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(wording; additional thoughts/update on Salvatori and Cascone (I'd like to think his work is still in the game))
m (restored YT links for two Halo tracks and provided link for a track added in last edit)
 
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{| style="float:right; margin-left:10px;"
|-
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|[[Image:OST case front.jpg|thumb|200px|The original promotional CD's cover art.]]
|[[Image:OST case front.jpg|x200px]][[Image:OST case back.jpg|x200px]]
|valign=top|[[Image:OST cover.png|thumb|200px|The art used for Marty O'Donnell's Bandcamp re-release of the OST (no longer online).]]
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|The original promotional CD
|}
|}
==Collections==
*[[Music/CD|Promotional soundtrack CD]]
*[[Music/Ingame|In-game music data]]
*[[Music/Myth|Myth music in Oni]]


==Musicians==
[[Oni]]'s soundtrack is a mix of symphonic, techno, and ambient pieces. As far as who composed it, these are the names credited on the back of the CD, but see below for an in-depth investigation:
*Marty O'Donnell  
{{Pullquote|Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori - TotalAudio<br>Paul Sebastien - Power of Seven}}
*Michael Salvatori*
{| style="white-space:nowrap"
*Power of Seven
|
{| cellpadding=10 style="width:50%; text-align:left; border-color:#d0d0d0; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; empty-cells:show; background-color:#f9f9f9;"
!Contents
|
1 [[#TotalAudio|TotalAudio]]<br>
2 [[#Power of Seven|Power of Seven]]<br>
3 [[#Specific attribution|Specific attribution]]
|}
|
{| style="width:50%; style="vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"
! style="padding-left:50px"|Subpages
|-
| style="padding-left:50px"|
[[Music/CD|Promotional soundtrack CD]]<br>
[[Music/Ingame|In-game music data]]<br>
[[Music/Myth|Myth music in Oni]]<br>
[[Music/Fanmade|Fan-made music]]
|}
|}
__NOTOC__
==TotalAudio==
[[Image:TotalAudio logo.jpg|right]]
TotalAudio is a music and sound production company founded by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, apparently incorporated officially under the name O'Donnell/Salvatori Inc. The company was contracted to score Bungie's games starting with [[Myth|Myth: The Fallen Lords]]. In 2000, Marty would join Bungie as an employee, but TotalAudio continues to operate (at least for the purpose of copyright maintenance and royalty collection). O'Donnell and Salvatori have individually gone on to compose for various games.


<nowiki>*</nowiki>Salvatori may not actually have composed for Oni. O'Donnell states in [https://halo.bungie.org/misc/nico_marty_interview.html this interview] that he personally composed the half of the soundtrack which Power of Seven did not. Salvatori may have assisted in its production, however, as he is also referred to as a producer and engineer in the same interview.
Regarding Oni's music, O'Donnell stated in [https://halo.bungie.org/misc/nico_marty_interview.html this interview] that the first work on the soundtrack was done by Power of Seven and that TotalAudio then composed as much new music as they did, making the soundtrack a 50/50 product between the studios. Since O'Donnell and Salvatori worked closely at the time, we do not attempt to distinguish which of the two men composed each piece assigned to TotalAudio in the table at bottom.
{{clearall}}
 
----
Based on findings by [https://odysseyaudio.org/ Odyssey Sound Team], who are recreating unreleased music that was produced by TotalAudio for Oni and other games, certain tracks can be assigned to TotalAudio based on the same synthesized instruments being used for Halo CE. These tracks include '''Searching''' and '''The Hunt''', as well as the music in the [[Music/Ingame#mus_amasian1|mus_amasian]] OSBD (named by fans as '''"Up and Away"''') and the ending of '''End Titles'''. The beats in '''Searching''', '''The Hunt''', and '''End Titles''' originally come from the E-MU Phatt Beats collection, which TotalAudio used in other projects; the unused Halo CE tracks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U53VnSjP94 HERE] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puXwE00GGDM HERE] use beats from the same collection, as well as [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDVDwgCQ6Qo "A Walk in the Woods"] from Halo CE. '''"Up and Away"''' also shares samples with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmMvyjuSa60 "Perchance to Dream"] from Halo CE and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIojM_JA2bU "Dream Again"] from Halo 3.  
===Power of Seven===
 
The atmospheric ambient tracks in Oni (collected [https://iritscen.oni2.net/wiki/ambient/ here]), some of which were strung together to make the CD's '''Ambient Suite''' and some of which are only heard in-game, are quite different from the other music in Oni, but these are also the product of O'Donnell/Salvatori. Similar ambient work can be heard in TotalAudio's score for the 1999 game [[wp:Septerra Core|Septerra Core]], specifically [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S75KEwqVC8A "Secrets of Marduk"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6chnK88LpQ "Holy Guard"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5lMvMaHz0c "Mystic Delving"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBp7cIsjYg4 "Biomech Heart"], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWpK77vV2o "The Chosen Ruins"]. Five of Oni's ambient tracks are actually [[Music/Myth|reused from Myth I/II]], TotalAudio's previous work for Bungie.
 
==Power of Seven==
[[Image:Power of Seven logo.gif|right]]
[[Image:Power of Seven logo.gif|right]]
The name echoes Bungie's "cult" of [[Seven|the number 7]] and its powers (343, 2401), but Power of Seven [http://marathon.bungie.org/story/faq.html#15 was an independent digital music content publisher] founded in Minnesota and headed by Paul Sebastien. Bungie fans also know them for producing the opening themes to [[wp:Marathon_2: Durandal|Marathon 2: Durandal]] and [[wp:Marathon Infinity|Marathon Infinity]].
The name echoes Bungie's "cult" of [[Seven|the number 7]], but Power of Seven [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/faq.html#15 was an independent digital music content publisher] founded in Minnesota and headed by Paul Sebastien. Bungie fans also know them for producing the opening themes to [[wp:Marathon 2: Durandal|Marathon 2: Durandal]] and [[wp:Marathon Infinity|Marathon Infinity]].
 
In 1996, Power of Seven [https://marathon.bungie.org/story/power_of_seven/power_of_seven.html was acquired by] audio company Headspace, Inc. and the studio was relocated to Headspace's HQ in San Mateo, California. In 1999, Headspace renamed themselves [[wp:Beatnik (company)|Beatnik, Inc.]] (The California company which currently creates meditation audio programs under the name Headspace is unrelated.) Beatnik became defunct in 2011.
 
===The "trio"===
Although the original entity known as Power of Seven ceased to exist when it was integrated into Headspace, Paul Sebastien was allowed to use the name for contracted work outside of the Headspace business. When Oni's upcoming soundtrack first began to get some press, [https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungies-mp3-contribution/1100-2451769/ this article] from spring 2000 called Power of Seven a "trio, consisting of musicians NVerse, Brian Salter and Kim Cascone."


Paul Sebastien was also a founder of the techno band Psykosonik; over the course of the band's existence (1992–1997), four of their electronic dance songs charted in the Billboard Top 40. In 1996, Power of Seven [http://marathon.bungie.org/story/power_of_seven/power_of_seven.html was acquired by] audio company Headspace, Inc. and the studio was relocated to Headspace's HQ in San Mateo, California. In 1999, Headspace renamed themselves [[wp:Beatnik (company)|Beatnik, Inc.]] They became defunct in 2011. (The Californian company which currently creates meditation audio programs under the name Headspace is unrelated.)
"NVerse" was apparently an alias for Paul Sebastien. In 2023, Sebastien confirmed by email that he created '''Trailer''' as well as other possibly unreleased tracks. Sebastien was also a founder of the techno band Psykosonik; over the course of the band's existence (1992–1997), four of their electronic dance songs charted in the Billboard Top 40 even though they only released two albums. The style of '''Trailer''' resembles the output from his band, as exemplified by songs like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIHANekdtvU Teknojihad] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH2Pslw8BkI Killjoy].


Determining which people at Power of Seven actually worked on Oni's soundtrack is difficult. [https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungies-mp3-contribution/1100-2451769/ This article] calls the group a "trio" consisting of "NVerse" (real name unknown), Brian Salter and famous experimental electronic composer [[wp:Kim Cascone|Kim Cascone]]. Cascone's work is ''wayyy'' more experimental than what you'd expect to hear in a game, though he did score the surrealist puzzle game [[wp:Obsidian (1997 video game)|Obsidian (1997)]]. Cascone briefly mentioned that he was working on "sound design for a Japanese anime game" at the end of [https://web.archive.org/web/20170314155110/http://www.spiderbytes.com/ambientrance/cascone.htm this 1998 interview], which he confirmed by email in 2022 to have been Oni, however he referred to his contributions as "spec work" and didn't think that his "sound design" was used in the final game (perhaps he hasn't listened to the ambient tracks?). It is unknown whether Paul Sebastien himself contributed to the soundtrack, as he may have been busy in his role as Director of Production at Headspace. Was he the mysterious "NVerse"?
[https://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Brian_Salter Brian Salter], who has composed for other games, also released his own album called "Missing Scenes (1997-2005)" under the artist name Plektric in 2005. The following tracks are very clearly alternate versions of tracks from Oni:
:1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kQ5dSisqq8 Furies] ('''Konoko Chase''')
:4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPUztY78Mmk Two New Villains] ('''Whirled Piece''')
:5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gszaqu5fneQ Ellipse] ('''Oni Fever''')
:6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WIphvcQx6k Mr. Bailout] ('''East Wind''')
:7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBZAwe3ZkIc Drop Zone] ('''Pursuit''')
 
Salter released additional alternate versions of two of these pieces on Smartsound.com: [https://www.smartsound.com/royalty-free-music/searchresults?album=Eclectic%20Lounge Terminus] ('''Konoko Chase''') and [https://www.smartsound.com/royalty-free-music/searchresults?album=Atmospheric%20Energy Crucial Dossier] ('''Whirled Piece'''). The article [[Konoko Chase]] documents all versions of Salter's piece.
 
When asked by email in 2023 about the bonus MP3 '''No One Left to Trust''', released as promotional material, Salter recognized it as his work, and he also recalled making '''Fight''' and '''Internal Space'''.
 
[[wp:Kim Cascone|Kim Cascone]] is a noted experimental electronic composer, and his work (some of which can be found [https://bandcamp.com/discover/kim-cascone here]) is ''way'' more avant-garde than what you'd expect to hear in a game though he did score [[wp:Obsidian (1997 video game)|Obsidian]], a 1997 surrealist puzzle game. Cascone briefly mentioned that he was working on "sound design for a Japanese anime game" at the end of [https://web.archive.org/web/20170314155110/http://www.spiderbytes.com/ambientrance/cascone.htm this 1998 interview], which he confirmed by email in 2022 to have been Oni, however he referred to his contributions as "[[wp:Speculative work|spec work]]" and didn't think that his "sound design" was used in the final game. Paul Sebastien's recollection in 2023 was that Cascone's work was on "audio sound FX areas such as gunshots and foley sounds etc. primarily — not music".
 
==Specific attribution==
[[Image:OST digital cover.png|200px|thumb|right|The art used for Marty O'Donnell's Bandcamp re-release of the OST (no longer online).]]
Based on the styles of the musicians, their public statements, private correspondence with them, and their released music, we can attribute these individual pieces with a fair amount of confidence:
 
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!CD track
!Name
!Composer
|-
|1
|Oni Anime
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|2
|Trailer
|Paul Sebastien
|-
|3
|East Wind
|Brian Salter
|-
|4
|Searching
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|5
|Pursuit
|Brian Salter
|-
|6
|Loss
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|7
|Hurry
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|8
|Fight
|Brian Salter
|-
|9
|Ambient Suite
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|10
|Internal Space
|Brian Salter
|-
|11
|Farewell
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|12
|Konoko Chase
|Brian Salter
|-
|13
|Oni Fever
|Brian Salter
|-
|14
|The Hunt
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
|15
|Whirled Piece
|Brian Salter
|-
|16
|End Titles
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
| --
|No One Left to Trust (bonus MP3)
|Brian Salter
|-
| --
|All in-game ambient tracks
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
| --
|mus_amasian ("Up and Away")
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|-
| --
|mus_xgrv1 ("X-Groove")
|O'Donnell/Salvatori
|}


[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Music]]

Latest revision as of 03:29, 13 March 2024

OST case front.jpgOST case back.jpg
The original promotional CD

Oni's soundtrack is a mix of symphonic, techno, and ambient pieces. As far as who composed it, these are the names credited on the back of the CD, but see below for an in-depth investigation:

Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori - TotalAudio
Paul Sebastien - Power of Seven
Contents

1 TotalAudio
2 Power of Seven
3 Specific attribution

Subpages

Promotional soundtrack CD
In-game music data
Myth music in Oni
Fan-made music

TotalAudio

TotalAudio logo.jpg

TotalAudio is a music and sound production company founded by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, apparently incorporated officially under the name O'Donnell/Salvatori Inc. The company was contracted to score Bungie's games starting with Myth: The Fallen Lords. In 2000, Marty would join Bungie as an employee, but TotalAudio continues to operate (at least for the purpose of copyright maintenance and royalty collection). O'Donnell and Salvatori have individually gone on to compose for various games.

Regarding Oni's music, O'Donnell stated in this interview that the first work on the soundtrack was done by Power of Seven and that TotalAudio then composed as much new music as they did, making the soundtrack a 50/50 product between the studios. Since O'Donnell and Salvatori worked closely at the time, we do not attempt to distinguish which of the two men composed each piece assigned to TotalAudio in the table at bottom.

Based on findings by Odyssey Sound Team, who are recreating unreleased music that was produced by TotalAudio for Oni and other games, certain tracks can be assigned to TotalAudio based on the same synthesized instruments being used for Halo CE. These tracks include Searching and The Hunt, as well as the music in the mus_amasian OSBD (named by fans as "Up and Away") and the ending of End Titles. The beats in Searching, The Hunt, and End Titles originally come from the E-MU Phatt Beats collection, which TotalAudio used in other projects; the unused Halo CE tracks HERE and HERE use beats from the same collection, as well as "A Walk in the Woods" from Halo CE. "Up and Away" also shares samples with "Perchance to Dream" from Halo CE and "Dream Again" from Halo 3.

The atmospheric ambient tracks in Oni (collected here), some of which were strung together to make the CD's Ambient Suite and some of which are only heard in-game, are quite different from the other music in Oni, but these are also the product of O'Donnell/Salvatori. Similar ambient work can be heard in TotalAudio's score for the 1999 game Septerra Core, specifically "Secrets of Marduk", "Holy Guard", "Mystic Delving", "Biomech Heart", and "The Chosen Ruins". Five of Oni's ambient tracks are actually reused from Myth I/II, TotalAudio's previous work for Bungie.

Power of Seven

Power of Seven logo.gif

The name echoes Bungie's "cult" of the number 7, but Power of Seven was an independent digital music content publisher founded in Minnesota and headed by Paul Sebastien. Bungie fans also know them for producing the opening themes to Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity.

In 1996, Power of Seven was acquired by audio company Headspace, Inc. and the studio was relocated to Headspace's HQ in San Mateo, California. In 1999, Headspace renamed themselves Beatnik, Inc. (The California company which currently creates meditation audio programs under the name Headspace is unrelated.) Beatnik became defunct in 2011.

The "trio"

Although the original entity known as Power of Seven ceased to exist when it was integrated into Headspace, Paul Sebastien was allowed to use the name for contracted work outside of the Headspace business. When Oni's upcoming soundtrack first began to get some press, this article from spring 2000 called Power of Seven a "trio, consisting of musicians NVerse, Brian Salter and Kim Cascone."

"NVerse" was apparently an alias for Paul Sebastien. In 2023, Sebastien confirmed by email that he created Trailer as well as other possibly unreleased tracks. Sebastien was also a founder of the techno band Psykosonik; over the course of the band's existence (1992–1997), four of their electronic dance songs charted in the Billboard Top 40 even though they only released two albums. The style of Trailer resembles the output from his band, as exemplified by songs like Teknojihad and Killjoy.

Brian Salter, who has composed for other games, also released his own album called "Missing Scenes (1997-2005)" under the artist name Plektric in 2005. The following tracks are very clearly alternate versions of tracks from Oni:

1. Furies (Konoko Chase)
4. Two New Villains (Whirled Piece)
5. Ellipse (Oni Fever)
6. Mr. Bailout (East Wind)
7. Drop Zone (Pursuit)

Salter released additional alternate versions of two of these pieces on Smartsound.com: Terminus (Konoko Chase) and Crucial Dossier (Whirled Piece). The article Konoko Chase documents all versions of Salter's piece.

When asked by email in 2023 about the bonus MP3 No One Left to Trust, released as promotional material, Salter recognized it as his work, and he also recalled making Fight and Internal Space.

Kim Cascone is a noted experimental electronic composer, and his work (some of which can be found here) is way more avant-garde than what you'd expect to hear in a game – though he did score Obsidian, a 1997 surrealist puzzle game. Cascone briefly mentioned that he was working on "sound design for a Japanese anime game" at the end of this 1998 interview, which he confirmed by email in 2022 to have been Oni, however he referred to his contributions as "spec work" and didn't think that his "sound design" was used in the final game. Paul Sebastien's recollection in 2023 was that Cascone's work was on "audio sound FX areas such as gunshots and foley sounds etc. primarily — not music".

Specific attribution

The art used for Marty O'Donnell's Bandcamp re-release of the OST (no longer online).

Based on the styles of the musicians, their public statements, private correspondence with them, and their released music, we can attribute these individual pieces with a fair amount of confidence:

CD track Name Composer
1 Oni Anime O'Donnell/Salvatori
2 Trailer Paul Sebastien
3 East Wind Brian Salter
4 Searching O'Donnell/Salvatori
5 Pursuit Brian Salter
6 Loss O'Donnell/Salvatori
7 Hurry O'Donnell/Salvatori
8 Fight Brian Salter
9 Ambient Suite O'Donnell/Salvatori
10 Internal Space Brian Salter
11 Farewell O'Donnell/Salvatori
12 Konoko Chase Brian Salter
13 Oni Fever Brian Salter
14 The Hunt O'Donnell/Salvatori
15 Whirled Piece Brian Salter
16 End Titles O'Donnell/Salvatori
-- No One Left to Trust (bonus MP3) Brian Salter
-- All in-game ambient tracks O'Donnell/Salvatori
-- mus_amasian ("Up and Away") O'Donnell/Salvatori
-- mus_xgrv1 ("X-Groove") O'Donnell/Salvatori