fan of the genre.

Everything is created in real time, no pre-existing loops, additional tracks or post-efx involved. I built a chain of processors in Live that I control with a pedal board, all rhythmic parts and ambiences are derived from whatever sound/noise comes from the Fence Bass.

In this video you can see how I created this piece: http://vimeo.com/20157158

Dustland

Watch out for the signs or you’ll end up getting lost in the dark forest of your fears. Each cue walks you deeper and deeper through dark atmospheres and unsettling accents. A contorted mix of wood sounds, organic synths and raw acoustic timbres.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Dark Signs

Intense, twisted and anxiety inducing short modular cues introduced by a signature sound.  Dark and atmospheric crescendos punctuated by waves of mangled accents, growing into suspended endings. Created with a mix of processed acoustic sources, voices and synths.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Let Fear Grow

The antithesis of glorious, the freaky side below the surface, an outburst of darkness. Minimalistic pieces with bursts of raw acoustic timbres, floating on deeply dark atmospheres. Produced and performed by Diego Stocco on his unique set of original instruments.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: https://bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Camera Obscura

You’re invited to step into the unknown, where everything is normal, where everything is an anomaly.  Featuring minimalistic atmospheres that evolve into dark sequences and organically mangled accents. Created with original instruments and sound design techniques.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: https://bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

SA02 Anomaly

Anomaly

Eerie and solitary places where boundaries are lost. Their paths leading into forgotten stories. Raw and acoustic sounding pieces with sparse structures and disturbed accents. Created by Diego Stocco with mutated classical instruments and sound processing.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: https://bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Dawn Of Chaos

Dreamy and hallucinatory, glorious and subtle. Philophobia is the fear of love.  A strange acoustic opera that explores emotional peaks and valleys through unique sonic colors.  Performed by Diego Stocco on his original instruments and customized synths.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: https://bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Philophobia

An extensive vocabulary of individual accents and phrases. Instinctive, tormented, ghostly and psychotic. Explore and find a signature sound, a phrase to set the tempo, an accent to highlight a specific moment. Performed on original instruments and mutated classical strings.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: https://bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Impressions

A distant space made of shadows and lights. As you get further in, a mass of darkness surrounds you. Slowly evolving short cues with heavy atmospheres, dark drones and sudden burst of energy. Created with synthetic sources and processed noises.

For licensing information please contact BMG Production Music: bmgproductionmusic.com/en-us

Mutation

Rhythmic Processing is a technique that allows the creation of multiple rhythmic elements, in real-time, from a single instrumental part. The dynamic accents of the instrumental part (in this case an acoustic guitar) are routed into several plugin chains, each one creating a separate rhythmic element.
Rhythmic Processing is available with my other sound design techniques in this bundle: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/FFS123

In this track you can hear the processing of a part I recorded by playing a dismantled piano as a percussive instrument. Here you can hear an alternate Rhythmic Processing: https://soundcloud.com/diegostocco/ffs01-processed-piano-2

© 2014 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved. 
Composed, produced and perfomed by Diego Stocco (BMI). 
Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI)

Processed Piano 1

Rhythmic Processing is a technique that allows the creation of multiple rhythmic elements, in real-time, from a single instrumental part. The dynamic accents of the instrumental part (in this case an acoustic guitar) are routed into several plugin chains, each one creating a separate rhythmic element.
Rhythmic Processing is available with my other sound design techniques in this bundle: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/FFS123

In this track you can hear an alternate processing of a part I recorded by playing a dismantled piano as a percussive instrument.

© 2014 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved. 
Composed, produced and perfomed by Diego Stocco (BMI). 
Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI)

Processed Piano 2

A cinematic/trailer track.

In this track you can hear elements that I created with my Rhythmic Processing technique. Rhythmic Processing is available with my other sound design techniques in this bundle: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/FFS123

© 2014 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved.  Composed, produced and perfomed by Diego Stocco (BMI).  Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI).  For licensing information diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

The Signal

In this track you can hear how I applied my Convolution Processing technique to a vocal part written and sung by Katie Chastain of Faux Fix. “My Antagonist”, which is also the title of the album, is produced by my friend film composer Nathan Johnson (“Brick”, “Looper”, “Don Jon”) and Son Lux. If you’d like to hear the original version and purchase  the album here’s the link on Bancamp: http://fauxfix.bandcamp.com/album/my-antagonist

A couple of notes about what you’ll hear in this processed version. First of all, it all starts with the dry vocal part, I didn’t use any additional synth, instrument or vocal line. The initial chord and the blurred bass sounds are the result of Convolution Processing, as well as all the other elements that you’ll hear. I started by creating some custom Impulse Responses, which I then loaded into several dedicated chains in Ableton Live and finally exported the individual elements to be mixed in Pro Tools.

Stylistically, I wanted to maintain the natural beauty of Katie’s voice at the center, so the processing is elegant and subtle, you won’t hear extreme vocal transformations.

I hope you’ll enjoy it and feel free to ask questions. Here you can find more info about my Convolution Processing technique and other in this bundle: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/FFS123

Faux Fix “My Antagonist” © 2012 Faux Fix - All Rights Reserved.

Processed Vox // Faux Fix “My Antagonist”

This is a short cinematic track I made by combining percussive instruments with sounds I recorded on the Saddle Peak hike trail near Calabasas. The idea behind this track was to use sounds both in their raw and processed forms, creating a hybrid of evolving timbres and foley elements functioning as rhythmic counterparts. 

For this piece I used my Rhythmic Processing and Convolution Processing techniques to process each element and decided to use only Impulse Responses derived from those natural sounds and ambiences I recorded.

If you wish to learn about my processing technique, here's the bundle: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/FFS123

© 2014 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved.  Produced by Diego Stocco (BMI).  Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI) . For licensing information https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Percussive Echoes

This is a short track I made with a MeeBlip Anode and a touch of Convolution Processing.

The track is based on several parts I played with the Anode, including the rhythmic part (the "Snare Drum" sound is actually made by turning off the Anode). As the track becomes musically more defined you'll also start noticing other elements coming in, a tuned ambience in response to the dry Bichords, additional rhythmic elements that enrich the basic beat and a subtle wide ambience. 

These have been created by processing the initial rhythmic elements with my Rhythmic Convolutions set of impulse responses http://bit.ly/FFSRC and some new ones that I created specifically for this track by using the Anode as the source. 

© 2014 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved.  Produced by Diego Stocco (BMI).  Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI).

Convoluted Anode

"Thunderous" is an original piece written and performed by Diego Stocco on his Experibass. Part of the "Experibass" Album, available here: https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/EXPRB

You can hear an excerpt of "Thunderous" on the soundtrack of the Netflix movie Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child Of Fire: https://www.netflix.com/title/81464239

 For licensing information please send a message: https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Experibass

Thunderous

"Suspended" is an original piece written and performed by Diego Stocco on his Experibass. Part of the "Experibass" Album, available here: diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/EXPRB

For licensing information please send a message: diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Suspended

"Dreamland" is an original piece written and performed by Diego Stocco on his Experibass. Part of the "Experibass" Album, available here: diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/EXPRB

For licensing information please send a message: diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Dreamland

This is the introduction to the Experibass Album and the Producer's Edition of the album (containing 100 rhythmic loops in REX format).

You can purchase the album for $8 at this link (8 pieces, mp3 / 320kbps): https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/EXPRB

The Producer's Edition is available for $45 (8 pieces WAV 48kHz / 24bit and 100 REX files): https://diegostocco.gumroad.com/l/EXPPE

© 2015 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved.  Composed, produced and perfomed by Diego Stocco (BMI).  Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI). 
 For licensing information please send a message: https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Experibass Album Intro

This is the original and unprocessed noise from the oxygen tank.
To hear the finished piece I created out of this click here: http://soundcloud.com/diegostocco/diego-stocco-oxygen-tank-1


Oxygen Tank - Original Noise

Few days ago I had a chance to record the noise of an oxygen tank being refilled.
Besides the burst of white noise that was coming out of it, when the pressure was changing I could also hear a high pitched whistling tone, changing like the overtones of a flute.

I thought it was a really cool set of noises and decided to create a sound design/cinematic piece out of that.
Obviously, each element you'll hear has gone through several steps of sound processing, but I intentionally didn't use any additional sound, I wanted to see how much I could get out of that original take.

If you're interested, here are some original unprocessed noise snippets I used: http://soundcloud.com/diegostocco/diego-stocco-oxygen-tank


Oxygen Tank

"A Prototype of Chaos & Love" is a long-form piece that I played on a number of my original and customized instruments (the Experibass, Expericello, deconstructed piano, custom trombone, flutes, metals and cymbals, prepared guitar and violins, bells and objects). The sound of some instruments was processed post recording, but their unique nature was kept intact.

It’s improvised and chaotic, but also delicate and warm, a sense of tonality emerges in different sections, but it doesn’t last too long.

When I recorded it, I left myself feel the intensity of each sound and the effect of different instruments under my fingers. There were no visual cues in my mind, just sounds taking my full attention.

This piece creates an intense and visceral experience; it’s likely going to push your tolerance for unfamiliar sounds and uneven musical structures.

The art cover is made with a chaotic “painting” that I assembled by using pieces of instruments and materials.

A Prototype of Chaos & Love

Crossover of styles escaped from hidden realities, combinations of electronic and acoustic sources, unexpected processing of sound signals.

ExperiMental Visions

An architecture of massive grooves and sound design collapsed into a furious sound flow.

Licensing available through Epic Score/APM Music
http://www.epicscore.com/cds_demos-ES009.php

Epic Textures Vol.2 - "The Attack"

This is the audio only of my video "Music from a Dry Cleaner"

Watch the video here: https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/music-from-a-dry-cleaner

"Music from a Dry Cleaner"

After recording "Music from a Dry Cleaner" https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/music-from-a-dry-cleaner I took home with me some metallic cloth hangers. I found out that I could make interesting metallic sounds with them. By cutting them at different positions I could create high and low pitched tones.

I connected a couple of those to an old gramophone horn to amplify their volume, and decided to call it this instrument Gramohanger.

The track you hear is entirely based on the Gramohanger, I played the different parts take after take, meaning that this is not a composition made with samples. No additional sound or synth as well. Enjoy!

Gramohanger

This is a cinematic piece I created with the Arcophonico, one of the instruments I built for my Custom Built Orchestra. In case you didn't see it, here's the link to the gallery with the video, pics and detail for each of the instruments: https://diegostocco.myportfolio.com/custom-built-orchestra

© 2012 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved.  Produced by Diego Stocco (BMI).  Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI) . For licensing information diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Entering the Dark Area

Part of the "Post Civilization" suite for film trailers.

© 2013 Diego Stocco - All Rights Reserved. 
Composed and produced by Diego Stocco (BMI). 
Published by Sonic Artifact Music Publishing (BMI)
For licensing information diegostocco.myportfolio.com/contact

Prelude

Alpha

Down in Flames

Diego Stocco is an inventor of unusual musical instruments, music sound designer and composer.
One of his most recognizable instruments is the Experibass, a mutated double bass for which he invented a playing technique called “Sticcato”, creating an intense combination of tonal and percussive timbres. With this instrument, he was invited to be a featured soloist on the soundtrack of "Sherlock Holmes" scored by Oscar®-winning composer Hans Zimmer, the video games "Assassin's Creed" and "Darktide" with BAFTA-winning composer Jesper Kyd and as a composer and performer of his piece “Thunderous” for the film "Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire”. As a composer, he produced the music for the video game "The Conduit” and the film "Chernobyl Diaries”, where he experimented with more strange instruments and sonic approaches. 
The music and sound design elements from his Sonic Artifact label, specialized in horror, thriller, western and sci-fi genres, is distributed worldwide by BMG Production Music and have been placed on dozens of film trailers, films and TV shows.

As one of the Principal Sound Designers, Diego created numerous iconic sounds for the core libraries of Spectrasonics Stylus RMX, Trilian, Bob Moog Tribute Library and the flagship synth Omnisphere. His approach to listening and psychoacoustic microphone techniques allowed him to discover musically playable sounds in a variety of common objects, such as light bulbs, a clothes drying rack, a leather hat, and a number of odd instruments created by combining pieces of furniture and parts of appliances with traditional instruments. One of his most extreme sampling session was the Burning Piano, a piano sampled while it was on fire. He later created his own Sonic Extension for Omnisphere called Twisted Trees, where he built original sculptural instruments inspired by forest trees and the random motion of elements of nature.

Diego explored the sound of nature and trees with a series of musical videos, starting from Music from Sand, Music from a Tree, and Music from Nature. In these works, a lighter, playful and more abstract approach to sound appears, where he let the unconventional sounds inspire the composition. He also built instruments that can be seen as imaginative little places, like the Magical Butterfly Valley and the Miniature Forest Piano, where the listener is invited to listen to the instruments as if they were played by butterflies and birds.

Diego also created a unique approach to Convolution processing with his “Rhythmic Convolutions” sets, where he takes sounds produced by a variety of objects, materials and interactions to create original Impulse Responses that transfer both their rhythmic and spectral profile to drums, synths and any instrument with fast attacks. Occasionally Diego teaches workshops and masterclass where he shares his imaginative approach with other musicians and sound designers.

Popular tracks by Diego Stocco