Jason Graves Interview

There’s an interview with composer Jason Graves on Square Enix Music Online, and while a majority of the Q&A covers his most recent work on Dead Space 2, you may also recall that he’s also responsible for the music in Alpha Protocol, City of Heroes: Going Rogue, and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows.

Chris: You were recently recognised for creating the ‘Best Original Theme – Instrumental’ in the Annual Game Music Awards 2010. Looking back, what was it like to collaborate with BT and Alexander Brandon on this cue? What do you think made it so successful as an espionage theme?

Jason Graves: Yes, that was quite an honor! Thank you so much for the recognition. Alpha Protocol was a really great score to work on. The entire espionage genre is just so much fun! Alex brought me in early on in the game and we had a great time coming up with different ideas for instruments, genres, etc. for all of the cool locations in the game.

And of course, collaborating with BT on the main theme was very rewarding. We kept sending MIDI and MP3 files back and forth to each other over about a four week period. I would work out a part for the orchestra, send it to BT, and he would add a his signature stutter beats and synth leads over it. Of course, the big payoff was recording my part with a full orchestra and hearing BT’s final mix of the main theme.

I know for a fact I am not the technical whiz that BT is, and he admitted to me that orchestral composition is not his strongest suit. I think the reason the main theme was well received is because Alex Brandon found two people who love what they do and put them together to collaborate.