Being my first official hybrid score, this minimal piece features master Bansuri performer Akshay Kalawar.

Follow the link to the full video  https://vimeo.com/78699749

The Secret Garden - Latest Mockup Featuring Akshay Kalawar

This is the latest mock up version of the scene where Nausicaä leaves the Valley of Wind to join Kushana's aerial armada.
Follow the link to my video production  https://vimeo.com/78699749

Riding The Wind (into battle)

Signifying a defining moment in the story Nausicaä finds herself in a marshy oasis where she finds an abandoned temple. She is identified as the returned apostle of a forbidden religion and she finds out that she is meant to restore man’s ties to the lost lands. This scene solidifies Nausicaä’s role to the reader by confirming all the broken stories and legends that had been unfurled during the first half of this story.
Follow the link to my music video  https://vimeo.com/78701633

The Enchanted Marsh

Derived from Desert Reunion I believe this piece captures the emotion of a world that is coming to a close. In Nausicaä's world humanity lives in its twilight years with scarcely two generations remaining for humankind. The presence of the The Forest People theme and the sadness of The Secret Garden are primary indicators of what WIndrider aims to explore. 
This piece was written with and recorded with an E-Mu Virtuoso 2000 sound module in 2002.

Windrider - Main Title

This piece came to me from the opening page of the manga where a glider pilot flies over a forest with huge robots erupting above its surface. The keyboard drone represents Nausicaä's glider "Mehve" as she gracefully moves upon the air while the ominous Taiko drums represent not only the robots but more so, the fact that Nausicaä wears a full face respirator that protects her from the poisons of a gargantuan forest of fungi.

The Seven Days of Fire

This is the piece I wrote for the battle at Sapata where Kushana and her third army take on the might of the Doroks war machine.
This is a remaster from cassette that was recorded circa 1992 using a Roland MT-32 and Roland JX-8P synthesizer.

Stand at Sapata

Like "The Pure Lands" This is a quick musical sketch of the scene where Mito and Axel are seeking Nausicaä only to find themselves confronted by an armada of Dorok Monitors. Of course, battle ensues leading straight into the next scene which is a desert reunion. When I listen to this piece I hear all sorts of things going on musically that are not present, as yet. This is a remaster of a cassetee recording circa 1993 where I used a Roland MT-32 sound module.

Battle in the Sky (Live Sketch)

This is a musical sketch representing the scene where Kushana and company find themselves flying with an angry swarm of insects. There are several mistakes in this performance but thats okay, It's only a sketch.
This recording was remastered from a cassette recording circa 1993 where I used a Roland MT-32 sound module and Roland JX-8P.

Advance of the Insects (Live Sketch)

This piece is for the scene where Charuka meets Nausicaä for the very first time. Under the circumstances Nausicaä had just been taken down by Dorok troops. When she stands up Charuka does not understand why the Dorok Emperor is so fearful of her for she does not act like the fanatic she was painted to be. Through impossible providence Nausicaä escapes her captors.
This is a remaster from a cassette recording circa 1992 using a Roland MT-32 & Roland JX-8P.

Escape from Sapata (Live Sketch)

This is my friend Gary Summers performing on guitar. This piece represents the point where Nausicaä must join the Ohmu herd below the miasma. On the way she identifies the relationship between the forest and the insects. 
This piece received its name from using a recording technique of flipping the reels of tape around and applying reverb to achieve the reversed electric guitar flourishes when flipped back and played in the correct orientation). Lastly, in emotional terms it represents to me the time of the falling out of our friendship and my wishes to undo the hurt for which I was responsible *sigh* The title is apt on many levels.

Reverse Time

This is a piece that is at its rawest stage and has never been developed further; a semi-live performance from 1994 using a Roland D-110 sound module recorded onto cassette tape. What we have with this piece is the basic structure of the piece - an intro and body with several repeating sections in the strings with brass support. The (very dated) string sound selected does in fact represent several sections of the orchestra while the panpipes represents Teto walking alongside of Nausicaä. 
I do have an explorative piece of Teto's theme in a separate recording that I have not made available at this time.

The Pure Lands (Sequenced Sketch)

The Forest People introduces a mysterious race of people who have abandoned fire and shunned human civilisation to live deep within the heart of a deadly poisonous forest called The Sea Of Corruption. These people were a forgotten legend almost lost to Nausicaä’s world until providence brought our heroes into their hands. Given Selm as the primary representative of these people, they appear to be gentle and caring in all of their dealings with life.
Follow the link to my music video  https://vimeo.com/31897797

The Forest People

This is my favourite piece from my Nausicaa CD. It was written for the scene in the manga where Master Yupa and company find themselves in a sort of tent within a campsite somewhere within the Sea of Corruption. This scene introduces the reader to an almost forgotten race of people called The Forest People. You will notice that this melody is shared with The Secret Garden which is a variation on this theme identifying Nausicaa's connection to the people of the forest. As a footnote this is a re-recording of the original version from 1990 featuring my Roland MT-32.

The Forest People (1990)

Here is a pop song I wrote in 2006 with inspiration from the computer game Kingdom Hearts. 
This was written exclusively with my E-Mu Virtuoso 2000 including sounds from Rob Papen's Techno Synth Construction Yard.

Japanese Adventure

At 1:23 am on the 26th of April 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power station experienced a catastrophic meltdown within 40 seconds of a decreased water pressure supply to it's nuclear reactor in a controlled experiment that resulted in a devastating series of explosions. With the nuclear reactor briefly experiencing a temperature of approx. 2600 C the result was the creation of a lava flow called corium consisting of liquid nuclear fuel, control rods, concrete and other reactor core materials. This corium flowed and collected into the lower floors of the facilities No.4 reactor building before solidifying into strange formations. The resulting deaths of this accident are estimated at 985,000 humans while contamination of the area is expected to last at least 100,000 years. Next to the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska (and probably the year in which I wrote this piece) these two manmade disasters stood tall in my young mind as an obscene testament to our societies flawed thinking that we live apart from the environment within which we cannot stray.
This piece was written in memory of those who died to save those they love and those who were exposed to the resultant radiation through no fault of their own; the innocent families, the young and the new born who came afterward. This piece also respects the beings (wildlife) of the surrounding forests and cities of Ukraine and Belarus who either perished or were otherwise grossly affected by the radiation and nuclear fallout of whose count and suffering we have no measure.
NB. Digital distortion from soundcloud's algorithm exists in this track as well. It should't be in the download 'tho.

Corium

This is my own reproduction of Jean-Michel Jarre’s electronic hit that I first heard at the age of seven. Until then I had never heard anything as exotic or as poetic as this and it instantly became my favourite synth piece. Using plug-in versions of the same synthesizers from that era (except the the chorus lead synth [RMI] which is impossible to replicate on a mac)I have for you Jean-Michel Jarre's Oxygen part IV.

Oxygene Part IV (SOL Cover)

Working hard to get my orchestral sample library to sound like a real orchestra. This is my own arrangement of Vaughan Williams' epic symphony created entirely with East West's Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra.

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (EWQL - SOL Cover)

I wrote this piece as a score for a short film titled Erratus (uncredited). It is a computer animation about a man whose spacecraft has left him stuck in a long abandoned city on a faraway planet. He finds a replacement part that could finally allow him to get back home. Does it work? You’ll have to find out for yourself. Darkness and Enlightenment was recently reworked into this single piece that furthers the original score for this film.

https://vimeo.com/52483838

Darkness & Enlightenment

One of the pieces that had a huge influence on my young mind was Popcorn of which you will find here my exacting reproduction of Hot Butter’s hit from 1972. There are some slight differences however, even at a young age I felt that the squelch coming from the arpeggiated rhythm was never enough and so I pushed this harder when programming the Moog Modular V also, there is a deliberate mistake in the drum track to make this version imperfect. The Soundcloud algorithm has crunched the upper frequencies giving it that MP3 quality we all love (roll eyes). Sound quality is compromised, sorry.

Popcorn 2020 (SOL Cover)

I wrote this piece for the scene where Nausicaä awakens within a coma to find herself confronted by the spectre of Miralupa (issue 2 Volume 4 of the original Viz comics publication). She inadvertently blasts away his black shroud to find herself in a void where the Ohmu had left her alone. I explore two themes here including Miralupa's Theme proceeded by Teto's Theme. This piece outlines Nausicaä's gruelling task of carrying the old man through the desert of bones following to where Nausicaä arrives at the entry into the Sea of Corruption.
This piece is remastered from my original 1994 cassette recording and is the most electronic of all the pieces which I have written on this subject. I used a Yamaha DX7 for the swirling organ sound.
Follow the link to my music video https://vimeo.com/37843757

The Awakening (Sequenced Sketch)

Actually titled "Chasing Moroder" this is my cover version of Giorgio Moroder's Chase mashed with Daft Punk’s "Giorgio By Moroder". I created this piece entirely within Logic using my suite of Arturia plugs. Taking two weeks to create, there exists but one sample from Random Access Memories otherwise, it's all me. I have attempted to be authentic to both pieces throughout.

The Chase Feat Giorgio Moroder & Daft Punk(SOL Cover)

Massive Attack's infamous song karaoke style. I have arranged this to Follow closely to the style of the original albeit with a different time signature.
I hope you like it.

Teardrop (Instrumental)

Inspired by Cloe the Border Collie and her single minded focus on chasing balls. I love you Cloe.

Cloe's Song

Painstakingly recreated from the original soundtrack this 4 Piece harp instrumental of Exploration from Coraline is the perfect backing track for discerning solo singers.

Coraline - Exploration (Instrumental)

I was inspired by Daft Punk/ Joseph Trapanese’s Tron Legacy to write this piece. Prelude has found itself as the opening sequence for an arpeggiated electronic piece that I conceived many years ago. The full-length piece remains unfinished.

PRELUDE

I have in mind an electronic version of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis and this closing sequence is an indication of where I might want to go with it. In this version (that I created for a university assignment) we have a very regimental, highly quantised performance that represents a lack of emotional understanding by an artificial intelligence that is attempting to understand its creators through music. This Ai lives in a distant future on Earth that is absent of mankind. The entrance of the solo violin represents the heart of mankind which was until this moment missing from the puzzle and therefore ignites the Ai’s understanding of emotion thereby elevating them into ascension heralding a new state of being.

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - Electronic Finale

This is my Space Opera, a thematic musical opening piece for a Sci-Fi/ Military television show or feature film. The piece takes you on a journey of discovery, politics and military might in the serene setting of outer space.

Space Opera

SPACE OPERA (Extended)

This is one of several piano pieces that are in the process of finding their own album. The working title is Pieces For Piano, which are to be a collection of fantasias and calming works such as this one. The piece presented here comes in three movements.

Movements for Piano

This is an excerpt of Installation from the film Coraline that I made myself so there is no copyright and it is completely downloadable for your concert needs. This instrumental is without the lead vocals, I created this for fans who want to perform this as a choral piece, it could also be used as background music for a sound design exercise. I listened to this track over and over to meticulously recreate it within my software sequencer and is the focus of my first attempt at recreating an orchestral score after receiving the platinum composers edition of East West’s orchestral sample library. The success of this exercise was also contingent on the use of reverb and the positioning of instruments within the sound stage. The lyrics are not present as this was not the aim of the exercise. The notation for all of the parts is also available with correct lyrics, if you want them just send me a request email and i'll send the pdf. If you would like a version of this recording with the boys choir removed I can do that for you too.

Be sure to check out my instrumental version of Exploration as well https://soundcloud.com/thesymphonyoflight/coraline-exploration

Installation - Coraline (Instrumental)

This piece was written for the scene where Kushana reminisces visiting her mother before leaving to join her troops at the front. It is a rather sad reunion that reveals Kushana's true motives and the surprising revelation of her life within the Torumekian royal family.

Click onto the video link above to watch the music video.

The Mad Empress

While reading The Lord Of The Rings I discovered a painting by John Howe called Gandalf that expressed to me the weight of responsibility that Gandalf had taken upon himself to overcome the threats to his world. That musical idea represents the opening stanzas of this piece. For a university assignment at Queensland Conservatorium I was required to write a solo piece and I chose to write for harp - being the body of this piece. For quite some time these two pieces existed separately yet the entire time I saw them as a whole so ultimately, I brought them together into this complete work for harp, piano, cor anglais & strings. The title comes from a time In my late teens where I would imagine that Faeries (using the Gaelic spelling) would dart around the unkempt garden outside of my bedroom window at twilight. Just like Dragons, I wished I could dance with them. 

Dancing With The Faeries

In the spirit of SoundCloud are presented a collection of original works that range from ideas to finished pieces. Karl Schaal as composer performs these works under the pseudonym “The Symphony of Light” which is the name given to his electronic music studio consisting of hardware synthesizers, modern soft synth plugs and sample players. Karl has been creating music for over 25 years, is formerly a lecturer for SAE/QANTM (Brisbane campus) and a graduate of sound design (distinction, QUT 2013). Karl is happy to respond to requests to create new works and otherwise, continues as a freelance recording/mix engineer and home studio consultant.
Karl is seeking a producer keen to take his electronic works to the next level and is likewise, very keen to write some original music for your short film or game project. If you are interested please do not hesitate to contact him at mail@thesymphonyoflight.com

The Symphony of Light

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