Join Tin Can Audio’s Scottish creator and composer David Devereux in a gentle ascent into the clouds of audio drama. For fiction podcast ‘The Tower‘, their influences ranged from a family love of the Wurlitzer organ to games like Hyper Light Drifter. This piece ‘The Fog Clears’ was written as an interlude which bridges the story of Kiri, a young girl who climbs an infinite tower to escape the drudgery of her life down below. The Fog Clears is a gentle and expansive soundtrack which musically describes the moment Kiri achieves clarity, peace and the strength to continue her journey.
IN THIS EPISODE
02:12 The Fog Clears was written for a narrative audio fiction series. Influences included Pink Floyd, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds and the classic ‘Studio Ghibli’ sound of Ryuchi Sakamoto.
04:30 A Wurlizter electric piano sound serves as the basis for the entire soundtrack. It can feel a bit dishonest saying you used a Wurlitzer, when you’re really using a software emulation of one. A Wurlitzer keyboard is difficult and expensive to acquire!
04:56 With this piece, I wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite pieces of music, Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence by Ryuchi Sakamoto.
05:47 Breakdown of the chords and melodies
07:00 I grew up with my uncle playing church organ. Such presence and majesty! It gives the sense that something big is happening. The thickness of the Wurlitzer sound creates a feeling of thick fog. At this point in the story, Kiri is alone on the tower, covered in fog. I was trying to create the impression that the fog is starting to shift. I used a ghostly lead synth, and a second synth which emulates the beeps of a Sega console. I also used an organ sound. I grew up with my uncle playing organ, and it really adds presence and majesty to music. I included a chiptune-sounding Nintendo synth, which was influenced by a game soundtrack called Hyper Light Drifter by Disasterpeace.
10:02 I wanted the crescendo to be really big, with the clouds clearing and the world spreading out in front of her. Very dramatic! I went for a cinematic string sound, using cello, violin. I also used a mellotron, an early prototype of the sampler which allowed tape loops to be played on a piano keyboard. For the finale, everything is revealed to Kiri and all the instruments from the bridge play together in harmony. A slow decrescendo represents a calming of Kiri’s emotions as clarity, peace and strength are achieved.
SHOW NOTES
* Download, buy or listen to ‘The Tower’ soundtrack tincanaudio.bandcamp.com
* Tin Can Audio is a fiction podcast production company tincanaudio.co.uk
MUSIC CREDITS
Jeff Wayne – The Red Weed (Part 1)
Pink Floyd – Great Gig in the Sky
David Devereux – Waking the Tower
David Devereux – The View
Ryuichi Sakamoto – Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
Disasterpeace – A Chorus of Tongues
ABOUT THIS SHOW
How I Make Music is where behind-the-scenes musicians tell their own stories. Every Wednesday, we break apart a song, soundtrack or composition and investigate the insights into how it was made.
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