Land of Fans and Music - Commentary
10.9k words across 104 entries.
Land of Fans and Music Land of Fans and Music (album commentary) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube (playlist)
Elaine Wang: (booklet commentary, front)
So. I'm Elaine Wang, orngjce223, electronic orange juice; and I do stuff. A lot of stuff really, like dragging a friend along on a dizzy jaunt through philosophy and moral free will in the context of Skaianet Laboratories, while writing an outline as to how to create a Rose Strider AU, while attempting to forecast whether GIF or PNG images will be readable in fifty years, while tossing around a rhythm in my head which might or might not turn into a song, while figuring out what environment variables to set in a bash shell to make it look as much like Homestuck as possible, while doing pixel art to fill in the gaps, while cooking pasta.
...No wait, not all at once. Or the pasta burns and I have to throw it out and start over. It is a thing that has happened more than once, sad to say. But I digress.
I came to Homestuck via following the network of webcomic artists via those piles of links they have, "these are some other webcomics that are cool".
I catch up right about [S] John: Sleep.
[S] is very cool. I follow that bracketed letter like a Pied Piper, through WV: Ascend, through Rose's entrance and Dave's entrance and the Midnight Crew. I follow it through Descend (which is right around when a certain someone I was close to realized I liked Homestuck more than I did him. Oops, I guess there's a reason I identify as asexual). Idly I venture onto the forums, with fanfiction and speculation and world-building.
Then someone called Bill Bolin doesn't want his music in the comic anymore for some reason. So something not entirely unlike this happened:
"Hey hey isn't that bassline going to have to be replaced?"
"Yeah, we'll take care of it."
"Oops. I already made a bassline for you. Here here listen to it."
"That's nice. Now run along."
"Can I do something else maybe? Please? For later?"
"Don't push your luck."
This is about when I figured out that yes, there is a thing called the music team and no, they're not accepting applications. Oh well. I just figure I'll keep making music since I started.
And then I just never stop.
So this is basically how I came to want to collect this music, polish it. People tend to complain about having to take the time to download the entire fanmusic thread one song at a time - and those people probably don't really have an inkling of how much good is in fanmusic.
This album is a celebration of fanmusic, yes - but it's also intended as somthing to bring it to more people than would ordinarily venture onto a forum thread, several dozen pages long, in the Art Forum, in the MSPA fan forum, tucked away in a small corner of the Internet.
So while you're here, I'll say two things:
Firstly, maybe there's something you think you want to do. Maybe you're not good at it, but if you like it, and you practice, and you have people to give you good critical feedback on how good you are at it, it'll become something you're good at. Ask someone who's good at something and they'll say the same thing. (There are exceptions, like six-fingred pianists and seven-foot-tall basketball players. Not often, though.)
And secondly, if you don't already know about what Homestuck is before this, maybe you should look. It is a tale of four children, and the beta test of a game put out by a mysterious company. It is a tale of twelve trolls, and two games that turn out to put one in danger of life and limb. It is a tale of four archagents, and a mansion run by a man with a cueball for a head. It is a tale of spirit quests and hilarious-looking weapons and data structures and self-consistent time travel and what happens when creativity is the driving force of the universe.
🎵🎵🎵 So that's all that I want to say, really.
Enjoy the music.
~ Forward by Elaine Wang (electronic orange juice/orngjce223)
Catboss and melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary, back)
CREDITS
Thanks to all the musicians who contributed their tracks to this album!
Alex Rosetti
Artisticpolo
Brad "Avinoch" Griffin
Brenna "Random Encounter" Curran
Chase
D. Crystal
Elaine Wang (electronic orange juice/orngjce223)
EnnuiKing
Erik "Jit" Scheele
Eston "silence" Schweickart
Evan "The Z-W" Copeland
Fuzz
Gec (Eligecos)
Goatmon
Hames
Ian White (MyUsernamesMud)
Isoraķatheð Zorethan F.
Jeremy "Solatrus" Iamurri
Joe Griffith
Kristian "Dacen" Anderson
Mai Yishan (konec0)
Mal "Noctune" McGannon
Marcy Nabors (Steamlord313/Shadolith)
Max "Imbrog" Wright
Miss Prince
Ralen Gainsborough
Red Pen
Robert J! Lake
Robert "Kali" Blaker
SparksD2145
Steve Everson
The Lovable Tramp
Thomas "EidolonOrpheus" Ferkol
Toby "Radiation" Fox
Traikan
Trent "Trogg" West
James "Squid Pilgrim" Dever
tynic
Well Manicured Man
Xenocidebot
Yan "Nucleose" RodriguezThanks to all the artists who drew album art for this album!
Aelyrin
august
Brad "Avinoch" Griffin
catastrophicGenesis
Cheers
crepuscular "seedy" Dissembler
Dalmationer
Elaine Wang (electronic orange juice/orngjce223)
JNJ
kayak
Mal "Nocturne" McGannon
melodiousDiscord
Miff
motorizedBootlegger
Pancake-Fairy
Quirk
Red Pen
Robert J! Lake
Tawa
TheifofTruth
tT Twigwise
umibouzu
Well Manicured Man
Yee-Tvae Corinst
ZillenioseCommentary booklet cover and background art by Well Manicured Man:
Willow Ascenzo: (booklet cover)
JNJ: (bonus art)
august: (bonus art)
Quirk: (bonus art)
Catboss and melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary, back)
Thanks to everyone who nominated tracks for this album!
Avi
KumaZone
Lieutenant-General Waltyr J. Fish
rogue of void
spacetimeCounselor
Steven "Solaris" AdamesSPECIAL THANKS
To Elaine Wang (electronic orange juice/orngjce223), for initiating the project, and for writing the foreword to this booklet.
To Jeremy "Solatrus" Iamurri, for his magnificent work in mastering the album.
To Mai Yishan (konec0) and melodiousDiscord, for pushing the project forward, and crafting the commentary booklet.
To Robert J! Lake, for giving us a spot on Homestuck Gaiden.
To the music team, for gifting us with a veritable smorgasboard of sound.
To Andrew Hussie, for authoring the nexus of sheer creative energy we call Homsetuck.
To anyone else who we might have forgotten, and to everyone who didn't contribute art/music/nominations, but supported the project nonetheless.
Lastly,
Thanks to everyone who listened to our music!
We hope you enjoyed the first-ever Homestuck Fanmusic Album!
Unknown, but maybe Robert J! Lake: (Bandcamp about blurb)
Comes with a commentary booklet! It's cool!
Unknown, but maybe Robert J! Lake: (Bandcamp credits blurb)
Various fan musicians (see individual songs for who did what)
Album cover and page header by melodiousDiscord
Beginnings (Press Start to Play) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Catboss: (booklet commentary)
So I might as well start off with a brief self-introduction. Hello everynyan! I'm konec0. Sometimes I do fanmusic. Sometimes that fanmusic ends up being non-Nepetaquest related (rare!) and finds its way on to the Fanmusic thread.
This is not one of those songs.
Near the start of this fanmusic album project orngjce223 asked for someone to remix MK_97's "Homestuck Title Theme", while incorporating more motifs from Homestuck's music. I decided sure why not? And then this song was born. So Beginnings is a remix of a remix, really. The original was a remix of "Skies of Skaia" - I added the motifs from "Homestuck" and "Alternia" because I felt they were representative of the kids' and the trolls' journeys respectively. I mean come on, the title is RIGHT THERE. So yeah.
Since it was a title screen tune, I pretty much drew on what I remembered from game title screens to make it. Really, the only specific influence I can recall is that the piano part at the end was inspired by Kingdom Hearts' title screen tune ("Dearly Beloved"). I love that song.
Fun fact: I didn't realise for a while that "Homestuck" and "Alternia" were technically remixes themselves, making this a 3x remix-of-remix combob.
Catboss: (SoundCloud description, excerpt)
> NEW GAME
LOAD GAME
One of my two submissions to the Land of Fans and Music album, an unofficial compilation of fanmusic created within the Homestuck fandom. The other submission was MeGaDanceVaNia.
This was not only the first track on the album, but really the only track that was specifically composed for the album. Or remixed, rather. The initiator of the project, OJ, requested for a remix to be done of MK_97's "Homestuck Title Screen," while incorporating more motifs from the comic. I took up that request, and churned this out.
This song was basically a nostalgia bomb for me; I just had to think back to the days of playing SNES-era RPGs, and what I thought a title screen tune should sound like. Chrono Trigger's title screen tune, in particular, was a big influence, as was the simple "Dearly Beloved" from Kingdom Hearts. The chiptune aesthetic certainly helped!
Downtime Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Thomas Ibarra: (booklet commentary)
My younger sister is responsible for my admiration of MSPA: she desrves the first line of this commentary, because she is awesome. Problem Sleuth has always held a place in my heart; with the rise of Homestuck, MSPA continues to be a beacon of awesome. I have never before been faced with such a preposterous amount of talent in any fandom, and the MSPA Community continues to grow and evolve in such a way that smashes through any "threshold" of artistic creativity. I am inspired, and wish to inspire.
My knowledge in FL Studio is limited to what I have learned over the years in tinkering with it, to be honest. As such, my composition "Downtime" is actually pretty simplistic from a technical standpoint; my teachers have always told me, "the simpler, the better." I have always disliked this sentiment, but reluctantly I've come to understand the necessity of simplicity in my works. My sister - who wishes to be unnamed becuase "lol, internet" - was the mastermind behind this piece; I functioned as merely the interpreter to her excellent judgment. I was given the task of weaving Showtime and Showdown together, and my result became Downtime.
Honestly, I never thought Downtime would receive as much attention as it has, let alone its own place in an awesome fan-music album alongside (in my opinion) better artists than myself. I'm grateful that it's well received, and I hope to continue composing - even if only to inspire those that listen.
Thanks, MSPA.
Doctor (Deep Breeze Mix) Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Solatrus: (booklet commentary)
I started reading Homestuck in mid January of 2010, but never really found myself absolutely hooked. So, I really took my time getting through it, especially Acts 1 and 2.
By the time I had gotten to the start of Act 4, I was a month behind in the story. However, just hearing Doctor for the first time completely blew me away, as I'm quite sure MANY fans reacted. The first thing I did? Started making a fan remix. I didn't want to work on it for too long, but I figured I should register and post what I had on the MSPA Forums. It was called a "First Pwnst" by Dacen, and brought the Music Team's very own Perry Sullivan (perrybob) "to tears." I ended up finishing up the track about a week and a half later, but the release you hear on this album is an improved edit and remaster.
Deep Breeze Mix turned more heads than I had expected it to, and is one of the reasons (with the other being another fan remix-turned official remix) I now am humbly and proudly on the Music Team.
Credit to AndrewNeo of Skaia.net for the track's name.
Meltwater Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Elaine Wang: (booklet commentary)
Okay, so. What happens when Jade's planet melts?
Let's see. A long sample of a small mountain stream (mountain streams are melted snow after all). Some pipe and wind samples and string samples, balance the hollow against the warm.
The first version of the song is done within six hours of the flash revealing Jade's land. Trying to transcribe directly from Flash is kind of difficult since there is a very inconvenient pause (right-click, uncheck Play; check the box again when you want to start listening again) and no rewind.
Then Solatrus quietly takes me aside and tells me I've latched onto the wrong melody. Oops.
That fixed, I started piling harmonics on top. Some more pipes, and strings, and a xylophone just to be contrary. Staccato strings are fun.
Initially everything is piled on top, in the center. In revision for the album I pan everything back and forth. It may be noted that this song still sounds perfectly fine in mono, though.
Crystalanachrony Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Willow Ascenzo: (booklet commentary)
If I had to pin this song to just one of Homestuck's swelling cast of characters, it would have to be Aradia. When we first meet her in the Hivebent act, she's an emotionless ghost who later becomes a ghost frog, then a ghost in a robot body (or a "ghost in the shell" :rimshot:), before making her final sea change into a cheerful fairy god with time powers (which explains the ticking and subtle reverse melodies of the song, at least). The peppy piano and melancholy backing strings and woodwinds represent these aspects of Aradia's presonality - accustomed to death, she acts as a cheery Charon for her fallen teammates. I built the piano melody (and the title) out of Alex Rosetti's "Crystalanthemums" because to me, ever since [S]: Make her pay, the tune has been irrevocably linked to the trolls, Aradia, Terezi, and Vriska in particular. It also translated to a peppy piano melody much better than Toby Fox's "psych0ruins" would have.
This song is also an homage to Michiru Yamane's impressive body of soundtrack work for the various Castlevania games.
The Land of Wind and Shade Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
KDMAnderson: (booklet commentary)
The cool blue landscape of LOWAS, with its winding rivers of oil and bio-luminescent sky, has always been one of my favourite pieces of imagery from the Homestuck Universe. It's dreamy topography sucks me in, and before I can protest I've been seated and presented with a wine list. "Nothing but the finest fermented crude for you", they say. Well okay. It's not particularly tasty, but it's nice to look at and has a nice finish.
I compose a lot of music for solo instruments, not so much for electronics. When it struck me that I might like to make a tune in tribute of Homestuck, I immediately thuoght of the cobalt vistas of LOWAS. I was playing around with a new tuning at the time (I'm a huge fan of weird guitar stuff) and found that it had the most amazing capabilities for melody and harmony using nothing but Harmonics! Eventually I just hit the right notes at the right time and the piece practically wrote itself.
I'd like to shout out to the Music Squad for being rad bros, and a super relieved thanks to Silence for helping me mix the tune.
Tuning: C G Bb F C D
KDMAnderson: (composer, YouTube, excerpt)
I wrote this in the early half of 2010, when I was particularly into a webcomic called Homestuck. I discovered this tuning and the piece just sort of leapt out of the instrument.
It turns out that this is actually one of the harder tunes in my repertoire to play because it's waaay too easy to cack on some of those harmonics and shatter the delicacy of the thing.Hey! This piece got featured in a Homestuck fanmusic album! I think it's the only not-electronic piece on the whole record!
It's free so go pick it up RIGHT NOW!
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
There, uh, isn't that much to tell about this piece. I had originally envisioned John sitting with his legs hanging over the edge or something and I have a clearer idea now of what I could have done! But this was back at the start of the project and my art skills were rusty so yeah. Very simple piece. Just the land based off of what we see in the comic, and John.
Thought and Flow Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Steve Everson: (booklet commentary)
This track is part of a remix project that I began after a major computer failure that cost me most of my audio files and music project. The overall objective was to remix the themes from the levels of Sonic 3 & Knuckles into music for each troll, a project that is still slowly ongoing.
This particular theme is for Terezi, based on the Hydrocity Zone music. I went for a jazzy remix, largely because I felt it tied in well with her prosecutioner thing. I think it's an interesting look at how my abilities have developed since I first wrote the piece - I had to make adjustments just to be satisfied putting it on this album.
catastrophicGenesis: (booklet commentary)
As it happens, drawing giant sky neurons is incredibly fun. Ancient runined temples, not so much fun and also incredibly difficult to shade right, but there you go. I am ashamed I did not manage to work in any Sonic the Hedgehog references, though.
First Guardian, Last Stand Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Chase: (booklet commentary)
I can see this as music for Spades Slick and Doc Scratch's confrontation. Kind of like a fistfight in a 20s-era speakeasy. Except with less fists and more candy. And chiptunes.
...uh, never mind.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
This one was a bit of an oops moment haha! The way it was originally posted, I had thought the song title was "Chasing Fireflies" but as it turns out, that is Chase's full username. I had already made this up though. Doc Scratch standing on John's planet for some reason. With fireflies in the background.
Land of Wrath and Angels Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Ian White: (booklet commentary)
Land of Wrath and Angels was a melody that I had been ignoring for about a year now. I brought it up when we were trying to hash out some Troll leitmotifs and instruments for the Hivebent Radioplay (remember when that was a thing?) It was for Eridan(!) I guess I liked the idea of him pining over a giant pipe organ cause he thought that's what evil guys are supposed to do whenever they get scorned, by girls usually. I myself felt the sick sting of scorn when Dacen suggested an accordion or French horn might suit Eridan better. WELL FUCK YOU DACEN. LoWaA was the last in a series of 12 short songs I made for the Troll Planets. It was actually revealed a solid 4 or 5 months after the other 11, so I really wanted to make it stand out as the big finale of my (kind of pointless) musical excursion. I'm also lazy though so I just rehashed an old melody I had lying around. Then I threw in some rocking guitar and pounding drums and angry synths and called it a day. At some point I realized that the initial melody kind of gets lost in the balance, so I repeated it at the end all clear and pretty-like with harps and clarinets, which actually turned out to be my favourite part of the song, so yay.
Mud Fact: I wrote the second part of the melody when I was 12 and trying to play the Castlevania 4 theme by ear. I was kind of dumb when I was 12.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
LoWaA was the first piece where I started to get creative. I saw a really cool looking LoWaA on DevArt and wanted to replicate the gothic atmosphere it created with the same color scheme. So I came up with this. A cathedralesque building in the foreground with Eridan sneaking around and a collection of other buildings in the back with Angels looking for him.
Ruins of Rajavihara Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Red Pen: (booklet commentary)
Ruins are majestic. Ruins are mysterious. And to me, ruins are really really awesome.
I went into "Ruins of Rajavihara" with the intent of creating a piece of music one might hear in the "ruins" level fo a videogame; solemn and full of mystery while still sounding pretty cool and fast-paced. Rajavihara is a beautifully overgrown temple in Cambodia, and there are a lot of influences from that part of the world in the piece, from instrument choice to rhythm and tune.
I hope this music invokes the ruins in Homestuck, from the Frog Temples to the many strange structures scattered across each Land. These are some of my favorite features in the comic, and I wanted to create something cool for them.
Mal McGannon: (booklet commentary)
This is a slick song, and I have to say I liked it a lot when I first heard it. But it didn't ring out to me as a frog ruins song, which I feel like it might have been intended to be; instead, I got very vivid images from LOFAF in my mind. So when I 1) saw this song needed art and 2) stumbled across the fact that 2a) Rajavihara is a real place and 2b) Hussie used it as LOFAF scenery in Jade: STRIFE!!!!!!!, it was only logical that I take a picture of the real ruins (thanks Wikipedia!) and do some poor hue shifting and dodging and burning to it as "art".
Also, I drew those flowers. But that doesn't really matter. This song is what matters, and this song is really, really, really really good. So stop reading my drivel and close your eyes and soak it in!
Vigilante ~ Cornered Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Brenna Curran: (booklet commentary)
1:34 4M, TH3 12TH OF 6TH P3R1G33, ST4NDOFF.
1 C4N T4ST3 TH3 V1C3 1N TH3 41R TON1GHT. 1T H4NGS H34VY L1K3 4 LOWL1F3 D4NC1NG W1TH TH3 G4LLOWS.
1M TR4CK1NG DOWN 4 P3RP W1THOUT 4 PURPOS3. 4 MURD3ROUS GR1FT3R OF TH3 MOST TURNCO4T3D K1ND.
MY ONLY TRU3 COMP4N1ONS 4R3 4 SOFT PLUSH, H4RD JUST1C3 4ND TH3 M34N STR33TS B34T DOWN BY 3V3RY GOON 4ND GUN TO 3V3R K1SS TH3 P4V3M3NT.
T41LS, TH3YR3 GO1NG DOWN.
H34DS...
1 COULD N3V3R S33 TH4T S1D3 OF TH3 CO1N.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
After a fierce battle with the Marquise Mindfang, Redglare flees the battle feeling content that she has dealt a blow to her arch-nemesis. Mindfang looks down focusing her powers and concentrating on her foe, but to no avail. The Neophyte has already guarded her mind against the invasion. And so with a cackle from one, and a curse from the other the two combatants go their separate ways until their next encounter.
A Fashionable Escape Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Yan Rodriguez: (booklet commentary)
Ah this is one of those songs I'm particularly proud of for making. It was for this AU thing I was doing, in which Kanaya Maryam was a super secret spy having to break into the Big Boss Sollux's base with Karkat as an informer. That didn't pan out though, but I still managed to make this beauty. It's heavily, heavily inspired by Yoko Kanno, my favorite composer. The idea is that the first half is when she's sneaking about going through, knowing that this is important, THIS IS SERIOUS, and she can't risk it here. She stumbles upon a computer, with a typewriter as a keyboard for whatever reason, and then the alarm goes off she gets caught and the big bad chase action scene starts. I had worked on it for about a month, and I kept losing progress because of crashes, but Silence convinced me to finish it, and boy am I glad he did.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
A nice, simple piece. Fashion in Homestuck is associated with Kanaya in my mind so I came up with the idea of Kanaya seeking to escape something, and then halfway through the song the klaxon alarm kicks in. Thus we get this piece of art.
Clockbreaker Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Mal McGannon: (booklet commentary)
I've always liked the Midnight Crew album, Drawing Dead; it's got this delicious synergy between jazz and techno with a dark overtone that is super sexy. (I'm a big fan.) Another thing I'm a big fan of is Jit and his music, because Jit's mad talented. So when I was in the shower one morning (where I do my best thinking) and I had the idea for a Midnight Crew cover of Jit's song from The Felt, "The Broken Clock", I filed it away under "future stuff to do", because it's rare I have what I consider a good idea with regards to composition.
So I worked for quite a while on this: improvising on piano, listening to Drawing Dead over and over and analyzing the different styles of each instrument, writing things down, plugging them into my computer, hating it, writing new parts, adding material, cutting material, hating it more, et cetera, ad infinitum. The final result is still something I'm not completely happy with, but I think I can declare it as done as it'll ever be. So, I hope you enjoy it, and the rest of the first ever Homestuck Fan Album!
Brad Griffin: (booklet commentary)
When drawing this I learned that I can't draw clocks well in perspective, so I googled a clock and Photoshopped it in. Take notes, kids: use technology to hide your faults!
Quartz Lullaby Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Evan Copeland: (booklet commentary)
This is a piece I wrote one night when I was having trouble sleeping, fittingly enough. In retrospect, I think I took influence from Dire Dire Docks and Crystalanthemums with this song. I enjoy listening to it, and hopefully others will too.
Fun fact: the music box meldoy was originally one octave lower, and an entirely different instrument. The music box ended up sounding terrible in that octave, so I raised it.
Another fun fact: I completely forgot that "Jade's Lullaby" was a track from Volume 5. This song is unrelated.
kayak: (booklet commentary)
This is a very simple, soothing song that might have been played by one of the musicboxes Aradia had. Aradia could have fallen asleep with this tune in her ears, leaving visions of a wonderful world of melody and musicboxes in her dreams.
Dance of the Wayward Vagabond Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Alex Rosetti: (booklet commentary)
I wrote this for a composition assignment almost two years ago. It was still very early on in Homestuck and the Wayward Vagabond was currently the only exile we'd been introduced to. This was also before I really started contributing "official" Homestuck music, so when I wrote this I thought of it as being more inspired by Homestuck and left it in the fan music thread. The performance features myself on piano and Meghan Kininger on bassoon.
catastrophicGenesis: (booklet commentary)
My first attempt at drawing any of the carapace people in full, basically. Serenity rapidly became my favourite character ever to draw, closely followed by Citizen Beans. I kid. Mostly.
Joker Strife Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Eligecos: (booklet commentary)
This song was originally called Ghost Aqua. I created this song for a hypothetical strife theme for Gamzee. Though the song didn't start off that way.
I dug this composition of mine from an old MIDI and played around with it a lot. It has gone through many identities but with no real purpose. But one thing was certain that this song started off being a carnival boss sort of theme.
After a few recent chagnes, I thought I should carry that carnival spirit back into the song and tailored it for Gamzee theme. But what really makes it a Gamzee song is the horn. Can't have a Gamzee song without it. Honk!
Brad Griffin: (booklet commentary)
Uh.... I just wanted to draw Gamzee. That's the whole story for this one. Sorry.
Sunshaker Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
D. Crystal: (booklet commentary)
i made this song thing
and it's like a silly jazz rendition of this other song
and people seemed to think it was okay
and um
that's about it
Sburban Rush Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Ralen Gainsborough: (booklet commentary)
A while back, the MSPA forums had the "Forapocalypse", and everyone had their avatars enter the medium one way or another to 'survive' the forums going down.
I was a little late to the party, so I decided to have a little fun at my own expense by starting a forum adventure called "The Straggler", in which my character is late and must enter the medium on his own.
I basically condensed the beginning events of Homestuck into a 20 second flash animation, so I decided to play on that same idea for the bgm. I came up with a remix that was a 20 second 8-bit loop track based on Sburban Jungle. I added the bridge and fadeout at a later time to make it nicer to listen to on its own.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
I have always liked silhouette pieces. I knew that I wanted to draw John running. I briefly considered doing all four kids but decided against it, Sburban Jungle is John's theme after all, and the color scheme would look better with just him. From there it was a simple matter of posing him and arranging the rest of the piece. I think that this is one of the ones I am most proud of, even if it's very simple.
Prince of Seas Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Max Wright: (booklet commentary)
This piece was an interesting one for me, and not only because it was my first try at composing something orchestral. My original plan was to make it a sad, slow song with the theme I'd come up with; at least that's what it sounded like it should do in my head. But when I showed the theme to people, the replies were all that it sounded piratey. So that was the new direction I decided to take, and eventually I ended up with Prince of Seas. Little bit of trivia; originally I'd named it Jack (after Jack Sparrow), but of course that wouldn't have fit into Homestuck at all... so I just modified Eridan's title.
I'd originally written this before Eridan had any sort of theme for his character... and before he, uh, went off the deep end. So when it starts off, it's proud! It's powerful! Wwho is this Eridan you speak of? I am Dualscar, terror of the Alternian Seas, annihilator of the land-dwwellers! However, the middle section emphasizes the real him; a guy plagued by too many FEELINGS and PROBLEMS. But ha, he won't take any of THAT lying down, no sir! /explosive finale
crepuscularDissembler: (booklet commentary)
This was made using some very ancient techniques, by which I mean mspaint and a mouse. The drawing is very busy in terms of shapes and lines, so I tried to keep the palette simple.
I intended this to have a bit of an iconic feel (note the orange halo formed by the clouds).
Atomik Meltdown Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
James Roach: (booklet commentary)
I liked the idea of Ebonpyre being used as a strife theme for Dave, so I wanted to go a little further with it. I imagined Dave using a lot of time-skipping while he fights (as represented by the record scratches)
Atomik Meltdown was probably my first real foray into fanmusic. I had written two remixes previously, but I didn't really spend much time on them. Looking back on this song now, all I can see are the mistakes and the naive part arrangement. At the time I remember really being excited about this. Thank you for the nomination.
Pancake-Fairy: (booklet commentary)
All the warning siren things in it made me feel that a powerplant was about to explode. So obviously Dave needs to be jumping out of a swirling mass of liquid fire at an interesting angle to show this.
Jackie Treats Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Artisticpolo: (booklet commentary)
This is a commentary! Just saying this in case you accidentally clicked on this pdf and got lost.
But anyway, I guess I should talk about my track 'Jackie Treats'. The initial creation, or rather, remixing, of this track started - as far as I can remember - when I began messing around with one of the melodies of from 'Liquid Negrocity', which is probably one of my favourite pieces off the Midnight Crew album.
I created quite a neat little piano piece, which is heard at around 0:59 to 1:10. This is pretty much what helped me get into a rhythm for the song, and before I kenw it I began composing around it. It was probably towards the very end of the song, when I added the jazz organ into the piece that made me think of 'Bec Noir' having horrible thoughts concerning dog treats. So I decided to name the WIP track 'Jackie Treats' (The name kinda stuck).
Lastly, I needed to improve the intro. It was bad or something. So I decided to mix in Frost to help create a little symbolism here and there about BN and Jade's relationship.
Pancake-Fairy: (booklet commentary)
I drew the picture this way because the track was inspired by the Snausages page where Bec feels love towards Jade. In this piece he's putting his trust in Jade as she is holding said treats, meanwhile Dave is sneaking up behind him for an attack.
Skaian Air Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Trent West: (booklet commentary)
Here's a little song I made after the update with John and WV in the flying car. I don't really have much to say about it, I was fucking around on my keyboard one day and played those chords you hear and thought "yeah sure that sounds good" (I have no fucking clue about chord progression or any other technical shit). I added the stuff at the beginning next because it sounded weird just jumping right into the chords. The drums are a combination of a preset that comes with Fruity Loops with a filter over it and a sampled drum loop I had lying around with some echo and reverb. The drums near the end are some more samples I threw into a slicer and distorted.
I don't really have a plan or anything when I make a song, so whatever happens kinda just happens, which is probably why I have nothing to say here. But either way I'm flattered that people even wanted me on this album so thanks for letting me join this project.
Elaine Wang: (booklet commentary)
Skaian air is Skaian air. A lazy copy-paste job with some hills under it is a lazy copy-paste job with some hills under it.
In hindsight maybe I should've added more dead pawns.
Sburban Elevator Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Alex Rosetti: (booklet commentary)
All I remember was someone requesting Sburban Jungle in the style of elevator music so out pops this thing.
Moody Mister Gemini Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Thomas Ferkol: (booklet commentary)
Sollux seemed a moody fellow when he was first introduced, so I tried to capture the image he gave. This piece is much different from what I generally made at the time, more complex and faster paced than say Grudgebearer or Blind Legislacerator. There is a lot of contrasting dynamics thrown in, supposed to be reminiscent of his split personality. The piano line where both hands are playing sixteenth notes near the end is my favorite part. There isn't much else to say. It's moody and for mister Gemini.
umibouzu: (booklet commentary)
To me, "Moody Mister Gemini" just screamed film noir. I imagined Sollux dressed like Problem Sleuth, sitting at the bar of a smoke-filled jazz lounge with a cigarette in one hand and stiff drink in the other.
Starkind Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Toby Fox: (booklet commentary)
I saw the updates for Rose blowing stuff up and finding that giant Captchalogue card with the Green Sun on it, and then someone said "is that a strife specibus card? What would that be? Starkind?" or something to that effect. And that inpsired me to make a pretty awesome boss song that was too much like other things I've made to put on an album.
Brad Griffin: (booklet commentary)
Originally this picture didn't have Rose in it at all. It was just a generic silhouette standing, holding a star on a specibus card. That was kinda lame, and didn't really fit the feel of the song. I think I improved it.
Maibasojen Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Isoraķatheð Zorethan F.: (booklet commentary)
Well, what have we... Felt (SI: HS\MUS:B0) got me thinking about time signatures, and also lumping multiple together. This is the fruition of this endeavor. Granted, it's not any good, but this may be the one piece where you have a 30/30 time signature (4/4 overlay 5/5 overlay 6/8). It's a little bit tired; stumbling; drunk... much like the first time when I first found this comic, I would assume. That was about two years ago.
(On an unrelated note, this applies to table tennis very well.)
Isoraķatheð Zorethan F.: (wiki communications over email, excerpt)
Hello.
Maibasojen[1] is a piece of music that I made as part of a long-ago project to make 26 pieces, one for each of the alphabet.[2] It turns out that at the time I was really into Homestuck, and also I learnt about hemiola[3] and thought that the time-warping nature kind of felt similar to whatever mess the Felt was doing, so the idea was that I put the two together and tried to work that in as a submission. I remember distinctly that it was almost meant to be discarded from the list because it doesn't feel particularly Homestuck,[4] but clearly it made it in the end.
With that in mind, here are some specific tangents:
[1] Sometimes the B, S and J are flopped around each other because the name has never really been fixed; pronunciation is IPA except that <j> is /ʔ/.
[2] The entire album is called Palokrai and is cut into two parts. The reference to the alphabet was not planned out at first; instead the first few pieces I wrote just happened to avoid each other by first letter and I thought to continue that down that road until it ends. Letters are picked without decision. As described later, M is picked 3rd from the end. Looking at the album art of the others, it appears that the box at the bottom is to ensure that the presence of the box and the colour together uniquely determine which song in the album it is.
I believe that every piece has a four-syllable name, and if it won't fit on one line in the default font then it's split into two visually. There is however never a space in the name.
[3] The three-against-two pattern which forms the primary impetus in the piece; I actually first heard it as a sample on Wikipedia and I thought it was probably good enough to continue as a whole song. Later on quintuplets show up for a 2:3:5 polyrhythm. At the time, I did not know the words "hemiola", "quintuplets" or "polyrhythm", and so the concept looked mysterious; now less so of course, and I would have approached it slightly differently. I was lacking in music theory knowledge, ironically enough.
[4] The idea of making fanart subtle enough that it doesn't scan as such at first pass as such continues today in my current creative output - a lot of it is technically "fanart" but it has so many things that are distinctly me-shaped that it never looks like it. Also to conform to my creative limitations they aren't really visual art.
Additionally, the polyrhythm is what the grey figure represents. Every song in Palokrai has one of these in the album cover. The pair of axes I forget what the axes represent, but only what kind of quality each one has relative to each other.
===
I have had no idea what "(SI: HS\MUS:B0)" would refer to at all; I never recalled writing it. The lime numbers shows that it is a piece of music (3), and it's the 23rd piece I've made that lives in this categorisation system, and it's the audio version (2). The sheet music version, which I have considered to be the authoritative one with the audio version being a digestible alternative, would be No. 3.23.01. Nowadays I use a different categorisation system - two actually - and basically can't keep up with this one.
===
As you do note it's been a duodecade since the piece, and if I want to explore the idea of "time-warping music" I now have more theory to back it up. It would be xenharmonic and xenrhythmic and backed by ideas that I developed during my time with my own conworlds too. Would I do it? Probably not, and almost certainly not as a "Homestuck fan-music" as I don't remember a whole bunch and looking things up is sure to bring up some embarrassing (though ultimately harmless!) memories.
MeGaDanceVaNia Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Catboss: (booklet commentary)
One fine day I got the idea for a MeGaLoVania dance remix, but I sat on it because frankly? I don't actually enjoy dance music. Or techno. Or whatever genre this classifies as.
Several days later, I was trying to conjure up music for Nepetaquest. But I was drawing a blank because "MeGaLoVania dance remix come on guy you want it" was stuck in my head. So eventaully I was like "OKAY I'LL DO IT SHUTUP"
And then once I got started, it just grew. And grew. And grew. Like cancer. MUSICAL CANCER. Before I knew it I'd stuffed most of the kids' and trolls' motifs in there. There are 20 melodies I used (albeit some only for veeeery short segments). It started off with 16; I expanded it slightly in the process of revising it for the album. See if you can spot them all!
Fun fact: when I was composing this, I didn't even realise I'd ripped the chords from Sburban Jungle until much later.
JNJ: (booklet commentary)
I made this image before I even knew about the album. The visual reference to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) fits with a track named MeGaDanceVaNia.
SadoMasoPedoRoboNecroBestiality Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Nic Carey: (booklet commentary)
Hmm, I don't know if I have much to say about this piece. Just that I tried to keep the instrumentals light and non-distracting, but still true to the original cockney pastiche.
Goatmon: (booklet commentary)
I feel like I really can't take credits for this song. The lyrics came from Something Awful, and the music is from a midi that Tynic scrounged up from somewhere. Someone at the Penny Arcade MSPA thread mentioned having seen a supercalifrag parody at Something Awful, and after Googling I found the lyrics, and decided to try my hand at it. Tynic volunteered her voice, and after she got the midi accompaniment, we bounced back and forth with it until it was the right key and speed. From there she recorded her part and I did mine, etc.
To this day, I don't really like listening to myself in this song, I just don't think it came out how I wanted it. That doesn't seem to matter to everyone else, though. I never imagined it could have taken off like it did, but it very quickly spread and apparently became a thing.
I'd always hoped that I'd eventually come out with some Homestuck thing that would be well remembered by the fans. Here I was wasting my time whipping together silly mario paints, when I should have been recording catchy songs about amoral abusive relationships. Live and learn.
Under the Hat Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Erik Scheele: (booklet commentary)
So this started off as some music for Dad. And then I was like "this isn't strife-y enough!" cause it was supposed to be strife-y and then this happened. Since it's supposed to be battle music and all, the more laid-back chill version wouldn't really work.
TheifofTruth: (booklet commentary)
Well, this is the only one I actually tried on so I guess that's good it's the only one that got chosen. I now realize the pipe is out of proportion or those are really big pictures. I like it though.
Sburban Piano Doctor Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Brad Griffin: (booklet commentary)
Sburban Jungle and Doctor are pretty much the tastiest songs ever, so I wanted to see what would happen if I mashed em into a gooey paste. As I was putting the ingredients back, some chunks of Showtime and Aggrieve fell into the pot. I tried to tone down the flavor by adding a little more Doctor, but then a bit of Black and Beatdown got pulled in with it. At this point it all boiled over onto my laptop and uploaded itself to the internet. Total culinary disaster!
I guess it sounded alright though.
The Hymn of Making Babies Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
EnnuiKing: (booklet commentary)
A few months ago I was on a classical guitar kick. I decided to make adaptations of Homestuck tunes for classical guitar, and they both translated surprisingly well for the most part. This particular rendition of Explore is based off the version from Descend, which is in C Minor as opposed to the A Minor of the original. Explore forever has an association with ectobiology because the scene where it plays in Descend is of Egbert sending babies onto meteors.
For the album, I added reverb onto the orginal, which I felt was a little too dry due to being recorded with an acoustic-electric guitar plugged directly into a mixer. I tried to make the reverb sound like somebody playing guitar in the Veil labs; whether or not I succeeded in doing so is up to the listener's ears.
tT Twigwise: (booklet commentary)
When I first saw the title, 'Hymn of Making Babies,' my mind appropriately jumped to our resident Ectobiologist, John. And listening to the track doesn't disappoint, either! The cover that EnnuiKing did is both a mix of sombre, almost Medieval playing, and then downright goofy John-ness at the end, and I wanted to try and get that. At first glance, this picture is a little serious and a little solemn, and then you realize... this is John Egbert that's the subject matter here, and that just makes it incredibly silly because, well, in the end, wouldn't he just go so over-the-top dramatic in this situation? Yeah. Probably.
Emissary of Wind Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Eston Schweickart: (booklet commentary)
Emissary of Wind is the musical narrative of John flying around with his jet pack. As badasses are wont to do. I composed this song entirely in Gar(b)ageBand over the course of a month in an internet-scarce interlude in my summer, not long after Volume 5 was released. Songs on that album, particularly Sunslammer, were my main inspiration.
I put the song on Tindeck once it was finished, and without linking it anywhere, I found that it had over 200 hits the next day (I'm still not sure how this happened, though I suspect MyUsernamesMud had something to do with it). Months later, it is still my best-known song, and one of my proudest musical accomplishments.
kayak: (booklet commentary)
This was the first piece of fanmusic I had ever listened to and it blew my mind. It is the perfect music to when John fully realizes his powers and gets down to business as the Heir of Breath. I was trying for a Hussnasty style to capture the less-goofy side of him, but the bottom line is: the Hood is up, the Heir is in. Time to kick ass.
Land of Quartz and Melody Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Thomas Ferkol: (booklet commentary)
This piece was inspired by the land with the same name, mainly because I thought the scenery was interesting and would fit my style of composition. Generally in music, crystalline landscapes are given reverb laden atmospheres with bells and other instruments with a resonant sound. In this piece, I used the instrumentation of handbells, a piano, some synth string and choir background, and drum kit, the two prominent instrmuments being the piano and bells. The bells worked to set the atmosphere while piano handled melody. Then everything got doused in reverb. So much reverb. Maybe the reverb has reverb. But voila. This is one of my favorites from before I was on the music team.
catastrophicGenesis: (booklet commentary)
So many layers, so much transparency, but I think it worked out quite well. I have to admit though, it's been a while since I saw a real music box comb and cylinder, so that was less successful. Sorry for that.
Midnight Spider Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Yan Rodriguez: (booklet commentary)
Even though I'd been making .mid files for about 2 years before making this song, this was my first legitimate song in FL Studio, my current workstation. Honestly while I do like the composition of this piece, the production is horrible and I wonder how people can listen to it even now, when I can do much better. It's also my first Homestuck song/remix, so whoo, and also the most popular. It, like Fashionable Escape, was for an AU thing, in which sax player and assassin Vriska Serket drifted to this new big city, running into trouble, kickin ass, and jammin on that sax.
umibouzu: (booklet commentary)
I can't really take any credit for the art behind "Midnight Spider," because Nucelose had the concept completely fleshed out by the time I ever laid hands on it. All I did was redo his awesome it in my style.
House of Lalonde Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Max Wright: (booklet commentary)
This is a piece that found inspiration in pretty much everything. The main influences in this case were Bach (instrument choice), the Professor Layton Theme (throughout, mainly the introduction and melody that the violin takes), Explore, and The Felt album in general. The inspiration from Professor Layton, drawing from video game themes, also effected my choice to make this loop(able).
House of Lalonde was always intended from the start to be the theme for some sort of home. Orginally, it was going to be for Doc Scratch's study... but the only reason that never happened was because I couldn't find the right organ sound (the kind you hear in Scratch). So, scrapping that idea, I continued to set about sculpting a theme for a sophisticated abode, and eventually reached the conclusion that it would work rather well for Rose's. I may extend it one day...
"Somewhere a zealous god threads these strings between the clouds and the earth, preparing for a symphony it fears impossible to play."
-- Charles Barkley
L'etat de l'ambivalence Listen on: Bandcamp
James Dever: (booklet commentary)
L'état de l'ambivalence is the bastardized child of two different songs. I wrote the beginning of a song at the beginning of Hivebent called Lusus' Lament. It was supposed to be like a Chorale for Jaspers but for the trolls' custodians. This was before I even knew Alternia was in the works. After hearing psych0ruins I loved those beginning arpeggios and crying effect. So when Rad mentioned the idea of having troll planet themes, I jumped at the chance of making one for Aradia. I used the beginning to Lusus' Lament and then combined it with those beginning arpeggios and the first phrases of psych0ruins.
Aradia's planet is the Land of Quartz and Melody, so I ran with the music box motif and added glockenspiel for a crystal-esque noise. The beginning section is kind of like what Sburban Jungle is to Rose. Music to add to her trying to enter the medium. There is a pause as she succeeds and enters and the mood of the music shifts completely. The second half builds more of the Quartz feel.
The title is because Nick thought we should have a foreign name.
umibouzu: (booklet commentary)
I picked up "L'état de L'ambivalence" before I knew what it was about. When I found out it was an Aradia land theme, I kind of panicked. Backgrounds and scenery are a huge weakness of mine, and I wasn't soure how to depict LOQAM without essentially copying the existing art, so I decided to focus more on Aradia herself.
Growin' Up Strider Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Ian White: (booklet commentary)
Growin' Up Strider fills a pretty obvious niche I guess, a cutesy song to montage Bro raising/training/abusing Dave, parallel to John and dad and Homestuck Anthem. The whole time I was making it I had DJ School from Rhythm Heaven stuck in my head, which is another cutesy song about another pair of cool dudes who are also learning to scratch records. So I guess I stole that. They probably weren't brothers though on account of how one was blue and the other was a robot I think. Lemmings had an influence too, which is to say that's where I stole those high-pitched bleeps from. I didn't even think to use Beatdown for the melody until I had prety much built the rest of the song around it. I had an old midi (by Tenebrais I think) and started goofing around trying to play it out in a major key and it fit pretty well sooooo that's that story.
Also I have no idea what record scratching actually sounds like so I just downloaded a bunch of cheesy "dj sound fx" and tried to make a cool rhythm out of them. That little breakdown in the middle is supposed to be Bro playing a line and then Dave answering. Then they trade off some more. Then they both start playing at the same time, like back to back or something cool like that, and then it goes back to the main melody. Did I make that obvious enough? Maybe I should've made Bro a bit louder in the left speaker and Dave a bit louder in the right. Actually hold on I'm going to go do that.
umibouzu: (booklet commentary)
There was pretty much no way I was not going to jump on "Growin' Up Strider." I love Dave (and Bro). It ended up not being very creative, but the thought of baby Dave in his horse leather bib and tiny shades makes me smile.
Nakkadile Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Marcy Nabors: (booklet commentary)
This all began when Solatrus and I noted that Kat was quite talented at nakking. This was write around the time that the viral Nyan Cat video dropped, so I decided to sample Kat's naks and make some sort of remix. Afer showing an early draft to Alex Rosetti, he offered to supply some more miscellaneous naks. At some point I realized that the Tribal Ebonpyre drums fit really well in this song, and it all just snowballed from there. NAK NAK BV
Tawa: (booklet commentary)
This happened through my RP twitter account and I was totally drunk when I made the gif at 3 am. Now Shadolith is one of my fav musicians.
Vigilante Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Brenna Curran: (booklet commentary)
After Terezi's intro section, I felt that she needed a strife theme. It had to be something that could capture both the quirkyness of a kid playing make believe and hardboiled grittiness of a police chase/standoff. It's one part Phoenix Wright, another part film noir and big band jazz and some funky cop chase thrown in for good measure. The 8-bit version was the first one I made. If the 8-bit version is the saccharine topping of the cake, then Cornered is its seedy underbelly, burnt to a crisp at the bottom of the pan.
Jack and Black Queen Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
catastrophicGenesis: (booklet commentary)
It is remarkably difficult to make someone look truly hateful or disdainful when you have so little in the way of facial features to work with. Still, it's an incredibly vicious song, and it was fun to draw to, even if it did get me some funny looks from my housemates.
Catboss: (booklet editor)
Miss Prince didn't have anything to say for this song, so everyone just sit back
relax
and enjoy this marvellous hate
snogsong.
A War of One Bullet Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Traikan: (booklet commentary)
A long time ago, while reading a thread about Homestuck on a forum far far away, I stumbled upon some fanmusic by EidolonOrpheus. It was amazing and, more relevant to this commentary, it reminded me that not only did I once have an interest in composition, I still had some music software installed.
Armed with one synthesizer and inspired by Doc Scratch, I sat down and wrote Inevitable End in one sitting. I didn't know what a scale was, I was clueless about mixing and the basics of song structure eluded me completely, but with enough trial and error it somehow came out okay.
Seven months later, I decided to revisit Inevitable End and see if I couldn't make it a little better and a lot more deliberate. A War of One Bullet represents my everlasting journey from directionless experimentation to conscious design, and even thugh I have a long way to go it's worth stopping to listen to the singing roses now and then, because if you don't enjoy your work, who will?
Quirk: (booklet commentary)
There wasn't much to this one, I'm afraid. Image search + 9mm bullet pic + Doc Scratch template + GIMP = ART.
That's some solid mathematics there. You can take that to the bank. The math bank.
Plus it's a fun visual metaphor for the song title.
Corpse Casanova Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
EnnuiKing: (booklet commentary)
I wanted to pay tribute to the "2X CORPSESMOOCH COMBO" in the form of a song, and I decided on a whim that Ectobiology would be the perfect song to remix in order to do so. The saxaphone sounded like Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth, so I experimented with slathering reverb on it. I came across a preset that made it sound like the saxophone in "Audrey's Theme" from Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks score, and decided that this was the new direction I wanted for the song. Towards the end, it features tremolo picking, which I feel is my signature guitar technique since it's the only one I can pull off that sounds remotely impressive.
The name of the song doubles as an excellent echeladder rung name for Karkat. I picture him reaching the rung and being really confused by it until way after his Sgrub sesion, when its true meaning became apparent.
kayak: (booklet commentary)
This song sounds like something you might tango to, so I wanted the pose to initially look like they were dancing, but then Kanaya's blood and limp frame sink in. I thought Kan's red skirt and jade blod coinciding with roses made a beautiful limited color scheme. I also didn't want too much detail to tip the moment too far into silly or somber, as it really is both at the same time.
Salamander Fiesta Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
The Lovable Tramp: (booklet commentary)
This is what happens when someone is obsessed with Homestuck and afro-cuban grooves at the same time.
Yee-Tvae Corinst: (booklet commentary)
With Salamander Fiesta, I wanted to try and introduce something of a festive atmosphere into Land of Wind and Shade, which normally has something of a gloomy feel with all its blue and black tones. Also, salamanders in sombreros.
MegaloVaniaC Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Xenocidebot: (booklet commentary)
When I heard the original MeGaLoVania, it was the synth-sounding bit in the Alterniabound flash, and not the full album version. So I genuinely thought I was doing a rock cover of a synth-rock song and didn't mess with the instrumentation or anything else too drastically. Kinda wish I had in retrospect for differentiation's sake.
Strangely, the guitar used to record this broke shortly after doing so, followed by a massive string of equipment failures with my studio setup, so I wasn't capable of redoing the track for this release. I blame using a seven-string for is now apparently an eight-string's song and somehow getting cursed with horrible luck. Alas, you can't blame fictional children on an insurance claim.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
MeGaLoVania + Rock. A potent combination when mixed! A similar yet more complex piece when compared to Fashionable Escape. Both had characters that I cut out of the panel and edited to fit my purposes. I really do like how this one turned out though. My original draft had curtains on each side of her. I went back and cut them out though. I thought "okay, it's metal, there should be smoke". The lights were already in place so when I added the smoke effect I was awed by the effect it had. From there I touched things up and added Vriska's background lights. ::::)
Shame and Doubt Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Trent West: (booklet commentary)
ok so first there's like this bass and then it's like WHOAAAAAAAA some fucking synth thrown in there and then these drums come in and that weird plane noise and then some more drums in the background and then everything drops out and it's like oh wait what happened and then there's another synth that comes in and then the drums come back in and go all clacky clack clack boom boom and then there's some like record scratches and stuff repeated really fast and high pitched and then stuff drops out again and then some new drums come in for a bit so then you have some of the other stuff that dropped out come back in for only like 10 seconds but then they drop out and then that one synth comes back but it has a filter on it to make it sound all freaky deeky and then the song ends.
you know, just in case you're deaf but still want to enjoy this song.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
For this one I was at a loss on what to do. I turned and asked Trogg what he thought it was about and he said the bond between Bro and Dave. And so this became a piece about Dave. I thought it fit with the song title to where it be post-Bro's death and it being Dave unsure about what to do from there. Dave is doubting his own abilities and giving Davesprite and Bro a send-off while Terezi watches through her monitor ashamed of what she has partially caused.
SWEET BRO AND HELLA JEFF SHOW Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Erik Scheele: (booklet commentary)
This was recorded ages ago, back when I didn't know what I was doing recording-wise, but I never want to change anything about it.
I have to be honest, I always wondered why there were no dogs in SBaHJ after the entire thing with "I TOLD YOU DOG". Then it came to me: Geromy is brown. He is the dog. It's him.
...No wait, that's
stupidracist.
Growing Up Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Eston Schweickart: (booklet commentary)
In order: Lotus, Hearts Flush, Crystalanthemums, Homestuck Anthem, HDILWY, Ruins, Liquid Negrocity, and back to Lotus. The original name for this piece was Homestuck Medley 1, since I planned on writing more like it before I realized what a ridiculous idea that was. (I actually got pretty far on number 2 before giving up.)
Avi suggested that I rename it "Growing Up," and I liked that title much better, since the song is reminiscent of someone (most likely John) reflecting on childhood memories, both good and bad. Avi also suggested names related to the four quadrants of troll romance. Before that point, I hadn't considered it, but the song could certainly be interpreted as musical representations of the auspitice, the moirail, the matesprit, and the kismesis.
Though, admittedly, the original motivation behind the piece was to see how many stylse I could shove together and still end up with something vaguely coherent.
Cheers: (booklet commentary)
As soon as I listened to this song, I knew I had to draw the artwork for it. To me, it clearly represented the passage from childhood to maturity that each of the kids, especially John, were forced to undergo in their short-lived session. Focusing on our favourite Friend-Leader, I attempted to capture this with an image of him turning his back on the relative safety and comforts of childhood and the watchful eye of his guardian.
The Drawing of the Four Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Willow Ascenzo: (booklet commentary)
The title is, of course, a blatant reference to Steven King's Dark Towerseries. The song is a build-up to each of the four kids entering the Medium (they're being "drawn" into the game just as Eddie, Susannah, and Jake were drawn into Mid-World, but that's enough for now about something that isn't Homsetuck), so we start out with a slow rendition of "Sburban Jungle" played on the piano (John's instrument) with subsequent accompaniment by a violin (Rose's instrument). Then, here come the drums (Dave's instrument), and we kick the song into high gear when the flute and bass (both Jade's instruments) come in. There's a long period of pseudo-improv from the bass, flute, and violin before returning to the meat of the song - and a nod to the Squiddles theme (another reference to Rose) before the finale. Curiously, the order of the instruments exactly matches the order of the kids' introduction.
Ira quod Angelus Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Kalibration: (booklet commentary)
Hi kids this is the song I made for EridanLand but Radiation didn't like it so he slapped me down and told me to get out of the music team. Just kidding, that didn't happen. Maybe. Anyways, this song was really fun to make. I tried a lot of crazy sound-manipulation things I'd never really tried before for the breakdown and outro, and I really feel like I succeeded with them! The main theme that happens on the rhodes is really fun to play, and might become a prominent theme later...? Either way, I hope you like this song as much as I do! Much love from Kali, thank you for listening!
catastrophicGenesis: (booklet commentary)
The window outline is taken from the Christ Church cathedral in Oxford and originally depicts St Cecilia. Several million free-select clicks later, my wrist was dead and this was the result. The stark colour scheme is a result of trying to make it look suitably dramatic.
Final Stand Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Eligecos: (booklet commentary)
I took the time to make this song sound like it was meant for a robust flash sequence. Really intense drum & bass plus a few orchestral and electronic touches tie it all together.
The origins of this song go back in the same manner as Joker Strife. Both of them evolved quite a bit since first compsing them in MIDI. What was really important for the changes in this version you hear is that it is made to sound like it belonged in Homestuck.
So perhaps when we see that page with our heroes fighting Jack Noir locked in conflict, we can play this song in our heads.
umibouzu: (booklet commentary)
How do you draw something epic enough for a track with a title like "Final Stand"?
Pose as a team, because shit just got real.
Farewell Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Fuzz: (booklet commentary)
My approach to music is very dramatic. When I create music I tend to visualise very specific scenes which take place when it plays. Farewell was originally intended to accompany the scene where John discovered Mom and Dad were dead. At this point in the story it could have gone any way, so I started playing around and doing improvisations based around the Showtime theme, being a theme central to John. After messing around some more for a while I realised that a more bittersweet touch worked better though, and that instead of being used for lamenting, in my minds eye the piece seemed to fit something more akin to a goodbye, such as a scene displaying the kids and trolls parting ways.
melodiousDiscord: (booklet commentary)
This piece is based on what I hope will happen (still). After joining forces to defeat Jack, the kids' ultimate reward is unlocked and the trolls either go back to their own world, or accompany the kids. John is the last to leave and you can see the shadows of Terezi and Karkat. John gives a final wave before stepping through the door, Karkat gives a last farewell gesture in response. A bittersweet ending indeed.
Heir-Seer-Knight-Witch Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Joe Griffith: (booklet commentary)
Generally speaking, it's fairly uncommon to find a Remix or Arrangement authored by me; I much prefer to write from scratch, using my own material. However, one stormy winter night as I slept curled up in my cave, the spirit of a great troll came to me...
Hold on, I think I have the wrong story.
Anyway, shortly before Christmas, a friend of mine suggested in passing that perhaps I could put my musical talents to some practical use in the context of Homestuck, which he'd recently managed to convince me to read and I'd become instantly hooked on. We tossed around a few ideas and eventually came up with the idea of stringing together the land themes of the four kids to create some sort of medley. Unfortunately it was a fairly busy time for me, with lots of projects requiring my immediate attention.
However, as Christmas approached, I made the decision to inform all my clients that I would be taking time off writing music for a few weeks to "celebrate the holidays", which in actual fact resulted in the creation of this arrangement!
Hope you enjoy!
Cutscene at the End of the Hallway Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Robert J! Lake: (booklet commentary)
so i put together this thing in twenty seconds, except it actually took several months because i never worked on it but who cares about that
let's me tell you a story
so this one kid, his name is bob, or george, or fred or who cares anyway so his dad's like shut the fuck up kid, you're stupid as hell go to school. get some fucking education, you make me sick right so the kid says okay if and then the dad just fuckin' flips out and he says to the kid shut up kid go away but it turns out the school is teaching kids to be the beastie boys problem is the kid's a robot so he ends up blowing up because of paradoxes so they rebuild him but it's only good enough for six minutes, and his dad gives him a hug and says son i'm sorry i was so mean and the kid blows up
anyway it turns out his dad was hitler and then his dad started a war and captain america punched his face
basically the point is that i guess this song is a little like that if you use your imagination
Land of Fans and Music
Track list (1–53)