Podcasts by Composer Code

5 Things I Learned from Gareth Coker from 2021-08-27T17:01:11

What the composer of Ori and the Blind Forest and Halo Infinite taught me about making music for games.

Oozing into Game Audio with Jason Graves from 2020-07-08T14:39:33

Jason Graves is a game audio veteran with numerous AAA titles under his belt including Dead Space and Tomb Raider (2013)

Ep 27: Oozing into Game Audio with Jason Graves from 2020-07-08T14:39:33

Jason Graves is a game audio veteran with numerous AAA titles under his belt including Dead Space and Tomb Raider (2013)

The Principles of Orchestration with Eric Buchholz from 2020-07-06T04:00

Eric Buchholz is a talented composer and orchestrator who offered a glimpse into his illustratious career as well as valuable orchestration principles.

Ep 26: The Principles of Orchestration (Eric Buchholz) from 2020-07-06T04:00

Eric Buchholz is a talented composer and orchestrator who offered a glimpse into his illustratious career as well as valuable orchestration principles.

Monetizing Your Passion with Sydney Kjerstad (Smart Game Piano) from 2020-07-02T05:00

Sydney Kjerstad is a talented pianist, arranger, entrepreneur and VGM geek with tons of arrangement and business wisdom. Listen to our conversation now.

Ep 25: Arranging VGM for Piano and Monetizing Your Passion (Sydney Kjerstad, Smart Game Piano) from 2020-07-02T05:00

Sydney Kjerstad is a talented pianist, arranger, entrepreneur and VGM geek with tons of arrangement and business wisdom. Listen to our conversation now.

Ep 24: Tapping into Your Playful Side and Embracing Relationships (Tom Salta) from 2020-06-29T03:21

Tom is an ASCAP winning and MTV VMA-nominated composer who’s been in the biz for a long time and has an impressive list of both TV and game credits including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Red Stee...

Ep 23: Infusing Songwriting with Game Audio (Darren Korb) from 2019-06-06T15:41:49

Darren Korb is a game composer working for Supergiant Games. He's composed the soundtracks to smash indie hits like Transistor, Bastion, Pyre, and Hades. 

His upbringing as a singer/songwr...

Ep 22: Ukuleles, Dank Beats, and Composing Under Constraints (Daniel Koestner) from 2019-05-31T20:11:34

Daniel Koestner is a newcomer to the game audio space, but his style draws influences from some unusual places and culminates in a sound unlike anything else.



He composed the s...

Ep 21: Landing Game Audio Gigs with Class (Nathan Madsen) from 2019-05-25T00:45:06

Nathan Madsen is a seasoned game audio composer with years of experience in both in-house and freelance roles. We chatted about best practices in landing gigs, the pros and cons of freelance vs. in...

Ep 20: Harnessing Creative Anxiety Through Music (Chad Seiter) from 2019-05-24T23:41:23

Chad Seiter is a game composer that I met at the recent VGMCon in Minneapolis, MN. He's an experienced and really humble dude that shared a lot of his own experiences, both personal and professiona...

Ep 19: Succeeding as a Family-First Composer (Steven Melin) from 2019-04-16T09:30:37

Steven Melin is no stranger to the podcast. He's a good friend and a great composer, and he's been quite busy for the past several months... writing a book!



In this episode, we...

Ep 18: Starting with a Soundscape (Cajsa Larsson) from 2019-03-30T13:43:47

We talk about Cajsa's unique approach to starting a song, how she founded a game company with friends from her university (Forgotten Key), and how she uses a very cool sound-stretching plugin to cr...

Ep 16: The (Inevitable) Interview with Grant Kirkhope (Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye 007) from 2019-02-28T01:34:18

Grant Kirkhope is a man who needs no introduction. He’s the talented composer behind some of the most beloved classics on the N64 like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Goldeneye 007, and Perfect Dark.

8 Things I Learned from Grant Kirkhope from 2019-02-28T01:34:18

Grant Kirkhope is a man who needs no introduction. He’s the talented composer behind some of the most beloved classics on the N64 like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, Goldeneye 007, and Perfect Dark.

Ep 17: Cool People Attract Cool People (Matthew Carl Earl) from 2019-02-13T01:46:37

I talk with Matthew about some of the benefits of full-time employment vs. freelancing, but also some really organic, practical ways to build relationships and ultimately get paying work as a compo...

Ep 15: Connecting with your Instrument and Crushing Writer’s Block (Chase Bethea) from 2019-01-21T13:29

I talked with Chase about how he got into video game music, how he practices "connecting" with his instrument, and he shared some incredible techniques for beating writer's block. Seriously, every ...

Ep 14: Contrapuntal Chiptune, Orchestration, and the Power of Notation (Tony Manfredonia) from 2019-01-04T21:00:09

I chatted with Tony about his origin story, the indelible impact of games like Majora's Mask, and how he approaches orchestrating a piano sketch.

Ep 13: Analyzing Video Game Music with 8-bit Music Theory from 2018-11-20T00:32:51

This episode is a little special, as we actually analyze a few video game pieces in real time (download the transcriptions below to follow along) and talk more about the value of transcription.

Ep 12: Strategies for Getting Gigs and Playing the Long Game (Emmanuel Lagumbay) from 2018-08-08T14:46:14

We talk through Emmanuel's composing process, his personal experience networking with game developers, and he shares some practical tips for building your career as a video game music composer.

Ep 11: How to Build Worlds with the Orchestra (Garry Schyman) from 2018-07-11T19:45:20

We talked about mastering the orchestra, breaking into the video game music industry, and he imparted valuable lessons about the difference between film and game composition.

Ep 10: Scoring A Galaxy Far, Far Away (Gordy Haab) from 2018-06-29T17:10:36

Gordy Haab is a multi-award-winning film, video game and television composer who has written music for many well-known titles, including most recently: Microsoft’s “Halo Wars 2, and EA’s “Star Wars...

Ep 9: Where VGM and EDM Collide (James Landino) from 2018-05-30T23:31:19

We chatted about James' current freelance journey, the intersection of game music and electronic music, and the power of being really good at one single thing. He shared his perspective on how to b...

Ep 8: Music Theory is Math That Makes Art (12tone) from 2018-05-25T01:02:07

12tone is one of the leading content creators in the music theory space, consistently delivering value with his signature top-down hand-written style of teaching.

Ep 7: Practical Advice on Getting Gigs and Creative Constraints (Taylor Ambrosio Wood) from 2018-05-20T06:00:48

I had the pleasure of speaking with Taylor Ambrosio Wood, a Berklee grad, marimbist, and talented video game composer.

How to get paid as a VGM artist with Sebastian Wolff from 2018-05-11T02:10:12

In this dense episode of Composer Code, I chat with the guru of music business knowledge: Sebastian Wolff.

Ep 6: The Sage of VGM Metadata Will Help You Get Paid (Sebastian Wolff) from 2018-05-11T02:10:12

In this dense episode of Composer Code, I chat with the guru of music business knowledge: Sebastian Wolff.

Putting a deadline on creativity with Carlos Eiene (insaneintherainmusic) from 2018-05-11T01:59:17

Success = consistency over perfection. That's the biggest takeaway I took from my value-packed interview with Carlos Eiene, aka, insaneintherainmusic.

Ep 5: Creativity, Deadlines, Spreadsheets, and VGM Jazz (insaneintherainmusic / Carlos Eiene) from 2018-05-11T01:59:17

Success = consistency over perfection. That's the biggest takeaway I took from my value-packed interview with Carlos Eiene, aka, insaneintherainmusic.

Composing for Cuphead with Kris Maddigan from 2018-05-11T01:54:12

I had the privilege of interviewing Cuphead composer Kris Maddigan.

Ep 4: Cuphead Composer Interview (Kris Maddigan) from 2018-05-11T01:54:12

I had the privilege of interviewing Cuphead composer Kris Maddigan.

Ep 3: Dealing with Creative Burnout (Steven Melin) from 2018-05-11T01:38:35

I sat down with my good buddy and fellow composer Steven Melin to chat about creative burnout. This recorded conversation was recently featured on his podcast, Sonic Storytellers.

Ep 2: Stealing – the Only Path to Originality (8-bit Music Theory) from 2018-05-11T01:29:56

I had the awesome privilege of interviewing my favorite YouTube content creator, 8-bit Music Theory.

Ep 1: How to Become a Video Game Composer (Steven Melin) from 2017-12-07T21:34:20

Steven Melin is a multi-talented video game composer out of Atlanta. I discovered his YouTube channel through poking around for some video game music theory resources.

Ep 0: 21 Ways to Compose Better Video Game Music (Super Marcato Bros) from 2017-10-03T00:08:50

The Super Marcato Bros are Karl and Will Brueggemann. They are prolific video game music composers, podcasters, performers, enthusiasts, and all-around nice guys.