Myst IV Journal

Myst IV wins 3 Awards at the 3rd Annual GANG Awards
Hey - Myst IV won 3 awards for music at the 3rd annual GANG Awards up in San Francisco at the Game Developer's Conference.

1. "Best Original Vocal Song - Choral" for the Myst Revelation Main Theme
2. "Best Live Performance Recording"
3. and... "Music of the Year"!!

I'm so proud of this. Especially since GANG is now an organization made up of over 700 members who I consider my peers in the industry. A very special thanks to my great friend Tommy Tallarico for all his dedication and hard work to make the awards and GANG itself possible. You da man!

j

- Posted by Jack

G.A.N.G. Awards
Hey all, it's been a while since I had anything to report, but I just wanted to say that Myst IV: Revelation is nominated for 7 G.A.N.G. Awards (that's the Game Audio Network Guild at www.audiogang.org)!!

Nominations include:

Best Live Performance Recording
Best Original Vocal Song - Pop (Warsaw Village Band song)
Best Original Vocal Song - Choral (Main Theme)
Best Interactive Score
Audio of the Year
Best Cinematic/Cutscene Audio
Music of the Year

Nominees in all categories were selected by the GANG Board of Advisors - 42 of the top audio professionals in the game industry. I share these honors with the audio and production teams in Montreal. Way to go guys!!

For a full list of nominees, please visit www.music4games.net.

j

- Posted by Jack

A Brand New Soundtrack Update!
Just posted this on Myst/Uru Obsession website forum...

Hey all!!

I just wanted to take a second to let everyone on this forum know that noone has forgotten about you guys on the music side. I met with Didier Lord the worldwide head of music for Ubisoft just yesterday. First let me say that Didier is a BIG supporter of the music in all of Ubi's games, but he seems to have a special place in his heart for the Myst games we've worked on together. It was Didier who took it upon himself to get the mastering done at a world-class CD mastering house in Paris. He called me after it was done - said that he turned down the lights and just let the whole thing play and was completely amazed at the sound of it. He said he wished everyone could hear it just like he did with the perfect mastering in the perfect listening environment.

He completely included me in the process sending me different versions of the mastering and asked for my feedback. We went for the warm, yet crystal-clear type rather than a hyped up high end - which I wouldn't choose for this particular recording.

I won't go into the major details, but there have been some internal difficulties with getting the score out sooner. I am sorry about that. It was always our intention to get the score out at the same time as the game. However, Didier is putting Ubi through a musical "growth spurt" getting the board to understand the very complex world of music publishing and the business potential for them to exploit their growing and vast catalogue. In short, they are working diligently on a downloading platform - both on Itunes and on the Ubi.com website. Also, a more comprehensive CD distribution network is planned so this doesn't happen again. I guess sometiimes, it's more important to get your basic strategy and long term plan together vs. putting all your current attention on one project.

Nevertheless, Didier has sent the master and artwork to the San Francisco office for a limited run of CDs to be available soon on the Ubi.com website with other announcements of CD and digital distribution to follow early next year.

I'll be posting the lyrics and their translations around the same time that the CDs become available as many of you have been asking for them.

I really appreciate all the great emails and feedback I've gotten on the score. As I've said - I think I'm most proud of this score. It was a real life experience for me putting it together. Just a great time. Many thanks for all of your support!

Best,

Jack

- Posted by Jack

Myst IV: Revelation Score Nominated!!
The score to Myst IV was nominated for "Best Original Score" on Gamespot!! Wow, I'm really proud of this accomplishment as Gamespot is one of the premier game destinations on the web and I personally go there all the time to read great reviews - especially since they gave the sound a "10". Many thanks to those on the team who supported me in making the score!

More info here.

- Posted by Jack

Soundtrack Update
I heard from Didier Lord on the soundtrack front the other day. Didier is definitely hot on getting the soundtrack out as soon as possible. Their licensor (the company responsible for getting it out there) and Ubisoft are just working out the legal details and hopefully it'll get pushed through soonish. (wish I could say more!)

- Posted by Jack

Myst IV Soundtrack News - or...not
Hey Folks,

I'm sorry to report that I have nothing to report. After several attempts to find out what's up with the release of the Myst IV soundtrack, I alas, have no information. This can be attributed to perhaps some very busy people at Ubisoft working on matters more pressing than this, or that they have something else to do, or that they would rather spend their time doing something else. But, rest assured, these people are my friends, and I know that if the soundtrack is not out, there must be a good reason. Like they have more important matters to attend to.

Nonetheless, I have been getting lots of emails from some very nice people out there wondering "when" when all I can say is "I really have no idea, but I sure hope it's sooner than later". And I just wanted to keep you up-to-date that there is absolutely, unequivocally, completely reliably no news whatsoever on this front. Furthermore, I don't have one speck or shread or sliver or morsel of information regarding same.

But, whatever the reason, I do know that at some point it will be released, because the darn thing was mastered wonderfully by a Mastering Lab in Paris even before the game was released. I've heard it, it sounds really great. I also know that there will be over 1 hour of music on it and that the liner notes will be extensive - since I wrote them along with Genevieve Lord (Producer), Patrick Fortier (Lead Designer) and a special section by Andrew Keech - a movie music reviewer from London town. I wrote up the stuff that was in my head when I wrote what I wrote.

In any case, the music is in the game, so it does exist in that form and for that I am grateful. And I am even more grateful, for the many, many emails I get each day about the score and how much people like it. I try to respond to every single one of them. It's really nice that people take the time to write and I think it's a good idea to write back. In other words, I enjoy it.

I hope you all are well, and for those in America, Happy Thanksgiving. There's alot to be thankful for I think. It's been a good year. For those in other countries, I'm sorry about Bush. I did what I could. :)

Jack

- Posted by Jack

Dream
Just played the joyride into Dream for the first time. Man, the folks at Ubisoft do some incredible work. I loved it -- and Peter Gabriel's song and his voice work are stellar. Really cool stuff. Have to say - it brought a tear to my eye. Great art always does!

- Posted by Jack

Myst IV Revelation - Official Soundtrack
Looks like the official Revelation soundtrack will be released in mid-November! We were aiming for a simultaneous release, just so you know, but these things are complicated. The CD will be available all over Europe and in North America as an import. Also on the Ubi.com website. Itunes will be carrying not only some of the tracks from Revelation but from Exile as well! It will be nice to have all this stuff available as many of you have emailed me personally trying to find the dang thing!

Thanks for your patience.

Hopefully, by the time the CD is released, my website will allow comments and I can find out what you think of it!

- Posted by Jack

Myst IV - ranked #1 on Gamespot today! Wow, that's cool. Check it out at the bottom of the homepage at www.gamespot.com.

- Posted by Jack

Hey - very exciting... Myst IV just got it's first review from Gamespot and the game got an 8.5!!

Here's what they said about the sound and music in the game:

"Myst has always been known for featuring some outstandingly good ambient sound, and this is also true of Myst IV. The little tapping noises are an excellent part of the experience, and so is the game's outstanding, mystifying ambient musical score, featuring chorus vocals in many cases. The different ages you'll explore manage to sound every bit as distinctive as they look. Sound: 10/10"

Congratulations to Mathieu Jeanson, lead sound designer, to Jocelyn Daoust and the rest of the audio team at Ubisoft Montreal! They worked really, really hard on this and totally deserve this review. I know that the music sounds better surrounded by their amazing sonic environments.

Check out the full review here .

- Posted by Jack

Well, Myst IV is now behind me. I mean I finished it weeks ago, but now that it's Gold Master, it feels very, very done. I like that feeling, although it comes with a certain bittersweet melancholy as well. What a great experience, honestly. The team was always like family. Just a great feeling between everyone at Ubisoft Montreal - Jeremi, Catherine, then Genevieve, Katie, Mathieu, Jocelyn, Patrick, Pascal - of course Mary! Just a great time. Then there's Ubisoft Paris - Didier, Judit and Gabrielle. Just fantastic people all around. I'll miss it - but can't wait to get my copy of the game! It was a real life experience that, in it's own way has changed me forever.

Love to all!

Jack

- Posted by Jack

Man, it's finally done. Myst IV is in the bag. On Friday, I counted the minutes of music written - 104!! I'm telling you, the whole thing came in waves with rather large breaks in between, but this last push was intense. All the implementation and mixing. The in-game mix of music is really varied (well, with 104 minutes, it would have to be!!). I definitely feel a little like Homer - back from the Odyssey. Traveling to Europe 3 times - Paris, Bratislava, Warsaw, Montreal twice - definitely a journey and it is very satisfying to listen to the music in it's final state. I sincerely hope that the Myst fans feel it a worthly successor to Exile, done me best I have!

- Posted by Jack

It's been a few weeks, but I've been super busy nonetheless! Basically, I had a couple of brilliant sessions in here in LA with the Phil Smith singers. Worked with 6 of them, including Cindy who came in to consult and sing the Bulgarian style since we couldn't finish in Montreal. You may remember Cindy from Myst III - she sang a bit with the choir on the "Main Theme" and "Theme from Amateria" and also did the solo on "Theme from Edanna" - one of my personal faves...

I'm finishing up and the in-game mixing today and tomorrow before I leave to do a major press event in Paris tomorrow. The event takes place on Thursday, July 8th and Ubisoft was very generous to invite some key members of the development team to speak about making Myst IV to over 60 prominent music, game and mainstream entertainment journalists in Europe. The buzz on this game is really great - so far every write-up has been more than positive - some calling it the best ever in the series - and one saying "this Myst fixes all the problems we've ever associated with Myst." I totally agree. I think this game will be an absolute joy to play.

I'm also looking forward early this week to getting my first builds of Jade Empire. Right after I finish the Myst IV score and implementation (on or about July 15th), I launch headlong into finishing the Jade Empire score. It's going to be a busy summer folks!!

- Posted by Jack

Back in Los Angeles. Mixing my bounty from Bratislava and Warsaw. I had to take the weekend off though. The trip was intense and it definitely called for a respite!

Also organizing some additional choir sessions here in LA. We just didn't get enough done in Montreal. I'm happy that I'll be working again with Phil Smith who contracted for the Myst III sessions. I'm sure we'll get it done with Phil.

By next Friday, should have most of the mixing complete and it will just be a matter of putting it all in the game properly. Also, managing to get some work done for Jade Empire which will be my next hyperfocus project. I really enjoy focusing on one project until it's done, then moving onto the next. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way, but looks like this transition will work perfectly.

Overall, the trip was a tremendous success! We got some great tracks recorded. The Warsaw Village Band mixes came out great - really unique and different. Hopefully, people will embrace them. They are an incredible band.

Also, will be taking a quick trip back to Paris on June 8th for a European press event for Myst IV. I will finish mixing the Main Theme before then, so we can give them a preview.

- Posted by Jack

Man, what an intense day... Recording choir parts (I don't know... maybe 5?) for the Main Theme was intense. Lots of close harmonies - that's what makes that Balkan sound. Sounds powerful. Still alot more work to get to today. The special thing about the Dragana choir is how they do certain things like noone else. Will be getting most of that today. Back to work!

- Posted by Jack

Made it to Montreal! Today and tomorrow we're going into Pollack Hall at McGill University to record the Dragana Choir. Lot of work to do so I'll have to be brief. Since I've got that great North American internet connection back, I thought I'd post some photos finally of what went on in Warsaw. What a cool place...

Here's the Palac of Kulture (forgive the spelling!)
"A gift from the Soviet communist regime" as my friends in the band called it. Noone seemed particularly thrilled by this gift, but nonetheless it's just about the most prominent building in Warsaw.

This was an open air concert going on the day I arrive in Warsaw. The music was great - I knew I came here for a reason! This was in old town which looks pretty new. Probably because it is - Warsaw was completely leveled in WWII...

The 3 string in the Warsaw Village Band... Maja (Maya), Wojtek (Voytek), and Silwia (Silvia).

The 2 percussion players, Maciej (Macie-ay), and Piotr (Peter).

The Polish Dulcimer player, Magda (that's Magda in English!)

Kind of a dark view from the control room...

Maciej, Yarek (engineer), me, Wojtek, Maja, Silwia, Peter. Not pictured is Magda who had some sort of food poisoning, early in the day and put in an incredible effort so I let her go early.

And here's Polish Myst fan Danny. Great to meet him. He came by for the entire day!

Back tomorrow...

- Posted by Jack

The Warsaw Village Band was just incredible in the studio. They came so ready, so prepared. The arrangement they worked out of the song I wrote for them really captured their style, yet it works great for the game because it was written for that purpose. What a unique experience for me to work with this band that way! There are 3 guys and 3 girls. All the girls do the singing. They are just a marvel to listen to. The harmonies they produce are so locked. When you hear them singing with the band, playing their own material (yes, they gave me a special concert!), it defies logic, expectation and belief. They are just spectacular and each person in the band brings something unique and special. It was an inspiration just to meet them honestly. One interesting thing was that most of the band didn't speak much English. And I of course, speak zero Polish! Frustrating at times on both sides, but the music kept us going with little trouble!

Special thanks to Wojtek Krzak (fiddle player in the band) who coodinated with me to make it all happen. Great guy! Also thanks to our engineer at Studio Buffo - Yarek Regulski. He was such an asset to our effort to cut the 2 tracks in one day! Very professional and helpful. From my background as an engineer, I can safely say that both Peter Fuchs and Jarek are great engineers - both put me to shame! Just great sounding tracks!!

Also, of special note, Danni, a Myst fan from Warsaw came by for the entire session to hang out. It was really great meeting him and having his presence in the studio.

Headed for Montreal with some great tracks from Bratislava and Warsaw. Euro mission accomplished! Off to record Dragana. Hey, I'd better write those last 2 tracks...

- Posted by Jack

Met with the Warsaw Village Band last night. Had a great rehearsal of the song I wrote for them - man were they prepared!! It sounded amazing. Will be in the studio today at 3pm Warsaw time. Should be a great day! Again, no way to upload pics of Warsaw and the band yet, but I'll upload when I get access from either London or Montreal.

Might be going to see Peter Gabriel at Real World on the 10th - not confirmed yet. We'll just have to see if schedules (Venus?) line up.

- Posted by Jack

Still flying from the Bratislava sessions! This morning and then on the plane to Warsaw, I had to write a choir part on top of one of the cues we did yesterday for the upcoming Dragana Choir sessions in Montreal. Man, do the tracks sound great. I'm really happy with the sound that Peter Fuchs got from that wonderful space they have at Slovak Radio - it's just luscious!! Fun writing on the plane - portastudio on a laptop. What a trip.

I have definitely landed in Warsaw. This place rocks. First of all, coming in on the plane was interesting. Somebody must have invested a boatload of cash since WWII because there seems to be a ton of rebuilding done since the Nazis took it out. I'm staying right down the street from Old Town. Cool place. Took a stroll down there this afternoon and there was an incredible Polish Ska/Reggae band and then another group (amazing music) playing on a huge stage in the square. No wonder I came to Poland to work on music! Must be the Chopin influence - you hear it all over the place. Had some dinner and just soaked up the sites. Apparently, all the buildings have been reconstructed from photographs, paintings, and drawings. Man, the history is humbling...

Love it here so far. I start work with the Warsaw Village Band tomorrow in the AM. Very excited to work with them and see what they do with the song I wrote for them!

Took some great photos, but internet is a bit sketchy here so I can't get on from my laptop. Will post when I can...

- Posted by Jack

Just got back from my batch of sessions at the Slovak Radio building...

The sessions went fantastic. The musicians were great. After the first day, I literally thought I was going to have to scrap about 7 minutes of music, but sometime about 45 minutes before the end of the last session I realized it was ALL going to be done! Big relief!

Had a nice visit here in Bratislava by fellow GANG member Ata Heger and his wife Kriszta representing the Budapest crowd. And Pavel Dubrovsky - Czech man extraordinaire (game journalist) stopped by to graciously add me to his DVD project he's got going which will include interviews and music from various game composers from around the world.

A BIG HUGE thank you to the production team who who helped me get this on. Many, many thanks to all! Pictured are:
Paul Talkington (contractor and nice guy), me (what am I thanking myself for?), Alan Wilson (score reader and English Gentleman), Peter Fuchs (That's "Fooks" for those of you who were wondering - I know I was! - Fabulous Tonmeister), and Marian Turner (Orchestra Manager and native Slovakian). Not pictured are Steve Zuckerman (my trusted long time friend and orchestrator!), Audrey DeRoche (My amazing music coordinator), Ross DeRoche (Copyist...NOT ONE MISTAKE MAN!), Brian Didomenico (my trusted assistant who, without, I never would have made it on the plane) Marten (sorry, only got the first name - Tonmeister's assistant).

More shots from the session...

"I'm goin' to Disneyland!"

- Posted by Jack

Went to visit the Slovak Radio Concert Hall. Very nice sound. Should be alot of fun. We start recording the Myst IV: Revelation score tomorrow night at 5pm Slovakian time. That's about 8am pacific. Hey, want to send a nice big shout out to my daughter Gracie Wall who's reading this every day! Hey girl!

Here are some photos of beautiful Bratislava!

The view from my hotel room:

In the old town:

- Posted by Jack

Back at it...

Leaving this afternoon for Bratislava, Slovakia to record the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. 76 pieces. Wow, should be fun!

Paris has been, of course, amazing. Cindy left for LA yesterday (sniff...) which means it's all work from here. No problem though. I'm really psyched to finally get to the recording of the Myst IV score (not to mention that I still have 4 cues to write for the choir in Montreal!!! It's pretty incredible that my laptop is basically a travelling composer's studio. Not to mention that I'm just sitting here in teh hotel lobby typing and totally connected to the world wirelessly. I love my powerbook!

So here's some photos from Paris. One day I'll get with Ryan and figure out how to upload photos to the actual "Photos" section of the website!! :)

Cindy and I went for a day to visit Didier Lord and wife Lea out in the countryside of Normandy. We went to see a little village called Gerberoy:

Didier doing his, what I call, "Paul McCartney" impression:

Me doing my "Leonardo Da Vinci" impression!

And for those vulnerable to conspiracy theory (hey, I really WAS in Paris!!!):

See you in Bratislava...

- Posted by Jack

The Peter Gabriel show was amazing! We had front rows seats courtesy of Peter and Rob Bozas at Real World and Didier Lord at Ubisoft and it was just a great show. I love so many of the songs he performed from "More Than This", "Diggin' in the Dirt", "Sledgehammer", a bunch of other classics to "Downside Up" - just a great tune with great theatrics. Loved, loved, loved it. Unfortunately, didn't get a chance to meet then with Peter and company. Apparently, they were a bit tired from celebrating Richard Evans birthday the night before! Oh well, we'll meet soon to discuss some special surprises in store that we're putting together for the Myst fans!

Just a great great show!

Here's a shot from our seats:

- Posted by Jack

Greetings Myst Fans!!!

So today is the day! I'm right now leaving the studio for the ugliest airport in the world to fly to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Paris. I'm taking Cindy and we're going to meet up with Didier Lord, head of music worldwide for Ubisoft and take in the inimitable Peter Gabriel in concert at Bercy!!! Woooooo hooooooo!!!!

I believe we're going back stage afterwards so i can tell him how happy we all are with the brilliant work he did on Myst IV. Life is good.

Well, I'm off. Stay tuned as I plan to blog often on this trip and basically keep a diary of what I'm sure will be and amazing recording tour through parts of Europe I never thought I'd see... Again, life is good.

- Posted by Jack

I'm really cranking on both Myst and the Bioware project. Having loads of fun writing every day. Not much time for much else at the moment. The real challenge right now is organizing the major trip I've got coming up to Paris - to see Peter Gabriel in concert - then Bratislava to record their 76 piece orchestra for Myst IV, then off to Warsaw to work with the inimitable Warsaw Village Band, then Montreal to work with Dragana. A really amazing choir that specializes in the Balkan style made famous by the Bulgarian Women's Choir. While I'm over there, I have about 7 days to myself out of the 3 weeks I'll be gone. I'll be writing for Bioware's project no doubt on the road! Lots to do on that yet.

This Thursday, I'm going to have 7 Taiko drummers banging away for that project. Very much looking forward to that. Frantically prepping for them to record about 8 pieces. Should be a nice huge sound. Man I love live music. Really gets the blood flowing.

Incidentally, I had the privilege of attending a Jame Horner scoring session last week. My friends Brian O'Connor and Phil Ayling set me up to take a family from my daughter's school to the session. It was intense. 113 players at Todd-AO with 5 pianos and a 20 voice choir from England singing in, you guessed it, the Bulgarian/Balkan style!! They were off the hook!! They did an impromptu performance for the 113 member orchestra and they were perfect. Just amazing.

Well, back to work, 2 more cues to finish for the Bioware project.

- Posted by Jack

The new site is live!! This is a test blog to check if the Blogger is working. Thanks to Ryan Keaveney for really doing a great job with the site. It's exactly what I wanted. Of course, I really have to get on the stick with some of the content that needs to be uploaded, but hey, things are massively busy these days!! I'm working my bones off on Myst Revelation - announced just last Monday finally. Hey, I can talk about this!! Just alot of fun. Also, I'm doing another really big project with Bioware that has me all a flutter. Very exciting stuff. I'll write later, I'm going to drop.

- Posted by Jack