Not all music written by Stephen O'Connell is for film, TV, game or other screen media, and not everything fits the loop-based model of library music. However, the enjoyment of creating music is not limited to a specific style or purpose, so for those works that he writes outside of his screen media projects you will find them here.

Stephen O'Connell | Cinematic and Contemporary Works

Part of a new collection of Cinematic Shorts, the melancholic undertone strikes an autumn-like feeling, perfect for this time of year... 

Made entirely with Spitfire Audio's Originals collections, including Cinematic Soft Piano, Intimate Strings, Epic Strings, and Epic Brass and Winds.

Breath Of Wind (2021)

A dramatic addition to my Cinematic Shorts collection. Suspenseful chords, hard hitting percussion and a hybrid approach with electric guitar and synth undertones.

Arrhythmia (2021)

A rich, yet light and airy contemporary classical piece, depicting the wonder and splendour of leaving the atmosphere and glimpsing the sun over the horizon of Earth.

Astral Horizon (2021)

You can hear the dry grass, the scrapping metal and the wind through the rafters in every strike of the performer's bow. 

An intensely detailed and intimate library, Spitfire Alternative Solo Strings provide an amazing experience, creating the expressive uniqueness found in the most unconventional stories of independent cinema. It is a pleasure to hear the scratchy rawness of the samples shining through and the many articulations on offer provide a well rounded tool for many different styles.

Weathered Past (2021)

Utilising the  Metallurgic Alchemy, a Pianobook Community Sample Library, the picture of an arid landscape, a lost city and a desolate and alone planet. High above, however, the silent eyes survey the land below for any hint of survival. 

Image Credit: Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash

Drones - Featuring "Metallurgic Alchemy" Sample Library(2021)

Demoing my latest library for Pianobook, MelloSaw, this piece took me in quite a different direction than I intended, but I'm pleasantly surprised. While it isn't the retro 80s synth cinematic piece I wanted to demo for this library, it is a great example of how you can use it within your own musical style. It has a lot of flexibility built in. 

DOWNLOAD MELLOSAW FOR FREE: <Link coming soon, awaiting upload to Pianobook>

The MelloSaw Patches used in this demo track include: 

- Distorted pitch bending lead that enters halfway through. 
- Main arpeggiated line throughout the piece. 
- A string synth patch faded in and out in the first half of the piece. 
- A tape brass synth patch in the final stages of the piece. 
- A heavily distorted pitch bending riser and drop at the start and middle of the piece (layered with other elements). 
- A sparkly tape warped and delayed background texture in the first half of the piece, with automation on the tape delay's time and feedback controls. 

Other library uses include: 

- Evolution Sounds: Bowed Cello and Violin
- Strezov Samples: Freya Choir
- Heavyocity: Symphonic Destruction Braams
- Native Instruments: Rise and Hit, Battery, Action Strikes
- Waldorf Synth STVC (Hardware)

Photo Credit: Michael Olsen @mganeolsen via Unsplash

Enigmatic Waves (2022)

Apricity... Feeling the warmth of the sun in winter. How fitting for the feeling and mood of this track. 

The idea of this track was generated using Kaleidoskye, a new sample library I've developed, free on Pianobook. It is a sparkling, swarm library of delayed guitar textures, a great pad and atmospheric tool for media scoring. Check out the link below. 

KALEIDOSKYE: Link pending availability on Pianobook. Will be updated soon. 

Photo: Alain via Unsplash.

Apricity (2022)

The Legend of Vox Machina lives on in a new Amazon Prime series! This is my take on how I would approach writing a main theme to an animated action series like this.

Legends (2022)

A beautifully tragic sound evolution, like a slowly crashing wave washing away the last moments of a life.

Sombre Embrace (2022)

Fractured Time (2022)

A short demo track for the Spitfire Audio library, Albion Colossus.

Colossus (2023)

Fallen Earth (2023)

You And I As One (2023)

Myths Of The Tigris (2023)

A demo track featuring Berserkr, the new library from Keep Forest that combines punk and folk drums for an epic sound.

Photo by Shahin Khalaji via Unsplash

Fire And Blood (2023)

Legacy (2023)

Roots (2024)

A rapid chase of repeating patterns, unevenly chopped and smashed together, to give the sense of a game of cat and mouse, a constant fear of toppling off something. Rather like hitting a speed bump on a highway at 100km/h. Utilising additive rhythms, dissonant chords, an ABA format that gives a moment to pause, and an exploration of some of the more woody and dark tones of the strings, this piece gives a sense of overwhelming pressure to keep it from all falling over. 

Utilising the East West Symphonic Orchestra, 8Dio Intimate Strings and the Native Instruments New York Piano. 

Written in 2018 and Recorded in 2019.

Hazard Lights At High Speeds for Piano and Chamber Strings (2018)

Written for the chamber wind quintet, this piece dances between a gentle swelling of tones, an airy flow of a fugal melody and a slightly lament-like falling melody line. The piece encapsulates the feeling of waking from a dream to see the first rays of light through the curtains, the sense that something has ended by the day has just begun. 

This piece utilised the East West Symphonic Orchestra samples. 

Written in 2018 and recorded in 2019.

First Light for Wind Quintet (2018)

This track was written as a test and demo to the recently released BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover sample library by Spitfire Audio. A truely powerful and accessible sound library, the plugin works with all major DAWs and is a mere 200MB in size, making professional DAW composition on the go a reality. 

The Green Vale, named after the work's cheery note and the BBC SO's recording home, Maida Vale Studios, works to present all instruments with nearly all articulations available, to give you the best understanding of the capabilities of this sample library. Using idiosyncratic film score tropes and light to heavy textural layers, the library has an unmistakable music for film quality that takes barely any effort to produce. While it produces this feeling almost immediately, it is still possible to produce a wide range of emotions and textures that can lend its hand to most of what you throw at it. At the time of posting, this library is only USD$49 or free with a brief questionnaire from Spitfire Audio.

Written and recorded in 2020.

Stephen O'Connell | Cinematic and Contemporary Works

Stephen O'Connell | Composer