Hyper Light Drifter composer credits Chrono Cross for influencing his career path
Inspired by a great
Composer Rich Vreeland, better known as Disasterpeace, has an unmistakable style, which is why he’s so sought after for game soundtracks. Vreeland has tackled the soundtracks to Fez, Hyper Light Drifter, Runner2, plus countless other titles. Vreeland has also turned to the world of film, composing for movies like It Follows, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and more.
While Vreeland may be pulling double duty nowadays on games and movies, his composing career started exclusively in gaming. In an interview with Polygon, we learn that it was the work of another great game composer that convinced him to try things for himself.
**One example that comes to mind is the soundtrack of Chrono Cross. My foray into game music was heavily motivated by my rediscovery of the music of the games I played growing up.
There was something unique about Yasunori Mitsuda’s music — the way he combines contemporary influences with world styles… just in that one game I can hear Celtic sounds and melodies, folk influences, patterns that remind me of the minimalist Steve Reich, and complex time signatures like you might hear in Fusion or Prog Rock. It’s a pretty rich tapestry of things, and I found the music extremely unique and memorable at the time I first played the game back when I was about 13 or 14 years old. It still stands out and has some of the most unusual and beautiful chord progressions you will ever hear in a game.**
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