#81 - Mick Gordon Interview (DOOM, Killer Instinct, Mixing, Composing, Game Awards, Royalties etc.)

Mick Gordon is a video game composer who is most well known for scoring DOOM and DOOM Eternal. He has also composed numerous other games like Killer Instinct, Prey and Wolfenstein. He is widely praised for his unique composing style as well his tight mixing of video game music. SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - TWITTER - @Mick_Gordon Facebook - Mick Gordon Instagram - @mick_gordon #Doom #DoomEternal #KillerInstinct TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:14 - How Mick Ended Up Scoring For Killer Instinct/Failing Demos 04:35 - The Direction Mick Was Given For Killer Instinct 05:53 - Learning Throat Singing 08:31 - Jago Theme Set The Direction Of The Music For Killer Instinct 10:45 - The Reality Of Deadlines & Crunch 12:40 - Doing Overnighters/Domino Effects Of Problems 14:34 - Micks Mixing Tips 16:38 - Micks BFG Division Mixing Breakdown 18:39 - Bands Having Unrealistic Expectations For Mick To Master It Like BFG Division 19:20 - Selecting Particular Instruments To Use Based On Frequency Range/Layering 21:30 - The Synth Wave Melody For BFG Division 23:20 - Originally No Guitars Were Allowed In DOOM 24:19 - Rip & Tear Was Originally Rejected/BFG Division Added Late In Development 26:25 - Implementation Of The DOOM Music 27:58 - Expectations Of DOOM Eternal/Direction Of Music For DOOM Eternal 30:16 - Writing The Music And Refining It 31:50 - Into Sandy’s City Remix Being Cut From DOOM Eternal 34:54 - Getting Feedback From Rejected Demos/Seagull Managers 36:20 - Mick Gordon Remixing DOOM For Smash Bros 37:15 - Mick Doesn’t Get Royalties 38:30 - Anonymity 40:25 - How Covid Changed The Game Industry 41:20 - Difference Between Composing For Indie & AAA 42:26 - Mick Hearing His Own Music In The Gym 43:12 - Mick’s Performance At The Game Awards 48:34 - Mick Tells Game Awards Smoke Story 49:27 - Mick Wants To Work On MK/Work Mick Has At The Moment 50:15 - Reaching Out For Projects/Challenge Of Making Games 52:49 - Designers Aren’t Sure What They Want From A Composer 54:10 - Mick Actively Moves Away From Doing Projects To Similar 55:58 - Working With Bring Me The Horizon 57:33 - Differences Between Working On Music Projects As Opposed To Games 59:41 - Spinals Theme Process 1:01:10 - Mick Shows Off Kangling instrument Used For Spinals Theme 1:02:41 - Analysing Robin Beanlands Spinal Theme For Killer instinct 1:03:24 - Sampling Killer Instinct 1:04:00 - When To Keep Themes Close To The Original Tracks And When Veer Off Course 1:05:55 - Cinders Theme 1:06:25 - Robin Beanland/Recording Of Original Killer Instinct 1:07:15 - Playing Music By Ear