interview

Cris Velasco loved composing the music for the original Darksiders, but he had limited time to finish the score. As he told me, he was really excited to be called back for the soundtrack for the much more ambitious Darksiders 3, which gave him more time to open the throttle creatively and write for a huge orchestra and chorus.

The Music and Gaming Festival, or MAGFest, is a four-day explosion of video game music! There are panels with composers and musicians, and LOTS of music making. I caught up with composer Wilbert Roget II to chat about the music he contributed to Destiny 2 Forsaken, and what makes MAGFest such a fun and meaningful experience.

Thomas Parisch's composing career has taken him in some unusual directions. Trained as a classical oboist in Stuttgart, Germany, Thomas began to question where that career would take him, and decided to concentrate on composing, eventually settling in Los Angeles writing for TV, films and games. His most recent project was co-composing the soundtrack for Iris Fall with Edwin Wendler. As he told me, it was a really interesting change of pace.

11-11 Memories Retold tells the stories of two World War I participants: Harry, a Canadian photographer, and Kurt, a German engineer. Each of them has a unique reason for traveling to Belgium to be part of the battle: Harry to impress a girl back home, and Kurt to find his missing son.

The Game Brass got together two years ago, but they just finished their most ambitious project: a complete album of brass arrangements of beloved wintery music from Mega Man, Banjo-Kazooie, World of Warcraft and many others. The ensemble is John Robert Matz and Robby Duguay, trumpets; Danny Flam, french horn; Daniel Romberger, trombone; and Alex Hill, tuba.

Even if you're in a warm climate, you'll be reaching for a sweater as you enjoy Thomas Kresge's brilliant arrangements featuring chimes and sleighbells!