[GDN] You went from a cult alt-rock band to a video game composer, every kid’s dream at one point in his or her lives (sort of). Has it been as rewarding as you had hoped?

Absolutely.  With my band, the Tea Party, we were lucky enough to have good followings in Canada, Australia and Europe, but that pales in comparison to the reach of video games.  I get emails from India, Israel, Egypt, and Japan amongst other countries.  From an artistic standpoint, composing presents a musician with a much more varied template to work from, and that can result in some very rewarding musical experiences.

[GDN] How did it happen that you got into video game composing?

Like a lot of composers and audio directors, the transition from rock/pop production to gaming soundtracks is quite common.  Simon Pressey, a good friend of mine that helped produce a world music inspired record for the band contacted me out of the blue to see if I was interested in pitching for Prince of Persia Sands of Time.  Simon knew that I played a slew of exotic instruments and that I had toured to exotic locales like Turkey and Morocco. Ubisoft liked what I proposed and we went forward from there.

[GDN] You’ve been attached to the Prince of Persia titles since the Sands of Time (2003), how has the music changed in the game over the last 6 years?

Thanks to the game’s success, the budget grew on the second game and we were able to bring Inon Zur aboard to score large orchestral sessions and that definitely helped the production value.  I have always been a fan of Inon’s work, so I think it worked out well.  As we have transitioned from game to game, we have evolved the music to reflect the content of the game without neglect for the original charm of the Sands of Time soundtrack.