I am/like/want to...

"I am, I like, I want to..." is the unfortunate title given to our first assessment for E-Media this semester. The idea is create something that acknowledges your influences, as well as your own creative context in relation to those areas you draw from.

A week or two ago we were asked to give a presentation on how we came to be here (art school) and how various interests of ours have developed and fed into our current practices. I started with some of the computer games I became mega-obsessed with when I was younger; Half-Life, Deus Ex and Max Payne. Not only are these games totally awesome but they feature some brilliant music as well.

In re-visiting these game menu loops, sound effects and theme tunes I found a lot of similarities between them and a lot of the music I would later get into, I started to think of ways to combine the two and bring in other key interests that have developed between when I used to be a little fatty playing computer games, drinking mountain dew and eating shapes, to now, where I'm a grown up fatty recording music and sounds whilst drinking mountain dew and eating shapes.

So, I made this. It's a sound piece named Valkyr. It's essentially a linear progression of interests (past and current) blended together and represented in audio form. From the growly, haunting, alien, lo-fi menu music of Half Life and Deus Ex (Youtube search Valve Theme/Deus Ex Theme) to the mournful, classical minor scales of Max Payne to the atmospherics of instrumental post/math rock and the grit and solidarity of hard rock; this is my journey from gamer kid to sound/recording artist.

And yes, the lead line that starts around 2:30 is based on the Max Payne Theme :)

-rjilynch/080176