@OVERSCORE - @Aalasteir (Q) - Index

Q: How did you get interested in creating music?

So, I’ve always been interested in music and its creation… it’s a big part of the life of everyone in my family. The journey started one day when I was like 8, I was just hitting every black key on the instrument after hearing my dad play and it clicked… I was sure I wanted to play piano. That’s where most of my theory, composition, and style came from. Then, during the pandemic, we were assigned to write a melody on Chrome Music Lab. After that assignment, I wrote another song on it, obsessed with the fact that I could finally CREATE my OWN music. 5 years later, here we are!

Q: Your advice on creating music

Well first of all, learn theory first, please… figure out the mixing and technical aspects of production. Learn the rules so you can break them in the most expressive and appropriate ways. But just as importantly— DONT write for other people! I firmly believe that the best possible music is created when musicians decide to complete express and stay true to themselves without an audience in mind. Don’t go for the “mainstream,” go for something that’s TRUE! Write your emotions in sound!

Q: What’s the story behind your username, "OVERSCORE"?

When I was still writing Chrome Music Lab stuff, I had come up with this artist name that I thought was amazing and all that… _underscore. Upon my move to NG, that username was taken. So I just put some numbers after it. However, this March, I was gifted supporter status and wasn’t satisfied with that old name… but I also wanted people to still recognize me. So I went with OVERSCORE, hoping I could score above people’s expectations!

Q: How did you discover NG? What made you decide to join the community? Do you feel differently about the site now compared to when you first joined?

I discovered this wonderful website through Geometry Dash, which was easily my favorite game growing up. So when I started creating music, I dreamt of my music being used in custom levels. That was the only reason for a while, and then I engaged with this wonderful community of talented artists, found some great friends who have stayed with me and encouraged me this whole way, and that is when my growth really started to take off.

Q: How did you get interested in playing the piano? What do you enjoy about it?

I became interested in the piano when I was 8, after hearing my dad play a song I never learned the name of… but the way that music flowed, something about it just had me awestruck. The next few days, I annoyed everyone living with me as I played every black note on the piano because they all sounded good together. So my parents starting me on piano lessons. Recently, I’ve especially loved playing it even more. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!

I’d say that what I enjoy so much about it as the way each note is represented visually. Every key is laid out, and this setup just makes it so much easier to figure out songs. It’s also truly infinite in the possibilities of what you can play on it, and that only is becoming clearer and clearer the more I progress.

Q: What do you think about singing?

I’ve always enjoyed singing, but have mostly kept my voice to myself. It’s being able to create music with my voice… I used to take it for granted, honestly. Then my vocal range got absolutely obliterated by puberty! So recently I’ve been working hard to get some of my range back. I would love more than anything else to be able to sing my tracks.

Q: What do you like about Splatoon?

Splatoon is just a blast! Sure it’s community is extremely toxic but, I just really enjoy the game itself. The movement mechanics are intuitive but innovative. The character designs are so charming. And the gameplay is so unique, there’s no other game like it! I also love the stylized graphics. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but, I have found myself enjoying quite a bit for the last couple years.

Q: Is Dr. Pepper your favorite soda? If so, why?

Dr Pepper is my favorite drink for sure. I couldn’t tell you any of the 23 flavors they put in it, but I savor every last one. I even have a Dr Pepper shirt… I’m dedicated lol

Q: How did you become interested in space?

When I was in like 2nd grade, I got a Smithsonian book all about space… I have read and reread every single page of it since! It was filled with these detailed pictures that would fill the whole page, and described every bit of the universe in detail. My mind was blown at the true scale of all of it, and the shockingly minuscule role we play in the order of all things. Every day, while we’re living our tiny lives here on this rock, the entire universe is just churning about in its secret order, in nearly perfect balance. I find space comforting, awe-inspiring, and fascinating in every way.

Q: Why do you enjoy architecture, especially tall buildings?

I have been interested in architecture for as long as I can remember. When you really think about it, architecture is just art in building form. Skyscrapers are my favorite buildings, however. If a building is a piece of art, imagine hundreds of art pieces all combining into one city skyline— functional, everyday beauty as humanity reaches toward the sky. There’s also something so triumphant about them, I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Q: What do you like about photo editing?

I don’t know, I just find it very relaxing! We capture the world around us with photos, and I enjoy turning the world around me into all it can be by editing it. Or sometimes, I completely change photos into something entirely different, distorting and blurring and recording in new ways. I imagine that’s probably as close to being an artist as I’ll get

Q: Why do you enjoy reading sci-fi books?

Sci-fi books captivate my imagination. I am very interested in the progression of technology (except generative AI, which is a place humans should not have gone) and sci-fi books have very creative interpretations of where this technological development could lead.

Q: What’s it like living with Asperger’s syndrome?

Asperger’s is truly wild, and not an experience words could ever quite do justice. The song Inadaquate by disphing has a line that comes very close though— “I’m not coded like the rest of you.” It’s as if everyone else was given instructions before they began their life: social cues, how to read moods, communication, and the things we do to fit in the society around us. And I am trying my best to blend in and look like I was given those instructions too. My brain just naturally thinks quite differently, and it sucks during most social situations because I don’t have any clue what to do.

But I wouldn’t trade it for anything… the abstract ways I can think and feel make me what I am. I consider it a gift most of the time, but there are definitely moments where it can be tough to cope with. That’s just life with Asperger’s though, and I am proud of how I’ve lived with it. It’s made a lot easier by my friends who just accept my differences. You guys here on NewGrounds are amazing in that area by the way, so thank every one of you for helping.

Q: Your advice for life

To anyone reading this: life is an overwhelming and traumatic mess, and can be so tough to navigate. Find something and someone you can always hold fast to when it all gets to be too much. If you want this kind of connection with someone, you have to be willing to help them through some things too. Enjoy things, joy is essential to our existence. Don’t neglect your mental health and don’t be anxious about sharing it! You can’t suppress things forever, eventually you’ll either snap or break. You need someone to share your feelings with, to help you get through this chaotic journey of our existence on Earth.