THE PATRIOTS

August 15, 2015 8:53 AM

A campy, '60s-superhero-show theme for a video game I recently scored!

Last year I worked on a point-and-click adventure game about a bungling group of failed superheroes who stumble their way into solving huge crimes!

I'm going to be posting the full soundtrack soon (months overdue on that) and it'll be free, on my Bandcamp page, the same as my other soundtracks, which are always free (or no minimum, pay if you feel like it) whenever I can get the rights to do so.

Credits:

- Jake Kaufman: Composition, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Production
- Jeff Ball: Violins
- Jim Scimonetti: Saxes
- Brian "Dogboy" Burwell: Drums
- Robert Altschuler: Recording

This was the first time I've ever had a live instrument budget for a freelance job, it's kind of a big deal for me to work with real players instead of trying to fake them with my samples -- I can get really good results from the computer, but a lifetime of practice and a playful sense of humor will stomp all over my machine simulacra any day, tell you what.

BTW the trumpets are fake, I laid them down one by one with a MIDI saxophone, can you believe it? We live in the future.

posted by jake (17 comments total) 39 users marked this as a favorite

This is brilliant! Now this here, son - this is what talent sounds like.
posted by billiebee at 9:30 AM on August 15, 2015


Wow! I was going to ask what software you used for the strings and horns, but you got to use the real thing! Fantastic stuff. And your arrangement is top-notch.
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:12 PM on August 17, 2015


This is amazing!

Production is nice and crisp
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 5:49 AM on August 18, 2015


Wow is right. Loved it. If this was a TV theme for a show in reruns in my youth, I would have never missed it.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:28 AM on August 19, 2015


I totally had a "wait was Adam West in that" moment!
posted by sammyo at 6:38 PM on August 19, 2015


Awesome arrangement, lovely clean mix that doesn't jar with the pastiche sound, LOVE this.
posted by greenish at 7:22 AM on August 21, 2015


Wow, that is fantastic, love it; great job, dude.
posted by marienbad at 10:39 AM on August 21, 2015


This is wonderful. Great work.
posted by minsies at 11:53 PM on August 22, 2015


Wow. It must have been a thrill to work with players like that. This is amazing.
posted by umbĂș at 8:39 AM on August 30, 2015


What's the game? Anything that would pick an awesome song like that is something I am sure I would want to play.
posted by Samizdata at 7:10 PM on August 31, 2015


Absolutely tops, mate!

Also crimejazz is the best musical genre of ever.

CRIMEJAZZ
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:58 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]


This is wonderful. If I ever get bitten by a radioactive something-or-other I'll be sure to contract you for my theme song.
posted by Harald74 at 11:42 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]


The opening titles are gonna have to work hard to match that (but they're playing just fine in my mind's eye right now...)

KER-POW!
posted by Devonian at 2:49 PM on September 1, 2015


Awesomesauce.
posted by sutt at 6:23 AM on September 2, 2015


I didn't even notice this got sidebarred, jeez! :O

The game is Supreme League of Patriots, available on Steam! It's been out for months, and I'm extremely late in getting the OST album out, and I feel awful about it, because I aim for "day-one" releases and this one just fell through the cracks. But it'll happen soon! Almost through my nastiest deadlines now.

And yeah "crimejazz" is the best. I got to score Batman: The Brave and the Bold: The Video Game for Wii a couple years ago, which had music just like the show, campy 60s Adam West style classic sleuthing jazz, and POW! BIFF! action tracks, but they cross-faded\ seamlessly, so it sounds like the music picks up in intensity (but keeps playing the same song) when you get in a fight. Like the drums and guitars kick in, and it's ON.

It was a hoot, but I couldn't get any budget for live players, so it's all fakery. Even a few hundred bucks can make all the difference, so I'm trying to push for a studio budget on every gig in ANY genre now, if we anticipate any conventional instrumentation.

One of my best friends is a pretty successful film composer who works weekly with 130-piece live orchestras, and I'm over the moon just to get 3 players. But you gotta start somewhere!
posted by jake at 4:30 PM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


(*Also it helps when the 3 players are total badasses)
posted by jake at 4:32 PM on September 3, 2015


This is great! I'll keep an eye out for the full sound track!
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 9:34 AM on September 24, 2015


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