Original score for “Datura” short film by Edward Ayala
Had the pleasure of scoring this narrative short last April. Worked alongside my business partner @brandonjustin who DP’ed the film. In addition to the original score, I was the on-set sound mixer, and @brandonjustin and I also obtained practical effects shots for this piece (As seen in slide 3).
You can listen to the music featured on Slides 1, 2 and 4 on streaming platforms under the album “Assorted Scores (2021 - 2025),” found under my full name, Adam Schmieder, and chictapi. The music from Slides 1 and 2 is titled “Datura,” and the music from Slide 3 is titled “Our Love Is True” Directed by Edward Ayala
Written by Edward Ayala & @noemie.boucher99
Produced by Edward Ayala
@sethsaunooke
Christian Hannis
DP: @brandonjustin
Editors: Edward Ayala and Christian Hannis
Composer: me
Starring:
@embempem as Ali
@averydavisactor as Kota
@michelle.gapto as the Shaman
@merelymadi as the Other Woman
Unit Production Manager @sethsaunooke
1st AD Christian Hannis
2nd AD Giselle Liv
1st AC @jackson_stelmarski@zack.ambrosio
2nd AC @rare.shutters.rf
Bryant Woolcock
DIT / Assistant Editor @jason.parrrk@thad.lamar
Gaffer @gman902105
Key grip @__toe.knee
Grip @valtemirov@ramana_tg@mytc__films
Sound mixer: me
Boom op @kenyonfair2
Production Design @sethsaunooke Edward Ayala
Wardrobe & Makeup: Bella Durst
Hut Construction @kvn.fitz
Hut Designer & Painter: Chloe Benz
Firepit construction & SFX @fer.nando__mercado
PA @avagentleman@rishabhsinghsinghvi@olive_kimbrell@jacqui.duarte12
BTS Photo @kgosauce
Post-production Sound
Edward Ayala, Christian Hannis & me
Colorist @brandonjustin
Special Effects Photography
@brandonjustin & me
My new track “Ampere” is now out, at the link in my bio.
I’ve been sitting on this track for over a year and a half now, teasing it during my new years eve DJ set in early 2025. Music is funny like that, it taking a year and half for me to move some graphs and lines around and finally being satisfied with what I hear. But it feels much too slow for me, and I’m not sure how to change that, only that I want to change it going forward.
I know in that kid’s poem the tortoise wins the race against the rabbit or whatever. Or maybe he doesn’t win the race? I can’t really remember what happens. It definitely feels like the rabbits are winning and the tortoise is playing catchup in the dust
Ampere is the second ‘club’ track that I’ve put out, the first being Simulacra last year in May of 2025. I have a couple more that I want to release, before I put out something very exciting in the summer. Its a neat deviation of form for me, as I hone in on my core qualities as a producer of music, and the genres I really like tapping into, that I’ve always been a part of.
I had a dream last night that Frank Ocean shouted out chictapi and my spotify monthlies went up. Finally I thought, I look like a real musician! Another part of the dream was that Ampere got put on some playlist and got 10k streams on the first day. I dare even dread to check the actual number. Numbers scare me more than spiders
Until the next,
Adam Schmieder
March 6th, 2026
In honor of acquiring a new car, I conscripted the help of @brandonjustin to capture a series of photos that memorialize my old car and all of its flaws before it gets sent to the trash heap.
I’ve driven the 1997 Avalon for over 10 years, since I was in high school, and have watched it deteriorate over time. Its previous owners were my grandparents, who purchased the car around the time I was born.
Some issues with the car that were daily occurrences were:
The right-most light would pop out of its socket, having been hit by an unknown vehicle in a parking lot around 2019. While driving on the freeway, I’d frequently pull over to reconnect it, as I’d notice it was hanging out from the drivers side. Anytime I pulled close to another car, I’d check the reflection of my lights in their bumper to make sure it hadn’t popped out again.
There was no reliable AC or heat. If windshields fogged, I had to use the wipers. I kept a squeegee in the car at all times, as there was no other way to clean dew or water off the windows. Occasionally, hitting a bump at speed would bring airflow back, but only for that drive while the key stayed in the ignition.
The windshield wiper fluid container was punctured, so I couldn’t refill it. Each time I returned to the car, I would dump drinking water from my bottle onto the windshield, then wipe it off with the squeegee to remove residue.
The trunk seal was poor, so rainwater seeped in and killed a spare jump battery. Water would pool on the right side near the back tire, and after rain I would pump it out using hoses and plumbing tools usually reserved for clogs and pipe work.
The lining between the windshield and roof fully rusted out, letting rain soak the floor carpets. After recent LA storms in December / January, moisture became impossible to remove. Despite baking soda, heat lamps, fans, and scrubbing with dish soap, the stagnant water smell remained, and the car had to be parted ways with.
Despite its deterioration, it never broke down the entire time I used it. For almost 30 years, with only ~120k miles, it served as a reliable A-to-B.
An ode to quality internal mechanisms
Toyota Avalon 1997 - 2026
Original score for “Madonna by the Rocks” by @brandonjustin
Starring @zereami
A dance between viola and piano, pirouetting around each other in melody and harmony
You can watch the full thing at @brandonjustin , or listen to the full score on streaming services under my full name, Adam Schmieder, track title “She Came From Soft Things.”
#filmscore #composer #composition #composing
Assorted Scores (2021 - 2025), Out Now
A collection of music from short films and videogames, stretching as far back to my time in university, making some of my first ever scores put to picture...
Where as “Metamorphosis of Form and Vector” served to showcase my creative exploration running wild, “Assorted Scores” exemplifies my nature when I’m supposed to treat music as a professional- refined, contemplative, intentional, and attempting to convey a direct narrative in conjunction to some external meaning.
Composing allows me to hone in my raw potential onto a target point, to really focus all of my energy on a singular desired outcome. If raw creative potential is a vast expanse of land with limitless options, composing is a tight corridor that leads down a narrow path. Through composing, I’m able to make music that I never would’ve dreamed of making just on my own. It allows me to put the blinders on my erratic nature and really zoom in, microscopic, onto the minutia of detail and intention.
As expressed before, my relationship to the way I give music to the world is mostly negative, because the discongruence between how proud I am to the music versus how many people actually hear it is a source of continuous frustration. I don’t expect that this project will change that, but on a baseline, it still brings me happiness to put music out into the world, even if that world is a void.
Featuring music from films & works by:
@brandonjustin - Tracks 2, 7
@zachfiedler - Tracks 1, 13
@ericyeich - Track 6
@_edwardayala - Tracks 9, 10
@fer.nando__mercado - Tracks 4, 12
Sam Cast - Track 8
@colby_parada - Track 3
@antonisaaclee - Tracks 5, 11
With music performance by
@jarednhk - Vocals, Track 3
@felicityisok - Vocals, Track 3
Charles Munroe - Saxophone, Track 3
@johnclarkmaythethird - Violin, Track 5
I hope you enjoy,
Adam Schmieder
11.21.25
Manifold - Song and Video, Out now.
I kept feeling like I had stumbled into something special with this song; something that cut deeper than my usual music, and something that reflected my own depths to a more potent degree.
I look at this footage and truly wonder what was going through my little mind at the time- what thoughts of the future I was having, what my kid intentions and aspirations were. More than likely it could’ve been as simple as “I want milk” or “Give candy,” but staring at footage of little me walking around and existing, exhibiting these premature glimpses of my own mannerisms I continue to exhibit, really feels special. The time before consciousness. My own Garden of Eden
Thank you to @1liammmm for the saxophone at the end.
Thanks,
Adam Schmieder
10.22.25
Today I turned 26. The big 26. Officially unc status.
I’ve always said that I want to change the way I release music. Releasing music trying to ‘kickstart’ a ‘music career’ has only jaded the emotions I feel towards music, something that’s supposed to be fun and what I work on when I want a break from work, not the actual work itself. I think this is the clearest mental shift that’s occurred in me as of recent, attempting to reorient music as being a hobby, and treating it as something thats supposed to instill joy in me, versus treating it as something that I have to hinge everything on in order to succeed- a success that I have not seen, and no longer feel the need to see immediately. Tying together my idea of personal ‘success’ with things like views, streams, etc. has only made me more frustrated in my endeavors, and I’ve realized that I must abandon this desire entirely if I’m ever going to move forward.a
So amidst the birthday wishes and celebrations, I have my gift to YOU. Metamorphosis of Form and Vector (2021 - 2025) is an album containing 24 selected tracks made over the course of a 4 year period of my musical journey, dating as far back as college. I felt every compulsion in my being telling me I needed to clear the vault of music I’ve stored; hundreds of tracks waiting to be tapped and put out, and this record was the first manifestation of that impulse. You can stream it on spotify and apple music, or if you’d like to support me, it’s also available on bandcamp for a purchase. The tracks consist of a wide range of genres, experimentations, demos, and instrumentals. I’m very proud of the shape this record has ended up taking, and look forward to eagerly beginning the next.
I hope you enjoy the record. I sense a new direction of mine going forward. I still have so much more in store that I’m eager to finally lay on the table, and move on with. I still have my EP ‘Circuit Breaker’ being rolled out; including more music videos, and other singles from that record. We’ll see what the final shape of that one will take as well, as I learn more and experiment further.
Thanks,
Adam Schmieder
9.24.25
Transformer - Out Now
The third single from the Circuit Breaker project. This track always stuck with me in terms of its energy and ability at successfully combining different genre conventions.
A lot of imagery from Circuit Breaker surrounds electricity and currents, and I think Transformer best depicts that idea sonically as a piece of music. Conducting raw energy into another medium, exciting the mind instead of electrons. The music itself is a Transformer, from a state of matter to a state of perception. One could really ask if there’s a difference between the two.
Cover photo by @m.arlii . Thanks to @jarednhk and @its28mm for helping bring this track to life. Mixed and mastered by yours truly (for better or for worse)
There’s still music videos to come. No Time To Give is still being edited, so I appreciate the patience. It will certainly exceed expectations.
Thanks,
Adam Schmieder
8.27.25
Transformer towers step voltage up for transmission or down for safe distribution. They contain oil and metal coils insulated to handle high voltages.
Explosions usually happen from electrical faults, insulation breakdown, or overheating. If cooling fails or oil ignites, pressure can build until the transformer bursts. External damage, like accidents or wildlife, can also trigger failures.
Transformer - August 27th
#electronicmusic #musicvideo #2hollis #thehellp #hyperpop
