A First Look At The Soundtrack Element Of This Project! So Excited To Have Josh McCausland’s Massive

Simple Circle Shadow Another one I really like...

Alright, so bonus post for the day! I did this the other night for a friend of mine... In my mind it would be a great tattoo design...

Black. White. Wacky.

Inspired by Red Bull F1 Racing's crazy test livery at Jerez.

“File Already Exists… Overwrite?” is the title of this newest song. Josh McCausland really channeled the Vangelis/Blade Runner vibes on this one, taking it much darker and brooding. And of course, some brutalist artwork of mine to match.

The Kickstarter seems kinda stalled at the moment, but all is not lost! We’ve made great progress so far, and I’m trying to spread the word and gain exposure, so we’ll see how the rest of the month plays out.

If you want to check out the project, the link is below:

So, I actually finished this one about a month ago, and just forgot to put it up here. Everything you see here is just paint and paper (finally got to make use of a special glow-in-the-dark spray that I bought a while back). The maze was drawn and then hand cut by me.

Top Image: Lights On

Bottom Image: Lights Off

(It looks even better in person... Hard to capture since I don't have a badass camera.)

In anticipation of N7 Day tomorrow, I wanted to share this minimal fanart title card I created last year. After the teaser trailer that confirmed it would continue the story post-Shepard, I was thinking about possible storylines, about rebuilding in the aftermath of ME3… and the tagline “Reclaim the Past” kinda stuck in my head. Which is where this sorta overgrown stone title text came from—the need to rebuild, but also the idea of nature reclaiming broken worlds.

(I was feeling nostalgic for the old font on “EFFECT” so I used that instead of the newer, more squared-off version.)

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Can’t wait to see what they do with the next entry in the series! (And I have a new title card I created for this year that I’ll be sharing tomorrow!)

IT’S GONNA BE A REAL THING!

What a month. Ups and downs and everything in between. But yes, you read that right. The Kickstarter for my cyberpunk novel and dark ambient soundtrack is FULLY FUNDED!

I can’t wait to get the final stages of this project underway in the next months, and for everyone to get the chance to read this book!

For anyone who may still want to join in, there are still 30 hours left! And if you back now, it’s a sure thing—you’re getting this novel! And at the same time, supporting an independent publishing and music project that doesn’t fit in the normal bounds.

Check out the link below, and who knows, maybe if enough people jump on board, we’ll unlock the first of those stretch goals!

Jovian Sunrises

The lightning played freeze tag throughout the looming thunderheads, flitting first here, then there, capturing an image in the blaze of an instant.  Forked fingers reached like hands to touch each other, missing by what seemed to be, from the shoreline at least, only the narrowest of margins.  But the clouds weren't all that threatening, despite their distant, insistent rumbling; their color was a salty white against the charcoal sky of night, making them seem more like clumps of cotton than angry bruises.

Plus, they were receding, chased by the starlit heralds of day.

I had undertaken to race the sun, to beat it at its own game, spinning around the Earth as it does.  And I had succeeded in my challenge, arriving at those dunes nearly an hour before its initial hues began painting the backdrop of the world in pastel color once more.

But this dawn was unlike any other.

It wasn't the ire of Jupiter that broke the night.  No, it was the faces of the other Jovian gods--Uranus and Neptune--that melted the black in pools of cool sapphire and jade. They caught the sky in marbled perfection and turned it, ever so carefully, to day.

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

Book 2 is taking shape! Still in early stages, but I’m excited about where it’s going… looking forward to sharing more about it, hopefully sooner rather than later.

(Artwork glitches made by me in the moment, no scripts.)