(Article written by Phil Rey, a composer for Diaspora. Translated from French with the assistence of Karajorma and Shade)
Hey,
My name is Phil, i'm a french composer, and i'm making music for Diaspora.
I wrote this article under the guidance of karajorma, (and with the help of Shade), to talk about my work within the team.
By chance, I contacted Diaspora's team in summer 2010, and they immediately put me to the test (I'm not the first one who wants to participate in this great adventure). At that point, I didn't know much about the music of Battlestar Galactica, or about the series itself. But the work of the team is so fabulous, i wanted to give it a try, and I eventually made some pieces which were accepted by the team. Over time, I discovered the wonderful music of Bear McCreary and Richard Gibbs, and attempted to recreate the same sound. The list currently numbers about 30 pieces, and should keep growing over the coming months.
Requests from the team often refer to an existing piece (McCreary or Gibbs). So I take the time to analyze, think, test... and attempt to do pieces that remain faithful to the music which so many people already know and want in the game. I work in my home studio, mainly using sound banks from EWQL (SD2 as RA), Cinesamples and Tonehammer. Much of the work is percussive, or ethnic, but often I also have to transcribe this feeling of open spaces in the background, something people would expect to encounter. There are also some very musical parts (like the famous "Prelude To War") that I'm transcribing my way (actually, I don't know if it will be used, but i really enjoyed this exercise). In short, these are ongoing and rewarding challenges.
To conclude, it is really a great pleasure to discover the music of Battlestar Galactica and participate in this great adventure. I came in contact (briefly) with Bear and his percussionist MB Gordy (longer, thank you to him) because I wanted more information, including how (and which) drums were used in the soundtrack. Finally, I hope that all this work will satisfy even the most demanding of connoisseurs, and I thank the members of Diaspora (who have done a great job for several years) for their confidence. A highly anticipated game is underway!
Some exemples of music for Diaspora : Phreymusic.com
So Say We All !
Phil - Moddb.com profile
I was wondering how the game's audio was coming along. Sounds great!
Yeah, it isn't something we've said much about. Mostly it's "Here's a new ship, feel free to gawk and/or drool", but music and sound is undeniably just as important as the visuals. Even if all our ships look spectacular, if in the end the game doesn't *sound* like Battlestar Galactica, then we have failed in our mission to deliver the best experience possible.
Anyone who has ever tried watching a horror movie with the sound muted will know what I mean. Take away the music and sound, and you take away the suspense and immersion. And the same goes for having inappropriate or just plain bad music. So give those music and sound people the credit they deserve :)
It would be nice to hear what those folks have been working on. Can I predict a sound demo being posted in the near future?
You've probably already heard some of the music. Our third trailer (https://www.moddb.com/games/diaspora/videos/diasporatrailer-3) is set to a piece of PhRey's music, and the second part of our fourth trailer (https://www.moddb.com/games/diaspora/videos/diaspora-trailer-4) is set to one of the in-game battle tracks.
As for the sound effects? Probably not in the near future, as the active work on that actually took place a while ago by now. But hey, if our sound designer decides to write an article along these lines, we'll certainly post it here :)
Good stuff guys, congrats on picking up such talent.