{"id":210368,"date":"2026-01-07T16:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/?p=210368"},"modified":"2025-12-23T17:00:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T17:00:40","slug":"composer-quirks-that-spark-creativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/composer-quirks-that-spark-creativity\/","title":{"rendered":"Composer Quirks That Spark Creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;Blog Title Header&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#F3F3F3&#8243; use_background_color_gradient=&#8221;on&#8221; background_color_gradient_type=&#8221;circular&#8221; background_color_gradient_stops=&#8221;#024d4c 0%|#181818 99%&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#C9C9C9&#8243; border_width_top=&#8221;1px&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;1px&#8221; border_color_bottom=&#8221;#C9C9C9&#8243; collapsed=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title author=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; title_font=&#8221;|700|||||||&#8221; title_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; title_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; title_font_size=&#8221;50px&#8221; title_line_height=&#8221;1.5em&#8221; meta_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; meta_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;64px||64px|||&#8221; title_font_size_tablet=&#8221;50px&#8221; title_font_size_phone=&#8221;33px&#8221; title_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Main Body Section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; min_height=&#8221;2238px&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;40px||48px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;Row &#8211; Body&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|auto|-8px|auto||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text &#8211; Main&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font=&#8221;Poppins|300|||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#444444&#8243; header_2_font=&#8221;Poppins||||||||&#8221; header_2_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;32px||32px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]Short, true, and surprisingly useful composer quirks that spark creativity you can borrow for your own art of composing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ludwig van Beethoven<\/strong> \u2014 60 beans a cup: he reportedly counted coffee beans for focus. Translation: ritual helps.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-210402 aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven.png\" alt=\"Ludwig van Beethoven Image\" width=\"620\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven.png 620w, https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-480x268.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Igor Stravinsky<\/strong> \u2014 morning headstands: a reset to \u201cclear the brain.\u201d Translation: movement breaks boost ideas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/strong> \u2014 dice &amp; playfulness: chance procedures (the famous \u201cmusical dice game\u201d tradition) and jokes. Translation: embrace play to break ruts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-210403 aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-.png\" alt=\"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart \" width=\"545\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-.png 545w, https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart--480x283.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 545px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ennio Morricone<\/strong> \u2014 early starts &amp; pencil first: disciplined hours and melody-first thinking. Translation: theme before texture.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-210407 aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ennio-Morricone.png\" alt=\"Ennio Morricone\" width=\"627\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ennio-Morricone.png 627w, https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ennio-Morricone-480x267.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 627px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hans Zimmer<\/strong> \u2014 custom instruments &amp; found timbres: build signature sounds from unusual sources and collaborators. Translation: make a palette only you have.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Man of Steel Official Soundtrack | Behind The Scenes Sculptural Percussion- Hans Zimmer | WaterTower\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RSFMh0KKl9c?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Man of Steel Official Soundtrack | Behind The Scenes Sculptural Percussion- Hans Zimmer | WaterTower<\/p>\n<p><strong>Philip Glass<\/strong> \u2014 craftsman\u2019s mindset: years balancing music with day jobs taught ruthlessly efficient workflows. Translation: protect deep-work blocks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-210408 aligncenter size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Philip-Glass.png\" alt=\"Philip Glass\" width=\"622\" height=\"348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Philip-Glass.png 622w, https:\/\/compozly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Philip-Glass-480x269.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 622px, 100vw\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Claude Debussy<\/strong> \u2014 sound as color: writing to evoke light\u2014water\u2014and motion. Translation: describe the scene in words before you score it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"These people can SEE Music in color!\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kJ8Cgdkl2-Q?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Danny Elfman<\/strong> \u2014 storyboard-level alignment: tightly linking musical shapes to character and picture. Translation: sketch motifs per character and cut.<\/p>\n<p>Try it on your next cue: pick one ritual (coffee count, quick stretch, chance roll, or theme-first sketch) and one palette rule (one new timbre you\u2019ve never used). Then score!<br \/>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; admin_label=&#8221;CTA: Sign Up&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.17.3&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color=&#8221;#F3F3F3&#8243; border_width_top=&#8221;2px&#8221; border_color_top=&#8221;#024D4C&#8221; border_width_bottom=&#8221;2px&#8221; border_color_bottom=&#8221;#024D4C&#8221; collapsed=&#8221;on&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=&#8221;Take your composing career to the next level&#8221; subhead=&#8221;Create your free account to access new features.&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; button_one_text=&#8221;Get Started&#8221; button_one_url=&#8221;https:\/\/compozly.com\/plans&#8221; title_tablet=&#8221;Join the Compozly Community&#8221; title_phone=&#8221;Join the Compozly Community&#8221; title_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; button_one_text_tablet=&#8221;Create my account&#8221; 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Steal the ones that make your scoring better today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">If you were ever a fan of the Nintendo 64, you most likely spent hours and hours listening to our spotlight composer\u2019s music on loop, whether in Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Banjo-Kazooie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Banjo Kazooie<\/a> or Banjo Tooie, and even that infamous yellow cartridge, DK64. Grant Kirkhope is someone who defined the sound of my youth, and still today, going on 30 years old, I replay the above classics even if just to hear that iconic music and those Rare (now Playtonic Games) sound effects. In 2016 he scored the very popular Ghostbusters game, while the movie did not fare as well. In 2017, Grant scored the modern 3D platform and spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee, along with Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Starting with a project of converting the music from the SNES Diddy Kong\u2019s Quest to the Gameboy game, Donkey Kong Land 2, then jumping right into the still-classic Goldeneye on N64. Kirkhope\u2019s first credits are among some of his most notable titles! He has had no trouble getting work as a composer for video games, as he rarely (haha, get it?) takes a break. Below are a mix of interview questions he\u2019s received and answered over the years to give you more insight into this musical genius!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Graeme Norgate asked Grant to finish scoring Goldeneye 007, so that Norgate could focus on the music for Blast Corps. In this process, Grant learned how to get the music and sound FX into the N64 hardware. After working on 007 for a bit, his work was noticed by Tim Stamper and Gregg Mayles, who re-assigned him to work on Project Dream (also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Banjo-Kazooie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Banjo Kazooie<\/a>) with David Wise. After this he worked on Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie, and more popular N64 titles! On July 14th, 2008, Grant, in frustration, resigned from Rare to become a freelance composer, as the company was bought out by Microsoft. This buyout led to much less love and care being put into their titles, as many members of the smaller teams that worked on those games from 1995-2000 had left previous to Kirkhope. He then ended up at Big Huge Games (acquired by 38 Studios) until May 24th, 2012 when the entire staff was laid off. This time off gave Grant the opportunity in June 2012 to play some live festivals with former band mates Little Angels. In August 2012, Grant moved to Los Angeles get deeper into film scoring, and less than a year after that \u00a0in June 2013, he signed with one of the top composer agency\u2019s Gorfaine\/Schwartz Agency. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Here are a handful of interesting questions compiled into one super interview. Enjoy!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: How did you become a video game music composer? Was it more by chance, or was it something you always aspired to do?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Definitely by chance! I'd been playing in lots of different kinds of bands for 10 years or so since leaving the RNCM. The last band I played for broke up and I was left with nothing to do. Robin Beanland was already working at Rare and suggested I might have a go at what he was doing. I was down to my last bit of money and he recommended a synth module, a keyboard, an Atari ST and a copy of Cubase. I started writing some pieces and sent five cassettes to Rare over the course of a year and heard nothing back. Then, out of the blue, I got an interview and they gave me the job!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: <\/b><b>What lessons did you take away from it that helped you on future projects?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I didn't really have time to think as I was moved from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GoldenEye<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before it finished and onto <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Project Dream<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which eventually turned into <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Banjo-Kazooie<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Have you collaborated with other composers on scores or do you work alone?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I do really prefer working alone for the most part, but it's just not possible today, the games are far too big to take it on alone.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What was the first week on the job like?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hehe! Tuff! When I first arrived I was given <\/span><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mobygames.com\/game\/donkey-kong-land-2-diddys-kong-quest\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donkey Kong [Land] 2<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the <\/span><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ocremix.org\/system\/gb\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Game Boy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to do. I had to convert all of <\/span><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ocremix.org\/composer\/id\/100\/dave-wise\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dave Wise<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">'s tunes from the <\/span><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ocremix.org\/system\/snes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SNES<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> version. He showed me how to do it but it was all in <\/span><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hexadecimal\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hex<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, I hadn't a clue what he was talking about. I thought I was going to have to resign, as there was no way I would be able to do it!<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What is the process of converting the music from the SNES to the Game Boy like?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">It was tricky. In that time, Rare did all their Game Boy games in hex, no MIDI file or anything. I was like \u201chow the hell am I going to do this?\u201d So, Dave Wise came across and showed me how it worked (very quickly) on my first day, and it was really hard. I actually said to Robin \u201cI\u2019m going to have to resign, this is too hard, I can\u2019t actually do it\u201d. However, he said to ask Dave back tomorrow and write down every step that he tells you to do. So, I did this, wrote down every step-in order (like number 1, press Alt 4, number 2, type this, etc) in real parrot fashion and then I kind of understood it then. Heck, I quite enjoyed it in the end, and thought it was quite fun to get the music to work on the Game Boy. So yeah, I liked it in the end, but the start was super scary.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: To get the attention of Rare, you sent in five tapes to the company over the course of a year before you heard back. How close to quitting were you after tape four? Any advice for those who may be facing a similar situation?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Ha! I really had no idea whatsoever about trying to get a job. I'd never tried to do it before, I'd always been playing in bands, etc. Because Robin Beanland worked there and because we'd been in bands together, I didn't really consider trying to get a job anywhere else. He spoke so highly of Rare that I just wanted to be there so badly. I remember I did apply to Eurocom in Derby, but they turned me down flat! I was getting a bit worried by tape 4... hehe. They never replied at all... not even a \"thanks, but no thanks\" letter. I really was down to the last bit of money I'd saved up from touring. I was on unemployment benefit and I applied for work training at a tiny games company called Twilight Games in Harrogate. They took me on for the 6 weeks and actually did offer me a job at the end of it, but I'd literally just got the job offer from Rare.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I think breaking into the industry now is very hard. I guess the best way is to try and get onto some kind of intern job; we have two guys here at BHG who are very good indeed. Just trying to get a job as a composer is the hardest of all. I always tell people to make sure they are good sound designers as well. Despite the fact I'm known for being a composer, I have always done sound design on the games I've worked on. I like having the variety.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: One of the things you like to drill into aspiring composers is that they need to have range, they need to be able to produce pieces in all sorts of styles. You've spoken before on working within the technical limitations of older platforms, but have you had any particular challenges in embracing certain musical styles? How often have you been presented with opportunities that test your range?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I really can manage most styles of music, apart from dance music, I'm pretty terrible at that! I got asked to write in a lot of different styles for the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pi\u00f1ata<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> games. It was great fun, getting to write 20 second snippets of music was just enough before I ran out of ideas (as Dave Clynickalways used to say!)... hehe! I think both of those games tested my range. When I was asked for some cool jazz for the Penguin (I think), I got Robin to do it. He did a great job, but I think I managed the rest!<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What were some ways you prepped for the <\/b><b><i>GoldenEye 007<\/i><\/b><b> score? Did you and Graeme Norgate study <\/b><b><i>GoldenEye<\/i><\/b><b>\u2019s film score or other 007 scores to get the style down?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nozzer (Mr. Norgate!) and me did listen to all the Bond theme songs constantly during composing for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GoldenEye<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He started the game and was doing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blast Corps<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before I got the job, then, when I started, he asked me to take over from him on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GoldenEye<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as he was snowed under. I listened to the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GoldenEye<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> soundtrack quite a lot too, it was fantastic to get to use THE Bond theme. I didn't finish that game, so Nozzer returned to finish it off, as I got dragged off by Tim Stamper and Gregg Mayles to start work on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dream<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I did do some sound design on that game, but I think it got replaced in the end.<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What is your advice for writers block? What is your experience with it?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I've had it loads of times, but I really can't offer any advice. I've spent days looking out of my office window at Rare and not written a note. It's tough when you're an in-house audio guy. You just have to write and write and write like it's a conveyor belt. That's why I like to do sound design too; it's a nice break from composing and good fun. I think when it gets really bad, I try and listen to some music that I really like and let it get me going again.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What are your thoughts on the evolution of video game music going from 8-bit to full orchestral scores for some modern games?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I think it's a good thing, it has to evolve. I do agree that back then you had to write a good tune as you had very limited resources and the tune was everything. It's easy these days to write lots of big chords and ambiances without actually having much musical knowledge. For me it's all about the harmony and melody, people like John Williams are unbelievable. I mean, how many of his tunes can you sing back right now? Probably all of 'em... Incredible!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: What was the transition of going from playing in bands to working on video game projects like for you personally?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">It was amazing! I think I spent like 11 years of my life from 22 to 33 playing in bands. It\u2019s all I did. I never got a job. I lived with my mother thinking I was just going to be a failure playing in crappy bands forever. By the time I was 33, I was just playing in cover bands in my local area to make a living. So then my friend, Robin Beanland, he played in one of the bands I played in. He was putting together these little demos off of computer music. And he said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna try to get a job.\u2019 I just ignored it thinking it was nonsense. And then one day he announced that he got a job at this company called Rare in the UK. I never heard of them. About a year and a half went by and Robin said, \u2018You know, Grant, you\u2019ve been on unemployment benefit for about 11 years. Don\u2019t you think it\u2019s time to get a job?\u2019 I asked what I could even do, and he responded, \u2018Why not do what I do?\u2019 He recommended some gear for me to buy so as to write some tunes I thought would be appropriate for video games. I sent Rare five cassette tapes over the course of that year. I never got a reply. Then out of the blue, I got a letter asking me to come in for an interview. I sat down with David Wise and the general manager and I got the job. I couldn\u2019t believe it.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">To be working at a company that was so prestigious, it was\u2026 I mean, it made the news in the UK that Nintendo bought half the company. For me, going there was like doing to Disneyland. It was just incredible.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Could you go into more detail about the 2010 transition from Rare to Microsoft? How did that affect you at the time?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">That\u2019s a tough question. I think at the time I was pretty pissed off. Tim and Chris (Stamper) left the company shortly before I left. I kinda felt that the magic had gone at that point. It was such a fantastic experience, and for me to see it not do as well for whatever reason was hugely upsetting to me. I never thought I would ever leave that place. I thought I\u2019d be there forever.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft bought Rare for a reason. They wanted to get broad appeal content onto the original Xbox. We couldn\u2019t possibly create enough games to completely champion the broad appeal content. We just didn\u2019t have enough staff to do that. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grabbed by the Ghoulies<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> came out and there was a massive backlash from all the Nintendo guys who didn\u2019t want to hear from Rare anymore. It just went downhill from there.<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">A lot of internal fighting started before Microsoft got interested. It was an undercurrent of unhappiness. I loved everything about Rare, and I couldn\u2019t believe people were speaking badly about it. I think Microsoft bought something that was on the way down and they didn\u2019t know it. Then they compounded the problem.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">On the walls, we had framed pictures of all the games we worked on. There was a huge Nintendo tapestry in the foyer, like 20 feet tall. But then Microsoft took it all down. They took all the pictures off the wall. They took the tapestry down. It was almost like they didn\u2019t want to be associated with what Rare did in the past.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">We were used to being an agile company. You might have a meeting to talk over what to do and just do it. With Microsoft, if you had an idea, then you would have to send it up the chain and wait a week. When you\u2019re dealing with a bunch of hippies, that production line way of doing things doesn\u2019t work.<\/span><\/p><p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Q: You have stated that video game composers could do a movie score as well as any of the current film composers. Why haven\u2019t you jumped into the film scoring industry yet?<\/span><\/strong><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">No one has asked me! Part of the reason why I moved to Los Angeles was so as to try and get into the movie industry. I am actively doing that. I\u2019ve done quite a lot of short films so far.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing that they\u2019re making a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mario<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> movie, I would love to do that. I kinda feel like I\u2019m the only guy in the Western world who has touched <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mario<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I had just done <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mario + Rabbids<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the past three years. I\u2019ve got all the cinematic sequences for it. If you put them together, it would be a movie.<\/span><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I would love to work on some movies, but at the same time, I do love working on video games. I wouldn\u2019t want to stop that. I\u2019d just like to do a bit of both. That would be great.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Some feel that video game music is underrated from a certain point of view. From your perspective do you think there's an issue with video game music recognition?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Video game music is getting bigger all the time. My son's 14 and an avid game player, but he doesn't really listen to anything apart from game music. His playlists are all game music. At his age you're normally getting into pop music or something like that, but he isn't. He loves Undertale, thankfully some of my stuff too! I think it's definitely changing. <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">My generation has a lot of people that haven't really played a game, but once you go down a generation it gets less like that. Everyone you know my son's age or even into their 20s has played a game; it's seeping into culture everywhere. You get these live concert tours all the time, selling out venues all the time. It's a real big thing now; even Classic FM votes in stuff like Banjo-Kazooie! Game music is played on the radio, it's getting everywhere, so I think in some respects video games still do melodic themes very well. I think of movie music and it's not as prevalent as it used to be; I think of movies and the music can be very big and epic but not always memorable or remarkable. So it's exciting but you can't remember a note of it.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">In video games you can usually remember the tunes, as you might be in a level a long time and hear it a lot. So you've got to make sure the music's not repetitive and getting on the player's nerves, and make it likeable. It's a hard task. I remember when I first worked at Rare, Tim Stamper and Gregg Mayles constantly trooped out the Mario themes and said 'these tunes can play for three hours and you don't get bored of it.' You've got to do that, and it was hammered home day after day, so we had to learn that skill or get fired!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Video game music is a wealth of diversity, and there's so much of it. People love it, too, it's everywhere. I think people still think it's a bit of an underground thing but I don't think it is. It's permeating everywhere, you hear GameBoy sounds in dance music, for example. It's completely embedded into the culture. I think it's super cool when you hear those references in pop, rap, whatever.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Game music goes from massive orchestras to chiptunes, right from top to bottom. It's all great. My son loves Undertale and that's chiptune stuff and he adores it, and he also loves orchestral parts in Super Mario Galaxy. I feel that video game music has re-introduced people to instrumental music, because people are so used to songs with vocalists. You remove that and you've just got the melody, no hook line to catch onto, so it has to be a good tune. Parents have 10-year-old kids saying they want to see a symphony orchestra, because they're playing game tunes. For me that's fantastic.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Did you work on any other games between GoldenEye and Banjo?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">No, that was it. I just worked on GoldenEye, then one day Tim Stamper (who was the boss of Rare) and Greg Mayles (who was the lead designer) showed up and just said \u201ccould you please play your GoldenEye music\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I was like \u201calright, I\u2019m gonna get fired because they think it\u2019s crap\u201d. So, they sat listening, I played the tunes and then they said \u201cright, you\u2019re gonna come work on Dream with us\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">To which I was like \u201cyeah, that\u2019s fine, just need to finish on GoldenEye\u201d and they were like \u201cno no, you\u2019re finishing GoldenEye right now\u201d.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">So, I moved to the barn where the Dream team was and started working with them.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Speaking of Project Dream, could you dive more into that? Was Banjo originally going to be on the SNES?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Yeah, I never worked on the SNES, just the GameBoy and N64. So originally it was gonna be on the SNES, then just about when I switched to Dream it got switched to the N64. It was going to be a very Zelda like open world 3d exploration game, then I just changed to Banjo.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: How did you approach the sound and music palette for Banjo-Kazooie?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I thought that Banjo-Kazooie were very odd characters, being opposites (like Banjo\u2019s a bit dumb and Kazooie\u2019s a bit snazzy and sarcastic) so I tried to get the music to match that.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I hit on the idea of this tritone thing. It\u2019s the furthest point in a musical scale, so I wondered if I could work it in somehow.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">At the time, I\u2019d been listening to quite a bit of Danny Elfman, and so that kind of gave me the idea for the direction here. I just stumbled upon it really.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">And as it worked well, I just used it through both of the games.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: I love how when you venture into different parts of a level, the music changes in style but stays the same notes-wise. What was the inspiration behind that move?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Yeah, we did the whole channel fade thing. When I first got to Rare, Greg and Tim were very keen for me to play the Lucasarts games (especially Monkey Island) since they loved said games a whole lot. And in the early Secret of Monkey Island games, they had that channel fade thing working like in FM synthesis; not quite MIDI files but just using the FM chip on the sound card. They loved how it worked with the IMUSE system and said they\u2019d love that to work in Banjo. So, when you wander around, the music would change (same tune but a different arrangement based on the area).<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">That meant I had to work out how to make that happen, figured out how it\u2019d sound in my head and then have the coders figure out how to get the software to support it afterwards. Hence all the music for one level would be in one MIDI file, and different channels would play to change the feel of the song in different areas.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Donkey Kong 64 now. What was it like composing music for that game? Obviously, you had a lot to live up to given the great soundtracks in past games.<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Yeah for me I guess I was doing Banjo-Tooie, DK 64 and Perfect Dark at the same time\u2026<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">It was a hectic time that was.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">So, my main thing was to try and keep DK different from Banjo-Tooie. Wanted to make sure it didn\u2019t sound the same.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">And in general, I always thought DK was a darker sounding game. David Wise\u2019s Donkey Kong soundtracks are amazing, but they are quite dark. So, I felt I made DK 64 a bit darker than Banjo, with the toy factory level being quite haunting and the spooky level being quite haunting too. That and Gloomy Galleon.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Q: Could you talk about Perfect Dark? How did it compare to scoring for GoldenEye since it was a spiritual sequel?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I thought that was different. It was more electronic. The X-Files was very big, and I kept thinking of that and Blade Runner when composing. I mixed orchestra and synth back then, and I tried to make it as good as I could. I really enjoyed working on it really.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Speaking of spiritual sequels, what was your thought process during the composing for Yooka-Laylee, the Banjo Kazooie cousin? You worked with David Wise as well on this correct?<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I think with Yooka-Laylee, the very first track I wrote (the jungle track which they put on Kickstarter), I wanted to make sure that had all the bits from Banjo-Kazooie rolled into one. For the rest of it\u2026 well hopefully I\u2019m a better composer than I was back then, so I tried to keep the best bits from 1 and 2 while adding some new stuff to mix it up.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">David Wise and I have been friends for a very long time, so it was very easy to divide up the music here, and it was obvious which bits would be Dave and which would be me here. Don\u2019t forget Steve Burke did music here too.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">So, we all had a bit of a chat about it, and it was just obvious that since it was in a Banjo style, I should handle the majority of the music. However, for the next games Playtonic do, Dave might do more or Steve might do more, depending on the type of game.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">But yeah, because it was a very Banjo like game, it was very easy to work out the bits I should do and the bits Dave should do there.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Q: Who is your favorite composer? Video games or film.<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">I guess video game wise that\u2019s a tough one, but movie wise it\u2019s John Williams. He\u2019s a great one. Like, I\u2019ve listened to his three Harry Potter soundtracks over and over. They\u2019re my textbook that I learn from, he\u2019s such an amazing composer.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">Just for fun, here\u2019s a couple video interviews with Grant!<\/span><\/em><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AtaZ5csXxpc&list=WL&index=11&t=0s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AtaZ5csXxpc&list=WL&index=11&t=0s<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KuZadavWE1I&list=WL&index=10&t=0s\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KuZadavWE1I&list=WL&index=10&t=0s<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">INTERVIEW SOURCES:<\/span><\/em><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/ocremix.org\/info\/Composer_Interview:_Grant_Kirkhope\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">http:\/\/ocremix.org\/info\/Composer_Interview:_Grant_Kirkhope<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/gamingreinvented.com\/interview\/lets-interview-banjo-kazooie-and-mario-rabbids-composer-grant-kirkhope\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/gamingreinvented.com\/interview\/lets-interview-banjo-kazooie-and-mario-rabbids-composer-grant-kirkhope\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/07\/feature_ex-rare_composer_grant_kirkhope_on_breaking_mario_and_following_in_koji_kondos_footsteps\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/07\/feature_ex-rare_composer_grant_kirkhope_on_breaking_mario_and_following_in_koji_kondos_footsteps<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendoenthusiast.com\/2018\/12\/19\/interview-rare-grant-kirkhope\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.nintendoenthusiast.com\/2018\/12\/19\/interview-rare-grant-kirkhope\/<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,95,1],"tags":[132,107,119,90,88,22,25,120,32,129,130,116,67,131,128],"class_list":["post-210368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film-composing","category-filmmaking","category-music-production","tag-claude-debussy","tag-composers","tag-composing-for-film","tag-danny-elfman","tag-ennio-morricone","tag-film-composer","tag-film-composing","tag-film-music","tag-hans-zimmer","tag-igor-stravinsky","tag-ludwig-van-beethoven","tag-modern-composers","tag-music-composing","tag-philip-glass","tag-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Composer Quirks That Spark Creativity - Compozly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"True bite-size quirks that spark creativity famous composers. 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