Manic Moose creates Muppet music - Post News

Post, Sept, 2002 by Marc Loftus

NEW YORK -- Continuing its relationship with The Jim Henson Company, Manic Moose Music, here, recently completed original music for Kermit's Swamp Years, a children's feature centered around "the early years" of this famous Muppet frog and his first ventures outside of the swamp where he was raised. According to Manic Moose principals/composers Joe Carroll and Peter Thom, the team came up with 84 music cues for the longform project, along with a number of original songs. In total, the production incorporates 104 minutes of music into the show, which debuted on Starz! Family before being released on VHS and DVD.

Since the feature focuses on Kermit's life at the age of 12, the soundtrack took on a retro-'70s theme. The Manic Moose team wrote and co-wrote a number of original songs for the feature, including "Follow Your Star" and "Animal Instinct," whose guide vocals serve to direct the actions of the animated characters. Music cues were also written to reflect the environments Kermit and his friends traverse -- the swamp settings feature an acoustic Cajun/Bayou feel, while urban locations have more of an electric style.

Music was written and recorded at Manic Moose's NYC studio. The facility is based around a Mac G4 running Digidesign Pro Tools Mix Plus. Emagic Logic Audio was also used, as was a Soundchaser custom PC running Nemesis Gigastudio for sampling acoustic instruments, Vocals were recorded at Disney i.d.e.a.s. in Orlando, as well as in LA. Manic Moose mixed the music right in Pro Tools. The project's final mix took place at Liberty Live Wire's Burbank location.