A piece I never wrote words to.  Or I did once, and they didn't quite work out.  Sounds great as an audio track.  Someone out there, please make a film that this will work as a soundtrack, thanks!

A Theme For A Wanderer

Another wordless piece that I wrote many years ago, just a collection of chords, and counter melodies over a driving rhythm.

Urban Legend

An experimental track mixing old and new, found sounds and original composition. Coptic chant + New hymns

Soundscape of the Martyrs

This is a live performance in 2004 of a mashup we created of two favorite songs of ours "40" by U2 and Agnus Dei by Michael W. Smith. 

Trinity - 40/Agnus Dei Mashup - Live @ Rutgers University 2004

Some friends and I  randomly jamming out to a classic Beatles song during a volunteer day in Berkeley, CA + Some post work (piano, organ, cello, and gregorian boys choir)

Let It Be (Clip) - Berkeley, CA  3/8/2014

This one is a gem!   In 2011 my travels took me to a place called Chuuk, a state in the Federated States of Micronesia.  While there, I was asked to work with some students who had a band called Makarios.  I engineered a track for them, which turned out amazing.  We set up studio in a classroom of a Catholic school, and laid down a few tracks, in one take. This is their rendition of Akon's Beautiful in their language Chuukese

Words & Music by Akon
Performed by Makarios
Produced / Engineered: Paul Kist

Beautiful (Akon) - Cover by Makarios (Sang in Chuukese)

The Sojourners cover "Oceans" by Hillsongs, at rehearsal, May 10 2014.  
Vocalists: Magi Gabra, Sarah Ghabrial
Guitar: Evram Dawd
Piano: Ben Shenouda
Synth: Paul Kist
Drums: Charoo Youssef
Percussion: Peter Maher

The Sojourners - Oceans (Re-Mastered) Live

This piece was commissioned in February as background music for a spoken word piece performed by my band, Trinity, at a concert at Rutgers University, February 21st 2003.

Incarnation

I've always been obsessed with the Simpsons.  Both as a fan of the show, as well as the art and music of the series.   Back in 1994 I figured out and played each instrument part of the Simpsons theme and saved it as a MIDI file. 

 20 Years later, I routed those MIDI tracks thru VSL, and got some help from Peter Mansour, to lay down that badass Lisa-Simpson-breaking-free-from-the-status-quo-SAX SOLO!

MIDI made it possible to create a new collaboration with my 16 year old self...    kind of like time travel!

Copyright © Fox Music

The Simpsons Theme (Virtual Orchestra) feat. Peter Mansour on Sax

In 2002, I had the great privilege of recording and helping produce a demo for a very talented NYC band: Ippazzi.  Recorded in a small apartment in the East Village, Carrie became one of my favorites of the band's songography.  In 2009, I found some of the old tracks for this song, and remixed, remastered it, adding some piano, cello, etc.    Love this track and I hope you do too.

Words & Music: Ippazzi
Guitar & Vocal: Greg Petronzi
Bass: Jeff Prystowski
Synth Piano & Cello: Paul Kist

Ippazzi: Carrie (2009)

I was woken up at 3:30am on July 8, 2015 PST by strange sounds coming from the sky.  I recorded them.   I'm pretty sure there's a non-paranormal explanation, but the UFO theory is fun :)

Weird Tone - Oakland, CA July 8-2015.mp3

What do you get when you  meet a meditative and melodic Coptic Egyptian Spiritual with the fierce and driving energy of Mexican rock, mariachi and ranchero music?   Here's a little mash-up I put together, imagining what if "I Place My Soul" were to be performed by Chingon, preceded by a little Malagueña Salerosa

Art by Pooja Vaishnav: https://poojavaishnav.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/ecstasy-tryst-with-colours/

Mashup: Malagueña Salerosa + I Place My Soul

“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”

Based on "Princess Leia's Theme" by John Williams

This is a tribute to the life of Carrie Fisher, who is remembered not just for her body of work on screen, but by the legacy of courage and honesty she left behind. While I tried to stay true to the original structure and composition, I also wanted to leave room to bring in the stars and galaxies, a place where most of us met her, and where she has now returned.

Now for the technical stuff: I performed all the parts on a keyboard using a virtual orchestra. As with other pieces that I've posted, I did my best to figure out all the parts by ear. My setup: Digital Performer 8, MachFive Sampler, various sound libraries from MOTU to VSL and my trusty Korg X3 MIDI controller.

Thanks, Carrie

AIFF Download: http://bit.ly/2lEONI2
MP3 Download: http://bit.ly/2kFqgCR

Princess Leia's Theme

Princess Leia's Theme (J. Williams) - Virtual Orchestra - For Carrie Fisher

A few years back, I played and performed one of my favorite themes from Lord of the Rings The Two Towers Soundtrack:   The Rohan Theme.  I used it as a way to test out a new sample library of orchestra sounds, and was pleased with the results.  This is Howard Shore's masterpiece, in a great sounding midi format.   No sheet music was used for this.   

Rohan Theme (Lord of the Rings)

In 2003, I wrote this little prelude for organ based on Psalm 34.  This piece made it's debut in St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Harlem.

"I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."

Psalm 34:1-3, 8

Prelude For Organ (Psalm 34)

A short piece for piano

A musical tribute to my first day back in NYC after 9/11, the following Thursday,  It 9/13/01.    This was selected for NYU's Steinhardt School of Education Music Composition Dept's, Winter Showcase in 2003, and the recording is from that performance.  It was performed by a student at Juliard.



A Different Place

One weekend, I decided to teach myself the score to "Concerning Hobbits".  I never got to finish it, but I like how it started taking shape, hope you do too.

Unfinished: Concerning Hobbits

I was 16 years old when I created this arrangement of the old Arabic Christian hymn: "Wa Habibi", honoring the passion of Jesus.  Many christians in the middle east will sing this hymn during good friday, and it was made popular by Fairuz in her album of good friday hymns. 

O Beloved (Wa Habibi) - Instrumental

I dunno what state I was in when I wrote this, but it's about a lost dog, and the dog is a clarinet.

My Clarinet is Lost

Sylvia Armanious was the victim of a violent crime that took her life in 2005.  She had a book of poems that her family had possession of.   They commissioned me to write a song to one of her poems.   The one that sang itself to me was "No More"

This is Sylvia's poem put to music.  I kept the lyrics as true to form to the original poem as possible.

Based on "No More" A poem by Sylvia Armanoius
Music by Paul Kist
Vocals: Sandy Debbas
Guitar: Jae Ko
Background Vocals: Jennifer Matteson, Thomas Curcio
Arranged and Produced by Paul Kist


No More  - Feat. Sandy Debbas

making soundtracks, making beats, writing songs, listening within.

Popular tracks by Paul G | Composer // Producer // Songwriter