Science Fiction Book Soundtracks

One of the tracks from StrangeFlavour's recent iOS game release from Pixel Pyro named AppleBob. Mixed in Ableton Live using a blend of old 8bit samplers, chip tunes and a moog little phatty

AppleBob Cofire

Author-created first (draft) track for the Original Novel Soundtrack for science fiction technothriller 'When Winter Calls'.

Neuro Noir (When Winter Calls ONS)

A quadruple-layered analog synth drives the arpeggio in this pulsating downtempo track.

The Pulse

Tape loop music using Red Panda Particle and Octatrack.
Samples used with kind permission from Dan Wheeler.
Original track, Spider Walk, composed by Dan Wheeler and performed by Lux String Quartet:
http://danonkeys.com/sounds/cq/daw-SpiderWalk-LuxQuartet.mp3
http://www.luxstringquartet.com/
https://soundcloud.com/dalvarezwheeler/spider-walk

Drunken Spider

Experimental track sequenced with Squarp Pyramid. Synths used were Streichfett, Proteus, and UltaNova. Recorded with R24.

Fragmented

An electronic arabesque loosely based on elements from Abraham Merritt's stories of the Moon Pool.
©2016

"Closer it drew and now there came to me sweet, insistent tinklings—like pizzicati on violins of glass; crystal clear; diamonds melting into sounds!"

Science Fiction Thematic: The Moon Pool by A. Merritt

An improvised track with me playing guitar into the electribe2. I was just jamming around, but I loved the result so much that I thought I would share it. This is the first time that I did a solo. It's a little sloppy, but I loved it the way it was. I used a Zoom R8 to record, Audacity to master, Zoom G1xon effects for guitar, and Eletribe2 for everything else.

Drifting

Get out your neuronic roadmap and take an archeaopsychic journey into the shadowed Triassic waters of J. G Ballard's  "The Drowned World".  
©2016

Science Fiction Thematic: The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard

Science Fiction Thematic: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys

     From 1960, a meditation on life and death from Latvian SciFi author Algis Budrys.
    Scientist Edward Hawks creates a device that can teleport clones to the Moon.  The purpose of these duplicates is to explore the secrets of a deadly alien artifact(BDO) that, once entered, offers no exit and kills entrants in unexpected ways. Hawks enlists the aid of steely adventurer, Al Barker, as the experiences of the clone can be transmitted back to the clonee in an isolation chamber—but all volunteers have gone insane after experiencing death by proxy!  Does Al do it for the Thrill of it all, or for the Prestige?  One of my all-time favorites.

    Recorded in 7/4, it begins with a slightly jaunty melody that quickly devolves into a more ominous atmosphere.  The center section converts to a 4 over 7 procession backed by quirky arpeggios in Just C intonation with scattered clone screaming accompaniment.  The ending is a bittersweet, slightly off-kilter 10 over 7 rhapsody to represent the lunar conclusion.  The clones of Hawks and Barker complete the death machine maze, but cannot return to Earth to confront their originals.  Hawks, ever the scientist, stoically waits for the air in his suit to run out, while Barker, the stubborn thrill seeker, marches off to find a way back to Earth.

Thanks for listening! 


Science Fiction Thematic: Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys

Short piece using only Mininova synth, no soft synth or drum machines.

Turres

Symmetriads, and Mimoids, and Vertebrids, oh my!

Lem’s magnum opus on the possibilities of man’s interaction with extraterrestrial life.  Psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at Solaris Station, which drifts above the bizarre planetary-sized ocean organism it is named after, in a search for answers both personal and scientific.  The skeleton crew is only the tail end of the long, declining study of the Solaris phenomenon.  However, due to an X-ray bombardment experiment, they have “piqued” the interest of the living sea, causing it to reciprocate their attentions with neutrino-based puppets from the unconscious.  Horror and hilarity ensue.

A great deal of the novel is devoted to exposition of an imaginary trail of literature and treatises on the history of Solarid studies—one of Lem’s great strengths.  I have, in my own humble way, attempted to interpret some of the “alien-ness” described in 7 short musical sections.   

Is Solaris a soulless funhouse mirror simply reflecting humanity’s own distorted view of itself?  Or is it a giant, indifferent alien God turning a magnifying glass on humanity as children would to an anthill?  What does a planet do in its spare time? Can music resolve any of these philosophical questions?  Probably not, but it can make the search more pleasant. 

Thanks for listening!

Science Fiction Thematic: The Moon Pool by A. Merritt

Alan M. Kaim

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