Electric Dragon took the time to answer a few questions we had about their work on the Rollerdrome soundtrack. Here's what they had to say.
Q1: Do you mind telling us what synth hardware, if any, you used for this project?
A1: I used mainly an APR Odyssey and Moog Grandmother for this soundtrack. I wanted the gear to be in keeping with the 70s vibe, and not to sound too 80s. I also used eurorack modular which has been a new exciting way of working for me. Rollerdrome's results screens use these pieces, which were essentially live jams on the modular gear.
Q2: Rollerdrome shares a lot of aesthetic DNA with Solarbabies and obviously Rollerball. Did you watch either of these while working on the soundtrack?
A2: I didn't, but I did immerse myself in music from the era like early Vangelis, Wendy Carlos, Giorgio Moroder, Tangerine Dream. I've always loved these artists and there are little homages in there. That was a starting point, my imagination tends to do its own thing after that!
Q3: Beyond the Black Rainbow, Tron Legacy and Drive were all released in the early 2010s and are often cited as the catalysts for the synthwave genre's rise in popularity. Do you agree? Do you believe any films or musical projects are missing from these conversations?
A3: To me, synthwave was really an offshoot of the French Touch movement, which is where Kavinsky et al came from. Some of those artists like Alan Braxe and Fred Falke started doing very 80s vibe stuff way back in the mid-2000s. I'd say Drive came in halfway through.
Q4: There is a lot of good synthwave being made with 80's Amigas. Is that something you have, or would be, interested in experimenting with?
A4: I actually used to use Octamed (a tracker program) running on an Amiga 1200 and that was all I had for years, back in the day. A lot of my influence comes from the c64 and composers like Rob Hubbard, who to me was mind-blowing.
Q5: How important is it for you to play the game when making the soundtrack? Can you get a lot done simply working off of concept art, character models, plot synopsis..ext?
A5: I did have access to various builds of the game which certainly helped me nail the vibe. Access to the lore and story was possibly more important, either way, I had a blast doing it!
Q6: What have you been gaming lately?
A6: I'm mainly a Soulsborne guy. I have Platinums for all those, and half a sleeve of Dark Souls tattoos, haha! I also love Arkane games like Dishonored and Deathloop, can't get enough of those. Looking forward to Callisto Protocol very much too.
