Original by Masashi Hamauzu

This is a minor rearrange of one of the boss themes "Todfeind" from SaGa Frontier 2 (Playstation-era RPG from 1999). Felt this sorta tune would work with more 'oomph' when you're trying to kick some monster butt, and this particular game was unlike the other SaGa games with a more rock/metal soundtrack.

Sloppy mix but this is all I'm doing with it. :)

Recorded using:
- DAW: REAPER
- Guitar(s): Dean Custom 850X (5 layers) (tone: custom via Line 6 Helix Native VST)
- Pianoteq 7 Pro (controller: KORG KRONOS)
- Drums: MeldaProduction MDrummer (2009 Metal kit)
- Layers: Yamaha MONTAGE 6, chipsynth OPS7, XPand!2 and audjoo Helix.

SaGa Frontier 2 - Todfeind (🤘-style)

What if Doppleganger Arle was in Puyo Puyo Tsuu?
This is what was in my head all week lol. PP4 (ぷよぷよ〜ん) Saturn soundtrack seemed a bit weak imo.

Original by Junichi Yoshida, Koji Onari, Kazuaki Nagai
Arranged by James Alan Nguyen (in the style of Tsuyoshi Matsushima and BA.M)

Created with Furnace Tracker v0.6pre1:
- 1x YM2612, no PSG (just like the actual puyo puyo game :P)

Module: https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3zuonesqcl8nn8/djtBMX_Puyopuyo~n_DopplegangerArle-TsuuStyle.fur?dl=0
VGM: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ljpb8dke06j3qd/djtBMX_Puyopuyo~n_DopplegangerArle-TsuuStyle.vgm?dl=0

Puyo Puyo~n - Last decisive battle / vs. Doppleganger Arle (Tsuu-style)

A long absence in writing music, this is what you get in a spontaneous 2 hours of exploring ideas that don't make sense.  Very, very rusty.

7 times getting old

Spent a bit of time transcribing this CD track from some obscure Japan-only NEC PC Engine game in Furnace to flex some OPL3 trying to sound like something out of a SHARP X68000 PC haha.

Original by Kenji Kawai (~1993/4?)
Arranged by James Alan Nguyen
Created using Furnace Tracker v0.6pre1 dev commit f9a8a54

Furnace Module: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6sr2ws2w1604ip1/djtBMX_TeamInnocent-BGM4-OPL3Plus.fur?dl=0
VGM: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rpfz8twfpwyko2/djtBMX_TeamInnocent_BGM4_OPL3Plus_optimized.vgm?dl=0

Kenji Kawai - Team Innocent - CD Track 04 (OPL3+ ver)

Kicking off 2023 with another Furnace Tracker cover, this time going CPS-1 style (OPM+4ch samples). Hidden gems among the more.... 'cultured' games of Japan in the 90s that probably got covered to death on their shores, but relatively unknown in English-speaking places. (Also known as "Ayaka's Theme")

Created using Furnace Tracker 0.6pre3

Original composition: Naoya Shimokawa
Arranged by: James Alan Nguyen (in the style of Asuka 120% Burning Fest X68k ver, by Keishi Yonao)

FUR Module: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p5am0vvkwbl0to/ToHeart_QoH98_TPower_Asuka120Style.fur?dl=0
VGM file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x3f06ctc8b77phs/ToHeart_QoH98_TPower_Asuka120Style.vgm?dl=0

ToHeart / Queen of Heart '98 - Technical Power (Asuka 120%-style)

super deformed waifu time!

Just HAD to cover the best track from the game, and of course in OPL3 because the composer himself used OPM for the original track.
Some of the details I may have taken some liberties but this was mainly to prove a point about making OPL3 sound like a better FM chip.

Created using Furnace Tracker 0.6pre3

Original compsition by Takeshi Abo (https://soundcloud.com/valsound)
Cover by James Alan Nguyen

FUR module: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5wdzx0y7p2judiy/AACeOHJR6POH2Pshu9bWx9SSa?dl=0
VGM file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kskccbqnrd7s0t3/PhantomBreakerBattleGrounds_Shinjuku-OPL3_optimized.vgm?dl=0

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds - Shinjuku Stage (OPL3)

When great non-FM tracks from COMPILE's several early 90s game releases sound so good, you wish they had a Sega port.

Here's one track from the Super Famicom exclusive version of "Super Nazo Puyo 2" game, sorta in-between Puyo puyo 1 and 2.

Created using Furnace tracker 0.6pre3

Original by either BA.M, Tsuyoshi Matsushima, Einosuke Nagao or SUPERKENTA (COMPILE sound & effects division / LMSMusic / PSG Factory)

Arranged by James Alan Nguyen (in the style of Sega Megadrive Puyo Puyo)
FUR module: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rhminbge1su07mv/SuperNazoPuyo2_TrainingMode_OPN2.fur?dl=0
VGM file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kc9fdod55r9f8hb/SuperNazoPuyo2_TrainingMode_OPN2_optimized.vgm?dl=0

Super Nazo Puyo 2 (SFC) - Training Mode (FM style)

Spent the weekend learning Surge XT synthesizer, recreating some patches I like in it by hand.

And all you get is 80s cheese, since the factory presets didn't come with any that were good enough in this category.

Making a number of presets for it, with a particular focus on FM and "keyboard player-ready".

Freeform improv by James Alan Nguyen

Surge XT - DX-EPiano preset preview

Just more makin 80s DX7-style FM cheese in Surge XT. It's way too much fun lol

All output is 100% Surge XT.
All presets created by James Alan Nguyen. (mostly FM3 osc and inbuilt effects, can share them but I plan to do so when I have a bank of them complete!)

Liveplay murder based on "Someday the dream will end" from Final Fantasy X by Masashi Hamauzu and Nobuo Uematsu

Someday the dream of DX7 in Surge XT will End

I think this is self explanatory. Anyone that's familiar with Korean demonscene Adlib/FM music in the 90s will understand (other than the arcade bootlegging).

The original had a lot going on, so it was a bit of a challenge trying to cram it all in 6 FM channels and 5 rhythm mode percussion channels.  Was intended to make use of only SIGNAL.BNK from Iron Blood, but had to add a few extras to work around the polyphony limit. lol

Original by Manabu Namiki
FM cover by James Alan Nguyen, in the style of 1990's korean DOS game music
Created using Furnace 0.6pre5

FUR module: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zvcf3wrpw5mgxcd/Mushihimesama_OPL2_stage5.fur?dl=0
VGM log:https://www.dropbox.com/s/wo3edetancuovd0/Mushihimesama_Stage5-OPL2_optimized.vgm?dl=0

Mushihimesama - Stage 5 - The Direction to the Heart of the Forest (Korean FM Bootleg style)

This is a snapshot of what goes on in my head when I have writer's block lol

Improv composition by James Alan Nguyen

Pianoteq 8

Freeform improv - 2am ponder

Murdering Star Cruiser ending melody sorry.

Revisiting how to mix crap, and learned I suck at mixing guitars so... practice time.

Now with more Seymour Duncan Black Winters on the Dean Custom 850X, and a Maverick Horizontal Rollers 5-string bass.


(based on melody by Toshiya Yamanaka)

SC_metaltest2023

feelin soppy. here's a cover from a track from a pc98 VN.

Original by Izuho "PANDA" Yoshitani
Arrange and performed by James Alan Nguyen

Dean Custom 850X (+ 2x Seymour Duncan Black Winter + Free-Way 6-way switch split coil mod) + Line 6 Helix Native
Surge XT (my DX-EPiano patch)

Heart Heat Girls - Angelica's Tears (Guitar cover)

For Furnace HyperESFMing Contest, placed 20th.

Was just looking for an excuse to cover a song from my gacha addiction lol, but then remembered "oh cool, Genshin Impact is a CN game and Softstar Entertainment from TW made some good FM music back in the day",  so thought try to cover it with a vague resemblence to the Softstar RIX FM style.

But yeah, ESFM is cracked. Basically OPL3 on steroids.
This is a HARDWARE render from my ES1938S PCI card (ESS Solo-1) using a modified Furnace build since there are unofficial drivers for Win11 x64.

Original by Yu-Peng Chen / HOYO-MiX
ESFM cover as-transcribed by James Alan Nguyen

FUR module (requires Furnace 0.6.1): https://github.com/tildearrow/furnace/blob/master/demos/esfm/her_wishes.fur

Genshin Impact - Her Wishes / Orchard of Pairidaeza (ESFM ver.)

Recently purchased a Roland FA-06 workstation keyboard.  Has an EXCELLENT onboard sequencer with the ability to save not just MIDI and mixdown, but also TRACK STEMS!  YES!  (Also the sounds being derived from some Integra-7, it's an excellent piece of kit given its price point!)

Mind the sloppiness in play and mix.  Just wanted to see how quickly this could all be done.

Multitrack stems here:  https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1287967/SORROW_94BPM_multitrack-stems-fa06export.7z
Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgUCVFWsjIU&list=UUzieY7xn52TkjgShfz1WsLg
Semi-related: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1287967/djtBMX_FA06-ADOL_YS1-draft.ogg

Ryu Umemoto - Sorrow (FA-06 jam arrange)

Noticed I haven't uploaded this track I made in 2011 for "Contest de la Rocco #7" hosted in VGMusic.com Forums.

This is basically two "final boss"-esque songs stuck into one as per contest guidelines, although it didn't do quite well in it fitting the chosen theme.

From excessively loud bass, to strange transitions, odd time signatures and unconventional melodies, I'd say this isn't exactly a simple listen.  Enjoy nonetheless.

Frontier of Derangement / Desire to Shift Fate (2011)

From 2011 for Sample Pack Contest VI, hosted on VGMusic Forums.  One of my more unusual takes on mashing together crappy samples to make music out of.

(1 Nov 2015) Fixed some EQ-ing issues from the original.

I sneak up and hitcha in the crotch (2011)

Another from 2011 (Sample Pack Contest V).  My last ever piece made with Sony ACID Pro, before permanently moving over to REAPER.

Crappy source samples as usual, and this was done entirely by mouse while being hospitalized at the time.  It was quite fun reconstructing the speech samples to speak filth.

modulo (Explicit) (2011)

Random short I wrote in 2009 for a university group project - we basically had to record and run a TV game show of sorts.

Game Show Jingle (2009)

DVD Menu background music I wrote in 2006 for a High School Media Project with a bunch of dudes doing magic tricks with a deck of cards.

~Welcome to Our World~ DVD Menu (2006)

Original from "Kirby Super Star", composed by Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando.

This was made back in 2005 originally for the Milkyway Wishes Collaboration Project at OCRemix.org.  Except, despite submitting this quite early onto the project, it eventually got cut from the final track list because of numerous changes in the overall creative direction.  Basically, it was started over at various points in time.

Flying Into Nova Redux (ex-Milkyway Wishes Project) (2005)

Wrote this song in 2006 for my cousin's MySpace page (yes, I used to use MySpace too. Deal with it!)

At the time of making this, it was more or less an exercise on abusing the new timeline sequencing features that got added to Sony ACID Pro 6. 

...I kind of still don't know how I pulled this off without fully understanding music theory back then.

Song For Will (2006)

Back in the days of ACID 5 (2005), made for the Sample Pack Contest II hosted at VGMusic Forums.

This was my first exercise at making a soundscape out of crappy  samples from the contest pack.  Kill dem clackity cats!

The Stink of Military FPSing (2005)

Unfinished track from 2008. Requestor lost interest or changed their mind about having music play on their webpage.

No intention of finishing this.

pulsilence (WIP) (2008)

Completed 17 Jan 2011.

I think this is self-explanatory. Haha.

破壊尻の伝説  ~TV Size~ (Hakai shiri no densetsu) (2011)

Project VGM - 22 - [EVENT] A meeting (James Alan Nguyen) (2011)

Should this remix idea continue?  I still SUCK at guitar.  (hooray for post-processing).

This is one of my favourite tunes from the Tokyo Xanadu game. Falcom Sound Team JDK are great.

Keyboard drumming: James (via MDrummer L)
Bass guitar: James
Keyboard synth: James
Lead guitar: James
Piano: James (via Pianoteq)

Tokyo Xanadu - Hazy Moon (Guitar remix idea?)

Given the anime's currently airing, how will Yu-No's theme sound?
Also guitar is hard.

Original by Ryu Umemoto
Guitar: Dean Custom 850X (x3)
Piano: Yamaha Montage 6 (CFX Padded)

Yu-No's theme in G (guitar boredom)

Song from Ubiktune's "SOUNDSHOCK 2: FM FUNK TERRROR", from a slightly edited project render (literally 12 hours after the version published on the album)

Uploaded for preservation.

Listen to the album (Various Artists) here: http://ubiktune.com/releases/ubi044-various-artists-soundshock-2-fm-funk-terrror

A Journey in Modulating Time (alt. mix) (2012)

I got bored going through songs from Madou Monogatari ARS for PC-98 ... and well, another idea for an arrangement.
This time the theme song of that white-haired dark wizard.

Originally composed by Imami Pon and BA.M (?) / Compile / LMSMusic
Yes the mix is sloppy. CBF.

Guitars: Dean ML Modifier 8 on bridge (x4)
FX: Helix Native, ReaComp, W1 Limiter.
Piano: Pianoteq Pro 6 (C. Bechstein)
Roland FA-06: 2 2 Bell Pad
Korg KRONOS: Orchestra + Timpani Combi + KApro Epic Composer (GUO Cellos, Pan Flute)

Madou Monogatari ARS - Schezo's Theme (Arrange idea)

someone that likes video game, fm, and electronic music.

I'll probably post a few tidbits here whenever I have free time.

dj.tuBIG/MaliceX

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