In addition to speaking on a pair of panels this year, I'm pleased to announce that I'm attending GameSoundCon as a member of GADA's cohort!
It's always wonderful to be a part of an event with a great group of folks, so I'm looking very forward to attending my first GSC as a part of this community. Looking forward to seeing you all there!
Pleased to announce that I'll be giving a pair of talks at GameSoundCon... next week!
Join myself and Virginia Leo, Kyle Martin Cora, and Tony Manfredoniafor The Dunning-Kruger Effect: What We Did Wrong in Our Early Years ! As the title suggests we'll be talking about all the things we wish we'd done differently - and how you can learn from our mistakes.
Join us on October 21st from 10:30am to 11:30am. Can't wait to see you there!
and don't miss...
Beyond the Hustle: Sustainable Growth for Audio Pros - I'll be joined by Katherine Tole, Ryan Ike, and Akash Thakkar as we discuss tips and best practices for moving into that point of your career beyond breaking in.
We'll see you from 5:45pm to 6:45pm on October 20th. Looking forward to it!
I am very pleased to announce that The Rising Star Patronage Project is partnering with GameSoundCon this year to provide passes to wonderful cohort of audio professionals!
Our 4 talented composers (and 1 sound designer 👀) will be revealed over the next few weeks, so please tune in to our socials to meet our crew!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risingstarpatronage/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/risingstarpatronage/
I was featured by Black in Gaming for International Music Day - see their post below!
For International Music Day, we’re celebrating Black artists whose music, performances, and sound design help shape the worlds we play. ❤️
Here’s just one highlight from each artist’s much wider body of work:
🎵 Chase Bethea: Duppy Detective Tashia OST
🎵 David McKee (ViRiX Dreamcore) @dreamcorev: Music contributions to Vividlope
🎵 Jongnic “JB” Bontemps @jongnic: Redfall original score
🎵 Mega Ran @mega_ran: “It’s a Pizza Party!” from TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
🎵 MEMODEMO: “RGB” from Arcaea, co-created with AQUASINE
🎵 Omega Sparx: Co-created and performed “K.O.” for The King of Fighters Allstar
🎵 Star Victoria Power (Slide20XX) @slide20xx: Calico OST
🎵 Substantial @substantialmusic: Featured on “Loyal to the Beat” from Arknights
🎵 Wilbert Roget, II @wilbert.roget: Helldivers 2 OST
These selections represent only a small part of their contributions. Across indie titles and major franchises, these artists have composed soundtracks, designed adaptive music, performed character vocals, created original songs, AND helped define the sound of games and gaming culture!
Swipe through to meet the artists, then make sure you take some time to dig deeper into their catalogs. Which Black game music artist belongs on everyone’s playlist?
💬 And if you know somebody we didn’t mention, or if YOU are making music for games, tell us about it in the comments!
Had an absolutely fantastic time paneling at Full Indie this past weekend! Vancouver you truly house some of the most fabulous people 🥲
Got to share some insights on the creative process, share the stage with some marvelous folk (Neha, Darren, Kevin), and encourage ya'll to lift weights which you know I love to do 💪🏾😤✨
Stay tuned for the recording!!
+ bonus pic from the Aggies at PAX ! thank u 🦀🔪 (aggro crab)
I'll be on an audio panel at Full Indie Summit in Vancouver next week!
I'm very pleased to announce that I'll be joined by Kevin Regamey, Darren Korb, and Neha Patel - this'll be a relatively informal talk where we'll be discussing all sorts of things of interest to the modern audio professional or audio enjoyer. If you consider yourself a member of either, come join us! You won't be disappointed.
We'll be wrapping up the day at 5:30pm on Sunday, September 20th as part of Track A. Can't wait to see you there!
all secrets... REVEALED !!!
On September 5th, 2026, Sabrina Fedele, Alec Viera, Ryan Steinbach and Akash Thakkar were gathered together by Trevor Whitaker Black to present.. Game Sound Adventure League!
They were tasked with taking an hour to record sound effects at (the exceptionally loud) Pike Place Market before being given just ONE MORE HOUR to redesign a video game cutscene - using at least 3 of those sounds. They presented their findings.
What they didn't know was - Kyle Martin Cora, Kobe Anthony, ZW Buckley, and myself were SECRET PANELISTS!!! Halfway through their panel, we rose from the audience and joined them up on stage !
We were given just ONE. HOUR. to add music to their scenes. They had no idea.
I told Akash I would be at the panel. He assured me, multiple times, "Oh no, Star, don't worry about it, you don't have to come." I said to Sabrina earlier that day, "Oh, you're on that panel later tonight, aren't you?" She was none the wiser!!!!
My sources tell me there could be a recording of the hilarity that ensued! Stay tuned!!!
ps.: rumor has it a panelist made their entire score out of another panelist's fart sounds.
maybe that's why akash is making that face
who knows
Introducing... Game Sound Adventure League! Taking place next weekend during PAX!
If you're familiar with Dropout and Game Changer at all, then you'll recognize the design of this poster (and you'll also understand why I can't say more 👀 ) but, for the uninitiated... expect treachery! deception! hilarity will ensue!!
If you saw this poster... no you didn't. Especially if you're one of the panelists 😠
If you're looking to find me, I'll be there! Why? Who knows?! But I recommend that you come by too!
From PAX:
Game Sound Adventure League: Frantically Ruining your Favorite Game Cutscenes
Sat, Sep 5, 2026
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Firebird Theatre (LVL 5, Signature Room)
Game Sound Adventure League: Game Changer or Taskmaster but for sound designers. Watch as a group of industry pros re-design the most famous cutscenes in gaming while completing comedic challenges resolving ridiculous requests and acing absurd assignments all while up against a ticking clock. Why does the door in this cutscene sound kind of like a seagull? Who did they find to scream “it's a-me Mario" that loud? Why does that dog sound a lot like panelist #2? GameSound Adventure League that's why!
From up on stage to behind the scenes - I am thrilled to announce that I am a member of the first ever jury for the Game Developers Choice Awards!
Submissions are now open for 2027 - I'll be focusing on the Best Audio category (naturally) and I cannot wait to experience all of your work. I'm honored, as always, to serve.
See you soon and good luck!
https://gamechoiceawards.com/
My album of eclectic electronic experiments is now available on Spotify!
This Shit Grooves (or This Sh*t Grooves on Spotify, to appease our puritan overlords) is a rare collection of not-videogame-music written by yours truly!
Many of these were put together during my time at Berklee and, like a lot of my game soundtracks, it doesn't sit neatly inside of just one genre. I thought this was a good collection of tunes to group together and as I was listening to them, trying to figure out a sensible way to do that, I said to myself out loud (no lie)... "This shit grooves"
So now we have an album! This little preview highlights some of the best parts of each track, but don't be fooled! I'm pretty classical in my approach to non-game-music, so some of these change pretty substantially before getting to the end.
Now available wherever you get your music!
"Dreamy Lights" is my take on the main theme for an in development title! It's from the same title as the 'sinister creature' theme I shared a little while back.
Our focus was capturing a certain kind of nostalgia (hence the old-timey strings) and working in a little bit of (digital) Magic*
We also wanted to capture some of the joy and whimsy that the protagonist experiences in their journey through the setting. While 'sinister creature' focused on another character and their representation of the strangeness and danger of the world, this theme captures a bit of hope, a bit of dreaminess, and some nods to the modern-day aspects of the game's locale.
It's now streaming alongside that darker theme (sinister creature) in a release titled "and other stories" which is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and wherever you get your music!
*this is marked, "lowercase digital, Capital Magic" in my direction document
When I presented "The Solution is Money: A Practical Approach to Diversity in Game Audio," at Our Sonic Landscape earlier this summer, I wanted to make myself absolutely clear - there's no problem with being privileged.
Our goal as humans (we hope) is to make the world better for ourselves and for those who come after - so, of course, those efforts earnestly attempted, generation after generation, will lead to the accumulation of privilege. Unfortunately, the systems we've built have consolidated wealth and privilege in the hands of some people disproportionately in comparison to others.
When I introduced the CEO of (redacted)* to a pair of young developers seeking advice on getting into the industry, he asked them, "How rich are your parents?"
In other words, how much privilege do you already have? In an extremely challenging field, in an extremely uncertain economy, that question is akin to asking, "How good are your odds?" More privilege = better odds. If we want an industry where everyone has a shot, we have to commit to making the changes that give less privileged people better odds.
And this is why I started The Rising Star Patronage Project, a fund started to support marginalized composers in the game industry. For more information, visit our website.
I appeared in a magazine!
The December 2025 edition of the Percussive Notes magazine featured a story on Dr. Marco Schirripa's PIXEL MASTERWORKS project, which I was absolutely honored to be a part of.
In case you missed it, PIXEL MASTERWORKS brought together a collection of video game music composers to write a collection of new works for the marimba! My piece, Intro & Loop, takes cues from my work as a game composer and from the nature of video game music itself to present a work that is as artful as it is groovy. Visit Slide20xx.com/pixel-masterworks to listen to the whole thing, or check out my blog post detailing my writing process! and stay tuned for the album release 👀
Last year, we came together to raise $15,000 for marginalized composers in the game industry. This year, we're doing it again.
Rising Star Vol. 2 is live on Chuffed!
We're swinging for the fences this time...! We're hoping to raise $35,000 this year, a number that better reflects our costs and our long-term goals to incorporate as a non-profit and better support diverse composers for years to come. If you aren't able to donate, do not despair! We would be just as enthused for a like, follow, share, retweet - we appreciate anything you can do to support from the bottom of our hearts.
Make no mistake- we're giving this one our all whether we make it all the way up to that goal or not. It might change the specifics of what we do, but we're still here to support the community any way we can.
And in case you're new here - we're the Rising Star Patronage Project, a not-for-profit organization committed to raising funds for marginalized composers to build their careers, pay their rent, and make some amazing music.
Last year we used the $15,000 we raised to:
Fund six composers to create our debut album, Beginnings: Rising Star Vol. 1
Sponsor five composers' attendance across two professional networking events
& more!
And we're hoping to do more in the 2026 - 2027 season! To learn more about us, visit our website! You'll find a link to donate, a link to our 2026 update for donors, and links to all of our platforms.
The world is a tough place and video game music is a tough field, but I truly believe that there's a lot of good we can do and I do truly believe that it's worth doing. Like I said in my 2026 update - I think that people are at their best: their happiest, their most inspired, their most considerate, and their most kind, when they are fulfilled in this way. I think our world is in desperate need of more people who are happy, inspired, considerate, and kind.
Economically disadvantaged individuals, who are more likely to be from marginalized groups, are going to need support to get there. So we're doing what we can to make a difference.
As always, thank you for your time, support, and attention.
- 💫
I am very pleased to be announced that I will be speaking tomorrow at the (first ever!) Portland Indie Game Convention - giving a talk entitled The Plan is Always The Same: How to Build a Games Career in Uncertain Times. I'll be discussing how we absolutely can do this, even if times are tough right now, and even when times are tough in the future. The plan, lucky for us.. is always the same.
If you'll be at PIGCon, come hang! I'm on upstairs at 1:00pm. And if you won't be there, stay tuned for the recording 👀
Is it ever worth taking a lower paying job? Sometimes.
As a composer, a freelancer, or even just someone looking to make a career shift, it can be difficult to determine what to do when you're given an opportunity of any sort, especially when opportunities are scarce.
The temptation is to jump at the chance to do any kind of work and as someone from the 10th poorest city in the country, I get that. But the important thing to do when you're making those kinds of choices is to consider the grand scheme of what you're doing with your life. Maybe the compensation is lower right now, but you're in a position where you need some work and any work will do. Maybe this is something that'll look great in your portfolio or on your resume and you're in a position where that's incredibly worth it. Maybe there are other opportunities that you can build off of this one that will get you closer to where you're trying to go.
In any case, it's important to do those calculations and make those choices wisely. Even if you feel like you don't have a choice now, there are always alternatives, and there's always a brighter future that you can build towards.
This lovely croissant filled clip is from our GDC talk, From Intermediate to Advanced: Charting Your Career in Game Audio. Catch the whole thing, featuring myself, Ryan Ike, Katherine Tole, & Akash Thakkar streaming online at the GDC vault!
I don't often get to join game teams super early, but this was a wonderful exception.
'sinster creature' is my track from a currently in-development title! Without giving too much away, the game blends inspirations from a modern-day environment with a very whimsical setting and this is the theme of a playful character with some... questionable intentions 😈
I incorporated publicly available sounds of coyotes from yosemite national park, along with a(n absolutely mangled) public domain recording of "A Ragtime Nightmare" by Tom Turpin to give it an appropriately mischievous tone.
Now available alongside the main theme (Dreamy Lights) in an album called "and other stories" available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and wherever you get your music!
I wrote 30 tracks in 30 days... as a birthday gift.
A friend is a longtime fan of the piano - they haven't been playing much recently, but they're hoping to get back into it. They also have a birthday.. today! They're turning 30 on the 30th, also known as their ✨ golden birthday ✨
so you know what I thought would be neat 👀 what if I wrote them 30, 30 measure pieces of piano music? - nice, short (hypothetically...), accessible pieces that they can tinker around with as they get back into playing. I had this idea around April 1st. I finished number 30 on April 28th.
Anyway, here's number 3! Every piece is written and the sheet music is drafted - there's still plenty to do to polish it up and capture everything I want - but they exist! I'll be putting together recordings and sharing them as they come along. Enjoy!
I'm excited to announce that I'll be speaking at the new game audio con, Our Sonic Landscape in Vancouver, BC next Saturday ! Come hang ! -> https://oursoniclandscape.com/
My talk is entitled, "The Solution is Money: A Practical Solution to Diversity in Game Audio" - buckle up, friends. I'll be discussing what it's really like to build success as a marginalized developer in games, the real weight of what we're up against as diverse folk and as allies, and practical (and financial!!!) steps we can take to make things a little brighter for all of us. A diverse industry is a healthy industry.
Hope to see you there! and a big thank you to @mattesque, @emaudible, and the folks at @ashellinthepit for having me and making this all possible ✨
Our GDC panel is now available on the GDC Vault!
We talk about what it's like moving from the intermediate stage of your audio career into the advanced state (and how to even know you've made it into intermediate 👀)
The panel focuses on pricing strategy, navigating professional relationships as they become increasingly more personal, and the challenges that come with success, with plenty of humor along the way.
Watch it for free here!
