X-mas.

Rift.

(Or Chopstick.)

About a year ago now is when Josh McCausland and I first wrapped production of the Color of a Mirror soundtrack, and sent it off for pressing! (The above photo is an abstract shot of the first test pressing sleeve.)

After the post the other day about the Full Moon Bundle (containing the limited vinyl release) I wanted to take a moment of special mention for this soundtrack and what it means to me.

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One of my biggest loves (and frustrations) of a show or video game is the music. When it’s done right, it’s one of those things that gives you chills, and you can’t wait to return to that universe, can’t wait to hear that title card music at the start of the next episode. (Like launching the original Mass Effect and hearing that menu music.) On the flip side, it can derail the whole experience for me… or at least make it far less memorable, because music often sets the scene for me.

This extends to when I’m writing, as well. Depending on the mood or the emotion, I’ll find different songs that fit that character or scene. And then lots of times, I’ll have that selection on repeat for a few days. Haha.

So being able to collaborate with a composer on the sound of this dark cyberpunk universe I’d been writing for a handful of years, trying to pull on all those ambient/sci-fi/industrial influences but also create something that felt new, something that could be listened to while you’re reading or on its own… it was really an amazing experience, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we came up with!

It all started with just two images that I sent to Josh; I said, “This is the vibe.” (He hadn’t read the book at that point, and I was thinking he was just going to make a single promo song for me.) When he came back to me with about ten different options, making it super difficult to choose, I knew the project had to be a full album. Iterating back and forth with him and seeing his process, taking some of those initial hooks and tying them together… so much fun!

The title track “Color of a Mirror” was one of those original concepts that I just couldn’t get enough of. The sound for the rest of the album was really born there, I think.

All in all, it’s such an honor to see my vision of this novel through someone else’s skill and expertise in an entirely different discipline. Such a pleasure, and I cannot wait to work on Vol. 2 together!

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Check out the soundtrack on Bandcamp to give Josh some love:

(Also available on major streaming platforms.)

And if you want to check out the book as well, head over to my website.

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Thanks for reading!

-Daniel

Appropriate for today, as Lewis Hamilton's number is 44... Not where the design originally came from, but an afterthought that made it all work wonderfully. Best of luck to him in the Mexican GP.

Cantina.

Back with a fresh post about the book! These here are the opening sentences, mixed with a bit of my minimal numerals/font design. Loving playing with the layout and formatting for the text on this!

Check out the fiction section of my website artificelux.com to see a longer excerpt and to find out a bit more about the project!

Looking forward to sharing more over the coming days and for the launch of the Kickstarter in a month on Nov.1

New tag... taking it to another level. Hopefully this will be on a wall someday :)

Working on the most recent lesson for Main Title Design taught by Ash Thorp, the homework was to create a title sequence for a documentary about the Apollo missions. In the process, I came up with this title card. Not exactly the vibe I was going for, but it speaks to my glitchy, sci-fi, cyberpunk side.

Perhaps, if this were an Alien-esque horror movie, I could get away with it.

Escape Real Life

It’s that feeling you get far past the noon of night, when, as your day comes to a close, things begin, at last, to make sense.

It’s that urging that, if you could just grasp that feeling and hold its heart close in your hands, staying up through the dark and into the second day, you could achieve everything.

It’s that hastening of sleep which fights that urging, telling you that everything can be left for the morning.

It’s that pleading in the back of your mind; it begs you to push past the hastening, for in the morning, nothing will be as clear as it was in this moment.

  And yet, every night, you always give in, knowing that real life will not forgive your whims.

And every morning you await the end of the day; you await that clarity and the chance to try again, assuring yourself it will be different this time.

  Define insanity.

  Then… turn the music a little louder and put on a fresh pot of coffee.

Sign of the Jester.