Posted on

Shawn Clement Recognized for Epic Sci-Fi Soundtrack

shawn-clementComposer of fan favorites including Batman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and American Idol, Shawn Clement gears up for an exciting year as Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey hits theaters with galactic force!

As featured in a recent issue of ASCAP’s Playback magazine, Shawn says ‘this is one of the more fulfilling gigs that I’ve ever done.”

To record the film’s dramatic score, Shawn worked with George Lucas’ legendary Skywalker Sound (the production house responsible for the Star Wars films) and the San Franscisco Symphony. He scored the 3-D, fully animated, feature length film using SONAR with an 82-piece orchestra  and real NASA-discovered space sounds.

Quantum Quest takes viewers on a solar safari through space as Dave, a photon living on the sun, gets caught in a battle between the forces of good and evil. Dave must journey through the solar system to find his way to the Cassini Space Craft before his friends and the universe are destroyed forever.

Click here to view exclusive pictures from the Quantum Quest scoring session

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey will land in theaters in early 2010.

Posted on

Master of Digital Arts, Justin Lassen Releases First Limited Edition Album

SynaethesiaA master of the digital arts, Justin Lassen continues to dominate a new realm of creativity, composing music to computer-generated graphic art. With the help of his PCAudioLabs digital audio workstation with an Intel Core i7 processor, SONAR 8.5 and various media editing tools, Justin gives life to the one dimensional art forms.

Recently, Justin released Synaesthesia, a series of his latest works which has gained high acclaim throughout the fine art and technology industries, even landing him a spot in Intel’s Visual Andrenaline magazine. Synaesthesia matches Justin’s  hauntingly beautiful music with still images created by well-known graphic designers including Alex Ruiz (The Simpsons) and Nykolai Aleksander.

After 4 years in the making, Justin introduces his first dual-disc limited edition collector’s album, Synaesthesia II (Nihil Records / Big Cartel), featuring 2 hours and 38 tracks of pure genius*! This new album compliments some of Justin’s best works with world-reknown CG artists. Visit the Synaesthesia Myspace page to hear a sampling of tracks from Synaesthesia II.

* Purchase one of the first 200 copies and your CD will be hand signed by Justin!

Posted on

Producing Live DVDs with SONAR

Trev-Wilkins--Scadge-ProducFrom time to time, Engineer and Owner of Scadge Productions, Trev Wilkins gives us a brief update on his travels on the road and in studio. Here’s the latest:

It’s been a long time since I updated the blog but (fortunately) that’s due to being very busy.

The Albert Lee and Hogan’s Heroes DVD, Live in Rome, should be on sale now (everywhere!) after being completely mixed and tweaked in SONAR.

There’s another live album still in progress for Neil Innes (the 7th Python) and his reformed band Fatso from their anniversary tour. It includes a wide range of material that I recorded during the tour including Monty Python and Rutles songs. Currently residing in a SONAR folder, it should be out early next year.

We’ve just finished part II of the Raymond Froggatt Live DVD which should be going to press very soon. The band liked our setup so much that they’ve purchased SONAR and will be recording some material for their next album in our studio.

Continue reading “Producing Live DVDs with SONAR”

Posted on

Hits Keep Coming for Wendy Starland & the V-Studio 100

Wendy Starland, VH1’s Best Emerging Artist, has landed numerous songs on the Billboard charts and on primetime TV. She’s currently working on a new album and is using the V-Studio 100 to record and enhance her vocal tracks.

Wendy was recently honored by The Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame for her top 10 hit song, Dancing With The Sea, her self-written & produced single which was released in Europe alongside multi-platinum artists, Norah Jones, Feist, and Edie Brickell, just to name a few. Her song landed at #8 on the charts, giving her the opportunity to tour throughout Europe to thousands of fans. She is a featured lead vocalist on multi-platinum artist Mobys Grammy nominated album, Last Night, which went to #1 on the Billboard charts.

Her songs have been heard in hit TV shows, including Las Vegas and ABC’s Regis and Kelly. Fashion diva Donna Karan, celebrity clothing line Boy Meets Girl, Mobile Vision Player, Milestone Brand beverages, and skin care/ makeup line, Beauty Society, are all using her music and image in their ad campaigns on network TV (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) as well as in print (Teen Vogue, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, Elle Magazine, and The New York Times).

Her new single, Love Will Come To You, is being released on dPulse / Universal, along with 4 remixes, at The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater to an audience of 12,500 people.

Posted on

Composer Tim Wynn Featured On New Video Game Soundtrack

Composer / Producer of music for video games, Tim Wynn, announces the release of his recent project, the soundtrack to Red Faction Guerrilla.  Best known for his scores in such successful titles as Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008), The Simpson’s Game (2007) and The Punisher (2005), Wynn uses SONAR and its many available plug-ins to create his works.

To complete the latest soundtrack, 5 composers came together to produce 32 tracks. Listen to one of Tim’s tracks below, the video game’s main theme song, Defiance:

Red Faction Guerrilla takes place in 2075 on the surface of Mars. The Red Faction is a revolutionary force called upon to liberate the ‘Ultor’ colonies and put an end to the grotesque experiments conducted by chief scientist, Capek. The fate of the red planet solely rests of the actions of the Red Faction and its fearless leader Alec Mason.

Hear more of Tim’s work on the Red Faction Guerrilla soundtrack.

Posted on

Cool Videos Produced by SONAR 8 Users

Over the years, we’ve posted hundreds of videos to Youtube and Dailymotion.  We check the ratings, read the comments and enjoy getting feedback from our users.  We also search these sites to check out the tutorials and music videos produced by our fans and we love to share them with you.  Below are videos highlighting projects produced in SONAR 8 Producer by a few very talented individuals:

Posted on

Kevin Kern Augments Late Night Laughs with SONAR

kevin kernIf you’re late night TV fan, you’ve probably heard Kevin Kern’s music flowing from your television set. A pianist, composer and recording artist, Kevin’s music was recently featured on the Late Show with David Letterman during a parody featuring smarmy comedian Chris Elliott in The Curious Case of Bennington Butterworth.  No stranger to the television scene,  Kern’s music has been heard as part of Live! With Regis and Kelly, Oprah, NPR, PBS and more. Legally blind since birth, Kevin relies on SONAR’s assistive technology to record and produce his own music.

Hear Kevin’s latest tracks as part of his new podcast on Itunes, Piano Stories (click on the News tab to subscribe).

Posted on

Brooke Hogan's 'Redemption' Is A SureFire Hit

Brooke HoganBoston’s Surefire Music Group landed a role in mainstream TV this summer as their music was featured on the first 4 episodes of VH-1’s Brooke Knows Best (Season 2).  While Brooke’s television popularity continues to grow, Surefire Music Group is also responsible for 2 songs on the reality TV star’s brand new album, Redemption.  Surefire produced the sexy pop banger Handcuffed, and a heartfelt classic, One That Got Away. Brooke’s producers state that “this album is quite different from her last release, this time encompassing the drama of Brooke’s life on and off the television screen while showing her niche for infectious pop melodies and captivating stories within quality lyrics.”

Surefire Music Group use SONAR 8 Producer in studio, pointing out that V-Vocal and SONAR’s audio and midi capabilities make it a “very powerful platform”. Visit Surefire Music Group online for more information.

Posted on

Chuck Carr Mixes The Hoff's Vocals for Video Game Release

Producer and Songwriter for video games, Chuck Carr, posted this video to his YouTube account and we wanted to share it with you. In the video, Chuck uses the brand new VX-64 Vocal Strip (included in SONAR 8.5 Producer) to tweak The Hoff’s rendition of ‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me’ for an upcoming release of the Playstation 3 game, PAIN.

Posted on

Carmen Rizzo & Huun Huur Tu Reach Global Audiences

Electronic Musician & Record Producer, Carmen Rizzo – an avid Cakewalk softsynth user – just released a new album in collaboration with the indigenous throat-singers, Huun Huur Tu. Hailing from the Republic of Tuva (a remote area 2,500 miles east of Moscow, Russia), Huun Huur Tu’s music highlights rare native instruments and preserves what is arguably some of the world’s oldest forms of music making. The group’s unique vocals combine with Rizzo’s modern electronic production to take listeners on a lush cinematic journey.

The album is now available at all major online outlets including Amazon.com. Catch Huun Huur Tu live this fall in select cities across the US including New York, Minneapolis and Richmond, Indiana.