G Ab A# B C Db D D# F ?

I made some music every day (Nov 1-15, 2023). When I had something "jazzy" that I liked, I started to think about theme, and decided "A Stray Cat Approaches" sounds like what it says. Imagine cats living in an "infinite maze of alleys," which to them might not be so strange, and built around that. I made music for "Emile's Theme"  another day, and thought about a story and characters when I made the pixel art. 

The hardest song (as the composer) is actually the simple "Camille's Theme"/ "Nine Lives". I thought of the melody at once, when I wanted a sweet song for the 2 cats finding each other again. Getting the phrasing right was difficult in BeepBox, and I tried for 3-4 days to make B-sections, orchestration, different endings, more complex variations. I feel really good about using the theme in the two ways heard here -  the solo marimba version was lost when I used it as the last track, and the bass version felt a bit rough alone. Now, I think "Camille's Theme" is a strong change from the "raga" opening; and with the bass version, it's playful and strong enough to close the album.

I made the music by ear, and actually did not see any note names until all tracks were complete. There are interesting music theory "things" happening (for example, dissonant Ab/G opens the "raga", but also appears in other tracks) - but I made what I like from jazz - percussion, dissonant modes and modal interchange, syncopation, and a sweet memorable serenade type melody.

I think the EP really could be played on stage by 2 percussionists, 1 bass and an accordion. I imagine 2 percussionists improvising over the "raga" while an audience finds their seats....

Thanks for the challenge and inspiration.