We managed and we got him. Perhaps we had transcended the simple concept of “luck” into that of something bigger and more consistent. Or maybe not. In any case, Smooth Town was able to corner Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin and throw at him a handful of questions. Fortunately, he answered each of them! So, here they are:
Smooth Town: Since you’ve already dominated the orchestral side of music, as evidenced by your Grammys, does it interest you to start-up a solo career and try for a Grammy in…Rap, for example?
Christopher Tin: Funny you should mention rap. My song “Mado Kara Mieru” from Calling All Dawns was recently sampled by rapper Tyga on his album “Careless World: Rise of the Last King”. You can hear me on two of his songs: “Careless World” and “Mystic”. I don’t think it’s very likely that I’ll be getting into rap anytime soon, but I do have a number of diverse interests, and I do plan on exploring more genres. My last release was a collaborative electronica album, in fact, called “God of Love”. The next release will be swinging back to the world/orchestral side, but I do enjoy playing around in different genres.
ST: If you could choose two instruments to personally play for your award-winning “Baba Yetu” piece in a live concert, which would they be and why? Also, would you consider playing them simultaneously?
CT: Interesting! Well, I suppose I could try playing percussion. I think I could rock that timpani part pretty hard and I used to play trumpet in middle school, so maybe I could strap one of those on while I hammer away.
ST: Had you never gotten picked to compose for Civilization IV, but still had the inspiration for “Baba Yetu”, what would have been the next game you could have potentially given that award-winning song to? Duke Nukem Forever?
CT: “Baba Yetu” was written because of [Civilization IV], so really it was inspired by that game. If I were writing a song for Duke Nukem, well…it probably would have been different. -smiles-
ST: Do you think the next-generation of consoles is going to need your musical abilities to survive? To be more frank, will you become the John Williams of Nintendo’s Wii U, Microsoft’s Xbox 720, and Sony’s PlayStation 4?
CT: No pressure or anything! Well, I could certainly hope for that but there are lots of great composers working in games right now and games are really just a portion of what I do. I also score films, release my own albums, write commissioned concert works, etc. But I do enjoy working on games and I look forward to working more on them.
ST: Apart from music in video-games, films, television, well music in general, have you considered having a career in some other area such as managing a construction agency or head chef of a fancy restaurant? Or have your aspirations always been big?
CT: I really have no other marketable skills other than writing music. If I weren’t a composer, I’d probably be a parking attendant or something. Oh, but I can’t drive stick…damn.
ST: Thanks for taking the time out and reaching out to Smooth Town! Have any upcoming projects you want us to be on the look-out for?
CT: Check out my recent release, “God of Love” at www.stereoalchemy.com. Also, sign up for my mailing list at www.christophertin.com for some free music!
