L1 - Lineage 1 Composer Interview : L1 Lineage 1 News

Roo: So music is in your veins!
Joey: Indeed! my grandfather was Lionel Newman - composer/conductor and head of the 20th Century Fox Music Department for about 26 years. He's also the youngest brother of Alfred Newman (20th Century Fox fanfare, countless movies, 9 oscars)
My cousins are Thomas, David and Randy Newman... all film composers and currently scoring top movies.
Roo: That's quite impressive. Randy is your cousin?
Joey: Yes. Randy has been an amazing support to me and I've worked with him as an orchestrator on "Seabiscuit" and "Cars" so far...
Roo: haha! I love "Short People"!
Joey: Me too!
Roo: So... What made you get into composing? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do?
Joey: Not necessarily... I've been playing drums since I was very young and at age 11, I began studying piano formally. It wasn't until I was about 15 or so that I planned to make music my career. Before that I was interested in medicine and thought I might go into research! What a contrast, eh? Regardless, I've been surrounded by music my whole life so it's no wonder I'm in it...
Roo: heh. I'm sure most boys go with the drums at first... I know i sure did!
Joey: heh. I hear ya!
I went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston - starting as a performance major on drums... I thought I was going to have a budding career as a studio/touring drummer, but then in my 3rd year I switched to film scoring. I guess I've always loved to write music and songs, but it wasn't until college that I found composing to be my real destiny.
Roo: That's quite a colourful background!!! How did you manage to get involved in computer games? I'm sure it's not something you thought about whilst you were training?
Joey: Well, here's the story...
At Berklee, I met Stacey Yoon through a mutual friend. Little did I know that years later we would meet again as I interviewed for the Lineage job.
Roo: You'll have to forgive me, but who is Stacey Yoon?
Joey: She was a pop singer in Korea at the time and she worked with a music production company tied to NCsoft. They were looking for an American composer to score Lineage.
Roo: Ahhh...
Joey: Stacey, acting as translator/coordinator, called me to meet with the NC guys here in Los Angeles. We had a great meeting and I got the gig!
Roo: So you can't speak or read Korean either then?
Joey: Not a bit...
Roo: Oh good. I feel less bad about that myself now!
Joey: However, I LOVE Korean cuisine. I really think they liked that I could drink Soju and keep up with them... I just don't chain smoke like most of them

*** Roo puts out cigarette and coughs

Roo: hehe. So how long ago was all of this?
Joey: This all took place in 2001... summer-ish. We recorded right before 9/11.
Roo: So you've been with Lineage since the beginning?
Joey: Since the beginning of the live, orchestral music, I guess - I believe there was (or still is?) MIDI music from 1998 to the time I came aboard.
We did the first orchestral recording here in Los Angeles with "A-list" or the "best-of-the-best" musicians. I believe that it was one of the first online MMPORPG recording sessions done that way here. You can read about it in the article I sent you about our recording session at Capitol Records in Hollywood!
Roo: Are you still involved with the NC operation in LA?
Joey: No. I visited their offices in 2001, but they must have disbanded once NC Austin came into play.
Roo: So did you work with the folks back in Austin at all?
Joey: I did not. This was early on and I don't remember if Richard Garriot was even involved yet. I dealt directly with Korea... They kept it very separate
Roo: You seem to know your Lineage history well!
Joey: Thanks!
Roo: Better than us!!!
Joey: Well, it's not easy dealing with foreign corporations sometimes. NC seems to have a very structured environment...
Roo: ... and from what I read, you're still working with NCsoft & Lineage?
Joey: I am! There's now a real "Head of Music" at NCsoft. Before I was dealing with software developers etc.
Roo: I suspect that role has become more important as the company has grown beyond it's one title.
Joey: I agree... They also realize how important the music's role is in the game... just like in movies. They see EA and all of their musical accomplishments...
Roo: Have you worked on any of their other titles?
Joey: No, just Lineage. They like multiple composers
One thing that was told to me by the NC folks was that Koreans LOVE melody. They wanted a kind of "pop" tune for Lineage themes. Mainly, I read that as give them something they can hum and they will enjoy it over and over!
Roo: Well I'm no expert, but I can safely say that the music definitely fits the feel of the game. Many people have commented on how they like their Lineage music
Joey: Thank you! That's always been my goal. Hey, did you ever see the trailer for "The Cross Rancor" ?
Roo: Actually, we have it on our site! And yes, I'm aware that you produced that... I saw it on your website. I recognised it immediately. However, after Episode 12 of "Lineage: The Blood Pledge", the US service parted ways with Korea and re-titled the game "Lineage: Dark Conquest" for the second volume instead of "The Cross Rancor"... I think mostly because "The Cross Rancor" doesn't actually mean anything.
Joey: Scoring that trailer posed some difficult obstacles... Unlike my amazing first experience writing the main Lineage game music in 2001, this trailer (scored in 2002) was designed by another set of graphic artists and directors. There was still no main music point-man at that time, so the individual I was dealing with for music had a difficult time navigating all the "cooks in the kitchen" which in turn made it difficult for me to know how to proceed with the music.
Roo: How did it all turn out in the end?
Joey: In the end, I provided a 35-piece orchestra and 16-person choir to record the music, which I believe they swapped out for my synth demo!! At least it sounds that way to me when I hear the final trailer because there's no choir on it... I'm providing you with the final music for "The Cross Rancor" trailer so your readers can hear the music as I intended it! As for the point-man I was dealing with, I have no idea what happened to him.
Roo: I would imagine that the situation you encountered was part of the natural progression of the software.
Joey: I think you're right. I think the company was evolving very quickly and didn't know how to treat the musical side of things until lately.
Roo: "The Cross Rancor" or "Dark Conquest" as it's known here, was the beginning of a new chapter in the games history.
Joey: NC got better in knowing what they wanted with music when I began to work on Part 2... I think it was the beginnings of the Dark Elves.
Roo: So... were other people involved in writing the scores for Lineage? Or was it all your own work?
Joey: I was told when I came on board in 2001 that another gentleman named Gene An, who was a friend of the main animator, had some themes & melodies for me to arrange. It was a little strange at first, but I made it my own as best I could... Our material couldn't have been any more different - but I managed to make it cohesive with the Lineage sound I was creating.
Roo: So ultimately, everything has gone through you?
Joey: Yes... all through me. Gene was only involved for the first 2001 session that we did for "The Blood Pledge". Everything after that has been only me.
Roo: So I'm guessing the title credits and end credits - they're very different from the in-game music.

*** Roo sent Joey music10.mp3

Joey: Yeah... I'm not really sure where Gene's musical ideas and my music ultimately live in the world of Aden, however the track that you just sent me was my arrangement of his music - also that was Gene playing the nylon guitar!
Roo: It was never used in-game to my knowledge... or if it was, it was removed... It's one of my favourite pieces tho.
Joey: Yeah, I like it too.
Roo: Oh! Oh! There is something I HAVE to ask you...
Joey: Sure, go ahead!

*** Roo sent Joey battlemusic.mp3

Roo:This piece we call the "dah dah daaah dah dah dah" track... Is it your fault? o.o
Joey: haha This is Gene's piece that I arranged. da da daa da da da
Roo: It's something we hear over and over and over and over - it drives us nuts.
Joey:I can imagine... Don't blame me... I just arranged that one
Roo: A recent poll suggested that most gamers replaced it with a Britney Spears track!!!
Joey: Like I said, I had to concede in the beginning as the language barrier was tricky to navigate. I will agree that this is NOT one of my favourite pieces.
Roo: I should imagine/hope that it'll be renewed at some point in the future - they seem to be taking a lot of the old, stale elements out of the game.
Joey: Maybe!
Roo: I'm guessing you've just finished, or are in the process of, recording for Episode 6... the final installment of "The Cross Rancor/Dark Conquest"?
Joey: Well.. We finished the last session for Episode 5 in May, and usually what happens is that I hear from them about once a year, so sometime next year I might hear some chatter about more music. We recorded 25 minutes of music for Episode 5, though I wonder if they disperse that music to other levels.
Roo: Roughly how many scores do you do per episode?
Joey: The amount of new music and how many music "cues" (or tracks) can vary per episode. We recorded something in 2001 (first session - about 40 mins), 2002 (trailer), 2004 (dark elves - about 15 mins), 2006 (eps 5 - about 25 mins). They come to me in the in-between times and we iron out budgets/contracts before we hit the scoring stage.
Roo: Yes, I remember a shift in the music back in 2004... it was very different from the older tracks... much creepier in places!
Joey: Yes, we began using a bigger orchestra and I think the music matured... It's become more of where I would like Lineage to go in the future. It's just going to get bigger and better!
Roo: How about you? Have you played Lineage over the years?
Joey: I did at the beginning, but life got pretty hectic. They gave me an admin account that let me teleport everywhere. It allowed me to look at all of the landscapes and get ideas for the scores. It was fun!
Roo: Ahh yes, the little blue man - he rocks. Well, Joey... It has been a pleasure talking to you. We certainly look forward to hearing your work as Episode 5 goes live here in the US.
Joey: You bet - it's been fun talking!