With a long history of soundtracking video games, including huge franchises such as Need For Speed and Fast & Furious, it wasn’t a surprise when the mythical drum & bass label RAM Records announced its new collaboration with the video game creator ‘Slightly Mad Studio‘. Withdrawing tracks from their existing catalog coupled with brand new cuts from the RAM Records roster, “Project Cars 3” has definitely hit a home-run.

To learn a bit more about this thrilling project, we sat down with the label’s manager boss, Jim Gash!

 

Q: How did the collaboration between Slighty Mad Studios and RAM Records happen?

Game director Andy Tudor has a big love for Drum & Bass and wanted to get some RAM representation on his new ‘Project Cars 3’ game, we had a few meetings and the rest is history!

 

Q: How does the creative process differ when making music for other media (i.e. not on an ep, but for a game)?

It differs considerably, there was a process and direct contact between RAM producers and the game developer in order to deliver exactly what was needed for the project. We supplied some tracks from the catalog but also had 9 bespoke made tracks that were ‘remixed’ for the game to fit in with menu music and loading screens etc.

 

Q: What stylistic decisions did artists have to take into account when making the tracks for the game? Do you have to try and make it accessible to the widest audience possible, or still create exactly what you want?

It was a very different project than just making a traditional drum & bass record. The developers had a really talented team of producers their side that were working on very orchestral led music and then the RAM producers would put their spin on this music, the guys would send the tracks back n forth to get the final finished track that was needed. Some of the tracks are very much a hybrid of drum & bass and orchestral music. It was incredibly fun to work on!

 

Q: What history does RAM records have with soundtracking video games?

RAM has soundtracked various computer games over the years, we’ve worked with hit games such as Need For Speed, Fast & Furious to name a few. We have also worked with Disney on the ‘Fantasia’ game. Working with computer games companies can be a challenge in itself, the game developers have to have the need for your music and it also has to be right for the label too.

 

Fantasia (video game) - Wikipedia

 

Q: There are some tracks already released and some others that are not. Have the unreleased ones been created especially for the game? How do you choose which track is going to fit with the video game and those which won’t?

Yes, the unreleased have all been made bespoke for the game. Choosing which tracks work and which don’t was a decision made by the developers, but we at RAM have a pretty good idea what tracks to submit for such a game. Nearly all of the bespoke tracks sent in were used and then of course we had the tracks that were made during the process of the game being built.

 

Q: Are there some gamers on the list of artists who made the soundtrack? If yes, what are they into?

Yep, there are quite a few gamers who made the soundtrack, Calyx & TeeBee, Upgrade & Syran are all pretty big gamers to name a few. We’re not sure what games they are currently into, that’s one for them 😉

 

Q: A few months ago, Ram Records launched the « Ram Gaming League » for artists/ producers to live stream their video game matches online on Twitch, how did this idea come up?

We thought this would be a great way for fans and artists to interact with each other. We’ve been working behind the scenes to find the best possible way for this interaction to take place and we’re looking to launch this properly over the coming months. You can join our discord server here – https://discord.gg/qVFTUy3

 

Q: Regarding the recent global lockdown and the actual pandemic, which has made it impossible for many events to go ahead, do you think that we are going to face more-and-more collaborations between the drum and bass industry and the video game industry? Would it be a sustainable manner for artists to survive and keep their tracks playing worldwide?

We hope so! It’s a great collaboration to have, not just for gamers but for ravers alike. We’re certainly always on the lookout to work with game developers and hope our newfound relationship with Slightly Mad Studios will be a long one.

 

Q: If you could choose a game to make the soundtrack, which one would it be?

A radio station on GTA would be sick!

 

Q: If you had to choose the best game ever, what would it be?

Super Mario!

 

Once again a massive thanks to RAM for taking the time to speak with us. You can pick up ‘Project Cars 3’ at the link below and take a listen to the awesome new exclusive tracks.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/958400/Project_CARS_3/

 

Project CARS 3 sur Steam