The combat beta for Complex Games’ “Pirates Ahoy!” For which NDB did the SFX and Music!

Pirates Ahoy! from NDB Studio Productions on Vimeo.

Red Reptile was recently at the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco at the GameOn Manitoba booth where they were running a trailer of their upcoming titles.  One in particular (working title “Legacy”) used a piece we composed for them that brings out a gritty kind of techno-mechanical feel to it.  Here’s the music and trailer!

Legacy Audio

Legacy and Canziano from Red Reptile on Vimeo.

Here’s some other work we did for Complex Games on an iPhone video game!

Skipping Stones Trailer from NDB Studio Productions on Vimeo.

We did quite a lot for Complex Games in terms of sound design, composition and sound effects.  Here’s a sampling:

Pirates Ahoy! – Home Port

Pirates Ahoy! – Volcano

Here is our audio integrated with the Clones Trailer!

Clones Trailer from NDB Studio Productions on Vimeo.

Here are some sample pieces we did for a video game called Clones (check it out on the sidebar under Tomkorp):

Clones – Mountain

Clones – Mountain Boss

Hey all,

So, I recently attended my brother’s beautiful wedding on the killer Hawaiian island of Maui and, I’ve got to tell you, it couldn’t have gone better.  There were many nights on the beach, many nights of relaxing with friends and many, many Mai Tais, but there was one night that really stuck out in my mind.

Kirk and Melissa (my brother and new sister-in-law) planned the rehearsal dinner activity for everyone on the Tuesday night, before the big day.  It was a luau in the coastal town of Lahaina (again, on the island of Maui) and, as cool as hula girls and coconut bras are, the percussionists were amazing.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them! They had instruments that I had never heard of before and playing these psychotic rhythms, really fast and in this really contagious groove.  A sampling of the drums… and the Tahitian dancing… is below.

One of my favourite instruments there was the pahu, which is a type of pitched log drum.  One type of log drum is below…

Very cool! The luau percussionist was incredible, but it was really the synergy between all of the drums, the dancing and the narrative that made this luau SO impressive.  It really makes me want to dabble more in island percussion – doesn’t matter which island, but Hawaii, Tahiti, the Polynesian Islands…

ALSO, the stories that accompany the music, like the colonization of Hawaii, the annexation by the US (positive or negative), the myths of the Haleakala volcano, or the stories about the islands before it became a tourist destination… like when Westerners would come to visit a friend, then get to the airport and then be unable to get on the plane, completely captured by the beauty and pace of Hawaii.  Everything, and everyone, has a story… and there’s a sort of historic poetry that takes place when one can capture that in music.

Speaking of capturing, special thanks to Winnipeg photographers, Jess and Jake from Kamp Photography, who captured the wedding and the adventures surrounding it with a heartfelt, comforting quality – some seriously awesome photography.  Make sure to follow them on twitter as well!

Now that I’m back, back to work, updates to follow!

Mahalo! (Hawaiian for “thank you!”)
Kenley