Gamemusic.net

"I've always been flattered by anyone who wanted to listen to my music outside of the game". (Interview with Jason Graves)

Jason Graves can easily be called the Jerry Goldsmith of video game music. While he’s primarily famous for his Dead Space soundtrack, which won two BAFTA awards for Original Score and Use of Audio, he has a much larger body of work.

Among others, the prolific composer has written music for Star Trek Legacy, Blazing Angels, Silent Hunter 4, and Section 8. Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic, and Alpha Protocol soundtracks are currently in the works. Despite his tight schedule, Jason found time to give a short interview to GameMusic.net. He talks about the latest works, composing techniques, and even provides a bit of inspiration to Polish musicians.

"It often feels like a huge family gathering at our concerts!" (Interview with Arnie Roth)

Arnie Roth is well-known among Final Fantasy fans. TheArnie Roth famed conductor and producer is the driving force behind the Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy project, a concer series that has promoted Nobuo Uematsu's music worldwide. The tour's music, performed live by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, was recorded and released as an album in 2007. In January 2010, after 3 years, Arnie returned to Stockholm to participate in the recording session for the series' second album, entitled “Distant Worlds II.” The CD will be available at the tour's upcoming Swedish concert, scheduled for June 12th. If you love Distant Worlds as much as we do, can't wait for the new CD, and are curious about the attractions prepared for this summer's show in Stockholm, take a peek at Arnie Roth's latest interview – exclusively on GameMusic.net!

"A world premiere of Castlevania music will show everybody how it’s done right, by true fans for fans!" (Interview with David Westerlund)

David Westerlund is an independent concert arranger and music teacher. He currently is a lecturer at his alma mater, the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, where he teaches students about video game music. But despite this immersion in academia, David has a breadth of real world experience, both as a musician and a producer. He has written and produced three full-length musicals, several solo albums in both the modern classical and pop/rock genres, and a variety of works for theatre, TV and radio.

"I wasn’t always too nice to my instruments." (Interview with Tomas Dvorak)

The professionalism and care put into Machinarium’s production extends to its music, as well. Composer Tomas Dvorak (Floex) has created an outstanding soundtrack for the game. The game’s musical backdrop is particularly extraordinary for this type of production, and surpasses that of similar works.

"It’s really not too hard to find the tunes that people will enjoy listening to." (Interview with Blaine McGurty)

Retro Remix Revue is not just an ordinary album with song arrangements. Blains McGurty and Davis Jones' work was born from their intense passion, need for self-realization, and desire for the extraordinary.

"We Japanese don't realize that our music has such a worldwide range!" (Interview with Yoko Shimomura)

Yoko Shimomura is undoubtedly the world's most famous female video game music composer. She has scored such game titles as “Kingdom Hearts”, “Legend of Mana,” and “Parasite Eve” and has gained devoted fans worldwide as a result. Her music has been prominent within live concert series such as PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, Video Games Live, Symphonic Fantasies, Press Start, and Night of Fantasia. In 2008, the orchestral compilation “Drammatica – The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura” was released, which summed up the 20+ years of her game music career.

"Everything boils down to good and bad music; the composers' tools are kind of secondary". (Interview with Chris Huelsbeck)

Chris Huelsbeck is a video game music creator, most famous for his contributions during the Commodore 64 and Amiga era. He is the only composer from this period who has inspired a symphonic game music concert entirely dedicated to his musical works.