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Gallery
 "Synthesized",
Symbion Project, Amplitude for the PS2 This is one
of the songs I wrote for Amplitude in the Drum'n'Bass genre.
I used Reason 2.0 and Motu Digital Performer 3 to create this song.
The featured vocals are Liz Enthusiasm from the band Freezepop.
Because Amplitude was more song driven, I wanted this piece
to have more of a standard song form and a catchy vocal hook to
make it memorable. It also ended up being one of the last songs
in the game, so I had to make it frenetic to up the difficulty.
[MP3]
"Funky
Dope Maneuver", Symbion Project, FreQuency for the PS2
This is one of the pieces I composed for FreQuency in the
bigbeat genre. I was never a huge fan of this song but it got a
really good response from fans of the game who haven't stopped bugging
me about posting an mp3 somewhere. This was done primarily with
Reason and a Nord Lead1. [MP3]
"FreQuency
Metagame Music" loop, FreQuency for the PS2
This is one of many loops I created to run during the pre-game screens.
I went for a more laid-back, dark vibe for most of those loops since
they sometimes get left on for a long time. [MP3]
"Cool
Baby!", DJ HMX, Amplitude for the PS2 "Cool
Baby!" features the great singer Naoko on this fun, energetic
house track that I wrote for Amplitude. Once again, Reason
and Digital Performer are the tools I used. This type of song works
great for this kind of game since the drums tracks provide a solid
foundation which helps when playing the more rhythmically challenging
tracks. [MP3]
"Robot
Rockerz", Komputer Kontroller, Amplitude for the PS2
For an edgy electo/techno kind of piece, I wanted a vocoder-driven
dance track that also had a bunch of catchy melodies to make it
more pop oriented. I used Reason, Nord Lead1, Nord Modular, Digital
Performer to make this piece. The vocoder is a 1979 Roland VP330
analog vocoder. Dreamy!
[MP3]
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 Game
Development Gallery
Music
& Sound Effects Gallery
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Kassan
Crooker
Lead
Audio Composer / Sound Designer
Harmonix Music Systems
Home:
Cambridge, MA
Email:
kasson@harmonixmusic.com
Web:
http://www.freq.com
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| Current
Projects: |
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Karaoke
Revolution (developed by Harmonix for Konami).
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| Credits:
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Amplitude,
FreQuency, Grand Prix Legends
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| Bio: |
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After
graduating from Berklee with an MP&E degree in 1995, I started
off in the audio industry at Lexicon doing product testing
and preset development, working on the MPX1, PCM90, and 960.
My introduction to the game industry came in 1997 when I joined
Papyrus (Sierra) as their audio person and worked on the Grand
Prix Legends racing game. After a brief stint signed to
Capitol Records with my band Splashdown, I was brought on
to work at Harmonix to write the in-house music for the PS2
game, FreQuency. Under different pseudonyms, I crafted
a number of songs in different genres for FreQuency,
and the sequel Amplitude, which has just been released.
I have also worked on a number of freelance projects, including
Volkswagon's websites, mastered several full length CD's,
and continue to compose and tour with my bands Freezepop and
Symbion Project. You can contact me at kasson@harmonixmusic.com
or on the web at www.freezepop.net
and www.symbionproject.com.
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Why
I Got into the Industry:
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It
seemed like fun. A way to compose music for interactive and
immersive environments has interesting potential as opposed
to fixed media. Making sounds is also quite a challenge and
a rewarding one when you enhance the scene or character.
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Tools
I Can't Live Without:
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Reason.
It's quick and I get great results immediately. It's like
Acid in terms of quickness, but you dont have to deal with
your audio getting mangled with all the time expansion.
I also use Digital Performer -- this has always been the best
sequencer and audio editing tool for me.
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| Favorite
Game Music: |
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I'm
a sucker for the super catchy melodies from Burgertime
and other early 8-bit games.
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| Inspiration: |
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insprired by many different mediums. From the music end, I'm
inspired by Radiohead, Bjork, Lamb, Portishead. From the art
end, it's Mondrian and minimalist scandinavian design. I'm also
inspired by books like Neuromancer and Cryptonomicon,
and movies like 2001 and Bladerunner. |
| Music
I Listen To While Working: |
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Low,
Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, JJ Fad, Six Million Dollar
Man record, you know, normal stuff.
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