Now Playing – Stephen Dark

Artificial Light

This album reflects a time when I was writing a lot of music for corporate events, mainly tech companies. There are 4 tracks here.

Breakaway was written for a major project launch of a technology company and comes in two parts. Intro, which was supposed to sound weird and vaguely old tech, hence the dial-up modem noise. Then in part two it is a big ass exciting, noisy, synth and guitar led work where people entering the auditorium would clap along and find their seats.

Broadwater Park was commissioned by a large security equipment company and I was asked to write a spooky beginning that morphed into an absolutely relentless mid paced beat and to have sounds found in an urban crime environment. I like it but it goes on too long. However, the customer liked it and ordered other compositions from me so there’s that.

Jubilee was written for a tech company product launch and was supposed to be uplifting, clap along too and that people would remember the tune. It worked and I got a very nice bonus. Oh was also told to make it sound like a Crocodile Dundee movie soundtrack feel. I cold face adding didgeridoo noises. I focused on guitar and nice harpy bits.

Oceans and Seas Part One: Oceans and Seas is a two-part work written for a Radar company specialising in marine radar. I seemed to be getting a reputation among various tech agency marketing departments for doing two things well. Spooky intros, and bloody relentless main themes that make people walk around auditoriums and sit down to avoid listening to too much of the music.

Oceans and Seas Part Two was written for a marine Radar company who wanted to use it at a sales launch and parts of it at exhibitions of their tech. It’s relentless, it’s got singing whales in it and seashore noises. I didn’t get to see how they used this, in fact that’s pretty normal, but they liked it. Circa mid 1990s.