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[MoritzPGKatz]

Hey everyone,

Following Fort Meow's release on PC & iPad, you can now listen to the full mini-soundtrack on SoundCloud!
https://soundcloud.com/mpgk/sets/fort-meow-soundtrack

I'll probably release it as a digital purchase or something sometime, but for now it's free to stream the entire shebang.
Ask me anything regarding production etc.!

For more info on Fort Meow, click here.

Cheers,
Moritz

[Audiosprite]

Really fun tunes man! Love the guitar especially. Is it live? Also, where'd the marimba and double bass samples come from?

[MoritzPGKatz]

Really fun tunes man!

Thanks!

Love the guitar especially. Is it live?

Yep, that's me playing a Strat through Amplitube. I think I chose a Fender Bassman and Twin emulation aiming for a surf-rock kind of sound.
Could've easily recorded a real Twin here, but for the weird instrumentation I wasn't sure about the sound I needed and was glad I could tweak a bit afterwards.

There's also some nylon guitar in "Sneaky Mr. Mittens" that I recorded in a dry room with an old KM184.

Also, where'd the marimba and double bass samples come from?

The marimba is off the Spitfire Percussion library. Chose it over the similar-sounding EWQL marimba which always had some weird quirks and rattling samples.
The upright bass I used comes with Spectrasonics Trilian, they're quite dry and neutral samples that I tweaked quite a bit with UAD Pultec EQ and LA2A compression, I think.

Cheers,
Moritz

[ashtonmorris]

Hi Mortiz,

I had contacted the Dev about possibly writing for this game a while ago. They said they had someone already.


I am glad you were the one because I think this music awesome. Very interesting and unique. It's such a different direction that I would have imagined and I think it fits really well.

Also the love the Meows in the last track.

I usually sell a mainly on Bandcamp, but recently I have been also uploading through DistroKid. its a pretty awesome service that gets your music on all the digital services, and its cheap. I don't sell as much there but its really nice to have a presence on all the different services.  

Great work!

[MoritzPGKatz]

Hey Ashton,

Many thanks! Glad you like it.

I had contacted the Dev about possibly writing for this game a while ago. They said they had someone already.

Yes, actually Rhys contacted me pretty early into development because he liked my previous work in Grem Legends.

It's such a different direction that I would have imagined and I think it fits really well.

I'm curious, what kind of direction where you thinking?

I usually sell a mainly on Bandcamp, but recently I have been also uploading through DistroKid. its a pretty awesome service that gets your music on all the digital services, and its cheap. I don't sell as much there but its really nice to have a presence on all the different services.

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably wait for some more options and stick with free streaming on SoundCloud for now.

Cheers,
Moritz

[Kyle Preston]

Two paws up, nice work Moritz! The production is very impressive, particularly on Sneaky Mr. Mittens. What piano is that you're using if you don't mind me asking?

[MoritzPGKatz]

Two paws up, nice work Moritz! The production is very impressive, particularly on Sneaky Mr. Mittens.

Thanks Kyle!

What piano is that you're using if you don't mind me asking?

Sure, it's an EWQL Bechstein. Hate hate hate the PLAY engine by the way. And iLoks. Piano sounds very sweet though.

Cheers,
Moritz

[Kyle Preston]

Yeah, iLoks and I don't always get along; especially when it comes to assimilating new gear! 

But your piano does sound awesome.  I've been debating between an EWQL piano or the Cinesamples Piano in Blue; getting tired of engineering the hell out of my current pianos to get them to sound "real".

[ashtonmorris]

Also you can now sell your OST as DLC on Steam now, I know of a few composers that do that.

I think I would have attempted something more simplified and perhaps more suited for younger audiences (major scales, catchy cutesy melodies).

This Soundtrack is more mature and complex, which I think really adds something nice to the game. 

[ashtonmorris]

Speaking of EWQL I am very curious to try out their Composer Cloud when a project calls for it. They do have some great sounding  samples/instruments.

http://www.soundsonline.com/composercloud

[MoritzPGKatz]

Also you can now sell your OST as DLC on Steam now, I know of a few composers that do that.

Hadn't thought of that - I'll check it out. Thanks!

I think I would have attempted something more simplified and perhaps more suited for younger audiences (major scales, catchy cutesy melodies).
This Soundtrack is more mature and complex, which I think really adds something nice to the game. 

I can imagine that would have worked as well - I decided to go with a Burton-meets-flimsy-Jazzband style, thought that might illustrate both the overall weirdness of the game as well as the nostalgic / make-shift setting.

Speaking of EWQL I am very curious to try out their Composer Cloud when a project calls for it. They do have some great sounding samples/instruments.

That sounds like a good deal. A lot of their recordings are really good. Hollywood Brass and Hollywood Strings are great flexible scoring tools, for example.
Still, the engine sucks. And with Project SAM, Spitfire, Soniccouture, Native Instruments etc. there's a lot of great Kontakt libraries out there which are far more flexible and handy due to Kontakt's vast programming capabilities.

Of course, recording real instruments and sections is still the real deal! Nothing beats an intelligent instrumentalist.
And you can have a beer after recording. Try doing that with your DAW and you'll end up lonely 

[MoritzPGKatz]

But your piano does sound awesome.

Thanks! There's some EMT140 reverb on it, but apart from that, this is how a performance sounds on that thing. Didn't tinker with it much.

I've been debating between an EWQL piano or the Cinesamples Piano in Blue; getting tired of engineering the hell out of my current pianos to get them to sound "real"

Can't have enough pianos, really. There's such a lot of ways to record that instrument, and there's no right way about it.

Haven't heard the Cinesamples one.
I keep coming back to the EWQLs, the Galaxy Vintage D is a fair choice in many cases as well though. For pop pianos I use NI stuff or Omnisphere.
Been meaning to check out the new Soniccouture piano, a lot of their unusual samples are really good. (Pan drums, Glassworks, Ondes, Skiddaw Stones...)

[Audiosprite]

Love the guitar especially. Is it live?

Yep, that's me playing a Strat through Amplitube. I think I chose a Fender Bassman and Twin emulation aiming for a surf-rock kind of sound.
Could've easily recorded a real Twin here, but for the weird instrumentation I wasn't sure about the sound I needed and was glad I could tweak a bit afterwards.

There's also some nylon guitar in "Sneaky Mr. Mittens" that I recorded in a dry room with an old KM184.

Ooh, Amplitube, awesome. Is that the one that went with, like, micro, the pay-a-little-for-each-amp-etc model? It sounds phenomenal, great playing too. Reminds me of Marc Ribot;

Also, where'd the marimba and double bass samples come from?

The marimba is off the Spitfire Percussion library. Chose it over the similar-sounding EWQL marimba which always had some weird quirks and rattling samples.
The upright bass I used comes with Spectrasonics Trilian, they're quite dry and neutral samples that I tweaked quite a bit with UAD Pultec EQ and LA2A compression, I think.

Oh, word. I've been using the solo db from EWQLSO (or just hiring my db friend) and I can't use the closemics to get around the big orchestra hall verb they got going on there. Atm I use an expander to duck the verb tails but it's a pretty hack-y solution lol. But people have been talking about Trillain for years, I should check that out.

Also you can now sell your OST as DLC on Steam now, I know of a few composers that do that.

Yep. This is where 100% of my sales come from actually... which, I'd much rather they bought on bandcamp, where I'd get 85%, as opposed to steam, where I get 70% of 70% (publisher)... ah well.

[MoritzPGKatz]

Ooh, Amplitube, awesome. Is that the one that went with, like, micro, the pay-a-little-for-each-amp-etc model?

Yep, DLC pretty much. Though I'm fairly happy with the amps and speakers that come with it. Don't use the FX and pedals much.
Got the Ampeg SVX add-on for the bass, solid emulations if you want to give your DI signal some grit.

It sounds phenomenal, great playing too. Reminds me of Marc Ribot;

Thanks! Never heard that music, love it!

Oh, word. I've been using the solo db from EWQLSO (or just hiring my db friend) and I can't use the closemics to get around the big orchestra hall verb they got going on there. Atm I use an expander to duck the verb tails but it's a pretty hack-y solution lol. But people have been talking about Trillain for years, I should check that out.

Actually, that's what I did too before I got my hands on Trilian! Yeah, I always kinda worked a very reverb-heavy sound around the EWQLSO stuff I guess. The platinum range has close samples, still quite some room on the mics though.
Thing about most Spitfire samples is that they're very much flexible regarding room placement. The close mics of the BML Horns I used on Paws for Effect are so dry and smacky I can use them in pretty much any context. With section patches, I have to cut or duck some of the reverb tails sometimes because there's some movement noise on it, but sometimes these little noises can help make things sound more believable.

Cheers,
Moritz

[MereMonkey]

You should totally put this on sale, so I can buy it! haha!! 

[Jasmine]

Dude, this album is ... meowsical.  

Really though, this album is immaculately well done. So many small nuances that aid the overall tone. Plus, it's jazz, so you've already won me over. Great job, Moritz! I love how much detail you put into this project! Sometimes I wonder if composers slack off because a job, or musical venture, is small in scope. You can still make waves, no matter how few tracks you write. It's all about the heart you put into them!


Also, I'm really curious as to how much of this was recorded live. You have done a fantastic job of meshing synthetic with live-recordings! How long does it take you to process your recordings? EQ'ing, adding effects, getting out noise? Was that you doing the initial voice over? Please say yes! (let me know if I'm being too nosey)

Read through the above posts. Seriously surprised. The bass, especially, sounded authentic to me. What about the brass? I really loved the wah wah sound you got out of the trumpet!

Again, great work Moritz!

[MoritzPGKatz]

You should totally put this on sale, so I can buy it! haha!! 

Thanks! Maybe I will, eventually...

Dude, this album is ... meowsical.  

Really though, this album is immaculately well done. So many small nuances that aid the overall tone. Plus, it's jazz, so you've already won me over. Great job, Moritz! I love how much detail you put into this project! Sometimes I wonder if composers slack off because a job, or musical venture, is small in scope. You can still make waves, no matter how few tracks you write. It's all about the heart you put into them!

And thanks to you as well! Yeah, I'd rather do something right or not at all.

Goes with out saying that you need the right chemistry with the client as well to create something from the heart - things worked quite smoothly with Rhys as we were immediately on the same page regarding the musical scenery.

Of course, I have to work within the limitations of the budget - working for indie games, I can rarely hire external talents and have to rely on samples or my own meager instrumental performances.

Was that you doing the initial voice over? Please say yes! (let me know if I'm being too nosey)

Haven't mentioned that one in this thread yet I think: I'll have to say no, my voice isn't anywhere near that deep range.
That's Colin Soleman doing the narration, he's a British voice-over artist and drummer based in Germany. Luckily, he was in the studio for another job at the time, so he could make an exception and perform for a smaller budget than usual.

What about the brass? I really loved the wah wah sound you got out of the trumpet!

The solo trombone in Sneaky Mr. Mittens and Hot Purrsuit is a patch off EWQL Hollywood Brass.
The horns in Paws for Effect are the a2 horns off Spitfire BML 201.
The bigger brass and string sections are Spitfire as well. Some Sable for more intricate stuff, some Albion I-III for sustains and big legatos.

Cheers,
Moritz

[Breakdown Epiphanies]

Cool tunes, and a great production. Have been listening on soundcloud a few times already and work has been pretty laid-back with such a smooth musical background. Thanks Moritz!
Btw, I'm amazed how you appropriated the Spitfire sounds to this jazzy style. I only own the Albion range but I did not think the BML and Sable stuff would fit in so nicely.

[MoritzPGKatz]

Cool tunes, and a great production. Have been listening on soundcloud a few times already and work has been pretty laid-back with such a smooth musical background. Thanks Moritz!

Glad to hear it!

Btw, I'm amazed how you appropriated the Spitfire sounds to this jazzy style. I only own the Albion range but I did not think the BML and Sable stuff would fit in so nicely.

Appreciated!
Yeah, the close mic's in some of the instruments are so dry they actually sound ridiculous, especially with boomy instruments that usually need quite a bit of room to develop their sonic qualities. I mean, ever turned just the C channel up on the lowest brass notes in Albion III? Sounds like dry farts.
With a bit of bus compression and consistent reverb choices, you can use the close mic arrays in pretty much any context though.

Cheers,
Moritz