However, I’m not sure how I would react to someone cutting my face open though. Well, that’s exactly what happened in the film Daniel written and directed by Manuel Neves that I composed for staring Robert Seelinger. It is a story about a man named Daniel who is seeking revenge on the guys that severely hurt him and left him a massive scar on his face. Daniel is confronted with the emotional burden, which tests his relationships with his girlfriend and close friends Bray, Steven, and Rafi.

Daniel -- Part 1

THE PROCESS
Daniel was the first film project that I was asked to composed for while I was in college. My cousin Damian Chen (founder of Colorshadow Communications) recommended me as a composer for Manuel Neves since he had a hard time finding one. Manni and I talked on the phone and I sent him a CD of my work. He liked it and then drove down to Philadelphia from Toronto with a VHS tape with Time-Code burn. This was before the days of affordable software integration of music sequencing and video editing.

I approached each scene by simply writing down words that described emotions that I felt would suit for. Then it was a matter of finding the right sounds and experimenting to see if it matched that words while providing a sense of momentum in the scene. When Daniel is leaving the hospital, the camera doesn’t shoot the scar on his face and his girlfriend is there helping him to forget. The music in this scene is quite uplifting to match the sense of joy he is feeling. However, that will quickly change.

Daniel -- Part 2

At the beginning of Part 2, Daniel and his friends are in a meeting planning a revenge. This is one of my favorite parts of the film since you really don’t notice the music building up with the conflict between Daniel and his friends, however, you do feel something subtle. It is a very slow dark build until the scene is resolved. I also “borrowed” the Twin Peaks theme and Moby’s song Go playing the same chords. LOL. Everyone loved the shot of Daniel’s dog Jake. Who’s real name is Rocky and he is deaf. I guess dog whistles can really hurt them. Notice, that Daniel and Meghan have their own theme music.

Daniel -- Part 3

The drums are not sampled from Nine Inch Nail’s Closer. I actually did that myself with a simple beat but also running it through a delay which gives the snare a fatter sound and a heartbeat like kick. The drum and bass beats during the chase scene were from my song Passport. Actually, I used quite a few themes from the Dream In Stereo album. It took the sound engineer 2 weeks to create that gun shot sample.

WRAP UP PARTY
This was a 20 minute independent film costing $20,000. I was over joyed for being asked to compose for a film which was something new and very exciting for me early. I met the cast and crew at the screening and after party in Toronto. I joked with Robert Seeliger saying that his scar healed up pretty fast. But in fact, he replied saying that the make up actually left impressions on his face for a week after they took it out.

Melissa Michaels, Ellen Kay, Robert Seeliger, Manuel Neves

Quang Ly (film composer) and Manuel Neves (Director)

Robert Seelinger recently starred in Gracie’s Choice with Kristen Bell based on a true story.

To find out more on Robert Seeliger visit http://www.robertseeliger.com

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Delta Dreams Music At Albert Einstein Memorial

For the past year, I was given the privilege to provide music and sound engineering services for the Albert Einstein Memorial and National Academy of Sciences. I remastered the audio recordings of one of the first ever Albert Einstein interviews on his theory of relativity as well as other scientists.

My song Ibiza (Trance Mix) can also be heard at the beginning of the Cell Phone Tour.

Here is the tour guide in Cell Phone Tour in PDF format or you can call 202-595-1836.

This song was also licensed for the Equilon Pipeline (now Shell Oil) commercial as well as 2 feature films: Double Dare (Zoe Bell) and Searching For Paradise (Chris Noth)

UNSOUND METHODS
I basically removed a lot of the noise from the recording through EQ, filters, and noise gates effects using Digidesign ProTools. I also ran the audio recordings through compressors to even out the sound and make them louder. Compression essentially makes the quieter parts louder and the louder parts quieter producing an even consistent volume.

MORE INFORMATION
The tour is sponsored by the Cultural Programs of the  National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS)

For more information, you can visit

2101 Constitution Ave., NW,
Washington, DC, 20418
www.nationalacademies.org/arts

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1. Delta Dreams – When I Close My Eyes (Music Video) I was inspired to write "When I Close My Eyes"...
2. How To Produce Music For A 500 lb Rapper How To Produce A 500 lb Rapper...

Download the Before My Eyes (New Order Remix) for FREE (Right click, Save As…)

Jed and his band Bass Bandits live in UK. We collaborated via the Internet by using SendSpace. I exported the stem tracks from ProTools (vocals, acoustic and lead guitars, synth lead) and he did his magic.

You can visit Jed and his Wax Dolly podcast http://waxdolly.comoj.com/podcasts.html

Related posts:

1. Delta Dreams – When I Close My Eyes (Music Video) I was inspired to write "When I Close My Eyes"...

Quang Ly and rapper Might Bestruck

BESTRUCK – AROUND DA WORLD When I was asked to produced Bestruck (real name Brian Forte), I was very excited. I engineered and produced a variety of different genres before but a solid hip hop project seemed to eluded me for a very long time. FYI, no one got shot while making this album. Always a plus in my book. I’ve always loved groove based melodic music and it was hard to find hip hop music I really enjoyed in all aspects commercially and artistically without sounding gimmicky. Hip hop music that is well, musical, colourful, and tasteful. This was my chance to take hip hop to the next level and explore new elements and challenges on my own terms. By the way, Bestruck also headlined a show at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia. The live performance is also in the Around Da World – EP. Here’s a brief story behind each song.

AROUND DA WORLD This is probably the most accessible and well produced track of all. I absolutely love it and it really shows my European music influenced beats. The drum track is essentially drum and bass but it originally had a too staccato mechanical feel. So adding the constant arpeggiators through a high pass filter gave it more momentum without sounding too bottom heavy. It was also my chance to add screaming guitar riffs that really gives it intensity and dynamics. The airplane sample at the end really does give it an “international” effect symbolic of the song. No, I won’t tell you which 80s record the sample was lifted from. YOU FEATURING MICHAEL BRAXTON This is another one of my favorites. Originally it was a track no artist wanted but I always knew it had potential. Bestruck’s lyrics and delivery flowed well. A great catchy hook along side next Braxton family crooner Michael Braxton (Toni Braxton’s brother). Additional vocal arrangements by my good friend David Fenton. We must have recorded 25 vocal tracks layered and mixed together for the chorus for harmony. My little cousin Trang added the laugh track in the beginning and end of the song which added a more personal dimension. I always try to involve friends and family in something I love doing and felt it was perfect. I think this is the only song Bestruck did NOT have any disaggreements with me on (laughs). MOMMY CAN’T ALWAYS This was a crowd pleaser at the Trocadero show. The song was written in memory of Bestruck’s late mother. I love his lyrics because they really do inspire people from all backgrounds to live up. You may notice the resemblance in the beat with 50 Cent’s In Da Club. No, it wasn’t a sample. It just turned out that way. The chorus part was actually Bestruck himself and not a girl. His voice was pitch shift using an MPC drum sampler. For the live show, we did have R&B singer Michaelle Taylor sing it and she killed it! Check out the clip on the Amazon MP3 music player. STOMP This song was heavily influenced by my love for the NEPTUNES/N.E.R.D and Recoil (Alan Wilder ex Depeche Mode). I performed the drums and congas at Gamble and Huff studios and later tweaked, chopped, and reprocessed them in my lab. Strange note: you may think drums are loud instruments and thus easy to record but it must have taken 4 hours to get right. I was in the moment playing and when I heard the playback, it sounded like someone hitting cardboard paper. BEAT IT UP FEATURING ASHANTI My first track with Bestruck. It sounds a bit strange and electronic to me in an endearing way. Very different. Bestruck’s girlfriend Ashanti did some vocals on the track. I thought she was very sweet and nice. And then when she went into the vocal booth, a whole new raunchy side came out. It raised some eye brows in the control room. Frankly, when I first started arranging, I didn’t even know how know the number of bars (measures) or how to slice beats together. INSTRUMENTAL LUST I really liked this song but couldn’t find the right rapper on it so I just released it as an instrumental. I think it has some nice breaks and textures in there. Some people find it unusual that I am very proud of finishing a hip hop album apart from my Delta Dreams moniker. However, it is something that I always wanted to do for a very long time. I think it turned out well and crosses musical and racial boundaries.I am also grateful I worked with some good people: Bestruck, Sean (Bestruck’s manager), David Abraham (friend), Pascal Volberg (engineer). Thanks for reading (and listening)! Quang Ly.

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