hollandalbright

[hollandalbright]

At the beginning of the year, I decided to make a living album that would contain all of the music I wrote during 2024- my goal was to write and release one song a month and so far, I've done that.

Some of the time I was making good progress, some of the time I was grappling with burnout, but overall, it's worked out and I'm happy with the work I've done.

I think it will be worthwhile to keep about the same schedule for writing and releasing new songs next year. Working on albums for forever in solitude and dropping them all at once is ok for some things, but personally, I don't like holding onto music that long- I want to get it out into the world.

Also, there's a lot less pressure just writing one song at a time. I like the process of concepting an album, but it's a lot!

So anyway, one more song coming out next month and then this project/album will be finished. :)

Here's a playlist of all the songs.

[hollandalbright]

Nightfall

Exploring the ruins of a castle/tower at dusk in search of ancient magical relics.

[hollandalbright]

Dark Forest Maze

New music! I made an orchestral arrangement of my song "Dark Forest Maze". 🌲

Originally for solo piano. The orchestra adds a different color & mysterious feeling.

➣ Full song and score video on my YouTube channel (please subscribe!): youtu.be/8d7aeJzcyOo

[hollandalbright]

Hi #PortfolioDay

I'm Holland- music composer looking for work in games and animation. I specialize in fantasy, neoclassical, orchestral, and piano music with memorable melodies and themes.

💼Portfolio & Contact: http://hollandalbright.com

[hollandalbright]

Crystallis Ultima (Score in C)

I made it into the Newgrounds Underdogs’ Audio Contest (NGUAC) Finals Round… and then won the contest with this piece! I'm so grateful and I hope you enjoy this one.

Also, this is my first time trying a 4K video, so hopefully the score is a bit clearer visually.

Libraries used:

Cinematic Studio Strings

Cinematic Studio Solo Strings

Cinematic Studio Woodwinds

Cinematic Studio Brass

Native Instruments Symphony Series Percussion

Kontakt Factory Library Harp

Modartt Pianoteq 6

Notation and sheet music/score made in Sibelius 6.

[hollandalbright]

Voyage by Starlight

Originally, this started as a simple, minimalist piano piece, but I started hearing more orchestral things with it and thought it would sound good fleshed out, so I expanded it for orchestra- the idea being to take a simple melody and use it multiple ways to create something more interesting. Sort of a minimalist approach to make a not-so-minimalist piece of music. :)

Please subscribe! Thank you!

[hollandalbright]

⭐ I was surprised to find out this morning that I won the Newgrounds Underdogs' Audio Contest with my piece 'Crystallis Ultima'! ⭐

For the final round, I had two weeks to write a song, but was out of town for part of it so only had about one week, but it came together in the end.

I'll post a sheet music video next week (still have some edits to do).

For now, you can hear the full song on Newgrounds!

[hollandalbright]

The Distant Horizon

The beginning of a journey of discovery to distant lands across the sea, creating a tale of legends along the way.

This is a piece I wrote for the Newgrounds Underdogs’ Audio Contest (NGUAC) Knockout Round - round two of that contest. I was supposed to have two weeks to write something, but because of life and other work, I ended up with only three days!

Score in C for easier reading along. I hope you enjoy this one!

[hollandalbright]

End of Summer (Piano Solo)

Here's another piece that will be on my album '2024'. It's been a while since I've done a piano solo/video. Hope you enjoy it :)

Please subscribe!

[hollandalbright]

I created a sheet music video for this song! Score in C for easier reading along.

Please subscribe to my channel for more fantasy music! :)

[hollandalbright]

Really incredible stuff!

Youve got to tell me about your process! Any tips or tricks you like to use? instrumentation choices? anything groovy like that would be cool to hear.

Thank you! That's kind of a broad question, but generally, my process is to just start sketching something out on piano and once I have the framework for a song, I'll expand it for orchestra or another ensemble. Instrument choices really depends on either the context or what I hear. Sometimes it feels obvious what the choice is, sometimes it takes a lot of experimentation (like choosing a soloist- do I want violin or oboe? Maybe I'll try them both and see what I like better). I also notate (almost) everything first and then export the MIDI to my DAW. It helps me a lot to have it written out, and any changes if I hear something I don't quite like are easy enough to make. Sometimes I work in sections at a time- notate, export to DAW, and repeat (lately that's more of my workflow). So each section gets complete and I can do it in smaller chunks. I hope that was helpful and answered your question! :)

[hollandalbright]

I wrote this originally when I was at a pretty low point and wasn't sure I wanted to share it afterwards because of what it represented for me at that moment. I felt like I had no motivation or drive to write at the time, and that I was out of all/any ideas and had no creativity left. I was burned out and felt like I was going nowhere. Somehow this piece managed to come out of those feelings. I decided to revisit it, finish it, and share it, because even the bad days are still part of the journey. 

[hollandalbright]

Being and Becoming (Original Soundtrack - Music from the Demo)

The music from the demo of Being and Becoming is on streaming platforms! Maybe a new addition to your VGM playlists? :)

Check it out! I hope these songs get you excited for the demo!

• Spotify

• Apple Music

• YouTube

[hollandalbright]

I'm excited to share some new music from Being and Becoming!

In this interview, I shared some of my thoughts and process on music for the game, as well as songs from the demo.

Please enjoy these songs and the interview, and follow Being and Becoming on Steam and Kickstarter for more as we continue making this game!

[hollandalbright]

Summer Rain 🌦️

New music and sheet music video!

I experimented a little and used some electric guitar to add some background moodiness and I like how it came out. :)

[hollandalbright]

Lost to Time

I finally made a score/sheet music video for this song! I hope you enjoy it!

It has a bit of a story in the description of what I imagined while writing it- sort of Zelda/Ghibli vibes :)

[hollandalbright]

I paired part of my song “Sky” with the climactic ending scene of Tears of the Kingdom. It would be a dream to write for a Zelda game one day. Love the whole series so much!