Keyboard Magazine Blog

Keyboard Magazine recently invited me to blog about game music. That's what I've attempted to do and you can read the results here.

Cheers!

Forza Motorsport 4 Announced at VGAs

Video here

G4TV's The Feed: "Video Game Music News Roundup and Interview with DJDM"

Hey ho there. G4TV's Rick Damigella has written a nice overview of music that's currently in several of the top games out right now.

He covers the release of Sean Murray's "Call of Duty Black Ops" OST as well as links and information about Jesper Kyd's soundtrack to "Assassins Creed: Brotherhood", Joshua R. Mosley's work on Comic Jumper (which includes a link so you can download the OST for free!) new concert dates for Video Games Live and much more. It's a great read for anyone interested in music in the current crop of games!

And as the title suggests I had a chance to talk to him about my work on Kinect Joyride and there are quotes from that interview included in the article. You can check it out here.

Cheers!

Joyride Music

Just a quick note to say that I've posted a short demo of some of the tracks I composed for Kinect Joyride. Cheers!

360 Holiday Bundle

The news just came out this week that the latest version of the Xbox Holiday Bundle includes both Forza Motorsport 3 and Alan Wake along with the new slim edition Xbox. Nice!

Joyride

Don't forget to check out Joyride today available along with Kinect. When I was hired on as a composer I had no idea it was part of the launch titles for Kinect. What a thrill to be part of this historical technology's first appearance!

Cheers!

PS Just a quick note to say that I've posted a short demo of some of the tracks I composed for Kinect Joyride. Cheers!

Microsoft Flight Video Online

Just a quick update to say that the Microsoft Flight video I scored titled "Webisode 1 Soul" is now available online: http://bit.ly/dm0ZNG

Cheers!

ASCAP Video Game Composers Roundtable

(Here is a link the article on ASCAP's site)

I had a great time in LA this week visiting with friends and attending the ASCAP Video Game Composers Roundtable. It was a fantastic meeting. Some of the industry's top talent was in that room and on the phone. I was humbled to be there among the luminaries.

Here is the write up that accompanies the photo:

ASCAP hosted the first of several Video Game Composer Roundtables in the Los Angeles office on July 20th. In attendance were some of the most prominent video game composers working in the industry, veteran game attorney Jim Charne, ASCAP staff Shawn LeMone and Jen Harmon and ASCAP Board member and composer Richard Bellis. The purpose of the discussion was to focus on establishing stronger industry standards in composer work for hire agreements and the development of an educational campaign within the video game industry on the value of performing rights."

Pictured here (L to R): Richard Bellis, Russell Brower, Tommy Tallarico, Garry Schyman, Neal Acree, Shawn LeMone, Jason Hayes, Lance Hayes, Paul Lipson, Billy Martin, Jen Harmon, Jim Charne, Inon Zur, Gerard Marino, Jack Wall. Not pictured: Rod Abernethy, Lennie Moore, Marty O'Donnell, Tom Salta, Brian Schmidt

Little Update

So I've been a little buried since E3! But there are some big updates and news. You can head over to my facebook fan page for some stuff that's in the works right now and keep checking back because there is other news in the pipeline.

Cheers!

E3 Almost Here

E3 2010 is coming up next week and I'm looking forward to visiting LA and getting a little hands on time with a couple of upcoming titles. Of course it will also be nice catching up with the many friends and colleagues I only get to see sporadically throughout the year.

This year I'm particularly excited about the Microsoft/Cirque Du Sole press event (Monday at 10am PST) because besides being a fantastic show stopper, as I'm sure it will be, it will also feature one of my cues during a reveal segment for an unannounced title.

Obviously I can't say much but if you can, check out the broadcast. This is going to be good!

More soon...

Forza 3 Nominated for a BAFTA Award

Forza Motorsport 3 is nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in the "Sports" category. Here is a link to see the competition and get more info about the awards.
The broadcast show that announces the awards is on Friday March 19th.

It's an honor just to be nominated but winning would be pretty sweet too. ;)

Cheers!

Happy St Patty's Day

This past Saturday I hung out with a friend from Dublin Ireland during the St Patty's day celebration in San Francisco. Having just attended the Game Developers Conference neither of us was particularly interested in crowds so we hopped on a ferry and headed to out into the harbor. We passed Alcatraz and had coffee in Sausalito. I felt embarrassed when we would bump into people along the way with green wigs on but he took it all in stride. We had beers at an oyster house and talked about sea food in Ireland and how they don't eat it all that much there, (meat is preferred). Then we headed into Sir La Table and purchased gifts for our families. It was not such an inspired location for me since they have stores all over the Seattle area but evidently they don't have anything like it in Dublin. He picked up a BBQ slider kit and some egg poaching cups. I grabbed some dinosaur cookie cutters and touristy magnets for the fridge.

It was the most Irish St. Patty's day I've ever had.

Forza 3 OST Review

The Forza 3 Soundtrack got a good review from G4TV's Rick Damigella. Check it out here

Airplay Update

I'm having a lot of good TV airplay right now. Some of the networks carrying programs with DJDM music: Discovery HD, National Geographic, Style Network, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Biography, PBS, History Channel, Animal Planet.

If you happen to hear any of my work out there feel free to get in touch and let me know where you're hearing it.

Cheers!

The Escapist

Here's a recent piece on the Forza OST and my work that has appeared in the The Escapist videos over the years.

Cheers!

Forza 3 Awards Wrap Up

There is much ado about FM3 from some of top publications. Besides winning top honors from X-Play and the VGAs, Forza also won awards from CNN and IGN. As this blog so deftly proves week in and week out I'm no word smith so I recommend that you get more details on the Forza site.

X-Play Best of 2009: Racing Game - "Forza 3"

More FM3 awards: X-Play Best of 2009: Racing Game - Forza 3

Forza 3 is VGA "Racing Game of the Year"!

According to a recent update on Turn 10 studio's twitter page:

Turn10Studios Forza Motorsport 3 wins best racing game of 2009 from Spike VGAs! http://twitpic.com/ta086

Good news!

Forza 3 Soundtrack Official Announcement

SUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF FORZA MOTORSPORT® 3 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Ambient Electronica Score Composed and Produced by
Lance Hayes aka DJ Drunken Master

New York - December 7th, 2009 - Sumthing Else Music Works, through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Forza Motorsport® 3 Original Soundtrack featuring the original music from the critically acclaimed racing game developed exclusively for Xbox 360. Created by the veteran team at Turn 10 Studios of Microsoft Game Studios, Forza Motorsport 3 unites the racing game genre, making it possible for everyone to experience the thrill of the world's most exotic and exquisite cars. Forza Motorsport 3 Original Soundtrack will release on Dec. 8 to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com, and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes®.

Forza Motorsport 3 Original Soundtrack includes 90 minutes of ambient electronica music created by award-winning composer and producer Lance Hayes aka DJ Drunken Master. The soundtrack features a broad range of music styles and overall chill demeanor encompassing primarily electronica, ambient and downtempo with forays into ambient breaks, illbient and acid jazz.

Composer Lance Hayes said, "This was truly a rare and amazing project to work on. I knew it had to be perfect because this was Forza but we also agreed that it had to be music that could stand on its own. We were looking for the right balance of listen-ability and edge."

With breathtaking high-definition graphics and the most advanced vehicle performance modeling in a video game, Forza Motorsport 3 includes a host of driving assists and adjustable skill levels to make the game a gripping pick-up-and-play experience for audiences of all ages and skill levels. For more information on Forza Motorsport 3, please visit www.forzamotorsport.net.

For more information on Sumthing Else Music Works and its complete catalog of video game soundtracks, please visit www.sumthing.com and www.sumthingdigital.com.

Forza Motorsports 3 Soundtrack Available for Preorder

The powerful and engrossing soundtrack CD created by composer Lance Hayes for Forza 3 is now available for preorder from Amazon.com and Best Buy.com. The release date for the Sumthing Distribution released soundtrack is December 8th (12/08/09, just in time for the holidays). It will be in select stores as a CD release as well as from all of the usual download sites (Sumthing Digital, ITunes, Zune etc.).

Featuring cuts from the primarily ambient electronica score the FM3 OST is a collection of music for the fans that want to take the feel and experience of Forza out of the gamespace or for the listener that enjoys electronic music.

The FM3 OST track listings from the Sumthing Digital site:

1 Riding The Rail
2 Visual Installation
3 Japanese Four Star
4 Base Telemetry
5 Additional Controller
6 Superleggera
7 Dialed In
8 Elapsed Time
9 Van Air
10 Road Side
11 This Final Lap
12 X Track