British composer and software developer Blake Robinson has a thing for giving classic video games an orchestral makeover. Running a site called "The Synthetic Orchestra," Robinson regularly releases orchestral versions of popular video game, television and anime music using clever computer usage of highly realistic sounds. What started with YouTube submissions of his take on soundtracks to Sonic The Hedgehog eventually came to an orchestra version of Super Metroid and Bioshock. Currently, Robinson is plans on releasing his remake of Rare's classic Banjo- Kazooie set for release May 31.
GameNGuide:What led you into music and more specifically video game soundtracks?
Blake Robinson: I'd never really listened to much music growing up, but I did play a lot of video games and had an old computer on which I tinkered with music. I would always try to de-construct and rebuild my favorite video game music in my own style, trying to figure out what I liked about particular pieces. As the soundtracks progressed from 8bit blips and blops to full symphonic scores I became familiar with the instruments in the orchestra, how they were used and how they could be utilized. I knew that I wanted to be involved in that kind of creative work and therefore devoted all my spare time and resources into the field, teaching myself how to make music like my favorite composers, and investing in the tools required to do so.
I was lucky enough to land a job in the games development industry at Electronic Arts. I was a tool programmer and so, like many game devs, I would work on my own video games at home and due to the limited resources available I would write the music for them myself. Also like many game devs, I never quite had the time outside of work to finish anything and would end up with lots of music and no game to go with it. Over time I found that I enjoyed writing the music more than actually developing the games and eventually I left the games industry.
I now work with some of the biggest companies in the music software business building the tools of the trade. This has not only given me invaluable insight into what goes into scoring for movies and games, but also means I have access to the same tools used by many of the professional composers.
GameNGuide: Where did you get the idea for the Synthetic Orchestra?
Blake Robinson: It all started a few years ago with a couple of orchestrations of music from Sonic the Hedgehog on a relatively unknown YouTube channel. People really seemed to enjoy my interpretations and as I picked up more and more subscribers I began to branch out into other franchises and games I enjoyed. I hoped to demonstrate just how realistic a virtual orchestra can be, and a lot of classic video game music seemed to compliment the genre perfectly.
Also, as a creator of virtual instruments, I found the best way to test the software being developed was to actually write music with it. With a majority of my work being of an orchestral nature, I found myself with a lot of time to create symphonic renditions of my favorite video game music. Before long I had built up a large portfolio of orchestral music spanning a variety of games, and had a steady following on YouTube.
GameNGuide:How do you decide what sound track you you're going for when deciding to recreate one?
Blake Robinson: Most of the time I tend to choose music from childhood games and franchises I have fond memories of. I find that older soundtracks really give me a lot of freedom due to the technical limitations of when they were written. Super Metroid, for example, really stuck out me as a soundtrack that would have been fully symphonic if not for being constrained to the SNES.
I also really enjoy taking my favorite modern soundtracks and breaking down exactly what I like about them. I find it really interesting to experiment with ideas, change instruments or completely re-imagine melodies and motifs.
GameNGuide: A few months ago you released Super Metroid Symphony. Why follow up with Banjo-Kazooie Symphony?
Blake Robinson: I was limited to working on Super Metroid Symphony in my spare time and had to scrimp together the resources I had to make it as good as I could. As a massive fan of the original Metroid soundtracks, I was just happy to be working with the source music and hadn't thought too much about how it might be received - I joked a couple times with friends that I'd be more than happy with 20-30 sales at most. When it was released I was surprised to find it was doing really well and my record label asked me what I'd be working on next.
As a massive Banjo-Kazooie and Grant Kirkhope fan, I'd orchestrated some of the music from the game before. Listening back to it, I realized how much I enjoyed the music and how well it fit my own style of composing so I reached out to Grant with the idea of orchestrating Banjo-Kazooie and possibly collaborating with him on a track or two. I was ecstatic when he replied giving his full support and though he couldn't guarantee actually producing a track, he did supply me with a ton of old music files, feedback and support on the project.
GameNGuide: What's been the most difficult piece of music to remake?
Blake Robinson: Being such a fan of the original music meant that I set myself high standards for the quality of the album. I knew that I wanted to remain faithful to the original music, but at the same time add some of my own recognizable style to the score. Quite a few tracks took a lot of attempts to get sounding right, keeping what made the original track so great while adding my own flair (without going over the top). The gameshow-quiz track 'Grunty's Furnace Fun' was hard to orchestrate because of its style. The first few attempts were much smaller and big-band sounding but they just didn't fit in with the rest of the album - I think the finished track has a good blend of cheesy quiz and grand orchestra. Earlier versions of 'Clanker's Cavern' also sounded a little sparse and boring and it took a while to translate it to a larger orchestra and get everything sitting right. 'Rusty Bucket Bay' was probably the most difficult and took around 8 or 9 attempts before I was happy with the result - the bendy brass and woodwinds are still incredibly difficult to pull off, even with the best software and orchestral samples available today.
GameNGuide:Original Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope sang your praises but have any other musicians reached out to you?
Blake Robinson: I feel like I've been really lucky in that I've had the privilege to not only chat with, but work alongside some of my favorite musicians and developers. Chris Huelsbeck recently contacted me to ask about my Turrican orchestrations and quite a few other composers whose music I have orchestrated have reached out to tell me they've enjoyed my interpretations.
Outside of the games industry, my work gives me some incredible opportunities. Last year I was lucky enough to help develop a sample library for my favorite composer, Danny Elfman, and this year I'm hoping to be involved in a collaboration between Spitfire Audio and Hans Zimmer.
GameNGuide:Your work has made a few indi-projects. Are you interested in bigger budget projects?
Blake Robinson: I've been a little unlucky when it comes to indie projects. I've worked on several now, all of which have ended up being cancelled or put on hiatus. I think it would be a great experience to work on a big budget video game and would love to have the opportunity to write for a live orchestra! Whilst I hope my work highlights how far virtual instruments have come in recent years, they're still no substitute for an experienced live musician.
GameNGuide:With the release of the upcoming consoles from Microsoft and Sony, what does that mean for next-gen soundtracks?
Blake Robinson: As the consoles that power video games have evolved, the integration of music within them has become equally more complex. Where they would originally play back non-contextual tracks from the CD, video games nowadays can adapt the pre-rendered/pre-recorded music to fit what's happening on-screen. For example, in many games nowadays the music becomes more energetic as more enemies appear, and quieter again once they're dispatched.
With the power of next-gen consoles I hope we see much more interactive music within games. Instead of soundtracks containing a few fundamental cues and a ton of 'filler' content, I'd like to see fully dynamic music that can change tempo, scale and dynamics to fit the mood.
GameNGuide: What's next for Blake Robinson?
Blake Robinson: Once Banjo-Kazooie Symphony releases on May 31, I'm looking to take a short break and then figure out which video game to put my musical spin on next. Whatever I'm up to, you can follow it on my website , Twitter or Facebook.
