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Posted by Soundcloud.com on

Hello!

My name is Wouter van Leeuwen. I'm a 16-year-old producer and beginning DJ from Roermond, the Netherlands, and i want to set myself the challenge of composing a soundtrack or part of a soundtrack for a videogame.

My music style can be best described as a mix between 8-Bit, Glitch, Raw Data, and more mainstream genres like Oldschool House, EDM and Trap, although i mostly make songs in only one of the selected genres. I've always been fascinated about 8-Bit and this sort of music in general, using simple or a small amount of different instruments or samples to construct a big sounding song.

I use tracker software to compose my music, in particular OpenMPT/ModPlug Tracker. Trackers have been around for ages and they're a versatile piece of equipment if you know how to use them - for many beginners their intricate interface may be a let down, which is why not many people use them. You can make minimalistic music as 8-Bit with them, but you can also add in VST instruments and plugins and quite a bunch of other features to allow for more mainstream composing.

I came across this type of audio workstation back in 2008, when i played a game that used this type of music composing and music filedata. I've always been a creative person and at the time i refused to play any games without level editors, thus i was thrilled to find one available for the game. I started building levels and i thought - i could aswell edit the music for the levels i'm building! From there on i downloaded OpenMPT and i started creating music - not the best music, but i've improved by miles over the years.

Over the years i also thought of creating my own games, and obviously scoring them myself. I started with Game Maker, a software that as a game developer you'll probably know already. I took example games that demonstrated things like simple platforming basics, and made my own games out of them, then composing MIDI music for them in Anvil Studio, a MIDI composing program. This game-making, how basic it was, got me an interview in the studio of national Dutch radio station 3FM on the edge of 2009 when i was 10, because i had made a game starring Dutch radio DJ Giel Beelen - and also starring my music ofcourse.

Later on in late 2011 and early 2012 i started doing the same thing again, expanding from a simple 3D shooter engine and developing it into a big game with a campaign, simple deathmatch mode and a level editor. To make it score to the public, i copypasted the face of Jan Moes on the enemy texture. Jan Moes was a hated YouTube vlogger and had a fair share of haters. I figured i could attract a large amount of people by making the game mildly offensive towards him, and it got me fairly popular on YouTube, if only because the childlike nature of the game. Other YouTubers started picking up the game and did commentaries of it - there's probably a few of them that are able to be found on YouTube if you search for it. Once again, the entire soundtrack was composed by myself. This time featuring a minimalist approach, nearly leaning towards 8-Bit. It only consisted of two instruments - a cut up Amen break and a saw-like waveform which the latter i used various octaves and vibratos on to make it sound more unique. The game and all links to it have been taken down as Jan got mad about the game, so i had to take it down.

Over the years i have improved my musical abilities and my performance at scoring video game music. Trying to make more mainstream music - and mixing odd genres as 8-Bit and Raw Data into it - has definitely built up my qualities over the years. I started doing this in early 2013 when i composed my song Translate, using some 8-Bit sounding arpeggio synths, a Google Translate sample and a really thick beat, and mixing it all together in one song. I started putting my music on online services such as SoundCloud and YouTube, and i tried my best on improving my more mainstream side of my music - making the transition from very 8-Bit sounding electro to a well-balanced mix between every genre i like. I've been featured in a local newspaper too about my producing career. My songs Microbe and Bit Funk have both been featured in the online game Cat Ninja: The Quest For The Magic Energy Crystals. Another feat, minor but still noteworthy, is that i'm also a big fan of the LittleBigPlanet series, another creative game where you get to build levels. The game also has a simple but very nice built-in song building feature that sounds great for what it does, and i've built up quite some skill composing songs for people's levels on both the PS Vita edition of the game as well as LittleBigPlanet 2 on the PS3. This got me quite popular in the game and lead me to being invited to betatest LittleBigPlanet 3 back in 2014.

I've recently went back to my roots, or maybe even further than that with my latest 8-Bit tracks "The Key" and "Pwnt" - although i've never quit the genre if this bit may imply that, i've always made a few 8-Bit tracks here and there inbetween, such as my track "Ayt Beit" which has been on SoundCloud in the past, i have no idea why it's not on my profile, and various unreleased and mixed-genre tracks such as "Buildingstyle" (this song has been removed from SoundCloud as i wanted to clear space for other, better songs). This going-back gave me a thought - i should start doing this on a bigger, more grander scale, and stretch my qualities as an 8-Bit musician as far as i can!

Composing an entire soundtrack fits all the requirements i have and i'm really going to do my best at a soundtrack. I'm fairly experienced with soundtracks, but doing one for a serious game would boost that experience by miles! I can expand my 8-Bit style to various themes and moods, for whatever setting needed, and i'm really driven when i create musical pieces, in fact, i could have a song finished in few days if needed. I'd also love to see how video game development - and audio development in particular - works from the inside. I don't have a specific amount of payment in mind but i'm sure i can figure something out with you/your company, same story on how much musical pieces and what song lengths you're thinking of.

My resume:

- Experience with music since 2008, with soundtracking skills built up over the years
- A complete MIDI soundtrack consisting of 10 songs for the game Giel And The 3FM Awards
- 10 more songs for the unreleased sequel of Giel And The 3FM Awards
- Complete tracker-based soundtrack for the game Anti-Jan Spel
- 60+ musical pieces for user-created levels in the games LittleBigPlanet 2 and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita
- Personally selected to participate in the LittleBigPlanet 3 Private Beta
- 18 songs on SoundCloud over the past two years, varying from Trap to Glitch and from House to 8-Bit - but hundreds upon hundreds of drafts and unreleased material that only needs mastering. Safe to say i have at least over 40 finished songs already!

I'm really hoping for a company to pick me as a musician for their game. It would really get me a stronger audience - and it'd get you a sick soundtrack for your game!

There's some contact info and links to my SoundCloud and YouTube in the "How to Apply" section. I can send some more examples of my 8-Bit style or other work such as the Anti-Jan Spel soundtrack or some MIDI songs from Giel And The 3FM awards at request.

I really hope to get some replies soon!

Thanks for reading through,
Wouter van Leeuwen.

To Apply


Hit me with a reply here: woutervanleeuwenmusic@gmail.com

SoundCloud: Soundcloud.com
YouTube: Youtube.com

Cat Ninja: Trackmill.com