An attempt at Dark Synthwave in late February 2022. I gave the lo-fi synth a warm but dark, haunting tone. The project made me think of the exploration of an unknown area, like a cave or the deep oceans. Also, fear of the unknown.

I hear this track as if I've made it for a video game soundtrack. I even have it start looping from the beginning again before it slowly fades out, just like some other video game OSTs have it sound, too.

Around the time I started this project, I was playing the indie RPG video game "Remnants of Isolation" and had been watching "Made In Abyss" on Saturday nights.

Created using Soundation, a web-based DAW.

UNKNOWN - Dark Synthwave v2

UNKNOWN - Dark Synthwave  v2

My 2nd ever attempt at making 16-bit music that sounds like it plays in a SEGA Genesis game. Started in late April 2022 and finished early May. It sounds catchy to my ears and gets stuck in my head often.

Made using Soundation's FM Synth feature.

Let's Get Going - FM Synth Test 2

My last FM Synth test project on Soundation before my subscription expired :-( . 

Note: I made it in only two days (so it's not perfect) but I am pleased with how it turned out. Dedicated to all fans of 16-bit video game music out there. Enjoy! :D

More info: There seems to be a lot of echoing since I used the DELAY effect on pretty much all of the melody. However, I remember some SEGA Genesis music having some degree of delay in them that gave it one of its charms.

I enjoy a lot of retro video game music, but somehow I am really drawn to SEGA Genesis-era style (FM synth) and want to get better at doing frequency modulation synthesis. I have more original FM Synth music planned.

Made using Soundation's FM Synth feature.

LEVEL 1 - FM Synth Test 4

It starts off briefly with a piano... And then the rest of the way, you might be taken to 1982...

I love this one. I started and finished it in 2021.  It is one of the few I am most proud of on Soundation, next to UNKNOWN, Receiving You v2, and FM Synth Test 2 - Let's Get Going. In this one, it starts with piano, but the rest of it is gonna be something else. REBOOT AGAIN - New Beginning is very special to me, which is probably why I hesitated posting it to my profile. I also associate it with androids and gynoids because it takes me to the early 80s.

I want to say more about it, but I may add it later.

REBOOT AGAIN - New Beginning

This track is one of the few drum and bass music projects I made on the DAW Cakewalk by Bandlab.

I used third-party plugins including VK-1 Viking Synthesizer for the bass and Amurg for the melody in the first half.

I used drum loops here for the drums because I can't always make a good drum and bass beat myself. (But I AM learning to get better at making my own.)

As for the title... the "sKillz" part of the title can refer to something like in sports, or video game skills (light fighting games or adventures games), or just any skills that you think are awesome... 

As long as they are skills that don't hurt/harm anyone!  ;D

Thanks for listening!

Show Me Your sKillz

In late 2022, I learned about a Netflix anime show called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and became curious about it. This music was inspired by my learning about it and being unsure if I'd ever see it. I started and finished this project in October 2022 but only got around to sharing it early 2024.

I have a few different MP3 exports/versions of this track, but this one is my favorite of them.

The thing with the sequencing instruments... it never ends up the same way every load or export. I tried to make a WAV file of this on a separate day, but the sequenced instrument didn't turn out the way I loved. Although I don't mind that version of it either, but the MP3 version is my favorite version and I wanted to share it here.

Hope you enjoy! ;D

Anyway... this makes me think of certain cybernetic characters being awesome and kicking butt, so hence the title.

(This is one of the very few tracks I am willing to share which software or VST plugins I used for a music project. I am demonstrating I am quite familiar with using a DAW and VST plugins to create digital music.)

DAW used: Cakewalk by Bandlab

* Bass (and then robot vocal near the end)l: VK-1 Viking Synthesizer Bass - 80s Bass
* Sequencing instrument: FB-3300, Blobs n Pops
* Chords: AMURG, Keys HYMN 
* Drums: Surge, SEQ Drum Loops 1 and 3
* Melody (later): RetroVibes2, Memory Strings
Finished off with Surge 3rd-party preset "Evilish" sound.

Sara's Cakewalk Projects

Cyberpunk Badass v1

Sara A. Watts, aka "SynthieSara," loves to listen to synthwave, especially 80s/70s retrowave, darksynth, cyberpunk, and video game music (mainly from the SEGA Genesis era). She also loves to make her own.

She also dabbles in creating some Drum and Bass, Chillwave, and Lo-Fi.

Sara is obsessed with creating digital music because she has so many ideas she wants to try in video game, retrowave, and lo-fi.

Sara has used these tools to create her original music:
* Soundation (web-based) (2019 - 2023?)
* Cakewalk by Bandlab (offline/software) as well as various 3rd-party plugins (2021 - 2023)
* Waveform Free 12 by Tracktion (offline/software), as well as various 3rd-party plugins (2023 - present)

Find more of SynthieSara's personal music projects at her Soundation profile page.

SynthieSara

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