First Steps (from "Celeste") for L'Histoire Ensemble

Composed by Lena Raine 
Arranged by Geoff Li

The C'mon Ensemble: 
Robert Spady - Clarinet 
Matthew Howatt - Bassoon 
Brian Sand - Trumpet 
Kathryn Macintosh - Trombone 
Timothy Borton - Percussion 
Aiyana Anderson - Violin 
Janice Quinn - Double Bass 

Commissioned by Kathryn Macintosh for the 2018 C'mon Festival

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The C'mon Festival are big proponents of the music of today, and every year, along with the slew of cool new chamber music in their setlists, they include a fun arrangement of a pop song as a cherry on top. With this year's theme being "roots," my head immediately went in another direction - I didn't grow up listening to almost any pop, but I did listen to a lot of video game music. Seeing it grow as much as it has, I'd say it's become a sort of popular music in its own right. 

Indie games are an especially rich creative force, and it seemed fitting to share something from one of my favorites of 2018 so far. "Celeste" is a game that's near and dear to my heart, and its soundtrack, composed by the wonderful Lena Raine, is strikingly beautiful and full of character. That's a good music of today

Celeste OST - "First Steps" arranged for Septet (2018)

University of Alberta Symphony
Conductor: Armand Birk

Art from "Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome" / "Night Is Short, Walk On Girl"

Completed in Nov. 2018. Recorded in Feb. 2019

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Owing to a much-needed break from writing what has been a slew of mostly serious works, Divertimento was initially going to be a purely humorous piece, short and sweet. However, partway through the composition process, I got around to watching the latest movie from one of my favorite directors Masaaki Yuasa, and was reminded of his brilliant and eclectic style: stinging colors, dense and surreal imagery and storytelling, profound themes, and every element laced with sharp wit and zany humor. It was hard not to be inspired.

This piece, consequently, started taking on some of the characteristics I associate with Yuasa’s work. Sections of goofy play and Romanticism alternate, with each iteration more exaggerated than the last. However, subtler shades begin to manifest and unfold between these two facets as they develop and intertwine, and reveal a shared underlying sense of wit and sincerity.

Divertimento (2018) for Orchestra

Day 4 of the 21 Days of Video Game Music challenge in Fall 2018

Victory Fanfare!

Made as part of the MacEwan MayDay Game Jam 2019.

Big Helmet - Stranded on This Colorful Planet

Art by ansimuz: https://opengameart.org/users/ansimuz

★☆★SPARKLY SPARKLY CAVE DANCE☆★☆

Up Until This Moment... (Prologue)

Crossover-style chamber jazz ballad inspired by the neo-noir anime series Cowboy Bebop. Commissioned by Scott Whetham and Mark Segger for the 2nd & 4th Thursdays Series in 2019.

Noir Tea Orchestra

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With the theme of the program this piece was written for being “film noir,” the first thing that popped into my head was the legendary anime series Cowboy Bebop, a mature but witty neo-noir western set in space to jazz and country music. A quick Google search will show that its plot and characters parallel those of an old noir classic called Out of the Past – and so I decided I had to watch it as part of my “research.” 

The musical aesthetic of the film – that being early classical/jazz crossover – served as the main influence for the tonal world of Snow Falling on Venus (and also as a good reason for me to put my jazz training to proper use). The title of the piece, though, is a reference to a closing scene at the end of one of the episodes of Bebop, where after a character we meet and grow attached to and grow hopeful about throughout the episode is killed unexpectedly and unceremoniously, snow begins to fall (actually, it was spores, but we know what the visual effect was supposed to convey); the sky mourns for this loss, and the protagonist briefly does, too, before moving on – a frequent mood of the series, and certainly the mood of this piece.

Snowfall on Venus (2019) for Clarinet, Trombone, Tuba, Violin, & Viola

Vocals: Erica Dawn
Drums: Murray Cameron Smith

Art from "Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita" / "Humanity Has Declined"

Completed in Mar. 2015

Lyrics:

Wishfully I dreamt of whispering winds telling
Flowers and fields all to wake
And it dawns on me
Spring is no longer here

Wistfully I look up wondering where the
Cerulean sky all had went
But the dawn had arrived long before I woke

Oh, where should I go from here?
Oh, where should I go from here?
And with one big breath it's crystal clear

I feel the wind change
I feel it in my stride

Twilight kissed, with light, the west horizon till the night
Drifting like a breeze and wishing that I could enjoy the sun
Twilight marks the time the people hide in to their homes and
Tells me that my journey might be done

Wishfully I dreamt of whispering winds but
The susurrus begins to swell
And melodiously autumn marches in

Why are all the songs so sad?
Why are all the songs so sad?
And with one big breath I understand

I feel the wind change
I feel it in my eyes

Twilight kissed, with light, the west horizon till the night
Listening to the breeze and realizing I've enjoyed our run
Wind sighs a lullaby, the people hide in to their homes and
Tell me that my journey might be done

Twilight kissed, with light, the west horizon till the night
Drifting like a breeze and wishing that I could enjoy the sun
Twilight marks the time the people hide in to their homes and
Tells me that my journey might be done

End of a Journey (feat. Erica Dawn & Murray Cameron Smith)

Made as part of the Global Game Jam 2018.

Request for Proposal - Greasy Love Letter

Flute: Erin Prendergast

Written for the 2021 Sewanee Winterfest.

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Our brains get triggered by new experiences in a way that increases attention, learning, and memory, and elongates our perception of time. (Hikes and drives always feel shorter on the way back, hey?) During the COVID-19 pandemic, for many of us who are holed up at home (if we get to stay at home) doing and seeing the same things repeatedly, our senses of time have accelerated to a blur. These last eleven months have felt simultaneously like two weeks and ten years.

as graffiti on a passing train (2021) for Solo Flute

Client: ItDoes Interactive

High-intensity main menu theme set to bustling futuristic city scapes. Game developed for a series of one-off release events. Soundtrack co-composed with Benimaru.

(2021)

Asiacell 4G Racer - On Your Marks! (Menu Theme)

Geoff Li makes music and sounds for concert, games, and TV; inspiring all of them is a penchant for storytelling and an itch for challenges. Unapologetic in his love of various styles, he draws extensively from his background in jazz, progressive metal, electronic, and early 2000s video game music, as well as from his Korean-Chinese heritage.

Geoff is part of the music production team Madcap Labs, with whom he scores the Pokémon TV series. He has been commissioned by the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, Obsessions Quartet, and the C’mon Festival, among others, and his music has been played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Yardbird Suite Jazz Orchestra. He is the audio artist for indie game developer Aerobox Games. From 2021-2023, he served on council and, later, as head of the Professional Development Committee for the Canadian League of Composers.

Outside of creating, Geoff plays guitar in electronic/prog rock band Ways in Waves, and is an avid Magic: The Gathering player. A nostalgic person by nature, he has replayed his favorite games Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Metroid Fusion, and Pokémon Emerald way too many times.

Geoff Li

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