MCB Interviews Luke Thomas
“Technology defines my creative process” - Luke Thomas
A strong knowledge of music theory, classical instrumentation and private compositional training are the normal prerequisites of a professional composer. Now, advancing music technology has produced a new wave of composer that often creates in an entirely digital realm. “Most of the time I produce songs entirely with Cubase 5...part of me would like to compose on paper, but it would slow the whole process down,” says Luke Thomas, game composer & sound designer. ‘Land-a-Panda’, ‘World Cricket 2011’ & ‘Wyv and Keep’ are some of his recent projects.
"Technology defines my creative process,“ says Thomas. "You can bring up anything from a string quartet to an array of techno instruments in a few minutes. Especially when composing to a deadline, using samples and synthesized sounds are essential to quickly produce music that still allows you to be creative.” While technology makes it possible to create endless numbers of ensembles, it can hinder other areas of composition. “I’ve always been guilty of packing too much into a track," says Thomas. "With sampled instruments the temptation is to just keep adding instruments, but to compose specifically for a live ensemble where there’s a finite amount of instruments, I think it would really help improve my technique.”
Thomas also believes that music will have an increased presence in mobile gaming. "Over the space of a year the industry has been evolving extremely quickly," explains Thomas. "Mobile gaming is the main ‘threat’ to an industry that was initially dominated by the consoles and first party games from the likes of Nintendo and Sony. The Apple App Store has been a double edged sword to an extent; I don’t think I would have been able to break into the industry without it but now it’s so over-saturated with very similar games it’s starting to stagnate.”
He is currently studying music at Liverpool University and works as a freelance composer. To learn more about him and hear examples of his work, visit his website LukeThomasMusic.com
Thom Robson is a UK based Composer studying Music at the University of Leeds. Visit his site at ThomRobsonMusic.co.uk.