New single, "Fading", coming out on 6/8 featuring Sophia James on vocals It's the first single for the new album, Vox Pterous, coming at the end of July on Appearing Records. This is the motion art for the single (4 applemusic) Atmos/Stereo-art by Christine MacTernan #musicsky #indiemusic #noai

Last night I did a final listening pass on the mastered Atmos mixes at SFCM from my upcoming record (coming in July). There was a student performance going on in the live room, but the walls are so thick I didn't hear them. It's an impressive Meyer sound 7.1.4 system

It’s been an amazing first year 💛 As a thank you, Stay: Forever Home is now 60% off for a limited time. We truly appreciate all the support. www.meta.com/experiences/... #VR #CozyGames #IndieDev

Happy Monday! Here’s a quick peek at exploring the world and collecting items 🌿 Anyone else love wandering around grabbing things “for later”? Make sure to wishlist the game here! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #IndieGame #CozyGames #GameDev

Our game hit 5k wishlists, huzzah! Wishlisting really helps us out, so every add helps! #indiegame #indiegamedev #gamedev #cozygame #pets store.steampowered.com/news/app/438...

Cover art for my upcoming Vox Pterous record - probably dropping in July/August. I think I'll leave out any text overlay after trying a lot of options. Seems good on it's own. Art by Christine MacTernan (based on the Pterous art she did) #indiemusic #musicsky

Working on new features for Ember 🐾 Including a bond system tied to abilities and cosmetics. UI is still placeholder, but excited to start sharing more. Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #cozygames #indiegames #gamedev #wishlist #virtualpet

Ember thinks blinking in photos is hilarious 😄 Dress up your Ember in Stay: Your Forever Pet!Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... Join the Discord: windupminds.com/discord Stay up to date on all the latest 🐾 #SteamWishlist #CozyGames #PetGame #VirtualPet

You can pet the dog!

WOW That's a nice thing to say about the soundtrack! Thx RockThePigeon! #indiegame #indiedev #indiemusic #musicsky #gamedev rockthepigeon.com/2026/03/04/i...

Moving from Mixed Reality to PC brings some fun design challenges. A space you can decorate and make your own. Would you enjoy having a personal place for you and Ember? store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #CozyGames #CozyGaming #IndieGames #VirtualPet #SteamDeck #WholesomeGames #GameDev

Thx for the writeup! @weallwantsomeone.bsky.social weallwantsomeone.org/2026/03/03/d... #indiemusic #indiegamedev #gamedev #musicsky

Belly rubs? 🐾 Here’s an early look at belly rub visuals from our “Care Mode.” What do you think? We’re building new ways to interact with Ember, more coming soon. store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #IndieDev #DogGame #SteamNextFest #Wishlist

weekend project: I got this Realistic reel to reel for $28 from goodwill. It looked like it was in pretty good shape but when it arrived the play wheel wouldn't spin. A little rubber renewal & machine oil has it working again! 3 speeds! mic inputs, 3 heads. pretty, pretty, pretty good

A nice moment in Stay, petting Ember! pretty cute and we're figuring out how to pet her on flat screen (it's going well!) #indiegamedev #indiegame #gamedevelopment

Shout out to @acidtedblog.bsky.social Ambient Sunday mention of Stay Vol 2 this weekend! Cool music blog if you haven't checked it out - acidted.wordpress.com/2026/02/22/a...

Another big week for Ember 🐾💛 She’s been watching the wishlist count grow for Stay: Your Forever Pet on Steam! If cozy companion games are your thing, come join us, you might meet new friends along the way. store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... #Indie #CozyGames #SteamWishlist #PetGame

Thanks Alt77 for dropping a nice review of the Stay Vol 2 soundtrack! alt77.com/dren-mcdonal... #indiemusic #musicsky #indiegame #indiegamedev #indiegamedevelopment #gamedev #gamedevelopment

Thanks York Calling for the thoughtful review on my soundtrack! yorkcalling.co.uk/2026/02/20/w... #indiegame #indiegamedev #musicsky #indiemusic #gamedev

Please wishlist and help Ember grow into her new home on Steam and Steam Deck! This feels like a homecoming after starting my indie career on Steam, then working in VR for 10+ years. Proud of the team -- a huge milestone for us! store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...

My indie game team is bringing our virtual pet to PC and Steamdeck - Stay: Your Forever Pet! Get ready to adopt Ember later this year in Early Access! Help us by wishlisting and sharing. I *promise* you - she's a very good girl. Mostly. store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... 100% made by hoomans.

What started as Stay: Forever Home in VR is growing! Stay: Your Forever Pet is coming to Steam for PC & Steam Deck at launch, with VR planned later. Our Steam page is live. Wishlisting helps our small team more than you know. #Steam #SteamGames #WishlistNow store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/...

NEWS: Our VR pet simulator game is coming to Steam so you can enjoy Ember on a PC/Steamdeck soon! It would be extraordinary if you could help out & wishlist the game at the Steam page store.steampowered.com/app/4385270/... thank you! #indiegamedev #indiegame #gamedev #cozygame #gamedevelopment

Love to see praise for both Sophia James and Amelie Anna's vocal work in my latest soundtrack - nice review here that acknowledges their wonderfulness www.obscuresound.com/2026/02/dren... #indegame #gamedev #indiemusic #musicsky

Nice review of Stay Vol 2 soundtrack up here - tunitemusic.com/post/stay-fo...

New release: Vol 2 of the Stay: Forever Home soundtrack (Cozy) this one is the ambient/chill music from the game music.apple.com/us/album/sta... In Atmos on Apple/Tidal feat. Sophia James & Amelie Anna on vox #musicsky #ambientmusic #gamemusic #indiegame #indiemusic #ambient

💘✨ Valentine’s Update is live! ❤️ New Valentine’s cosmetics to celebrate the season 🔧 Small quality-of-life upgrades throughout the game 🐞 Bug fixes and overall stability improvements Join our Discord to help shape the game!: discord.gg/H5QtNyDXJt #VRGaming #StayForeverHome #IndieGaming

I released Vol. 2 of the Stay: Forever Home "Cozy" soundtrack a week early on BC before streaming. Sophia James & Amelie Anna on vocals. Early pricing is only $2 #musicsky #indiemusic #gamedev drenmcdonald.bandcamp.com/album/stay-f...

It's bandcamp artist day so I pushed out Vol. 2 of the Stay: Forever Home "Cozy" soundtrack a week earlier on BC before streaming. drenmcdonald.bandcamp.com/album/stay-f... Essentially an ambient record, it features Sophia James & Amelie Anna on vocals. Early pricing is only $2 #musicsky #indiemusic

@stay-forever-home.com has been nominated for Rufftalk VR's MR game of the year! It's been an intense year for...well, everyone. Which is why I'm proud we brought to life something loveable: Ember, our virtual pet. Show Ember that you know she's a good girl! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

There's a joke about the best way to record a banjo...throw it in the ocean and record something else (paraphrased) but this week I used the Samar AL95 ribbon mic to record tenor banjo & it was terrific (thru a GreatRiver pre + 1176)

This screenshot is from the WarmAudio site re: the WA-2MPX I just replaced the tubes in mine as there was a nosy tube somewhere & noticed the TungSol 12ax7 is in there, but it's where the 12Au7 should be & the other chinese tubes are ECC83 (essentially 12ax7) so stock, it's really 3 12ax7s per ch?

One of the collaborators on my upcoming record is Oakland's own Marica Petrey, known as GirlSwallowsNightingale. She's quite talented/brilliant & the world will be a better place w/ her nu record in it if you can help her out www.gofundme.com/f/help-maric...

Did the deluge of audio plugin/black friday sale emails finally let up a little bit today? I think that maybe they did! Admittedly I had been waiting for Auto Align 2 to go on sale, and it did, so I got that one, but I don't think I need any more warm vintage vibe EQs/compressors

Xmas gift to me, the new Soyuz dynamic mic. Auditioned it last night with gtr amp & voice. Very detailed for a dynamic w/a 441 vibe to it. Looking forward to pairing it up with other mics on gtr cabs and horns. Bari gtr thru a 15" should sound great w/ this too! #micnerd #microphones

Just submitted my Grammy ballot finally, & I'll say it again but I really wish I could trade in my general category votes for more specialized category votes. I won't ever make an informed decision between badbunny/kendrick/bieber et al...but I could've weighed in on classical/engineering etc

Hiya and Happy End of 2025, let's all make some musicsoundstuff in 2026! #musicsky #redrum

Happy Holidays from Windup Minds! 🎄 As you know some of our team helped create Bogo, and to honor its legacy, and thank you for supporting Stay and Ember, we’ve got a little surprise. 🎁 Open the game on 12/25 - 1/5 for a special gift! #MetaQuest #VirtualReality Thank you!

I've merged channels/topics on YT so all of my music is in 1 official ch. it's interesting as YT also reports on all of the other videos that use my music in Shorts etc. This month's featured video from my polyheDren record - a tune w/ the wonderful Iva Bittová youtu.be/t7HiZk2NTLo?...

The pedal setup up being used today with fretless bass for Vol. 2 of the Stay: Forever Home soundtrack. Some tunes need a little glue/extending/low end etc to be enjoyed in a soundtrack context...I used to have an og CE-1 and this Warm version is a GREAT repro. #indiemusic #indiegame #indiegamedev

50% Off! Stay: Forever Home is on sale for a limited time! No better time to check out our new winter update! Meet Ember Today! vr.meta.me/s/26mms7ERBP... Join our Community! discord.gg/H5QtNyDXJt #VRGaming #MetaQuest #Dogs #Sale

Super happy to see Sophia James get a lot of attention, cuz she's an amazing musician - she sings on my Stay: Forever Home soundtrack & on my upcoming record. Am I in #Group7 yet? www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Winter season is here! New scenes, costumes, and resources! Be sure to login on Christmas day for a special surprise! We will share more details about the surprise soon! vr.meta.me/s/26mms7ERBP... Join our Community! discord.gg/H5QtNyDXJt #VRGaming #MetaQuest #Dogs

I have set up a store where I've made some CDs/LPs available for ("Ray Bloody") PURCHASE (for cheap) - some of these haven't been available before as I'd only had a limited amount for promotion etc. dren-mcdonald-music-merchandise-emporium.myshopify.com

🖤 Black Friday Deal! Grab Stay: Forever Home for 40% off with code BFCM25. The Winter Update is just around the corner, so it’s the perfect time to jump in! ❄️🐾 meta.com/experiences/... Join the community! discord.gg/H5QtNyDXJt

Pedestrian is now on the Vevo channel on YT for your viewing and listening enjoyment. Video was directed/shot/edited by my son (currently a college film major) www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXhy...

Lily Bloom has a new record out tidal.com/album/475116... A wonderful artist - she guests on my upcoming record as well. Anyhow, give it a spin!

Pedestrian is on Bandcamp now w/ a video (directed by my son!) drenmcdonald.bandcamp.com/track/pedest... In preparing the BC release, I also discovered this great BC writeup on Supercollider (this is their tune I covered) link in first comment.

Pedestrian has a video too, directed/shot/edited by my son (film major in college currently) - here's the AppleMusic link but it will be elsewhere soon music.apple.com/us/music-vid... #musicsky #indiemusic #indiemusicvideo

My cover of Supercollider's "Pedestrian" from the early 90s is out today on streaming (in Atmos on Apple and Tidal), a whole lot of guitar and vocal layers...video should be out later today, will update. #musicsky #indiemusic #musicproducer #90s Supercollider were pals & one of my favorite bands!