01. Caustics                                              5:30

I’ve been fascinated with this optical phenomenon longer than I’ve known what it was called. In this piece, I wanted to explore the various iterations that caustics may take on, from calm and sparkling to busy and frenetic.

02. Melisma of the Waters                          4:14
(Sea of Stars)    

As a fan of Yasunori Mitsuda’s since childhood, hearing his music in a recent game that pays homage to some of the greats of the past feels like getting a special package of unreleased work. This was an arrangement that came together while I was piecing together parts of the music in different ways, while also contemplating the way that calm waters flow and spin.

03. Aquatic Ambience                               4:59
(Donkey Kong Country)

Iconic for good reason, I knew I had to include this massively influential piece on this album. I took to imagining the ways that the underwater moments in Donkey Kong Country can go from calm and serene to stressful and panicked at a moment, and this is what resulted.

04. Dark Waters                                            4:45
(The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time)

Here I’ve described in music what it might be like to explore the Water Temple, encounter the protagonist’s sinister doppelgänger, and succeed at conquering both in a grand climactic moment that asks the performer to span several octaves and perform numerous interlocking elements with clarity and finesse.

05. Secret of the Deep Sea                            4:40
(Final Fantasy VII)

With a focus on repetitive pulsing movements similar to a gentle current, this arrangement portrays an unsettling beauty that the deep sea can evoke, especially in the world of Final Fantasy VII. Overall, keeping a fairly relaxed energy throughout, the sense of uncertainty comes from the uneven or incomplete phrasing that makes its way into the music.

06. Inkwater Marsh                                       4:23
(Ori and the Will of the Wisps)

This piece was originally arranged concurrently with my work orchestrating the game’s score. Using the roughly 13 minutes of music written for this area, I was tasked with condensing it down to what I felt were the most important elements for a 5-minute piano solo. One of my favourite aspects of music is hearing the same piece performed by different musicians and learning new things about it through their unique interpretations.

07. Shore of Another World                           4:45
(Chrono Cross)

Another classic, I knew I was going to move around some of the most recognizable aspects of the original and find different ways for them to interact. It was important for me to keep some sense of pulse and groove through the piece, though that changes as the music develops.

08. Balaenoptera musculus                            5:38
(ABZÛ)

The music of Abzu is one of my favourite modern game scores, period. There are so many great moments that I could have chosen to interpret, but I gravitated towards this piece in particular. Finding new ways for the various elements to interact was an enjoyable experience during the arranging process.

09. The River                                               5:20
(Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye)

I discovered Outer Wilds for the first time this year, and it has left a lasting impact on me. I was then especially impressed and impacted by the Echoes of the Eye storyline as well as the music contained within. So much of this section is experienced on the river, and I wanted to find ways to demonstrate the beauty and danger within; illustrating moments such as when the dam breaks and a rush of water changes your environment permanently.

10. Dire Dire Docks                                      3:53
(Super Mario 64)

No water-themed album would be complete without this fan-favourite, and having the opportunity to arrange this iconic theme that has been reinterpreted so many times has allowed me to stray a little bit from the main path. Augustine plays the many (many) colorful chords used throughout the piece with an effortlessness that allows the music to flow naturally from mood to mood.

11. Delfino Plaza                                           3:53
(Super Mario Sunshine)

Certainly the liveliest piece on the album, I wanted to really lean into the more playful elements of Delfino Plaza and Super Mario Sunshine while also illustrating some more tense moments in a lighthearted way.

12. Cascades                                                 4:58
(Hyper Light Drifter)

Hyper Light Drifter’s score has some of the best ambience, and I really wanted to include some of that. The focus of this piece is the way each individual note interacts with the rest, building to the massive wall of sound. I wanted to incorporate and reinterpret the range of expansive and intimate moments from the original in a way that suited the piano.