Ruly Mix: George Vlad

Overwhelmed? Need a lift? How about something to challenge your thinking and creativity? I have just the treat for you today . . . another great Ruly Mix!

Today’s mix comes from Romanian composer George Vlad. When I first contacted George to discuss doing a mix for me, he wrote back . . .

“[U]pbeat is not quite my genre. For the last few years I have been concentrating on game music and sound effects, mainly from the horror, suspense or action categories. This lead me to experiment on how to convey intense feelings of fear, shock or whatever comes with a game of those types.” [emphasis added]

Could “intense feelings of fear” work for the Ruly Mix? Hmmm….it got me thinking about how much fear is a motivator for all kinds of behaviors. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of imperfection, fear of embarrassment, fear of change, fear of pain . . .sound familiar? The demons in our lives so often come internally rather than externally. So, in contemplation of Halloween, I thought George’s music would have a lot to say to all of us and it also makes an excellent soundtrack for a spooky weekend.

Read on for more about George and his music.

1) What is your musical background? When did you begin playing/writing music? What instruments do you play?

I studied music theory in elementary school, where I also played my first instrument, the recorder. My then- music teacher really helped widen my musical horizons, and guided me through my first steps in exploring Baroque and Classical music. Until I graduated from high school, I did quite a lot of listening. I was attending classical music concerts, but I also went to jazz and electronic music events.

I think it was around the age of 18 when I really became interested in composing music. I had been DJing for a while, and I suddenly felt that I had so much to express and couldn’t do it just as a DJ. Therefore, I got my hands on various Digital Audio Workstations and a keyboard and I started learning how to use them. Then I began composing electronic music, mostly drum&bass and breakbeat. Over time, I widened my production horizons, composing ambient, trip hop, IDM, and even breakcore. It was during last year that I started to get involved in videogame music, and since then I have been honing my orchestral arranging skills.

As for instruments, I play the MIDI keyboard, which, in turn, is able to control a wide variety of instruments, from percussion to brass or strings.

2) What inspires you when you are writing music?

I find that I am inspired by anything aesthetically pleasing, such as taking a walk through the woods, admiring a complex painting or reading an interesting book. Moreover, it is not always a conscious process. It is rather an urge that grows inside me when performing these activities, to the point where I find myself playing something in my head until I can express it through music.

3) Tell us about “Cat’s Eyes.” What were you thinking about when you composed this?

I composed the first version of this song in the summer of 2006. All I wanted was to compose something of a happy careless nature, but as I was working on it, I noticed that my cat was watching me from under the bed. I could only see its eyes, hence the name. The whole picture looked slightly evil, and I tried to capture that with my music: a happy careless creature that sometimes can look a little scary.
Doing this remix for the Ruly blog was really exciting. If composing the first version took me only one night, remixing it took me more than two weeks. I had never tried to remix my older songs, and I had the opportunity to compare my present knowledge and technique with what I knew back then. I have to say I learnt quite a lot in the mean time.

Click the picture below to play or right-click to download George’s track, “Cat’s Eyes.” (If the picture is not working for you, you can also download by clicking here.)

To respect the rights of the musician, please comply with the simple Ruly License terms below.

Ruly License: You may download and play any Ruly Mix song for your own personal use so long as you keep the voiceover tags intact indicating the name of the artist and that the song came from beruly.com. Businesses may also download this song to play as background music in their establishments so long as the voiceover tags remain intact. Any other uses of the song (such as in videos, etc.) must be pre-approved by the musician. Questions about license permissions can be addressed to info@beruly.com.

If you enjoy this mix, please comment, give a “like” on Facebook and share this link with others!

Have a great weekend!

Previous Ruly Mix artists: Samuel Pushpak, Danny Stewart-Smith (“Maintain Focus”), Danny Stewart-Smith (“The Flow”), Danny Stewart-Smith (“Insights”), Danny Stewart-Smith feat. Evin Gibson, Joe Hanley, Jamie Smith, Rajiv Agarwal