Get Ready to Mix and Share Your Own Tunes with Zya

Whether someone is musically inclined or not, there's a good chance they've dabbled in its creation at least once in their lifetime. Of course it's never easy to put something that sounds good together when you have zero experience, but Chillingo's new freemium social music creation/sharing game, Zya is looking to change that. I had the pleasure of checking out a hands-off demo at EA's recent Holiday Showcase, and I have to say I came away impressed despite my initial skepticism.

Each song you can create is made up of different parts - such as a guitar, drums, vocals, and background vocals for example. You can tweak each section to your liking by selecting various band members who each produce a unique sound, giving them different instruments which also produce unique sounds, then choosing to either use the default samples or create your own. If you decide to create your own you can tap out drum beats or even record your own vocals, then add effects until they sound just right. It's worth noting that there are different characters for different musical genres, and it's entirely possible (and even encouraged) to mix them all up to create some truly unique tunes. It's all cloud-based too, so new game content such as extra songs and characters can be dropped in almost instantly.

You'll have access to a single genre pack of your choosing (pop, rock, etc) from the start, and can purchase additional characters, instruments, microphones, and so on using points earned through creating songs and sharing your tracks with the world. It's even possible to have Zya create and post a YouTube video of your performance. Licensed music is also available, and can be altered just as much as everything else, but require an in-app purchase to unlock. Not surprising given that it's licensed music, really. Still, being able to remix popular songs and share them so easily is a pretty cool concept.

Zya will be out this December.