https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-03-24 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/about daily 1.0 2025-12-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/c41a8e06-5b4b-4564-a4f7-f82caa39870f/DSC05043-Edit+%281%29.jpg About Ashley Renee Seward is a composer living and working in so-called Toronto, Canada whose artistic practice centres around liminality, hypnagogia, monotropism, and almost-ness with a specific view to perpetrating genre treason and dramaturgical experimentation. Her music is inspired by her voracious and eclectic listening appetite: on her weekly playlist you might find artpop, doom metal, jazz fusion, Toronto club mixes, experimental R&B, Finnish folk-rock, noise-pop, hip-hop, jazz-funk, gospel, Winnipeg folk-pop, soundtracks to old Polish cartoons, and even regular old Beethoven when the mood strikes. Ashley is currently in the process of completing a doctorate at the University of Toronto and has also studied at the University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia. She enjoys writing for all instruments and ensembles, with a particular interest in small chamber ensembles, voice, and operas about toxic, neurodivergent women. Ashley has written music for readings by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and for performance by Standing Wave Ensemble, Allegra Chamber Orchestra, and the Kensington Sinfonia. In 2021, Ashley’s work “trypanophobia” for viola sola was awarded a runner-up prize in that year’s SOCAN Young Composers Competition. Ashley’s piece “Storms Over Camp Creek” was recorded in 2023 by the Kensington Sinfonia for their album Forces of Nature. In 2023, Ashley was among the first musical artists to be shortlisted for the Portfolio Prize. Ashley’s music has been lauded as “iconoclastic”, “striking”, and “conceptually intriguing” by various composition teachers. When not composing, Ashley likes to play video games, cook meals, get high, and purchase merchandise from obscure online content creators. She recently acquired an audio interface with loopback functionality and is intent on making it everyone else’s problem. https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/work daily 0.75 2026-06-01 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/media daily 0.75 2026-10-25 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/media/audio-jagm8 monthly 0.5 2022-03-24 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/media/video-h7fy5 monthly 0.5 2026-10-25 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void daily 0.75 2026-04-04 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/ashleys-top-5-games-of-2025 monthly 0.5 2025-12-24 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/kpop-demon-hunters-is-okay-i-guess monthly 0.5 2025-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/48c877ba-b392-40d3-922a-b47eda31fd10/HID1.png Screaming Into the Void - KPop Demon Hunters is Okay, I Guess - Make it stand out How It’s Done notation of pre-chorus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/9c171700-6501-4c77-a068-fc160a45c498/HID2.png Screaming Into the Void - KPop Demon Hunters is Okay, I Guess - Make it stand out How It’s Done notation of post-chorus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/172acbe0-520b-4efd-bfbc-79d834791e2e/GOLD1.png Screaming Into the Void - KPop Demon Hunters is Okay, I Guess - Make it stand out Golden notated excerpt https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/a50486e0-68da-4d0a-958e-c1ab792dc191/GOLD2.png Screaming Into the Void - KPop Demon Hunters is Okay, I Guess - Make it stand out Golden opening hook notated in 3/2 meter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/d0b1b661-92e9-4b96-b38a-1bff9e305206/GOLD3.png Screaming Into the Void - KPop Demon Hunters is Okay, I Guess - Make it stand out Golden opening notated in 12/8 meter https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/concert-review-chi-en-wong-dma-recital monthly 0.5 2025-03-04 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/mahler-i-hardly-know-her monthly 0.5 2025-02-02 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/ashleys-top-5-games-of-2024 monthly 0.5 2024-12-30 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/60vtklo72yevo2idkn4cmut5y3rz9n monthly 0.5 2024-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/7a66add1-6491-477f-937b-85029ed17c10/GB.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation depicting the ground bass https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/53866bed-9238-48b1-84d2-92a6bebdc2dc/rhythm1.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out 2/2 Example rhythms https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/9216f6d3-e572-4dd8-9cc3-a2851b58de30/rhythm2.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out 6/4 Example rhythms https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/883df2cc-642a-49e9-b43f-23b1b13c0fcf/tablep1.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Table outlining sections of phase 1. Lists meter, number of measures, and a short description for each https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/76e1cb88-40e9-43ab-9910-588f581766b1/Rtheme.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: the Radahn Theme (0’33”, 1’38”, 1’54”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/9f30e36b-6923-4a11-b8fc-89d61a5fbbed/sMat1.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: secondary material 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/b5373da4-7a38-4d74-b7bb-e0e5d2beb41b/sMat2.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: secondary material 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/ebca854c-a82d-4955-8d29-245201dc89f0/tablep2.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Table outlining sections of phase 1. Lists meter, number of measures, and a short description for each https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/af918e5d-b14e-43c5-94a7-bdfbfc1e0f6e/rad.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Radagon https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/bce6b366-7bfd-4f85-839a-3a4cfc6c3ee0/mess.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Messmer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/4b520a71-00d4-4de3-afd2-40959384e9b9/rell.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Rellana https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/a19f7eb0-37f7-42bd-962e-154b1d3e2266/ldancer.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Divine Beast Dancing Lion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/f6864472-04e0-427e-be57-7148d5888551/midra.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Midra https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/fdcdea71-c65c-43b9-bb27-219630046abe/2pA.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase A (3’58”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/7deb5d58-73cf-4840-ad9e-c940562f47c9/2pB.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase B (4’21”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/f137b4ae-c8e9-40f1-8bd0-1dcbce7f9d9c/2pC.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase C (4’43”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/e86fbf7b-9e82-4292-b3b6-ce0df168d96b/2pD.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase D (5’05”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/352f16ea-2978-4b82-8083-718f6cc6b8e8/2pE.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase E (5’28”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/fffbc0c9-dae6-4a6c-9379-265730b390a3/2pF.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: Phrase F1 and F2 with Radahn Theme (5’50”) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/7fd18109-1c2c-44ad-8a43-290ac177e236/trina.png Screaming Into the Void - What’s the Deal with Consort Radahn? - Make it stand out Music notation: melody from “St. Trina” https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/post-toronto-life-update monthly 0.5 2024-11-16 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/grieving-after-an-autism-diagnosis monthly 0.5 2024-08-08 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/ashleys-top-5-games-of-2023 monthly 0.5 2023-12-27 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/lessons-learned-video-games-part-2nbsp monthly 0.5 2023-07-25 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/lessons-learned-video-games-part-1 monthly 0.5 2023-07-25 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/lessons-learned-cooking monthly 0.5 2023-07-11 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/lessons-learned-magic-the-gathering monthly 0.5 2023-07-18 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/music-of-an-invincible-summer-motive-and-theme-in-the-soundtrack-for-dark-souls-iii monthly 0.5 2023-07-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/651feb5a-6b9a-480b-ac4c-44a2f93bdba7/camus.jpg Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Hey, what’s this guy doing here? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/213bc604-8597-48d4-995b-8d02734ff822/o%26s.jpg Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Dragonslayer Ornstein (right) and Executioner Smough (left), fearsome measures of a player’s skill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/b259d007-4595-4949-b881-f62efc8665bf/gwyn.jpg Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Gwyn, Lord of Cinder is looking mighty haggard these days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/5e196a2e-4f1d-48a9-ba35-e6e7e1c32805/gwyn.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 1: Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, 00:00:25. Gwyn theme played by right hand in Piano 1, mm. 1-4. Many iterations of this theme in DSIII soundtrack omit the first two notes. For a full comparative analysis of this theme and its cousins in DSIII, see Appendix A. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/8d20882e-e95d-471e-9bac-d425a743820e/yhormmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 2: Yhorm the Giant, opening, chorus. Gwyn theme present in first four notes of soprano melody. This transcription omits the horn part, which is absolutely baller. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/8f1cb366-1e41-4b9c-8e0b-6663769a3174/sagesmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 3: Crystal Sages, 00:03:29, string foreground. Gwyn theme present in bass line (mm. 81-88) and viola melody (mm. 82-84, 86-88.) Sinuous lines in viola and cello beginning at m. 89 evoke Gwyn theme without directly stating it. This piece also happens to be a total banger; a sleeper hit IMO. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/2ea303d2-8de4-48fc-8b58-f6c9394b18df/iudexmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 4: Iudex Gundyr, 00:00:10, strings. Gwyn theme present both in viola melody (first five notes of each phrase) and slightly altered in violin II accompanying line. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/0ba57b6f-c105-4ef4-8ed2-dc7bf62e64f6/pontiffmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 5: Pontiff Sulyvahn, 00:00:44. Gwyn theme expressed in soprano melody as well as cello and viola accompaniment. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/3a360ec0-3410-4962-a6bc-11f97cc970c8/dancermusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 6: Dancer of the Boreal Valley, opening. Violin and voice lines oscillate around a central pitch, evoking 3-note structure of Gwyn theme. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/80e229d1-aad3-4e07-b092-bcda1b44bf32/abyssmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 7: Abyss Watchers, 00:00:16. The first 4 measures of the vocal line are an inversion of the Gwyn theme, which is further represented in the murmuring violin line. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/38863f9f-4319-4adc-b62c-62a9942c53fe/l%26lmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 8: Lorian, Elder Prince and Lothric, Younger Prince, 00:01:37, chorus and bass. The overall shape of the soprano melody is highly suggestive of the Gwyn theme. At m. , we see an example of the PAC that dominates this soundtrack. I sure hope the tenor section was paid well for this – I am not 100 percent certain that they are singing in the final two measures, but a couple of those high C’s are absolutely meant to be sung by humans. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/0743b69f-44f5-4fb0-8101-06461ac01b58/l%26l.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Inbred princes Lothric and Lorian are happy to ride out the collapse in their tower filled with zombies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/b4eaf78e-7625-493a-8822-191459d0fc1a/gaelmusic.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Fig. 9: Slave Knight Gael, 00:02:00, SA and violin. Gwyn theme in soprano line. Recording here https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/1046300c-aecf-4fbc-84ae-d19674130bcd/gael.jpg Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out In his search for the Dark Soul of Man, Uncle Gael has developed a hankering for yummy, yummy souls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/62608897-08cd-4bb2-9ce4-3c0b4f46ce60/darksign.jpg Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out The Darksign, a visual metaphor for the Sisyphean curse suffered by humanity, hangs in a dreary sky above the First Flame. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/6a717914-1949-47ec-9522-898c07d293e2/themes1.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d70487d4c28f00001443307/9d68aec2-2d41-4f38-9359-1a80c46a0fec/themes2.png Screaming Into the Void - Music of an Invincible Summer: Motive and Theme in the Soundtrack of DARK SOULS III - Make it stand out Ex. 8 should be in bass clef, I’m too lazy to correct this lol https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/top-5-games-i-played-in-2022 monthly 0.5 2022-12-06 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/top-10-lesser-known-halloween-songs-to-freshen-up-your-spooky-season-parties monthly 0.5 2022-10-25 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/tar-is-a-movie-about-a-hot-conductor-lady-spoilers monthly 0.5 2022-10-22 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/threads-why-a-1984-british-horror-film-gives-me-hope-for-the-future monthly 0.5 2022-07-28 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/review-cecile-mclorin-salvants-ghost-song monthly 0.5 2022-06-01 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/political-perspectives-on-two-transgender-characters-in-opera monthly 0.5 2022-05-05 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/screaming-into-the-void/blog-post-title-one-mrpsn monthly 0.5 2022-04-22 https://www.ashsewardmusic.com/engraving daily 0.75 2022-06-23