2 - Catacombs

           Inspiration for Catacombs came from the soundtrack to Maniac Mansion and the jazz piece Giant Steps. The completed work took a life of its own during the compositional process and now resembles something else entirely. Some hints of the harmonic movement from Giant Steps can be heard between sections, as various unrelated chords are used but the connection is tenuous. A closer comparison exists between Catacombs and the Maniac Mansion Main Theme. The rhythm of the melodies are similar, as is the overall back beat, and the harmonic movements in some sections are inversions of each other. The title of the piece is an homage to the dark, yet comical, underground areas found in the Maniac Mansion games.
           Catacombs begins with a bass guitar swell followed by an introduction melody played on the square wave. (Section A) Next, the guitar plays the melody for the verse (Section B) while the bass and drums play staccato rhythms underneath. A brief 16th note guitar fill connects to the chorus,
(Section C) and the Saxophone picks up the melody. There follows a bridge (Section D) where the square wave plays the melody over a staccato guitar and bass rhythm, echoing the verse accompaniment. A drum fill then leads to the restatement of the verse and chorus. Finally the piece ends with the introduction melody, this time played by several instruments for added emphasis. Composition occurred between June and August of 2019. The full form is as follows:

            A
            B
            C
            D
            B
            C
            A