Compositions and Arrangements

An all-by-ear transcription, reorchestration and MIDI mockup of a short section from Across the Stars, one of the key themes featured in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (as well as it's sequel). It was originally composed by the legendary John Williams, and therefore all rights go to him, Lucasfilm and to Disney. As it's the Maestro's 90th Birthday (although I slightly missed the mark by a day) I decided to have a go at transcribing this simply wonderful piece. It's probably my absolute favourite composition of his (with A Window to the Past definitely in close second) and I aimed, above all, to get as much expression out of my virtual instruments as possible and really, really dive deep into the emotion of this theme. I think it's definitely the most realistic sounding MIDI mockup I've ever made and under the hood you'd be able to see why - breath control, vibrato and expression for each instrument as well as experimentation with sound source placement according to the original recording layout AND I even went as far as to find out the approximate measurements of Abbey Road Studio 1 to simulate an approximate reverb and additionally dial in room tone. I'd loved to have done the entire piece, but I think my brain (not to mention my very sickly iMac) would have imploded, and I was desperately trying to get it done in time as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Video content was created by Ambient Worlds: Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfR8HhkbpDAwvYxrecNg4Mg Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83n4pLUhTmk --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An all-by-ear transcription, reorchestration and MIDI mockup of the Title Theme to Marvel Studio's new series - Loki. It was originally composed by Natalie Holt, and therefore all rights go to her, Marvel Studios and to Disney. This theme is INCREDIBLE - overdramatic to the maximum and yet with an element of subtlety, mystery and the unknown, it so perfectly captures the essence of the entire series; from Loki's character himself, burdened with glorious purpose, to hints of the TVA and all the madness that is the Multiverse. A combo of orchestral and electronic elements interleaved with the rhythmic, percussive ticking of clocks, and interweaved with Norse instruments and even a theremin! Such amazing instrumentation choice! As with my obsession with the theme to His Dark Materials, I was captivated from the moment I heard it, and replayed the end of the episode probably about 50 times before instantly getting to work transcribing a MIDI mockup. I got about 60% done in the first night and then spent the next day polishing - and voilà! Not a bad effort for 2 days I think. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Video content was created by Marvel Studios and is the property of Marvel Studios and Disney. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A midi mockup of Skyfall, originally written for the James Bond film of the same name. It was originally composed by Paul Epworth and Adele, featuring orchestration by J. A. C. Redford. All rights go to Paul Epworth, Adele, Mr. Redford, Metro Golwyn-Mayer, Sony and XL/Columbia.

Another demo of Performance Samples' Vista Strings library, this time in a fuller mixed-instrument ensemble setting (though still string-focused for obvious reasons). ~--------------------------------------~ Main YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MatthewNewsomeComposer/

A reorchestration of The Life of Roger Parslow theme from His Dark Materials. It was originally composed by Lorne Balfe, and uses some instrumental stems and the full engraved score, both of which are the original property of Mr. Balfe. All rights go to Mr. Balfe, Silva Screen Records, HBO and the BBC.

An all-by-ear transcription, reorchestration and recreation of the His Dark Materials Main Theme. It was originally composed by Lorne Balfe, and therefore all rights go to him, Silva Screen Records, HBO and the BBC. I've absolutely ADORED this theme since the moment I first heard it when the first season of the show came out last year. If I remember right, after the episode finished, the first thing I did was go to my piano and first figure out how to play it - transcribing it by ear and listening to it over and over, repeat after repeat. Lorne Balfe's soundtrack for this series is phenomenal and I've managed to get my hands on it in about every physical and digital format possible, haha. I drafted up a sketch of this not too long after the first season ended, where it unfortunately remained for a while as my iMac's hard drive decided it was time to die. In any case - I rescued the drive, kept working on it and here it finally is! Almost an entire year later! My arrangement is based off of the theme as it is heard in season 1, although I did consider adding the subtle (ha) changes found in the theme as heard in season 2. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Video content was created by Elastic and is the property of HBO and the BBC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recorded and composed during a particularly stressful week during my final semester of university. Only really a demo of sorts - I plan to later extend this into a full piece and include it on an ambient-esque orchestral/soundscape album I've had in the works for a while. ~--------------------------------------~ Throughout the years I have often used music (usually playing it) as a way to escape the world for a bit, to shed aside any stress or anxieties and find a moment of calm. I found it particularly tricky to do this while at uni, as I was studying a music technology degree focusing on composition and audio engineering, and so having to critically listen to and work with music as a form of assessment. This at times, definitely lessened it's effect as a getaway device for me, at least while mid-term and under stress, but I soon found you needed to push past this initial resistance and keep going until you weren't just listening to what you were playing, you were feeling it - reconnecting with the music on a much deeper, more emotive level. Main YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MatthewNewsomeComposer/

A small cue from a film I'm currently scoring featuring an original '79 Korg MS-10, kindly lent to me for use on the project. Also there is no such thing as too much reverb and I will forever stand by this. ~--------------------------------------~

An all-by-ear transcription, reorchestration and MIDI mockup of the Title Theme to Marvel Studio's What If...? It was originally composed by Laura Karpman and therefore all rights go to her, Marvel Studios and to Disney. Marvel are on a ROLL with the incredible title sequences and themes for each of their series so far, and this one is no exception! So mysterious, so wonderfully majestic, and course as is always with Marvel, with some melodrama and grandiloquent sections sprinkled in for fun. No better way to represent the stories and characters infinite multiverse and of course, the all-knowing, every present Watcher who looks upon it. I'm really, REALLY looking forward to this series - just the entire premise of What If...? is something I've long dreamed about, and being to see all these variants of lore and scenarios is VERY exciting. It seems I'm getting into a habit of immediately wanting to cover a theme as soon as the series is released... and this time it only took 6/7 hours from the very minute the first episode was released! Luckily the orchestration isn't too dense or busy so it was a musch more streamlined transcription process, especially compared to Loki. Whether or not I will keep this up for future series and films remains to be seen, haha - but for now, enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Video content was created by Marvel Studios and is the property of Marvel Studios and Disney. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------