A Moment With
Aubrey Hodges tells us about his plan to put all his classic game soundtracks online
Aubrey Hodges has been composing soundtracks since the early Nineties. His eclectic discography ranges from early DOS releases like Ecoquest: The Search For Cetus to console hits like Doom 64. He’s now decided to make his work available to the masses, and as a result is releasing his catalogue on a variety of digital sites. Here he tells us why.
Why have you decided to make your videogame soundtracks available digitally?
I really want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to experience all of these soundtracks. Almost everyone is already using one or more of these services anyway, so now they will be able to use whatever provider they prefer to enjoy my music. I am also hoping that broader availability will help to capture the attention of the younger audience who may not have played some of these awesome older games.
Do you own the rights to all of your music?
In most cases I maintained the rights. And in some cases, I was fortunate to »
Videogame composer Aubrey Hodges on digitally releasing his back catalogue
negotiate a clause in my contract that allows me to sell soundtracks.
How many soundtracks will be available?
At least ten for now, but eventually my complete discography and new albums as I complete them.
How many different online services are you hoping to be on? Pretty much all of the major stores (itunes, Google Play, Amazon, Bandcamp etc) and services (Spotify, Pandora, Tiktok, Deezer, Napster etc), plus over 150 smaller ones.
Have you listened to any of your old pieces while you’ve been sorting everything out? Which ones have impressed you? Honestly, I found myself quite relaxed by my Journey series of ambient albums. Journey Into The Sacred Places just puts me in the most chilled-out mood, while the tracks on Journey Into The Dark Places tend to make me creative and imaginative. And I had totally forgotten how much I enjoyed the Beethoven quartets that are all done with futuristic sounding synths. I just love making music and because I write so much of it, it’s nice to revisit the old work and just experience it simply as a listener.
You have quite a few Doom and Quake soundtracks under your belt now, what is it you like about those franchises?
Both are incredibly enjoyable to play and are super immersive. The over-the-top nature of the stories, intensity of the gameplay experiences and incredible settings provided » » a perfect opportunity for me to unleash audio mayhem.
How would you describe your music to anyone that might not have listened to it before?
This is really hard to answer because my music is so very different from project to project. In general terms, I am very textural and stylised, but my music tends to revolve around emotion rather than complexity. Getting the emotional flavour just right is far more important to me than adding a ton of fine detail. In general, I would say that my music is almost always dripping with mood.
What’s the one soundtrack our readers should listen to first?
I suppose I would choose Quest For Glory: Shadows Of Darkness as an » » introduction album. I really composed in quite a few styles and many different moods on that one. It should provide quite a sampler of what my music is all about.
You’re adding the final touches to your 20th anniversary edition of Playstation Final Doom soundtrack. What can readers expect from that?
Pure unadulterated evil! Muhahaha! All kidding aside, it should be quite a treat as I am extending all of the level tracks, as well as redoing the stereo imaging and remastering the existing base tracks. I have also added some new sections on all of the level tracks and included some new instruments and samples where I had originally wanted to do more back during the original composing. The tracks feel brighter, yet somehow more disturbing and hellish. The added detail brings out the sense that something is always just around the corner… and never something good.