‘Halo 4’ Soundtrack: Massive Attack’s Neil Davidge on the Game Score, Remix Album and Getting Pwned by his Daughter
As video games continue evolving into grand cinematic experiences, their soundtracks have become ever-increasingly integral to the experience. Long gone are the tinny, 80s-era chiptunes of yore, since replaced by orchestral scores produced by world-class composers — and now even remix albums by chart-topping electronic artists.
In the case of the hotly anticipated Halo 4, which kicks off a new trilogy cycle in one of gaming’s greatest franchises, Massive Attack producer Neil Davidge has taken over the reins from Marty O’Donnell, the granddaddy of Halo soundtracks. It was a daunting task, but Davidge, an avid Halo player, couldn’t wait to get started after being wowed by a life-sized statue of Halo main character Master Chief at Microsoft’s 343 Industries Washington studio in late-2010.
In fact, he was so excited that he went straight home to his Bristol studio to get a head start, months ahead of schedule.
“I’ve been playing Halo since the beginning,” Davidge tells Huffington Post Canada Music. “We played the first one a half-dozen times with friends, in the studio and with my daughter. Going back and trying to formulate my ideas for the score, I went back and played them again!”
GO TO HUFFINGTON POST MUSIC FOR THE FULL STORY AND SOUNTRACK REMIX PREVIEWS!
Iriomote Cat – Smaller Asian Exotic Cats Series
Iriomote cat Iriomote-yamaneko “Iriomote mountain cat” (西表山猫)
The iriomote is critically endangered with only 250 members of its species in existence! Related to the leopard, Iris inhabit the tiny island of Iriomote (280 sq km), and probably due to it’s island habitat, are only about the size of the average house cat, 5–60 centimeters long and weigh 3.5–5 kilograms. Apparently they are not the best jumpers, and have less flexible spines, but are still powerful as forest-dwelling hunters. They also have an external as opposed to internal scent gland which means they might spray more, or would that mean less? Find out way more at the Iriomote wiki page
WW by Justin Broadbent
Some of the latest from Toronto’s Justin “Heisenberg” Broadbent. Keep a watch on this guy.
NYC SODA BAN??? They done Mountain Dew-ed IT!
So I guess some people will protest no matter what the cause, to exercise their civil rights but this one was a little ridiculous. Completed by art collective, New York Art Department who were hired ON BEHALF OF PEPSICO (the email arrived from a pepsico.com address) the team feverishly tried to stop the impending Mayor Bloomberg ban with an Instagram-based social media and postering campaign. Nice try, but the ban was passed and soon all “city-regulated” outlets will be prohibited from selling soft drinks in containers over 16 oz, but there are plenty of loop holes as chains like 7-11 are still off the radar. For a complete breakdown of the impacts, you can refer to this excellent video by Casey Neistat for the New York Times.
–
CC Mixed & Ready presents: The Sheepdogs @ Echo Beach Sept 2012
The Sheepdogs first flew onto my radar last March when I ducked into a room they were playing in at the Royal York Hotel during registration at Canadian Music Week 2012. I was told that there would be free beer in said room, but it was all drank, and so I left. The irony is delicious, but maybe not as delicious as free beer. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the Sheepdogs then, but I can’t say their burly country-tinged 70s rock really spoke to me any more than they do today. I applaud them for all their success and Rolling Stone cover, winnings, etc. and I appreciate that a great band needs an even better team behind them.
Last night’s show, brought to us by Canadian Club Mixed & Ready was entirely delicious and nutritious to the eyes, ears and mouths of all who attended and here’s the proof:
#capturedinTO – Ubisoft’s Motion Capture Studio launch party!
Because I love dorks, dorkshelf.com and dorky Toronto publications, and Raju Mudhar, I’ll quote directly from their post seen here. See my photos from the Ubisoft launch party and their new state of the art motion capture studio!
“Ubisoft has opened a new, state-of-the-art motion capture studio in its Toronto location. The new technology will be used in the upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist as well as future projects by the publisher. Spanning 2,000 square feet, lined with padding and metal scaffolding, and containing 80 cameras, Ubisoft said in a press release that it will allow them to “create deeper characters, more immersive storytelling and more filmic, actor-driven games.
According to the Toronto Star’s Raju Madhar, the new technology can capture bodies, faces and sounds all at the same time, when only a few years ago these had to be recorded separately. Because of this new integration of recording technology, Blacklist’s director David Footman called it “performance capture, not motion capture.
“Everything we’ve learned in the last 10 years has gone into this stage. It makes shooting easier than it ever has been before,” continued Footman. “What it’s starting to do is make the technology invisible and allow us to focus on the performance.”
It sounds like exciting tech could be put to use for new levels of fidelity in games development right here in Toronto. Of course, we’re all just waiting for Assassin’s Creed 3 hero Connor to interrogate his captives by judging Templars’ facial expressions, L.A. Noire style.”
Revolution AFTER PARTY – C Lounge
Rob Stewart made huge waves in 2006 with his revolutionary eco-doc Sharkwater that almost single-handedly changed the face of shark-finning on a global scale by raising awareness for sharks, and bringing in a swarm of countries to join the ban on the cruel practice.
His new movie, Revolution, just premiered at TIFF 2012, and focuses on saving the human race as a whole, because sharks are really just the tip of the iceberg. See below for snaps from the film’s after party hosted at C-Lounge in downtown Toronto. The club was outfitted with mermaids, and a real menagerie of stuffed animals donated by the WWF. As well, shout outs to Electricity events for bringing in the electric violinist who tore up the dance floor with his accompanying house beats.
CC Mixed & Ready Free Sheepdogs Show! Sept 15 –
Hey guys, I have a pair of free tickets to give away for the Sheepdogs, Yukon Blonde, Sadies and Zeus show this Saturday Sept. 15 at Echo Beach, thanks to CC Mixed & Ready. CC Mixed & Ready is basically pre-mixed ginger ale, or Coke and Canada Club that comes in a can ready for you to drink. It’s kind of a new thing for the Canadian market, although I know the Aussies are lightyears ahead of us on this fad. Follow the Shipwrckd Facebook page guidelines to win!
BLUE ALLEY – Skyy Vodka’s Unofficial Official TIFF Kickoff Party – Sept 5
Catwalks, media celebrities, contortionists, and open bars, oh my! The Blue Alley party had all of those and more, like a New York City styled fire escape/catwalk space that housed a dj and a three storied dance dance space. Entering the party we were escorted to the third floor and then took a freight elevator into the back ‘blue’ alley, stylized after the iconic blue Skyy Vodka bottles. Not a bad day to start the week, and not a bad birthday fête pour moi! (btw, did you know that the little accent circonflex was used to replace a vestigial ‘s’ that was used in ancient french, making it sound more like english?)
River Tiber – What Are You Afraid Of
Song and music video almost entirely self-produced. Some nice mellow post-Radiohead-esque sombrefying Autumn tunes.
Directed/Shot/Edited by Tommy Paxton-Beesley
Written/Recorded/Produced/All instruments, vocals, samples and sounds performed by Tommy Paxton-Beesley
Mixed/Mastered by Tommy Paxton-Beesley & Dan Beeson (magneticaudiotone.com)
Bass, Guitar Loop, & Live Drums tracked by Jesse Vengrove (jessevengrove.com)
rivertiber.com | twitter.com/rivertiber | facebook.com/rivertiber | youtube.com/rivertibermusic | rivertiber.tumblr.com
