GameZone Online Chats With Composer Andy Brick

by Louis Bedigian

“We managed to fill a historic concert hall with young people who came to hear orchestral music.  That's truly something amazing and very special.” 

Film Credits: Disney’s The Lady & The Tramp II and The Little Mermaid II.  Game Credits: Sim City 4: Rush Hour, Shadoan, and Kingdom: The Far Reaches.  Those are just a few of Andy Brick’s previous compositions.  You may not be overly familiar with his work now, but this fall his music will appear in some of the Christmas gaming season’s hottest titles.

Last year he conducted the music for Germany’s first game music concert.  Songs from the world’s most beloved games, including Final Fantasy VII, were performed, delighting the many fans that attended the event.

With so many games out there in need of a great soundtrack, it wasn’t easy for Andy to find the time for an interview.  It took a lot of patience on behalf of the GZ staff.  Had we realized that torture was an effective method for inducing interviews, we’re certain this wouldn’t have taken so long!
 

As you’ll soon realize, however, it was definitely worth the wait. 

You're a very established music composer.  Most people in the entertainment industry seem to have the attitude that if you get into movies, that's where you should stay.  What made you keep coming back to games?

Andy Brick: There are a number of reasons.  Primarily, I really like the idea of having a captive, interactive audience.  In cinema there is an emotional involvement.  In a game, there is an emotional and physical involvement.  The actual “play” part of “game-play” adds another level not only for the audience but for the creator as well.

From a less conceptual side, in 1998 I won the ASCAP Young Film Composers Competition.  Part of the award was a trip to Hollywood to score with a live Hollywood orchestra.  During that trip, ASCAP had arranged all sorts of meetings with various agents and industry personnel.  During one of those meetings I was told it would be impossible for me to have a film scoring career unless I moved to LA.  Well, I really liked NY so I decided that I would stick it out in NY.

Shortly after my return I was offered my first game called Kingdom: The Far Reaches. The experience was very similar to scoring movies but seemed to have a greater impact on the medium so it seemed to me that this was a good venue for me.

Then, about 3 years ago, while on a trip to Frankfurt to meet with the European Game Developer JoWood, I met this young game producer named Thomas Boecker.  He was really into game music.  I mean REALLY into it.  We went out one night to have some famous Frankfurt Applewine and we started to talk.  He told me about this project he had developed called Merregnon and his vision of game music.  I was extremely impressed so I decided to take a chance and work with him.  Our working relationship has grown into quite a strong friendship and, needless to say, Thomas is almost single-handedly changing the course of orchestral game music right now.  In retrospect, I guess I keep coming back to games because I really enjoy the platform and find it a very creative, young, and very hip environment.

The entire Moravian Philharmonic orchestra during the Rush Hour Recordings

Please give us a list of your current and upcoming projects.

AB: After the success of the [Sim City] Rush Hour orchestral score, I was asked to write for The Sims 2.  We had a huge 110-piece orchestra in Bratislava, Slovakia.  It has been a very fun and challenging experience understanding the Sims Music genre and making it work for live orchestra.  As soon as I returned to the United States from Slovakia I began the final mixes of Merregnon 2 with our mixer Reed Robins.  I spent the better part of a month working on the first few mixes with him and than I let him take over.

By the end of Jan 2004 I had been writing for nearly 2 years non-stop and needed a break so I took a few weeks off and decided to create a CD of my favorite cues I have written for Cinema and Interactive Games.  (See below.)  Of course, that really wasn’t much of a break as there was a tremendous amount of work dealing with cover artists and mixing and mastering issues.  Now that the CD is finished I am developing some music for two upcoming games.

Unfortunately I am obliged not to disclose any information about the titles.  In May, a very active summer begins for me, which starts with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (formerly Stalker: Oblivion Lost).  I will be conducting the new Filmharmonic orchestra in Prague and continues through August, when I will once again conduct the 2nd Symphonic Game Music Concert at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig Germany.  I will also be contributing two compositions to that concert as well as orchestrating a couple of pieces from some of the other composers.

What can you tell us about The Sims 2's soundtrack?  What is your musical contribution to the game?

AB: As with almost all unreleased commercial media, I am obliged not to disclose significant information.  What I can tell you is that I scored orchestral music for the game with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra Fans of the Rush Hour orchestral music should really enjoy this music.

For Sim City: Rush Hour, what kind of music did you compose?  What kind of a sound was EA looking for, and how did the final soundtrack turn out?

AB: I read a recent interview with Bob Rice and he said one of the most enlightening things about the job of a game composer that I have ever heard.  Bob said that one of the most important skills a game composer could have is that of an expert interrogator.  This is so true.

Before I wrote a single note I spent a significant amount of time with the audio director for The Sims asking all sorts of questions so I could understand what kind of musical vocabulary they were looking for.  In the case of The Sims it was very important because the music is not a standard genre.  During my investigation I was told that they wanted to evoke the feel of a city.  I was told that sometimes it should be very frenetic as you might expect of a big city, with lots going on and sometimes it should be “off hours” when the city is not filled with people and traffic but the music should always have a “city” sound.

It was my job to interpret that and turn it into music.  I used a muted brass in a very Gershwin-esque setting.  It’s not exactly what you might think of when you consider current orchestral game music but that was sort of the idea.  The final soundtrack turned out great.  EA made a CD of the soundtrack.  A few weeks after the release of the game EA sent me a link to the Simstropolis forum where fans were talking about the music.  They were saying it was the best Sims music so far (not including Sims 2).  For me that was the best part.  It’s great if the developer loves your work but to have the gamers saying it in a public forum is the best.

Andy Brick, hard at work conducting the Czech National Symphony during rehearsals for the GC Concert

Tell us about Merregnon.  Who started it?  How did it begin?

AB: Ahhhhhhh… Merregnon.  Well that is quite a labor of love.  Merregnon is the grand vision of my dear friend and producer Thomas Boecker.  His Idea for Merregnon was to create a fantasy world and accompany the story of this world with music by the best-known game composers of the day.  Actually that explanation may be a bit simple as Thomas spent as much time insuring that the music was right as he did all the other aspects of the soundtrack.

For my part, I entered into the picture 1/3 of the way through the Merregnon Trilogy.  When I met Thomas he had just recently finished Merregnon 1.  Originally he asked me to write the bonus track for Merregnon 2 but once he learned a bit more about my background, he asked If I could bring it to live orchestra and contribute a few more tracks.  So in addition to writing, I became  conductor, music director and senior orchestrator on the project.  Since many of the composers on the Merregnon project had not worked with live orchestra It was my job, in addition to conducting and composing, to make sure that all the guys scores would work successfully with live orchestra. That was really something.  That are a lot of traps you can fall into when writing for orchestra and, if you’re not careful, the results can be rather unpleasant.  As such I had to be very, very strict with the less experienced guys. 

How did you go about writing music for Merregnon?  Were there specific guidelines, or were you able to compose whatever you wanted?

AB: Thomas was pretty cool about giving direction.  He told me the concept of the sections of the soundtrack that I was to compose and suggested that I listen to a few music tracks but all-in-all he was very good about letting me, and all the other composers, do our thing.

What impressed me the most about the process of composing for Merregnon 2 was that I was under a great deal of time pressure when I was writing these cues.  I had just a few days to write AND orchestrate each of the 4 minute cues   I told Thomas that I wanted to submit a Piano demo instead of a full midi mockup.  This was particularly important because a midi mockup would have wasted a lot of precious time.  Usually only the most experienced producers have the skills to understand what a piano demo will sound like orchestrated but much to my surprise, Thomas understood immediately.

Do you think it's important for music to always tell a story of its own, even if it's in a game or a movie that conveys the story very clearly?

AB: Good question.  I think that it’s important for music to tell a story.  It doesn’t always have to be its OWN story.  It can tell the story of the game or movie and, in most cases, it does exactly that.  Sometimes however, you want the music to tell its own story… or maybe best said a different story than that of the film or game.

For example, last year I scored a comedy film called Bottom Line.  There was a scene where the two main male archrivals meet face to face.  They are pissed at each other and one guy wants to kill the other.  I was told to write the exact opposite of the typical hard hitting ominous music you might expect in such a scene.  I decided that the complete opposite of this kind of music would be a marching band.  So while these two guys are trying to kill each other the audience is treated to this very over-the-top marching band music.  It’s very funny.  It actually creates the comedy in a scene that is played rather straight.

Andy Brick and the legendary Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu

What was it like conducting video game music in Leipzig?

AB: It was wonderful!  Beyond the fact that this was some of the best orchestral game music of the day, the orchestra was really into it.  The venue we played is called the Gewandhaus.  It’s a very famous European hall.  There is a room back stage that is reserved for the conductor.  Its sort of a place of respite where the conductor can relax before or after the show.  To get to this room you have to walk down this long hallway.  The hallway is adorned with pictures of all the great conductors and composers that have worked that hall.  It was like a walking tour of music history.  I must admit that was very humbling.

The greatest part however, was the reaction of the audience.  They were so great.  After we finished the last piece, I received a standing ovation and 4 curtain calls.  On my 3rd curtain call, I looked up, stage right, to acknowledge the folks in the upper balcony.  As I peered beyond the stage lights I made eye contact with 3 teenagers.  At that very moment, all three gave me the thumbs-up.  It was a moment I’ll never forget because I realized that we had really done something special.  We managed to fill a historic concert hall with young people who came to hear orchestral music.  That’s truly something amazing and very special.

How did that project come to be?  Japan is big on concerts of game music, but most other countries are not...

AB: I think you would have to ask Thomas that question.  Basically I got a call very early in 2003 from Thomas.  He asked me if I would like to conduct a concert of game music.  I said sure, why not.    He really downplayed the whole thing for many months and I don’t think I really realized the magnitude of what we were doing until the final few weeks before the concert. 

Which songs from the Final Fantasy series did you conduct?

AB: Aeris Theme and Final Fantasy Finale.  Both are wonderful pieces.  Umatsu has a very traditional style to his music.  Its very precisely sculpted like that of Mozart or Hayden.

What is your favorite part of music composing?  Is it when you begin to write a song, or is your favorite part when you finally get to record it?

AB: Another good question.  Hmmmmm…. Scratching the goatee…  Have you ever heard an writer talk about the “window opening”?  That expression is used when the idea of what you are writing  becomes so strong that it takes on a life of its own and it actually dictates to you what to write.  My favorite part of composing is when that window first opens and you are really rushing very hard to get the ideas down on paper as fast as they are coming.

What kinds of things motivate you to write music?  Obviously a game or film producer asking you to score their next project is motivating.  But what outside factors, things that have nothing to do with the business side, are motivational to you?

AB: I’ve always been very intrigued with music theory.  I am a bit of a music theory geek.  I think if I hadn’t become a commercial composer I would have taught music theory.  The way tones combine or relate to one another to evoke a human response is just extraordinary A lot of times I will actually explore some theoretical idea in a commercial composition.  I did that in Rush Hour very successfully.  I am also very moved by image.  My mother was a very active painter in the Chicago art scene when I was a child so I was constantly being hauled from one gallery show to another.  I was taught to really look at an image.
  
Have any song ideas ever spontaneously popped into your head?

AB: Non-stop.  I hear stuff all the time and everywhere.  In fact, as I type this response I am listening to the rhythm that is being generated by my typing.  Its got this kind of tap-dance like quality to it.  

After learning to play some instruments, what would be the first step an aspiring music composer should take toward achieving his or her dream job?

AB: I don’t think you need to know how to really play any instruments to be a composer.  I think at least as important is to know how your tools work.   For many that tool is a violin, for others it’s a turntable.  For both it’s a vehicle of well-placed passion and I am all for that.  I think you need to have a concept of what music is.  Now undoubtedly, playing an instrument can help you to define that concept but it is not absolutely necessary.  I also think that you have to have a great sense of exploration in your self-expression.

That’s a very tough question.  I believe in my dream.  It resonates through me.
 

To acquire any dream…you must believe in that dream.  It must resonate through you.  Need to know what the dream is and stick to it.  From a practical standpoint, if you are an aspiring composer looking to work in a commercial medium you should start by making a great demo CD.  You may be the best composer out there but if you don’t have a great CD nobody will understand that.

 

Thank you Andy for such a detailed and thoughtful interview.

For more information on Andy Brick's current and upcoming projects, visit www.AndyBrick.com