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Soundtrack
of our Spies
Video games are becoming more sophisticated and not just in terms of game-play and graphics, the whole package is now more developed. So when game makers Ubisoft were preparing the latest edition in the highly successful Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell series, it was no shock when they announced it would feature a specially commissioned soundtrack. What was surprising was who they chose to do it. If video games are now big business then naturally you expect the same guarded, conformist attitude to keeping the production company’s money safe, that is a feature of the film business. Amon Tobin is about as far from the secure musical mainstream as you can get. “I have no idea of what the process was”, he tells me when I ask why Ubisoft picked him. We are sitting in a small room at his record label Ninja Tune’s offices in South London. Tobin speaks in an even, low tone, occasionally flicking ash from a cigarette into a polystyrene cup on the table in front of him. “They just got in touch about maybe doing a soundtrack for one of their games and it seemed like it might be a cool thing to do before starting my next record and finishing up the touring for the last one. It was like a break and something to just experiment with”. Tobin wasn’t the only musician in line for the job, Ubisoft had also considered legendary composer Lalo Schiffrin, the man behind the classic theme tunes for Mission: Impossible and Bullitt. “I was hoping to work with him, I thought we could do it together”, he enthuses “it’s pretty awesome to think of yourself in the same environment as someone like that.” Over the past 10 years Tobin has been building his own awesome reputation. Born in Brazil, he spent much of his early life moving from country to country with his mother before eventually settling in Brighton to make music. His first record ‘Adventure in Foam’, released under the name Cujo, grabbed the attention of renowned independent label Ninja Tune who promptly signed him. A series of classic albums followed that saw his sound develop from the clamourous jazz breaks of ‘Bricolage’ into the warped Bollywood pastiche of 2003’s ‘Out From Out Where’. He makes uncompromising, leftfield music, not the kind you’d normally associate with the world of video games where nu metal and rap are the standard musical accompaniment. “I wasn’t sure where to start”, he admits “but the idea was to get the music I make into the game. I had the final say, which was a pre-requisite of mine before we started, though still I was expecting some resistance from the company. But they were cool with everything.” Ubisoft weren’t the only ones taking a chance with this project. “For me it was also a bit of a risk, it wasn’t something I just jumped at. I had to consider the impact it might have, like people perhaps being snobby about me doing a video game soundtrack.” But Ninja Tune decided it belongs with Tobin’s regular canon of work and are set to release the soundtrack. Far from being mood-enhancing background fluff like most scores, this is a typical Tobin record. Layers of thundering drums, throbbing bass lines that sound like they’ve come from the far reaches of the universe and a bewildering myriad of twisted samples; it’s the kind of full-on aural assault we’ve come to expect from him. He smiles, “God knows what people will make of it when they hear it, especially your regular games fan who will never have heard of me and will be subjected to all kinds of new sounds.” But it also has definite soundtrack qualities, though his approach was never too serious. “It’s a game, it’s not exactly high-art and the music is the same. It’s an experiment, it’s meant to be fun. Some of the tracks are very over the top and orchestral and dramatic.” Despite this irreverent attitude he likes the idea of writing scores. “I’d been wanting to do it for ages. I’ve got a big collection of movie soundtracks and I’m into them a lot. This was an unusual thing because I never thought I’d be doing a soundtrack for a game. It’s certainly a new thing that people aren’t used to but it’s an interesting time. It’s got to the point where video games are reaching as many people as many of the high profile blockbusters. Production costs are generally a lot less so what that means for people in the creative process is a lot more freedom as you’re not restrained by the financial pressures that you get with movies. It’s actually a good opportunity for people to do work that they don’t have to compromise to the mass market, but still reach a mass market”. Now he’s also looking forward to getting back to writing for himself. “I’m going back to the drawing board and stripping a lot of my stuff down. I’m trying to get a handle on the basics before I go back to twisting them up again. It’s actually quite nice to be able to start from scratch again, so we’ll have to see what happens”. Has he been asked to be involved in the proposed Splinter Cell movie? “I haven’t heard anything about that”, he laughs. If those Hollywood moguls do ever call on Tobin for a soundtrack, you know it will be on his terms. words: Colm Larkin Have your say here |
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If
Hollywood movie moguls are sitting around fretting at how much pirated
DVD’s are eating into their profits, then they are worrying
about the wrong thing. Their concern should be directed at the video
games industry which now has a higher turnover than Hollywood, and
the big game releases like Grand Theft Auto and Halo that outsell
most of the special effects laden dross that makes it to the silver
screen.