Portfolio
Hello! My name is Brandon and I'm a New York-based musician and sound designer. Below, I've included a selection of tracks from my synth project, @thatbeet, as well as a few long-form works featuring my original music and sound.
Synth Compositions
"Retrofuture"
A soundtrack to an imaginary action-platformer. For this track, I limited myself to the waveforms and techniques available on the original Game Boy.
"Shlamp Theme"
For this video by the incredible Ben Levin, I wrote and performed a short musical piece representing the character "Shlamp." The track begins at the 8 minute and 9 second mark.
"Glimmer"
A relaxed ambient piece created to showcase one of my favorite original sounds: an e-piano patch that dissolves into a dusty, distorted haze.
A moody synthwave piece that might feel at home in a gritty cyber-noir.
A goofy theme inspired by 16-bit platformers, particularly the Genesis Sonic games.
A Celeste-style melodic synth track.
A 2-part counterpuntal piece that segues into a simmering synthwave groove.
A counterpuntal piece with all sounds designed on the Korg MS-20.
A constrained composition experiment using only the Korg Volca Sample.
Tutorials & Long-Form
Creative Clipping: Gain Staging, Explained
A guide to gain staging, the art of balancing noise and distortion within a signal.
Recreating the "Wonderful Christmastime" Synth
A short tutorial breaking down Paul McCartney's iconic "Wonderful Christmastime" synth lead.
Pulse Width Modulation and the Illusion of Detune
A sound design tutorial where we use aural illusions to fake it till we make it.
The History of Chorus (A Synthesist's Perspective)
An exploration of historical chorusing techniques, from the 19th century Voix Celeste to modern digital choruses.
A Brief History of Tuning
A sprawling look at historical temperaments, from Ancient Greece's 3-limit tuning to modern 12-tone equal temperament.
Baking Pretzel Bread (for the Sounds)
An ASMR cooking video.