BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Jason Graves says his name is synonymous with scary music. And with a list of credits to this name including DC Universe’s Swamp Thing for TV, and video games such as The Dark Pictures, Far Cry Primal, Until Dawn, and Tomb Raider, it’s certainly no wonder.
But one of this BAFTA-winning composer’s latest projects for video game is Moss, and the music that accompanies this adventure leans more toward the medieval (and completely adorable) rather than the “scary” for which Jason has been known.
So we ask Jason all about Moss, and about what it means to grow renowned in one genre but then compose for another.
Jason, great to chat with you — thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about your work. Speaking of which, having worked for major studios and won impressive awards, I’d like to know how the journey has been for you.
It’s been quite the ride!
Like everyone else, my journey has had its share of ups and downs. Being a composer already means we spend most of our time by ourselves in a dark room. That’s a big reason I enjoy going to conventions and conferences — there are so many amazing composers out there that I’m very happy to consider friends.
We have to stick together — creating music for hire is challenging enough on its own. It really helps to have common ground with friends and colleagues.
Well said. Now, let’s talk about Moss. You draw from early music styles and use beautiful instrumentation to accompany this game’s narrative. What’s the creative brief look like for a game such as Moss? Does the studio tell you they like your work and are keen for a medieval-themed soundtrack, or do you have freedom to design the soundscape?
Moss was very special. I’m a huge animal lover, and Quill the protagonist is just too cute! Plus, there were many other furry and feathery friends you got the chance to interact with. The player’s relationship with Quill is very special, and something Polyarc and I both wanted to highlight with the music. That was really the only agreed upon directive I had when I first started. So there was a lot of freedom and trust from the beginning.
The demo suite I wrote before I was hired had a large, full-orchestra kind of sound. I really felt like the game was much more intimate and personal — so perhaps the music should reflect that? I wanted to take advantage of as many live instruments as possible, so honestly a lot of it came down to two things:
1. How many instruments could I play and record myself? And knowing I would be hiring two amazing musicians for violin and woodwinds;
2. What instruments did I own that would fit into the aesthetic of the Moss world? In my head, I loved the idea of putting a little band together that could easily sound like it was made up of tiny mice playing in the little pub in Quill’s village. Something acoustic and small.
And so the instrumentation was born. I owned acoustic guitars, hammered dulcimers, a Celtic harp, a mandolin, a ukulele, and a surfeit of percussion instruments. That was half the band! The other half was Jeff Ball on violin/viola, and Kristin Naugus playing flute, oboe, and English horn.
I wasn’t necessarily going for something medieval as much as something timeless. I wanted the music to feel like a natural extension of the amazing world of Moss that Polyarc had been working so hard to build.
All the musical themes from the game were taken directly from the first demo suite of music I wrote before I was hired. I had some concept art and a brief story outline to work with on the demo.
In the world of video games, you also work on The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan. You’ve clearly jumped at least five centuries in your score between Moss and The Dark Pictures — the latter of which draws from more Classical influences to generate a huge orchestral, cinematic score. How is it that you have the skill to compose across so many different styles? Does it stem from your classical training, or is it more about researching for each brief?
Well, thank you for the compliment! The game itself is what informs the style and instrumentation of each score. There is definitely a substantial amount of research that goes into each score. I’m a bit of a nerd that way — I really love learning new things and applying them to whatever I’m working on. It’s like my idea of a perfect score for a new project is this Venn diagram of three ideas — what the game needs, what I want to do for the game, and what I can do that is new and different for me personally and will keep me on my toes.
Man of Medan is obviously a lot scarier than Moss and takes place in modern times. But it’s also almost entirely on the ocean. So a big ‘what can I do that’s new for me and helps the gameplay?’ idea — that ended up being an integral part of the score — is the idea of the tide and waves of the ocean. It’s always had a sort of cyclical, waltz-like rhythm to me; that ‘1-2-3, 1-2-3’ kind of pulse as the waves rise and fall. And I’ve always stayed away from writing music with those kinds of rhythms for fear of turning in the equivalent of shoddy pirate music!
But Man of Medan was my chance to redeem myself. Every cue, from start to finish, is in that triple metre, waltz-like rhythm. And hopefully, none of it reminds people of pirates!
Do you ever risk becoming “typecast” into a particular style of music, and therefore a particular style of project? For instance, if you produce a stand-out score such as Moss, how do you then avoid being known as the composer for medieval-style gaming? Or have you indeed been typecast but to positive effect — such as the composer for narrative and adventure gaming?
I think everyone experiences both a blessing and a curse once they are associated with a specific project that gets a lot of attention. It’s very flattering to be name-dropped as ‘that guy’ when certain genres are brought up.
The original Dead Space was my first project that garnered any kind of attention, and in many circles I would imagine many people think of scary music whenever they hear my name. And let’s be honest — my last name definitely doesn’t help!
So on one hand, I think a lot of it is out of your control [as a composer], especially in terms of what projects you work on becoming well-known versus others that don’t garner as much attention. But one thing I do try to control is the type of music that each project I work on requires. That is, I don’t go out of my way to score all horror games or TV shows. It’s good to switch things up!
Man of Medan is a perfect example, as it had been almost two years since I had scored any kind of horror. So revisiting that musical world was a breath of fresh air.
Moving into that world of television, the soundtrack to Swamp Thing has mystery, horror, action, and suspense. I haven’t watched it, but I feel like I’ve been told the whole story just by listening. Did you have fun on this soundtrack?
Yes, Swamp Thing was a lot of fun to work on, not to mention a lot of music to produce in a very short amount of time. Brian Tyler had been brought on to score the pilot and asked me to score the remaining nine episodes. This would be another example of my name being associated with scary music, and in a very good way!
Normally, I produce between 10-15 minutes of music per week. Swamp Thing was almost on a weekly dub schedule once we hit episode 4, which meant the music needed to be completed by the dub date every week. And each episode averaged 38 minutes of music needed in a week — about three times the amount I was used to! But I worked hard and very much enjoyed being able to use Brian’s amazing main theme, as well as come up with my own character themes per WB’s request.
I think by the last three or four episodes, I had written five or six original themes for specific characters that I was able to weave in and out of the score. Really a dream come true for me — thematic writing in any genre is probably what I enjoy doing the most.
How do you feel about having contributed to the evolution of the DC Universe through your score?
It’s pretty amazing!
I still never got over seeing that cool Swamp Thing stylised WB logo at the beginning of each episode. And I’m definitely picking up the Blu-ray when it comes out soon!
We’ll sign off now, but before we go, do you have any parting words about the joys or challenges of a life dedicated to scoring for screen?
While we all have our share of ups and downs, I think it’s fair to say that overall the ups definitely outweigh the downs. And if someone finds themselves in a particularly ‘down’ part of their life or career, they should reach out for support and comfort. We’ve all been there!
And, even given all the downs that everyone inevitably experiences, I consider myself very lucky to be able to spend my time making music with so many incredible developers and producers. Music is in my blood — I wouldn’t trade this job for anything!
Images supplied.
