And it is that connectivity to specific music that makes a Bond film (or game) as such, because without it, nothing would really set it apart from a CALL OF DUTY or any other type of shooter.
Exactly; the music is such a large part of the Bond experience, and people are going to expect it. So I had to remain faithful to the experience and the brand.
Were you aware that you were inadvertently competing with the GOLDENEYE reboot game?
No, I actually didn’t know it was in development at the time. I think the reason they were released so close together is because they were on different platforms – BLOOD STONE was on Xbox 360 & PS3 and GOLDENEYE was for the Wii. [NOTE: GOLDENEYE has since been released for the other platforms, as well.]
In a roundabout way, the situation reminded me of 1983, when OCTOPUSSY and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN were released in the same year.
[Laughs] That’s true; I hadn’t thought about that. I remember seeing OCTOPUSSY in the theater…and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, actually. Well, I actually think it’s good for the franchise, as there was no movie this year, and they are both great games. GOLDENEYE has its built-in audience from the original game, and we’ve spun a brand new story with BLOOD STONE; so it’s good.
Did having the actual actors from the films help inspire your work?
Oh definitely, especially with the cinematic cut scenes. It was quite strange for me to sit here in the studio writing music for a conversation between Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench. It was quite an inspiring process to go through, because I’m normally used to working with various character actors in games, but none who were as big of stars as them. It really put me into the Bond experience; it was great!
And now, you have contributed to the musical lexicon of Bond.
Yeah, I guess so. I mean, there have been so many great composers involved over the years, especially John Barry and David Arnold, of course. I’m also a big fan of Michael Kamen’s soundtrack to LICENSE TO KILL. It’s one of those things where I think Bond is a style in its own right, which should be largely credited to John Barry himself.
And David Arnold has done such an amazing job over the last 10-15 years of not only continuing the legacy but bringing it forward. So I really hope that I was respectful to the other composers and had given it my own slant.
The thing I have enjoyed about what David Arnold and you have done is that you both respect the character musically, but you don’t make us “miss” John Barry as much as say, someone else doing a STAR WARS score besides John Williams.
The style of Bond has such a large jazz-influence in an orchestral score (making it so unique in a musical way). I did a lot of jazz training, and I am a trombone player myself, so I really get that, and I understand it pretty well. And you’re right about respecting the character, because it is so embedded in our culture, I didn’t want to move too far away from it, because it would really take away from the essence of Bond.
So, do you have a favorite Bond score?
Out of John Barry’s, it would have to be YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, and for David Arnold, it would be THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. And, like I said early, I am a big fan of Michael Kamen’s LICENSE TO KILL.
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