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Hey! I've had an unexpected number of people ask about the Salad Mug music, which I can't deny makes me pretty happy (I threw everything I had at it). It was my first time ever trying to work with a lot of those tools, and figuring out halfway-decent MIDI orchestration and all that.

Good chunk of folks saying the music didn't really fit at all, and recommended Dark Synthwave and such, which- maybe?? The music's a bit over-the-top happy-go-lucky but I was kinda intentionally trying to juxtapose/explore Jo's experience, instead of leaning too heavily into the cyberpunky aspect (regardless though- still a bit much I agree). That said, a few folks have also said the music was their favorite part, which is nice. Regardless, while I really enjoy writing music, I think I'm mostly planning on letting more professional folks tackle future episodes.

These are just the three songs I wrote (Wesley Slover and Ben Tippets did the rest- I've been wanting to use some of their amazing songs in something for years)- along with a song I wrote for the credits that I didn't use because I was told multiple times that "it's pretty bad Ian and not in a good way" although I'll be honest I'm still on the fence (very glad I got to use Ben Tippet's beautiful piece, though).

DOWNLOAD:
Salad Mug Music

Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License, so use it for anything, just put a little reference to me in there somewhere :)

Comments

Anonymous

I absolutely loved the music. That's actually the main reason I joined the patreon, because I was so bent on finding the artist (to finally learn it was you all along :D). In particular, Every Train is a Train to the Future, I am in love with this one. If you ever see this message and feel like answering I'd be very interested in knowing the genre of it and what were your inspirations. I am trying to find similar music but it's really hard !

Anonymous

Fantastic! Chock me up as someone who found the music totally worked with the setting. I found it worked well with the energy of people going about their lives despite the somewhat bleak setting.

Anonymous

Ian the soundtrack is beautiful, don't believe the naysayers! And your tracks are excellent! I think the positive vibe of the soundtrack is what makes the whole piece so unique. One thing I would love to see is Soren Laulainen come back to do a couple tracks. I still listen to his original dynamo music very frequently and its just great, and a real signature of the series.

Anonymous

I can't believe anybody could actually say the soundtrack doesn't fit!! In opinion it's one of the many things that make Dynamo Dream feel like Dynamo. Please don't let the haters discourage you. It would be absolutely lovely to hear your own music in future episodes.

Anonymous

Yes!!!!! Looking forward to listening tomorrow!! Oh man, if I had a nickel for every time someone said we should have used synthwave as well! What is it with synthwave???? Its boring! Your music was much more original and fresh. Never use synthwave 😂😂

Kai Christensen

I absolutely loved the soundtrack in Salad Mug. I genuinely felt that it added so much to the overall vibe of the piece. The music of the Dynamo-verse, whether by you or others, has always been a big part of the charm I think. It's always original and purposeful, and while darksynth is definitely what people *usually* associate with cyberpunk I think what you've been doing has been working out really well and helps distinguish your work from others'. Definitely going to be listening to this a few bazillion times in the near future.

Wandering Wolf

This is fantastic! I love Hellcrab Ruins Everything and OldTown especially! Really great work :D Adding these to my regular library. Can I ask for your awesome intro song in the video before last? That was hilarious!

Anonymous

So glad you finally released the soundtrack! Also I absolutely adored the happy go lucky music and thought it was super unique to have such a soundtrack in what looks like a super dystopian future! I had a friend though that I showed the episode to that really loved the episode but wasn’t too fond of the music choice (specifically the happy theme, he liked the actual music itself but didn’t think it fit very well) so maybe for future episodes you should try to find a middle ground to please both sides?

Anonymous

I think the music fitted perfectly! Everyone does the generic cyberpunk music but your music made me care even more about the story and character than I otherwise would. It conveyed that even in a sort of dark future, there is still positivity and beauty. There will always be people who are creative, loving and giving, who refuse to give in to the darkness around them, and that attitude is infectious (the good kind :) ). Also, it's super impressive that you also did music, on top of doing all the other amazing stuff. Do you ever sleep??

Anonymous

When I showed Salad Mug to my girlfriend one of the main things she said was that the music and tone were so upbeat and it was so nice to have that feeling amongst the 'used future' feel, so it wasn't like a Blade Runner or Cyberpunk 2077 wannabe at all. Excellent work.

IanHubert

oh I would LOVE to get to work with Soren again!! That's the ultimate dream right there. His stuff's always so moody and dreamlike and powerful. He has a couple pieces he wrote- what, 5 years ago?- that I've been waiting to ask if I can use when the time's right, hahaha. He's got a non-musical job now, but I wonder if he's still hireable freelance...

Anonymous

I love the stylistic mismatch. There's no rule book for music. I think you built a very interesting and fresh vibe, and encourage you to keep going with it. Some of the best video game and movie trailers I've seen enhance the mood with music tracks that are unexpected for the genre. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous

Ian it's hard to describe, but your music has always had a strange, warm and welcoming aura. It's incredibly unique. You have a tendency to follow very interesting chord progressions and every song very much feels like it came straight from your own heart. I don't know how you do it, but your music ends up being the most memorable thing every time you ever write anything, even if it's just a silly one-off gag for a patreon tutorial or anything. I often find myself humming and singing everything you've ever written at some point or another, which is a testament to your natural gift for writing memorable music and melodies. KEEP IT UP!!! I would hate for you to feel discouraged after a few negative comments about the soundtrack of the first episode, and stop writing music for it altogether. Your music is what makes it DYNAMO and not some other forgettable dystopian sci-fi story. No matter what people say, if it's what YOU wanted, you should keep it in. George Lucas said in an interview once regarding the prequels that he wasn't worried about critics because he felt like he did what he wanted with them. He compared it to painting a house, in which he wanted to paint a white house but some house-painting critic noted that it should have been painted GREEN. George didn't want a green house, George wanted a white house. Please don't let yourself feel obligated to paint a green house. Paint a white one. Or if you want, paint a red one. Paint the Dynamo you've always envisioned in your head, and your true fans will appreciate it no matter what others say.

Kai Christensen

"Hellcrab Ruins Everything" is an absolute banger, I've listened to it three times in a row now. Rest of the soundtrack is just as good.

Raffo VFX

please dont change music style in future. One of the best aspect of Salad Mug was the juxtaposition of scifi scenes with a unique goodvibe/folk/pop/-ish feeling of sound!

Kai Christensen

I think for me it's the major-diminished-resolution chord progressions he likes to use that make everything feel kinda... idk, cozy? Combined with style of the vocals and the guitar it works really well. Maybe I'm overthinking it and it's just plain old amazing music :)

Anonymous

Stick with your music choices Ian!! And yes it will be nice to hear Soren again!

Anonymous

Oh gosh yes, so much yes!! Obviously I didn't patreon just to see if you had released the Salad Mug soundtrack on here... or searching for "Train to the Future Ian Hubert soundcloud" on different search eniges, obviously I haven't spent time (and money) to check if it is anywhere. And no, I haven't ripped the music from youtube and put it on my phone either. Obviously. No in all seriousness thank you for releasing these wonderful wonderful tracks! And yes, I wasn't here only for the music, but the possibility definitely was that final push I needed to become a patron :D Love your stuff. As far as music goes for future episodes... please just follow what you think feels best and don't listen to others too much ;)

Anonymous

I really liked the contrast between the scifi and the music! It made it more personal imo 😊

Anonymous

Speaking as someone who also does a bit of composing, I'd like to hear future Dynamo Dream episodes with the similar soundtrack to Ep. 1! Synthwave/electronic music is very specifically different to more orchestral writing and honestly I'd recommend you just stick to improving your more orchestra skills rather than trying to juggle two different genres, or taking the extra time to hone in on a genre that might not fit the story you want to tell :)

Anonymous

Your music feels really fresh for the cyberpunk genre! Love it!

Anonymous

Fresh, cozy, upbeat, warm, welcoming. Everyone here has already perfectly described the way you compose music, and I love it (I’ve listened to Haptic, like 100 times in a row). I personally think you shouldn’t change the style of the soundtrack (unless a diffrent style fits the spirit of the story you wish to tell). Dark synthwave is the safest possible choice for these kinds of films, the way you chose to score Salad Mug is 100% you. Don’t ever second guess yourself, you’re doing a great job!

Anonymous

Ian. The music is perfect for Dynamo. There's enough people out there putting cyberpredictable soundtracks over cyberboring videos. And very few Ians. Only one in fact. For me the soundtrack works great in setting the mood. The friction between the dystopian environment and a "happy go lucky/melancholic-yet-hopeful" music generates a lot of energy, and makes it interesting and intriguing. For me it represents Jo's inner vibe (positive/careless/whatever) in spite of the oppressive environment. And it works (think, the opening of wall-e? I bet someone had to defend that hello dolly track a few times). Follow your Muse (she does a great job) and don't care too much about critics and desk-opinologists. Of course, it's ok if you WANT someone else to make the music for the next Dynamos, but only if you want it. Don't do it "because the crits". Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous

I've said this before, but I can definitely hear it again. In OldTown, I swear it's the same riff from your older "Please Don't Love Me" video on your youtube. The "We'll be very happy as we'll be very happy" part specifically is what I hear. Am I going mad?

Anonymous

The music is amazing. I can get way too in the weeds of the role of music in film (that's what my thesis is on anyway ;-) ) but I thought the world and the moment were both perfectly supported by the music.

Anonymous

Please don't change the music. One of the things I loved about Dynamo Dream was the way the setting was dystopian and there were clearly a few dystopian things going on, but people weren't walking around miserably like NPCs; they were living their lives and finding hope and joy where they could, which of course is very human. The music was a huge part of creating that mood and not making it yet another nightmare future scenario. Constructive criticism can be helpful but often when you end up trying to please too many, you end up pleasing nobody, least of all yourself. So whether you hire other musicians or not, I think you should still keep a strong hand in the score and trust your instincts.

Nate Pantumsinchai

Ian, the folksy music and vibe of Dynamo is exactly what makes it unique, fresh, and unlike every other generic dark cyberpunk thing out there. Don’t change it! Go even harder lol!

Anonymous

Such situations always remind me poem of Sergei Mikhalkov (who was the author of Russian hymn (words)). In russian it sounds more natural, but here is translation

Anonymous

Elephant painter The elephant painter painted the landscape But before sending him to Opening Day, He invited his friends to look at the canvas: What if it suddenly failed Our artist is flattered by the attention of the guests! What criticism will he hear now? Will not an animal court be cruel? Overthrown? Or will they be lifted up? The connoisseurs have come. The Elephant opened the picture. Who got up next, who came closer. "Well, well, - began Crocodile, - The landscape is good! But I don't see Neal ... " “That Nile is not there is no big trouble! - Said Seal. - But where is the snow? Where is the ice? " “Excuse me! - the Mole was surprised. There is something more important than ice! The artist has forgotten the vegetable garden. " "Oink-oink," grunt the Pig, - The picture was a success, friends! But from the point of view of us pigs, There must be acorns on it. " The Elephant accepted all the wishes. Again he took up paints And to all friends as best they can I hit with an elephant's brush, Depicting snow and ice, And the Nile, and the oak, and the vegetable garden, And even honey! (In case if suddenly the Bear Will come to see the picture ...) The Elephant's painting is ready, The artist called the friends again. The guests looked at the landscape And they whispered: "Yeralash!" *** My friend! Don't be such an Elephant: Follow the advice, but wisely! You can't please all your friends You will only harm yourself.

Anonymous

Ian, you’re so unique person in arts, so do what you do! It’s your feelings, your soul. We are just those crocodiles, moles and pigs from poem above :)

Anonymous

I think the soundtrack worked well for the tone of Oldtown and Jo's story. To me the classic Dynamo sound is a combination of Soren's classical/ambient stuff, public-domain classical/40s style music, and post-rock. I was very happy that you kept the brief synth bass from the start of episode 3 when the wider Dynamo universe came in, it actually did feel very weighty since I'd been following Dynamo for years.

Anonymous

Sometimes when something is a bit flawed, You just love it even more <3

Anonymous

They are awesome and great addition to your posts! Love it

Anonymous

No, please, I thought of it the very first time I watched the episode. It added so much flavour to the scene, because it was even 'Ianer' than before 😄

Anonymous

Dark synthwave seems like the lazy option to make something feel cyberpunk. And it can fit right in "dystopian-everything-is-crap-now" settings, but that's not the world you created. The music is perfect, as is everything you do, even when it's not perfect (if that makes any sense, lol).

Anonymous

Ian! love this! Thanks for sharing it. Always keen for new tunes to help with productivity and yours is up there man! I wanted to ask, what you used for virtual instrument software? That piano sounds like the real deal!

Anonymous

Nah, it's more memorable than all those generic Zimmer clones, it fits your vision. One thing that IMHO would make it better is to seek the help of someomeone more experienced in production. The arrangements are fine, the melodies are nice but the production is not on par with the visuals, so if I were you, firstly I'd had hair again wich would be supercool and second I'd keep on writing the music but hire someone to produce and as "lovely" as your voice is, to sing. My two cents that nobody was asking for.

Anonymous

Dark synth means they didn't watch the episodes or simply don't understand your 'language'

Phil South

Dammit yeah what they all said before me :D

Anonymous

Awesome. I liked all the tracks and thought they worked perfectly, satisfies me.

Anonymous

I so want to just make an album cover for these!

Anonymous

I've always absolutely loved your music Ian. Super great work, sounds super nice and for me, it fits right in!

Anonymous

First post! A bit before you posted the episode you posted about sending it to the sound guys, and I'd assumed the final song sogn in the episode ("train to the future") was professionally produced by said sound guys (sorry, don't remember any thoughts about other music). Any way, really enjoyed the music, thought it fit really well, glad it wasn't just a "this would fit the genre!" piece. At the same time, I'm not sure how long it took to make, but maybe for episode 2 you can point at this and go "Look! Aim for character's mood, not the visuals!" to get same effect and a much quicker release ;)

Anonymous

The music is awesome. I'm hoping to hear more in future episodes. It's another big way that you personalize your work.

Anonymous

Hearing Train to the future really hit me with the nostalgia of experiencing the film for the first time. Just had to go watch it all again. Powerful stuff, music.

Anonymous

I really liked the music, It felt very happy and whimsical which fits with your world really well. The train to the future track makes me feel incredibly happy, Great work!

Øyvind Wallentinsen

Unexpected? The music was amazing throughout! Oh, and it's CC? Thank you so much!

Øyvind Wallentinsen

Oh, and hi! Just stumbled over Dynamo Dream and loved it, showed it to a friend who also loved it. Figured I'd sub to Patreon to help fund episode two.

Anonymous

hey ian i have a doubt i have five pictures like the logo I want to make it random logo on the sheet how can I make it , can u help

Anonymous

The music fits great IMO. So much dystopian cyber punk dark wave stuff out there already. I thought it captured your absurdity/whimsy amongst the monolithic environments.

Anonymous

Ian, hopefully by now you've learned that people love what you do BECAUSE of your weird, quirky Ian-Hubertness, and not despite of it! You're creating a world that's refreshingly different from all the generic dystopian worlds we see every day, and it's marvelous. Keep doing what you do, and keep learning how to do it better!

Øyvind Wallentinsen

F the people who said it didn't fit, the soundtrack was what I loved the most about the movie! Who says cyberpunk has to be done a certain way? You do you!

Øyvind Wallentinsen

Oh, and I'd absolutely love extended versions of the atmospheric songs. I've taken to listening to them on bus rides and when I'm in the city, but they're so short. If you made version of them that are like 4-5 minutes long, I'd be so grateful.

Anonymous

I loved it too. It had exactly the effect you intended on me

Anonymous

I really liked most of the music, but the happy section in the market felt a bit... sudden? or maybe forced? Maybe this is just a part of short films I don't understand, I kind of felt the same way about the middle bit in Sintel where the baby dragon flies up the stairs... anyway, wherever you take the music next, I'm sure it will be great! I definitely agree that it doesn't need to be synthwave or anything, it's not _that_ kind of cyberpunk world anyway (at least not from you've shown us yet!). The minimalist/folksy arrangement that most of the episode had really sold the "lived in" vibe for me, as though you could imagine that the music was played by the same kind of characters you see on the screen. Can't wait for more :)

Anonymous

Hi Ian, would you explain the anamorphic frame distortions you've used in your salad mug episode and would you kind enough to explain how was your modelling workflow on that drone that appears when your girlfriend drops her mug.

Miko Dela

Hey Ian, thanks for the music, I love it! Especially "train to the future" is so joyful and makes me feel like I'm in a world built in Blender :D It inspires me to, you know, do more cool stuff like you do! Thank you and please keep it up!

Anonymous

Now we need a "how to make your own song" tutorial :-D

Anonymous

I really liked the soundtrack and the sound in general. Regarding the music, I like two things: the upbeat vibe of the harmonies and the "not just synths" instrumentation; the contrast with the "industrial junk" setting is comforting, I might even say necessary. Great job overall, I love it. Greetings.