Kaleidoscope is OverClocked ReMix's first original soundtrack release, part of their new initiative to also act as publisher of free original video game music.

Kaleidoscope Original Soundtrack [OCRO-0001]
Kaleidoscope developed by Morsel Games (http://PlayMorsel.com) for Xbox LIVE Indie Games
Tracks 1-6 composed and produced by Mattias Häggström Gerdt (a.k.a. Another Soundscape)
Track 7 composed and produced by David W. Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel)
Contact: mattias@anosou.com

Composers' comments:

With Kaleidoscope, the main goal of the music was giving each world a unique identity while still making the soundtrack feel cohesive and as a whole. I worked hard on finding a few basic instruments that fit Sang Han's fantastic art and then built the tracks around these. To give them a unique identity, I made sure the main hooks were played by instruments that went well with the unique themes of the different worlds.

For 'Pretty Pleasantries,' the main thought was to make a rather simple and upbeat track to ease the player into the experience. Most World 1-1 themes from history's platformers have used this kind of happy music and I thought it was only fitting that I followed their lead. The synths and drums might seem a bit on the simple sounds but I honestly like it that way, it went well with the clean art Sang produced.

For 'Troublesome Travels,' I tried to capture that special mood of autumn. Not quite sad but never really able to be happy. The harmonies and instrumentation reflects this somewhat (I hope) and the odd phrasing gave the track a sort of uneasiness that I found very amusing while writing it.

In 'Malevolent Mysteries,' the task was to create an atmospheric, dark almost mysterious mood. Compared to the other worlds in Kaleidoscope, this one has black withered trees and isn't very cozy at all. Instead of going straight horror with Adams Family instruments I kept relatively close to the rest of the soundtrack. I focused instead on keeping it atmospheric, always in minor, and make the instruments seem a bit more hollow. The sounds are heavily reverbed and delayed and the atmosphere it created worked well.

The final level track, 'Old Oddities,' is basically one big tribute to the old classics. The world is influenced by the old 8-bit and 16-bit consoles so I gave the music the same treatment. Seeing as 16-bit sounds aren't as compelling to me as 4-bit and 8-bit, I focused on the sounds of the Game Boy and C64. If my mind serves me right there's even a Sinclair Spectrum in there but I might be imagining things. The only instrument I sampled myself is the Game Boy sound, that's my old brick Game Boy and Little Sound Dj making some noises. It's processed with both basic equalizer, some easy low-pass filtering and delay/reverb to make sure it sat well with the "regular" synths. The time signature changes, melody and harmony is something I'm still extremely happy with. The track really DID sound odd when I was done but I found myself humming it for days after working on it. It's definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Based on these four tracks, I constructed the Map theme. Using a very simple melody and bass, I could expand it with instruments corresponding to each world. In the game this track sounds different depending on which world you're currently standing in, so if you're in the 8-bit influenced world, the map theme will include the previously mentioned Game Boy samples. This was my way of further using the distinct "sound" of each world, to make sure the map theme would work wherever on the map you were.

The Main Theme was made long before the other tracks. I must admit, I actually made it before I was asked to work on Kaleidoscope. When Matthew approached me with his vision of the game and the opening scene though I knew this was a perfect fit. I have a weak spot for bells and mallets (if you hadn't noticed), and the sound used here is one of my absolute favorites, courtesy of ReasonBanks proVITAMIN Refill.

Finally, I just want to thank a few people. I know, this is not a speech, I didn't get a prize but still! Dave for agreeing to contribute an AMAZING track to the game, for being supportive, for releasing the soundtrack, for creating OCR, for basically making my career and being generally awesome. Larry Oji and the other guys at OCR for support and feedback. Jeriaska for being a strong supporter of VGM in all ways imaginable and a good friend. Matt and Sang for making this fantastic game and being generally sexy. Much love!

Keep appreciating, supporting and promoting video game music!

Mattias Häggström Gerdt
mattias@anosou.com
http://anosou.com
http://twitter.com/anosou
http://ocremix.org/artist/4751/another-soundscape

When Mattias first linked me to a WIP of his work on Kaleidoscope, I instantly "got" the sound he was going for: the score has a very distinct mechanic & aesthetic, emphasizing a blend of chromatic percussion/mallet elements within a pure, distilled electronica environment.

I think it fits the game quite well, and for my own contribution, I really just tried to respect what he came up with by penning a short original melody and trying to emulate that style to the best of my ability. I had the pleasure of playing the game at PAX '09, and I'm looking forward to the final build, since I love platformers.

This is actually my first original scoring for a video game of any kind, and while it's short and heavily inspired by Mattias's excellent work, I'm still proud of it and glad I could contribute to the game in some way.

David W. Lloyd
djpretzel@ocremix.org
http://ocremix.org
http://twitter.com/djpretzel
http://ocremix.org/artist/4279/djpretzel

Morsel Games:
http://facebook.com/pages/Kaleidoscope/121218962154/
http://twitter.com/playmorsel
http://youtube.com/playmorsel