Sharp In Head

"Sharp in Head" is an OST for a non-existent video game, created for OST Composing Jam 7. The game is a 16-bit platformer about an aging man coming to terms with onset mental health issues and dementia. Each level explores a different aspect of his psyche as he struggles to find portions of his identify in cloudy, overstimulating cerebral landscapes.

The album reflects my own struggles after seeing my grandfather suffer greatly from Alzheimers and trying to accept the possibility that I might end like he did. The album is permeated with genre shifts, unexpected rhythms, and strange tones to express a perception of reality lost in small bits, one strange thought at a time.  It spans multiple genres just as the protagonist's inner life spans many moods and perspectives. 

Despite the dark premise, I did attempt to inject some joy and hope into it, as I must continue to live and find fun where I can, and dance from time to time.

I created the album with Deflemask. The music is compatible with authentic Sega Genesis/Mega Drive hardware. The runtime is 28 minutes, 7 seconds.

The album is licensed CC0. If you want to incorporate it into your own projects, tracker files and .vgms are available at here.

The album is available on YouTube in this playlist. Videos are also linked below: