I recently got a commission to write a handful of soundtracks for cell phone games. This is not terribly glamorous work, particularly since I don’t get to put my name on the music, but I’ve been quite excited about it all the same. For one thing, getting paid to make music is a thrill, pretty much no matter what. For another, it might lead to something bigger and better, and I’m happy to get my foot in the door. You never know where the word “yes” will take you, after all, but “no” is always certain: nowhere and nothing. “Yes” at least is allowing the possibility.

Finally, I thought I’d enjoy the challenge of writing short midi loops. It’s like a haiku - small, quick, hopefully significant. I found it great practice, actually.

My friend at Atom Entertainment provided me with samples of the games, and I started off by spending some time just clicking through them and listening to the music in my head start to flow. The first four soundtracks are below. They’re designed to loop but I’ve got them playing through here only once.

A driving/racing game

A spaceman jetpacking through a lunar cave

A whack-a-mole type game involving bonking things on the head

A geography game where you identify the 50 states by shape alone

Next four soundtracks coming soon…