The last couple of months, we’ve been trying to find a way to jumpstart a Composer Spotlight series for our gaming section. We knew we wanted to start it off with a bang, but despite conversations here and there with composers and engineers that were available, a tangible meeting had yet to materialize.
We were just about to move on to a different idea when out of nowhere, we saw an article in PC Gamer featuring composer legend Alexander Brandon, complete with a fairly alarming headline: “It’s Brutal Out There: Deus Ex and Unreal composer says he’s submitted 50 resumes and gotten one interview in the last year.”
Obviously, this sent a portion of the gaming community into an uncomfortable frenzy. How could such a respected industry pro face such difficult odds? And what does that mean for everyone else? Fans of Alexander Brandon know from his videos and indeed his music, that despite grim realities, he does a great job maintaining forward motion, often accompanied with a positive outlook. Given his massive body of work, plus his experience with difficulties like the cancellation of Jazz JackRabbit 3 and Fireworks AI’s recent acquisition of Stormgate’s multiplayer, his determined optimism is an accomplishment in itself.
(Shoutout to MINBEKKER for putting together this video.)
Though he’s certainly a realist as well with many grounded takes, we’d go so far as to say his generally positive attitude is downright infectious, even just through watching his videos, and now, we know it firsthand. After reading that article, we couldn’t resist reaching out, and amazingly, he said yes – it turns out, he’d also made recent social media posts regarding efforts to be more open and available for press, interviews, etc., so in a way it feels meant to be, and we hope this is just the beginning.
Truthfully, he was probably implying that he’d like to do a feature in a professional setting like Fader or Rolling Stone, yet here we are, and we couldn’t be more excited. Before reading on, if you haven’t already, check out the Alexander Brandon YouTube channel below where he routinely posts thorough responses to fan questions submitted through comments, discord, etc. By the end of going through all of those videos, we were thinking more about what not to ask, simply because there’s so much there that’s truly fascinating, we knew we’d have to leave something out.
(One of Alexander Brandon’s insightful videos.)
When it came to our chat in particular, we got to as many of the hits as we could – we had an absolute blast talking about what it was like to go pro at a young age for Tyrian and Extreme Pinball, what it was like to transition from composer to an Audio Director for Deus Ex: Invisible War, his voice sessions for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, starting Funky Rustic Studios, and his recent Unreal Tournament remaster for Materia Collective. That being said, we also tried to sneak in some industry nitty gritty like the realities of AI, treacherous post-launch cycles, mental health, the acquisition of Stormgate’s multiplayer, and more.
Overall, we think there’s a lot of great stuff here for Alex Brandon fans old and new. By the end, you could tell we pushed that composer’s composure we hack through at the beginning (pro tip: don’t overdo caffeine before interviews), but it was mostly because we had been talking for a solid two hours between all of our Zoom meetings. That’s our trick for getting around the free version – scheduling multiple meetings in advance and hopping from one to the other and recording each one for the allowed time, etc. One day we’ll be true professionals, but it’s a goal, and a budget, that we’re still working towards.
(You know we’re reppin’ our boys Closure in Moscow during the interview with a legend.)
One last time, one thousand thanks to Alexander Brandon for being so gracious with his time, it was a great conversation that took a lot of unexpected turns, and we learned a lot. Actually we’re still learning a lot, we’ve had to watch it ourselves a couple times already to do even more research, but that’s for another time. Also, for those of you needing a quick refresher, here’s an abbreviated hit list of games he’s worked on. Keep in mind, they’re not all composer credits – some are for audio direction, engineering, and voice acting as well! They also don’t include the solo records he’s got on Bandcamp, so in all seriousness, a mountain of talent to this guy. Sometimes people just say ‘legend,’ but at this point, Alexander Brandon has legitimately earned that title several times over.
Tyrian – 1995
Extreme Pinball – 1995
Jazz Jackrabbit 2 – 1998
Unreal – 1998
Unreal Tournament – 1999
Vigilante 8 – 1999
Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense – 2000
Deus Ex – 2000
Deus Ex: Invisible War – 2003
Thief: Deadly Shadows – 2004
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows – 2005
Rampage: Total Destruction – 2006
MLB Slugfest 2006 – 2006
SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run – 2006
NeverWinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer – 2007
NeverWinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir – 2008
Bejeweled 3 – 2010
Wasteland 2 – 2014
Torment: Tides of Numenara – 2017
Aven Colony – 2017
The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep – 2018
Wasteland 3 – 2020
Stormgate – 2024
So, now that we’ve somewhat covered this legend’s legacy up to this point, let’s get this guy hired full-time for something huge and cyberpunk-y as soon as humanly possible.
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here, but if you’re in a generous mood you can also donate to folks like Doctors Without Borders, the PCRF, Charity Water, Kindness Ranch, One Tail at A Time, Canopy Cat Rescue, or Best Friends Animal Sanctuary that could probably use it more – click on their names above to check ‘em out if you’re so inclined. Thanks again!)