Description
Impressionism and Folk. Really, it's a mix of styles I'm developing into its own sort of thing.

Message from the artist
This is music from a world that's been in my mind for the last 17 years. It came to me spontaneously, but also grew over time. It's like this world has its own sort of spirit to it, its own unique flavor.

I am now working on a survival game in UE5. I used a Valheim build for my cover art, because I am going to use the architectural style I developed during the build for the plains people. Likewise, my first track is related to this biome:

1. Heart of the Steppes

I used a Talharpa I built myself just earlier this year. It's a very hard instrument - like a violin, except there is no fingerboard. You have to use your knuckle to fret the string, so your bowing technique has to be on point. It's also harder to play fast. All of the strings in this track are me playing the instrument I built myself in my garage. It is a Norse/Finnish instrument, and I likewise mixed it with a touch of throat singing along the lines of Mongolia/Altai.

In my survival game, I want the opening to be like you're dropped in this world in a sort of exile. As you explore, you quickly find a horse. You follow the horse a bit, and the horse comes up to you, and eventually you ride the horse. Some of the music in this track would be timed to the galloping of the horse as you explore as I expand on the themes in this track.

Please forgive the shoddy technique on the first couple of measures with the Talharpa - I was trying my best! This is a simplified version of a melody that came into my mind after the last competition, in my sleep in the middle of the night.

Picture of the instrument: https://i.imgur.com/PGy390B.jpg

2. Wind and Water

This one is the first of the more impressionistic tracks. The air of this one to me is like the wind blowing in the trees. The trill is actually pentatonic in a different key than the arpeggio.

What is interesting is that when I first came up with this melody, that trill came to me spontaneously when improvising. What I realized afterwards is that it is very much like throat singing for the initial one, like my love of Mongolian music came through and started harmonizing perfectly with this impressionistic style.

3. Gilded Strands

This piece goes with the gas giant plant that is the moon for my survival game's world. Instead of a sci-fi theme, this is definitely a fantasy theme, but where the cosmos fits in this universe like it would in antiquity, where you'd have this system of astrology and the planets.

This track's name comes from the planet itself having strands of gold against marble white clouds. So, this ties together all of the tracks, because no matter where you are in the game's world, if you look up, you can see this planet filling the sky.

This one is a love letter to Rachmaninoff's Etudes Tableaux. What I did here was extract the spirit of my inner world as Rachmaninoff's world touched mine, as well as Ravel's and Shostakovich's. But this inner world I have is still its own thing, and I'm likewise continuing to develop its sound.

All of the tonal colors in this piece are very deliberate in bringing this spirit of my inner world to life - in the couple spots I made some mistakes, I correct to exactly what I was hearing in my mind. I'd say this one is worth a second listen.

The last line of this one is the motif for the gas giant planet that I have yet to give a name.

Closing note-

I want to emphasize as well that I didn't have a ton of time to work on these. A few of the lines in this piece are improvisations where I improvised it in exactly one take.

Thank you so much for listening. This world is truly something I'm pulling out from the depth of my soul. Likewise, all feedback that helps me grow in realizing this world more fully is greatly appreciated!

Proof:

Heart of the Steppes:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264611901493477497/image.png?ex=669e811c&is=669d2f9c&hm=b6b9f3cf8a58fb5c3acbd36c8ad691eac6be69d5a2500181c82a0f63d0c82f4e&

Wind and Water:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264601311656280074/image.png?ex=669e773f&is=669d25bf&hm=1725181ceb10f78bade3a4a6ae12b45c95011699f3c9c87ca30369ad47aa7f5e&


Gilded Strands:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264600822348513424/image.png?ex=669e76cb&is=669d254b&hm=94d5a8229909fdb3099a0ea1086c5ee182d53cf4b477db422d366edbd1e084c5&

Theme

How does it fit the theme?
This is music from a world that's been in my mind for the last 17 years. It came to me spontaneously, but also grew over time. It's like this world has its own sort of spirit to it, its own unique flavor.

Getting this world out of my mind and into the world is one of my core purposes in life. It needs to be born, and it is trying to get out with a fiery intensity.

That is why I chose the "Inside My World" theme. This music is very much the result of going deep inside of myself to dig out this world's spirit.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/alkan23/sets/inside-my-world

Number of tracks
3

Genre

Soundtrack use permission