Interviews
We want to properly step into 2018 and we are preparing dozens of new articles and interviews for you. During last year there was a soundtrack that really reverberated within the community. We had no other option than to contact the composer and ask about details of this production. It is real audio visual feast – namely Cuphead.
We had no other option than to contact the composer and ask about details of this production.
Kris Maddigan stood as a leader of the team which prepared this unusual and great jazz soundtrack. We are encouraging you to check out what composer himself has to say about it and perhaps you will find out reasons behind unquestioned quality of this OST.
gamemusic.net: The music of Cuphead is really ambitious. Were you not scared that most of the target audience will not appreciate it?
Kris Maddigan: The developers had a very clear idea from early on that they wanted to use a 30’s era big band vibe for the soundtrack. We felt that the style was accessible enough that there would not be much chance that the audience would not appreciate it.
gamemusic.net: In the music you paid homage to Duke Ellington. What brought you to this inspiration? What other inspirations were most important for you?
Kris Maddigan: For me Duke Ellington is one of the most interesting and ambitious composers of all time, not just the 20th century, so it made sense that he would be a big inspiration on the Cuphead soundtrack. In addition to Ellington, the music of Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Scott Joplin, Fletcher Henderson, Cliff Jackson, Gene Krupa, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, and many others were very important in their inspiration on this music.
gamemusic.net: It is often said that jazz is all about improvisation. Do you think that it somehow reflects in the gameplay of Cuphead?
Kris Maddigan: There is absolutely a correlation between the improvisatory nature of the music and the quick thinking required to deal with the randomness inherent in certain elements of the game. Both require experience and a deep knowledge of the task at hand.
Our engineer Jeremy Darby deserves special recognition for the tireless work and many, many long days. – Kris Maddigan
gamemusic.net: What kinds of reactions did you see among the musicians when they found out that this music will be recorded for a video game?
Kris Maddigan: Since the music for Cuphead was recorded in essentially the same manner that it would have been recorded for a regular big band album, there was little difference in the approach of the incredible musicians involved. Other than the music being extremely fast and generally quite quirky, they brought the same professional attitudes and impeccable musicianship that they bring to all of the projects they are involved with.
We want to properly step into 2018 and we are preparing dozens of new articles and interviews for you. During last year there was a soundtrack that really reverberated within the community. We had no other option than to contact the composer and ask about details of this production. It is real audio visual feast – namely Cuphead. Kris Maddigan stood as a leader of the team which prepared this unusual and great jazz soundtrack. We are encouraging you to check out what composer himself has to say about it and perhaps you will find out reasons behind unquestioned quality of this OST.
gamemusic.net: It is a challenge to record a very long soundtrack. The music of Cuphead would be sufficient for three games. How did you approach the recordings themselves?
Kris Maddigan: For the big band sessions I believe we had 5 days in the studio, split into 2 different sessions, and the ragtime band had maybe a day to a day and a half. We budgeted approximately 1 hour per tune just to be safe, and fortunately we came in under that estimate. The vast majority of time was spent perfecting the mixes, as some of the big band tracks have 5-6 different versions (same tune but with different solos), so in the end there were close to 300 tracks that required mixing. Our engineer Jeremy Darby deserves special recognition for the tireless work and many, many long days he put in getting such a fantastic balance between vintage sound and modern clarity.
gamemusic.net: The very distinct sound of 1930’s was derived from the technological restrictions back then. How did you achieve such a great atmosphere of this audio material, at the same time not compromising its quality?
Kris Maddigan: Again, this goes back to the vast amounts of time in the studio, refining mixes over and over to get the perfect balance that you hear on the final soundtrack. I know nothing about audio engineering so we were very lucky to have Jeremy Darby and his assistant Julian Decorte doing all of the recording, engineering and mixing. His studio, Canterbury Music Studio in Toronto, Canada, has a great sound and vibe, plus an awesome array of vintage microphones.
We had always hoped that this music would appeal not just to existing fans of jazz, but to also introduce this wonderful art form to a new generation of listeners. – Kris Maddigan
gamemusic.net: Nowadays it is very often seen that music is only about the background, and I think that Cuphead soundtrack is quite the opposite. In order to fully appreciate such music, one has to focus 100% of attention which is not really possible while playing a game. Do you think that this soundtrack has the potential to reach audience beyond gamers?
Kris Maddigan: We were always very cognisant of making the OST work not just in the game, but also to make it something that would stand on its own as an album of music. That is why the tunes are full length tunes, not just short repeating structures, and why we chose to have an ending to every piece even though it is not possible to hear the endings to the boss tunes in the game. We had always hoped that this music would appeal not just to existing fans of jazz, but to also introduce this wonderful art form to a new generation of listeners.
gamemusic.net: Do you think that we can expect more retrospective soundtracks like this one in the video game industry in the future?
Kris Maddigan: As someone who doesn’t regularly work in the gaming industry I can’t speculate, but hopefully this will inspire more audio designers to look to the past as well as the future.
gamemusic.net: Do you have any projects planned for the future which you could share with us? Is there any chance for a world tour with the music Cuphead played live?
Kris Maddigan: I have no other projects planned at the moment, and unfortunately no plans for any touring of the Cuphead soundtrack.
gamemusic.net: Do you have any video game soundtracks that you particularly like?
Kris Maddigan: No surprises here, but Final Fantasy VI and VII by Nobuo Uematsu and Xenogears by Yasunori Mitsuda were big influences on me when I was younger.
