Especially Fowl

Especially Fowl, an original soundtrack to an imaginary video game, performed on modular synthesizers. 

Years after the creator and all those like her disappeared, the red factory on the hill continued to hum. Thick black clouds bellowed from the smokestacks, and all signs of life slowly receded from the area.  Inside, the crew of robots saw to their tasks, and with not a single visitor in generations, Barnibul, the factory's security robot, watched the monitors as they always had. But today was different... There was movement, and not just the usual weather related variety: there was life! Actual living creatures - a small duck and her offspring, were wandering towards the property. Barnibul's programming compelled them to initiate the heat ray as they had so many times before, but today something was different... today, Barnibul's actions were their own, and they wanted to see what would happen if they helped. 

Especially Fowl is cinematic platformer where you switch between taking on the role of Barnibul as they assist the ducks from their control room, and controlling the ducks as they explore the factory and try to avoid the factory's many threats. The gameplay switches between 2d and 3d sections, and features 5th generation FMV's, and multiple boss fights. 

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Live video of the album being recorded - (audio is unmixed, though)

My story takes place in a bleak place, but the ducks aren't aware of the situation - they're just ducks. The robot can't REALLY feel emotions, but there's some kind of sentience happening. I wanted to convey a tiny little bit of hope in a grimy and forgotten world no longer inhabited by humans. My album art is a collage (made from magazine pages) featuring a representation of the 2 ducks approaching the factory.

All tracks have been performed and recorded live on modular synthesizers, without a DAW. I use eurorack, and I tried to get 4 or 5 tracks out of a patch before I pulled out the cables and reset. I was hoping that each patch would represent a different area within the game... It sort of worked, but I'm disappointed that I could make the full hour of music.

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#1: Hunger Pangs

This would be played at the title screen, or when ducks enter the empty greenhouse. I created this with the intention of using using it for general ambience that could be played during some of the quiet sections where you're exploring, but I thought that it sort of gives the player an idea of the game's "vibes". 

#2: There Could be Anything

This would be played immediately after the start screen. The music starts and the screen is black until the bass starts. The ducks are shown looking for food in an area that's clearly been depleted of all it's vegetation. At 1:00, the mother looks down at the duckling, and then off into the horizon, seeing the glow of the factory in the distance. They walk towards the factory and they arrive at ~2:34. Behind them, the camera slowly pans out with the silhouette of the mother duck with her duckling on her back  centered in the frame, and the game's title is shown, fading away after the bass stops. 

#3: Klaxon

The ducks have breached the factory's perimeter and the heat ray wasn't deployed. A failsafe is activated, and sirens begin wailing (0:14}. The ducks, oblivious to the peril, walk directly towards a fence, and find a small hole to enter. Meanwhile, the player controls Barnibul as you're tasked with redirecting a squad of drones into trees, and disabling the turrets established on the gates seconds before they begin firing. The ducks get beyond the obstacles, and approach the entrance. 

#4: Dangerous Little Machines

A cutscene starts - from somewhere deep within the interior of the factory, a line of charging stations are shown to be opening, and small humanoid robots holding weapons walk forward. Observing, another larger robot stands in the shadows. The parts of the robot that are visible show signs of rust, and smoke and sparks drip from it's human like mouth. The camera pans out, and it's revealed that there are more rows of charging stations, and hundreds of small robots. 

#5: Unnatural Light

This would be background music for a playable section. The ducks enter the factory, and can explore the forayer. This part of the factory is dark with the exception of a purple glow creeping from the other side of a closed door. The ducks slowly move through the area until they're eventually standing directly outside the door. The camera moves around to show that the room contains Barnibul and their consoles and video monitors. 

#6: Worn Routes

A playable flashback scene starts. You're controlling Barnibul as they sit at their console. Emotionless, Barnibul yawns as you control the facilities' defensive technologies and violently eliminate the various wildlife and occasional human that had the misfortune of finding themselves too close to the factory's perimeter. A crew of various small robots ascend upon the dead, carrying the corpses away while smaller robots remove all traces of the incident. In the distance, you see the larger robot from before - now with significantly less signs of age and disrepair, watching the action with silent approval.

#7: The Gallery

A cutscene starts. Back in the present, Barnibul opens the door and gestures excitedly at the ducks. After initially being startled by the opening door, the ducks instantly lose interest and waddle past Barnibul and into their room. Unable to speak, Barnibul quickly uses their console's monitors and speakers to communicate, but it's impossible because they're completely ordinary ducks. Regardless, after noticing a dark shadowy figure moving from one video monitor to the next, Barnibul, now feeling responsible for the ducks well-being, pushes the ducks into a utility chute and follows behind them. In the background you see the larger robot fill the door frame as the lid to chute closes.

#8: Groundskeeping

The ducks and Barnibul exit from the end of a tube and stumble over, revealing that they're now in a maintenance area somewhere within the factory. There area is quiet and dark. The shells of lifeless robots pepper the floors as Barnibul attempts to shepherd the ducks down the hallway to a blinking red 'EXIT' sign, dangling from a single wire in the distance.

#9: The Bezoar

As the trio moves through the area, the mother duck stops suddenly. Confused, Barnibul stops and looks back at the duck and notices the small pile of metallic debris near the duck's feet is slowly separating. As the vibrations begin working their way towards them, Barnibul realizes what's happening. In a single motion, they grab both ducks and run toward a perpendicular hallway as explosions ring out. The large robot steps out of the fire. It's name, 'The Bezoar'  is shown on screen, and  it begins moving towards the group, slowly at first, and then he begins sprinting. This is a playable scene where you control Barnibul as you're running through the hallways while avoiding the danger. 

#10: The More Scenic Route

Still escaping the Bezoar, Barnibul (still carrying the ducks) jumps through a large window and lands on a series of conveyer belts within the factory. Jumping from belt to belt, the player controls Barnibul through a series of quick time events, narrowly avoiding blades/hammers/flames, until finally jumping off into darkness. 

#11: Sad Little Shrine

Barnibul and the ducks crash through the roof of an unknown area find themselves surrounded by candles and crude drawings of a robot that resembles Barnibul. Confused, they step back and bump into a statue portraying a group of small robots surrounding a robot that also resembles Barnibul. It's knocked to the ground. Barnibul looks down at the statue, and the camera slowly pans back up to reveal a crowd of robots, proportionally identical to the ones from the statue. 

#12: Robotheism

A flashback cutscene shows that the robots that have accumulated here are the ones that would clean up dead bodies after they were killed by Barnibul. As there have been less creatures throughout the last few years, this area is dilapidated. Falling debris separated this area from the main factory, and they've been worshiping Barnibul's image in hopes that doing so would bring animals to the factory, and purpose back to their lives. 

#13: Winding Key

Seeing the ducks and believing that their prayers have been answered, the robots in unison decide to show Barnibul their appreciation by killing the ducks themselves. They climb onto each other and form a massive robot fusion. 

#14: Can You Feel That? 

The giant robot fusion begins smashing through the area in pursuit of Barnibul and the ducks, and they're eventually cornered, only to be crushed by falling debris. 

#15: Ghosts

The immediate aftermath of the giant robot fusion being crushed. Barnibul and the ducks walk away from the carnage and walk towards the boiler room. 

#16: Sweating Hot

Reaching the boiler room, Barnibul and the ducks discover that they're still being pursued by the Bezoar and his army.  Using the environment, they move through the area while the majority of the bad robots are smashed in various factory related mishaps. 

#17: Dangerous Times

The group is cornered, and the Bezoar slowly walks towards them. Now, in worse shape than before they begin losing parts with every step, until they're stuck and immobile. Via a quick-time event, Barnibul kicks the Bezoar's torso into one of the boilers, causing a sequence of events indicating the impeding explosion of the entire factory. 

#18: Grease

Realizing the situation, the group turns to the exit and begins running. This would be a playable scene where you control Barnibul and you run to escape the exploding factory with a countdown timer displayed. 

#19: Last Gasp

As the group makes it most of the way to the exit, a new fusion of the Bezoar and the remaining small robots claw at their heels, only to fall into a fiery pit at the last second. 

#20: Congrats, You Made It!

The group exits the factory seconds before it explodes. Barnibul celebrates with the ducks before they leap from his arms, and without turning to look back at Barnibul, they walk off into the horizon. Barnibul looks back at the exploded factory, and the credits roll.