EDM – barryvan

How many do you see?

My style combines lo-fi video game sounds with dance, big sweeping orchestral lines, and piano performances.

I first started writing music electronically using a tracker — originally ModEdit, but I found my way to ModPlug Tracker (now OpenMPT). I’ve since moved onto Reaper, but many of my pieces retain elements of the demoscene and video game music sound. Combined with my classical music and jazz piano background, many of my tracks don’t fit neatly into any one genre.

I entered this track in a Native Instruments competition.

Technical notes on this track:

Produced using Reaper DAW
Two instances of “The Maverick” NI piano
Session Strings Pro for basses, celli, violas, violins + stock Kontakt ‘bones and vowel-morphed choir
Bass is a custom Massive patch
Drums by Drum Lab
Arp courtesy of Oki Computer 2 in Reaktor
Bell lead via Rounds
Also includes sampled monkey balls and bowed saw, as well as Droopy the Dragon (from Kontakt 3)
Lots of Guitar Rig ensembles for Fx, as well as Replika and stock Reaper compressor
Performed on a first-generation S61

[Music] Malcontent

This track really hearkens back to music I was writing a decade or so ago. In fact, some of the sounds are from that era, including the “boomwhackers” (which give the “tag” at the end). I’m really glad to have rediscovered these. They’re essentially lengths of PVC pipe which the sampler whacked against her/his head and recorded. I love how they can cut through the mix without being overbearing.

It’s been a while since I managed to write some music, what with moving house and two small children and the allure of games, but hopefully this track is just the first of many this year. 😉

[Music] Sky on fire

Once again, it’s been a long interval between tracks. But here’s one at last! It’s quite fun to write in this style, with a half-time feel — the feel popularised by dubstep. I’m a particular fan when used in conjunction with rapid arps, as it bumps up the contrast. 🙂

Production: It’s about 90% NI Massive, with a little bit of Polyplex, Battery, and Kontakt thrown in.

[Music] All that I seek

After another nearly six-month hiatus, I’m back to writing music! I’ve tried out a few new techniques in timbre and mastering in this track; hopefully they’re successful! 🙂

[Music] Fly away

The first track of 2017! This one has a very simple premise, but I think that the treatment of that simple premise makes it into much more. It’s also just loud and fun!

[Music] We three kings (barryvan 2016 remix)

With Christmas now not too far away, it’s time to start remixing and reworking carols again! We Three Kings is one of my favourite carols (musically speaking), and sharpening the 7th in the chorus always makes me happy. I’ve “done” it a few times; this is my take for 2016.

[Music] Losing control

[Music] Left in disarray

[Music] Disappear

The melody for this one came to me waiting for a lift one day after work. I tried doing an orchestral thing with it, but that just didn’t seem to want to work — but this dance version fits it quite well, I think!

[Music] Iridescent

[Music] Insoluble

It feels good to be writing music again; it’s been a while! It’s also fun to write a trance piece again.

I’ve tried a new compressor in this track; the Reaktor ensemble “Flat Blaster”. I’m pretty pleased with the results — it’s not too “sausagey”, but still nice and tight.

Insoluble by Barry van Oudtshoorn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

If you’re interested in using any of my music in your games, videos, or other multimedia productions, let me know!

[Music] Plateau

A great track to put on repeat while you’re working — it’s got enough interest to keep from getting boring, whilst being sufficiently repetitive to help you focus.

Plateau by Barry van Oudtshoorn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

If you’re interested in using any of my music in your games, videos, or other multimedia productions, let me know!