My brief for this track was dark fantasy action music.
I wrote the piece in a harmonically low register, and started out with a driving percussion line with just a simple celli ostinato to create that darkness.
In order to give it a real fantasy feel I added in the men's choir - "Voices of War" by Cinesamples.

I also wanted to put my own mark on it, drawing from my Irish traditional music roots. So I used the Uilleann Pipes (the Irish brother of the Scottish bagpipes) for the main melody.

The main section of this track can also be looped seamlessly - in order for a games developer to use in their game.

Dark Fantasy Action - Videogame demo (loopable)

Templar Castle Bulider Game - Official Trailer

I made this as a demo for a virtual choir instrument that I made.  My new house had a lot of natural reverb.  So I recorded myself multiple times from different rooms with microphones on the opposite side of the house.  Then I mixed together each recording into a choir and brought all the samples into the Decent Sampler application.

For this piece, I played a chord pattern using the choir and added other instruments that complimented the chords.

New House Choir

This is a fantasy Irish inspired orchestral piece.
Around a simple harp melody, I layer different Irish instrumentation such as low whistle and uilleann pipes, as well as a full orchestra to create this soundtrack.

I took inspiration from lots of my favourite fantasy media, such as The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Mistborne among others.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Whispers of a forgotten secret

This track was written around 2010 and never recorded until 2020. Features fiddle, guitar, piano and strings played by Damian McIlroy.

New Beginnings

This track came from an experiment in developing a rhythmic idea mathematically, as heard in the drum kit.
All of the instrumentation was recorded via MIDI and played by Damian McIlroy.

Contemplation Groove

Fantasy theme inspired by the image of a mystical forest.

Composed in Ableton using Spitfire Audio VSTs: BBSCO Discover and LABS.

Through Uncharted Lands

This little piece was made using various looping techniques in Ableton Live. I used a fantastic Rhodes electric piano plugin along with some other libraries and live acoustic guitar.

Where we're going, we don't need Rhodes

This is a commission I worked on for the dungeons and dragons liveplay podcast 'Dungeons and Randomness', for an animated trailer to promote an event before their new arc commenced.
I used strings, percussion and brass from Spitfire Audio's Albion One, Soft piano from LABS, grand piano from Ableton and Norse male choir from Cinesamples Voices of War.

The original trailer can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeVKK_TujT4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0Z24u_vNfxTqf_5YbW_e6fmJVVTLqdWnBqezAQ4tQ3IBTQItH0FttJYgk

Fallen

This is a short track I wrote for my wife. I pictured a couple walking alone through Central Park with the soft glow of the street lamps lighting their way, talking about life and happiness.

I composed in Ableton, using exclusively Spitfire Audio libraries: 
LABS Soft piano
Originals; Intimate Strings

If this is the feel you're looking for with your own film/TV project, feel free to get in touch to discuss us working together.

I hope you enjoy!

Lover's Walk By Starry Night

McIlroy Music

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Michelle Cross

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