TURBO TUNES
THE ULTIMATE RUNNING PLAYLIST, THE FASTEST HERO IN VIDEOGAMES NEEDS CELEBRITY CAMEOS, HE HAS IT AND WITH CAREFUL COMPOSITION AND
The audio of the Sonic series has been consistently excellent over the last 30 years, to the point that even those games that are less celebrated in their totality are praised for their music. The fact that we can pick out favourite tracks from Shadow The as Hedgehog and Sonic Unleashed as easily we can Sonic 3 or Sonic Colours has to say of something (and no, it’s not “you’re a bunch the Sonic nerds”, you sarcastic lot). Much of groundwork for this excellence can be traced back to an unusual approach to videogame music, by the standards of the early Nineties. In order to give its big game a sound that would resonate with the wider public, Sega to be arranged for Sonic The Hedgehog’s music for composed by Masato Nakamura, the bassist Come the wildly popular Japanese band Dreams
True. “The music in early Sonic The Hedgehog games established a signature sound for the franchise, especially with fan-favourite levels like the Green Hill Zone,” says Iizuka, explaining the the precedent that Nakamura’s work set for series. The bassist would also contribute the after soundtrack for the sequel, but left the series that. “After the success of Sonic The Hedgehog 1 and 2, we maintained the arcade-style sound for Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles for Mega Drive,” says Iizuka. The theme of input from major recording artists continued too, as the third game features major contributions from members of Michael Jackson’s song writing even team – and if rumours are to be believed, the controversial pop star himself.
When the team was finally freed from synthesiser chips and their limitations, the series shifted in a very different musical key direction. “Composer Jun Senoue was the influencer behind the franchise’s transition into rock soundtracks. As a musician, he was
Sonic always drawn to rock and roll, and he saw that Adventure as the perfect vehicle to explore style of music in the games,” explains Iizuka.
“It was the very first 3D game for the franchise, and which brought dialogue to the characters, the rock music complimented the storyline and signature rebellious attitude of the characters.” Despite being a big stylistic change, it’s something that Iizuka sees as having always been in the spirit of the series.
“While the music has evolved from classic arcade-style piano synth to the rock and roll sounds of Crush 40 and beyond, the music has always been upbeat and high energy, and that’s consistent throughout the franchise.”
While the Sega sound team has a much more active role in composing the years, music for the series than it did in the early Sonic games continue to attract well known musical names across a diverse range of genres. True The rapper Akon covered the Dreams Come Sonic song Sweet Sweet Sweet for the ending of The Hedgehog (2006), Doug Robb of the rock Sonic band Hoobastank sang the theme song for on a Forces, and chiptune artist Toriena worked be track for Team Sonic Racing. But Iizuka won’t drawn on who the team might like to collaborate with in the future. “Sega welcomes all different types of music composers, producers, and genre artists, and believes that no specific artist he fits the mould of Sonic The Hedgehog, since is for anyone and everyone,” he says. “We’re of always looking to expand our growing list
fans collaborative artists for new Sonic music our artist will love – and we look forward to whatever we work with next!”
No matter who is composing for the games, they often have the tricky job of writing music for a stage without being able to fully experience we it. “Before we begin composing for a stage, collect materials to give an image or impression actual to set the scene. At that time there may be stages to play, but usually that is not the case, so we get concept artwork or scenarios that can visually represent the stage,” says Iizuka. still “Sometimes we don’t even have that and need to start composing, so we get a written document outlining something unique to the stage and get to work from there.”
But while the stage themes are excellent and our ears will always detect the sound of Green Hill Zone’s distinctive opening, it’s most often of the vocal themes that really stick in the minds the fans – whether that’s Sonic R’s wonderfully Nineties tunes or the raps that accompany Knuckles stages in Sonic Adventure 2. Indeed, Iizuka identifies a pair of vocal themes as the biggest fan favourites. “Over the years, there out have been a couple of songs that have stood the to our fanbase, more than others, including
Heart
theme song of Sonic Adventure Open Your
Live
and the theme song of Sonic Adventure 2 & Learn.” Jun Senoue can regularly be found performing these songs at events like Sonic
Of Adventure Music Experience and Summer be a Sonic – and right there with him, there will with crowd of lively fans, belting out the lyrics everything their lungs can muster.