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STAY: Forever Home Original Game Soundtrack Vol. 1 CHAOS
dren mcdonald
STAY: Forever Home is a game from Windup Minds for the Meta Quest headset and takes place in both mixed reality and virtual reality. Vol 1 of the soundtrack is out now on Appearing Records.The soundtrack features musical artists, Sophia James and Amelie Anna. Sophia was a top ten finalist in Season 18 of American Idol, she recently collaborated on new songs with the creators of Phineas and Ferb (Disney) on the latest season, and her song, “Somebody New” has over 24 million streams on Spotify. Vocalist/percussionist, Amelie Anna, is featured in the score for the recently released Kojima game, Death Stranding 2 and both Amelie and Sophia contributed vocals to McDonald’s upcoming album, VoxPterous.It is available on Bandcamp HERE and all the usual streaming platforms.
AppleMusic (in Atmos and stereo)
Tidal Music (Atmos and stereo)
AmazonMusic
Deezer
QubozTo learn more about the game or join the cozy community of players, check out the Stay Discord or go directly to the game page on the Quest storeREVIEWS:
York Calling
Music On The Rox
Obscure Sound
Alt77
Grotesqualizer
B-sides & Badlands
Rock The Pigeon
Quotes:
"Soundtracks don’t often work without the accompanying visuals, but what McDonald has created for Stay: Forever Home is so rich with narrative that you can feel its story unfolding before your eyes as you listen. It’s a rare treat." Graeme Smith, York Calling"Together, these songs transform the listening experience from serene exploration into thrilling gameplay." Ryan Cassata, Rock The Pigeon
PERENNIALS original Animated Film Soundtrack
dren mcdonald
PERENNIALS is a VR Animated Film which debuted at the Venice Film Festival in 2023, produced and published by Meta and Directed/Created by Zoe Roellin, and the soundtrack was just released on Appearing Records.It is available on Bandcamp HERE and all the usual streaming platforms.
AppleMusic (in Atmos and stereo)
Spotify
Tidal Music (Atmos and stereo)
AmazonMusic
DeezerThere is a video of the soundtrack, featuring animated backgrounds from the animated film is here on YouTube.
oceanic
dren mcdonald
OCEANIC is the new ambient record from Dren on Appearing Records.It is available on Bandcamp HERE and all the usual streaming platforms.
AppleMusic (in Atmos and stereo)
Spotify
Tidal Music (Atmos and stereo)
AmazonMusic
DeezerThe most recent video from this record, Delphinus Bursa is here on YouTube.There's been some nice press already for the 1st single, like this, or this, or this at Electronica UK, or this with the Slow Music Movement. The second single got a little love over here as well.
Cover art by photographer, Maddox McDonald
"McDonald, a versatile composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, continues to innovate in his latest project. His approach to creating immersive auditory experiences is evident in “OCEANIC,” offering listeners a rich, three-dimensional sound journey." - Electronica UK"The sound is rich and sonorous. Synths sound like French horns and guitars. But it remains a deliciously electronic palette. Everything about this is redolent of the deep ocean. There’s a chilly, rolling, lightly menacing and dark oiliness to everything. Properly skilled Ambient." - AcidTed (on Oceanic)"resembling an underwater equivalent of Daniel Lanois’ spacious Americana" - The Answer is In The Beat (on Oceanic)
Pterous
dren mcdonald
Appearing Records begins it's journey with a series of single pieces and a full length album by composer Dren McDonald. Each piece is an instrumental with layers and layers of guitars (acoustic, electric, baritone, 12 string, e-bowed, fretless bass etc), simulating a guitar orchestra.McDonald created this suite of pieces as a tribute to several people he was close to who had all passed away within the same narrow window of time. With the loss of these people all happening over a short span of time, the creation of something new in the name of their memory was cathartic and a way for McDonald to spend time with his memories of them as he composed and recorded each piece.McDonald used over 35 different instruments for this recording which he played himself. Using a variety of unorthodox microphone techniques, several different types of amplifiers and different combinations of microphones, this recording represents an attempt to create a new 'orchestral guitar' sound.PTEROUS is out now from Appearing Records, and represents a truly unique listening experience.*Pterous is available now at the following platforms:
Bandcamp | AppleMusic | Spotify | Amazon Music | Tidal
A Mescaform Hill Music Story
A Mescaform Hill Music Story is a new approach to a soundtrack recording, just released by Appearing Records.Rather than release a series of short cues for this VR animation, where the tracks might be jumbled out of sequence and played out of context with playlists in random. So this is a 17 minute long, single piece of audio with all of the cues and sounds from the VR animation. The score features a live string quintet, African vocalists, fretless banjo, and modular synthesis.A Mescaform Hill Music Story is available now at the following platforms:
AppleMusic | Spotify | Amazon Music | Tidal
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FYC - BEST ARRANGEMENT, INSTRUMENTAL and VOCALS
Ember's Magic Walk - Dren McDonald feat. Sophia James
Dren McDonald
Sophia James
EMBER'S MAGIC WALK Streaming LinksBandcampYouTubeAppleMusic (in Atmos and stereo)SpotifyTidal Music (Atmos and stereo)AmazonMusicDeezer
The soundtrack for Stay: Forever Home reflects the smaller, intimate nature of this game, scored with a limited palette of instruments. There’s nothing as magical as the human voice, so composer Dren McDonald worked with two of his favorite vocalists for this score as part of that limited palette.One of those vocalists (featured on most of the songs) is musical artist Sophia James. Sophia was a top ten finalist in Season 18 of American Idol, she recently collaborated on new songs with the creators of Phineas and Ferb (Disney) on the latest season, and her song, “Somebody New” has over 24 million streams on Spotify.All of the songs on the soundtrack, including Ember's Magic Walk, were Arranged, Composed, Produced and Engineered by Dren McDonald, with additional engineering by Chad Wackerman (The Drum Room) on Sophia's vocals.
"Gorgeous vocal harmonies from Sophia James and Amelie Anna, ranging from the lushly inviting opener to the finale’s momentum-filled intrigue, coexist seamlessly alongside memorable arrangements — which dazzle across dreamy acoustic strumming, twinkling keys, and dynamic rhythmic infusions." - Obscure Sound"In 'Ember's Magic Walk', Sophia James’ vocals stretch to brilliant heights, igniting a sense of wonder that propels the listener deeper into the game’s landscape." - Rock The Pigeon"“Ember’s Magic Walk” stages a wild and magical epoch that completely envelopes you. Even without knowing the game’s premise, you’re delighted with sonic waves that exhilarate and refresh the body." - B-Sides And Badlands“Ambient tones rise and fall like breathing; vocal lines appear like guiding lights in dim spaces. There is a feeling of exploration combined with cozy familiarity.Their voices feel like guardians or soft-guiding spirits within the sound world. " - Music On The Rox
Dren McDonald is best known for his video game scores (CounterStrike 2, Ghost Recon Commander, Stranger Things VR), but he's also released his own records as well as written music for film, VR experiences, and theme parks. "Ember's Magic Walk" is from his latest full release, the soundtrack to the game, Stay: Forever Home on Appearing Records, released on July 25, 2025.ABOUT DREN
Dren spent the 90s running a label (Vaccination Records Co.) while playing in a few SF Bay Area bands on that label, and eventually wound up writing music for film, theme parks and many video games including CounterStrike Global Offensive/2 (Valve), Ghost Recon Commander (Ubisoft) and Cooking Dash (GLU Mobile/EA), Gunman Taco Truck (Romero Games) and the award winning indie game, Gathering Sky (Pontoco). In addition to his game soundtracks, he also released The String Arcade (2014), polyheDren - Psychic (2022) a collaborative music project featuring his music with guests such as Josh Freese (Foo Fighters), Nels Cline (Wilco) and Iva Bittová (Nonesuch), and his guitar orchestra record, Pterous (2023). His music can also be heard in the ubiquitous SuperZoom Instagram feature, Stranger Things VR (Netflix/Tender Claws) and many other VR and MR interactive experiences.Other recent guest appearances by DrenIn 2024 he also appeared as a guest on Melodic Virtue's Star Stunted II w/ Rob Crow, Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) Roy Mayorga (Ministry), and as a guest on The Residents Secret Show (Live in San Francisco) - Cherry Red Records, arranging and performing two songs by The Residents for their 50th Anniv with a band that included Josh Freese (Foo Fighters) and guest performers including Les Claypool (Primus), Ego Plum (Cuphead Show), David J(Bauhaus) and The Residents themselves.