random stuff

Ancient Cistern Dark

This is another mix of a song, not sure if it's from a chapter of MS Paint Adventures called "Openbound", put together for a very nice lady. I quite like it, though it's clear I need some new kits.

Darling

Lanayru Sand Sea

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Fixed the drums in the end from becoming overblown

One of my favorite tracks from the soundtrack. I was always disappointed you could only listen to it one time only in a single playthrough. I noticed the tune that Link plays on the ocarina isn't even in Manbo's original performance. Yet the magic still works. My interpretation is that Manbo was teaching the beat and the spirit of the music, and as improvisation is a big part of Jazz, Link's unique melody also works. In my arrangement, I have a middle section where Manbo essentially instructs Link to solo and "try it out." I am not too familiar with Jazz orchestra, so this is my humble attempt at spicing up the track. The end portion gets a little hectic, so I'll try to clean it up in the future. 

Ocarina Song 2 - Manbo's Mambo - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Lowered the Chirimia Oboe sound level so it's not too harsh on the ears

This is a sibling to the mini boss theme. The difference is this theme does not need any extension as the fight is pretty short. If it were used elsewhere I probably would have done more work on it. It's a shame as I like this boss music more. There is a sense of urgency in this one that the others don't have.

The Turtle Awakens - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Re EQ'ed

The last dungeon of the game deserves an epic sendoff. The original track consists of a repeating 4-note motif and a couple of low staccato beats to intensify the tension. The "melody" never really resolves, and I decided to be bold and go crazy in a direction new to me. I went with impressionism era music, mainly Debussy. I had never really appreciated the use of whole-tone scales until now. It sounds oddly optimistic, while at the same time unsure of itself, and I think this fits the dungeon rather well, as the environment design is just absurd (in a good way), having both molten magma and ice together. It's typical for each progressive level to sound more epic. Going with a lighter, more mischievous tone throws the player off, as it creates uncertainty. Whether the original composers planned for this I don't know, but I still applaud them for this design choice.

It's funny to think that Debussy's music all sounds very dream-like, and I should have borrowed some ideas much earlier for this album. My big challenge was to create a melody and harmonic progression that complements the original track completely without any alteration. That sequence is heavily influenced by Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy.

Turtle Rock - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

This album is free to download. Consider supporting me on www.patreon.com/thesecondnarrator to support my future works!

Update 3/20/15 - Raised the level of the chirimia oboe in the beginning so it doesn't sound unnaturally quiet, re worked the latter epic portion so it doesn't sound overblown

I did not know about the loud and epic second half of the music until just a couple months ago, nearly 20 years after I first played the game. I was never in the labyrinth long enough for the music to reach that section. What's even more amazing is that the motifs used here don't appear anywhere else in the game (not including the flattened Ballad tones).  This kind of reminds me of some of the great songs in the Final Fantasy games, where Nobuo Uematsu composes beautiful tracks that are much longer than the time you are in the area, that you have to literally stop playing so you can listen to all of it.

The first thing I did was restructure the sections of the song. In the original version, there's the quiet section (I), loud section (II), quiet section again (I) and then it repeats, so it goes: I-II-I-I-II-I. I shifted everything to the right, so the intense section appears at the tail end of the piece instead.

For the first section I placed the instruments very close to the listener with almost no reverb, and had them played softly. This increases the claustrophobic atmosphere, as Link has no idea what to expect. When entering for the first time, you might think perhaps this is a new dungeon with puzzles and other enemies, but really there is absolutely nothing. The music seems repetitive, until when the reed instrument appears, you wonder if the nightmares are suddenly going to materialize. But they don't. You continue down whatever corridor you choose, but it's always the same screen. Are you really progressing anywhere?

When the music hits the thunderous second act, I imagine this is the point where Link or the player starts to freak out. You can't see the nightmare, but perhaps it is right behind you, ready to strike anytime. So you run as fast as you can, trying to escape the impending doom. The nightmare is slowly gaining on you, until you glance behind you and see that there's still nothing. What is going on?!

I tried my best to imitate Hans Zimmer with his use of horns and a warehouse full of percussion. I still need to learn how to better mix so many loud instruments together without it sounding muddy.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Orchestral Arrangement
Arrangement and fan art by Jeremiah Sun

Original Composers
Kazumi Totaka
Minako Hamano
Kozue Ishikawa

Original Theme by Koji Kondo

You can buy this game for 3DS from the Nintendo eShop

The Wind Fish's Egg - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

Three thick and chunky tracks:
Electric bass: Ibanez GSR200 direct into mixer
Rhythm guitar: Gibson ES-137, neck pickup, through '65 P-Reverb with chorus and compressor
Lead guitar: Gibson ES-137, bridge pickup, through '65 P-Reverb with chorus, fuzz, tubescreamer, compressor, spring reverb and vibrato (from amp)

Thick and Chunky

A quick track for fandom-potato as part of the Homestuck End Exchange! http://homestuckendexchange.tumblr.com/

Kind of a soundtrack to the kiss pages (p=007309 to 007321). 

References Darling Kanaya by Toby Fox, and Endless Climb by George Buzinkai.


Yuouo...

A jazzy cover of Zelda's Lullaby from Ocarina of Time

Zelda's Lullaby

Sly Cooper and the thievius Raccoonus 17 - The Dread Swamp Path

Originally an exclusive for Hero of Hyrule... now released as a single.  
Be sure to check out the vid on YT: https://youtu.be/bqCtjca_JpY
[Majora's Mask Zeldawave] Lofi

ｆｉｎａｌ ｈｏｕｒｓ

SHEET MUSIC AVAILABLE:
► https://www.musicnotes.com/l/HwRMq 

MY MUSIC:
► iTUNES: https://apple.co/2IeAcuq
► SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/2pNX0tm
► GOOGLE PLAY: https://goo.gl/2e2tn6
► DEEZER: https://bit.ly/2GiBpQT
► AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2pOfb3b
► SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/musicmike512

SOCIAL MEDIA:
► FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/MusicMike512
► INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/musicmike512/
► TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MusicMike512

SUPPORT:
► Donations: https://goo.gl/y1vOd7
► Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MusicMike512

Hey guys, I'm back! Apologies for the hiatus...the school term absolutely destroyed me, but miraculously, I'm alive! It's finally Christmas break, so I have some time to continue providing more music for you all. 

Here's a cover that I recorded weeks ago but couldn't find the time to edit and upload it until now. The beautiful 'Lake Hylia' theme from LoZ: Twilight Princess - one of my favourite LoZ titles. Bringing back the nostalgia~

Hope you all enjoy this piano arrangement.
Mike

Piano / Instrumental Works: Video Game Themes, Vol. VIII

Download

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS - Lake Hylia (Piano Cover)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ~ Expanded Video Game Soundtrack

Pirate Stronghold

I am a developer as well as a self-taught composer. My style is creating narratives in music through the use of strong melodies and unique instrumentation.

Primary DAW used: Presonus Studio One

The Wind Fish's Egg - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Orchestral Arrangement

The Second Narrator

Related tracks