Tide & Tile
2026 · Commissioned by Kieran Smith
- Forces
- Flute, celesta, harp, synth pad, synth bass, shaker, suspended cymbal, mark tree
- Platform
- Browser game (desktop and mobile)
- Role
- Composer
- Music system
- Layered loop, tutorial and full layers crossfading at any point
- Cues
- 4 (2 written to loop without a gap)
- Status
- Released
Notes
Music for Tide and Tile, Kieran Smith's browser puzzle game about fitting tiles of grass, sand and water together. It has no timer and no way to fail, so the music is meant to be calm company for a board that might take twenty seconds or several minutes.
The score is built on one gesture, a wave: a figure that climbs to a crest and falls back. The harp traces it in every phrase, the celesta sings it as a motif, and the harmony rocks gently between two chords like a tide, never settling into a cadence, so the music can loop without the join being heard.
It is written in layers. In the tutorial the player hears only the harp, celesta and soft synths; once the levels begin, a flute melody and light percussion join them, and the game can cross-fade between the two at any moment. A short intro and a success sting built from the same motif complete the set.
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