Yallabalagan: Interview with Eddie Marianukroh - Chained Echoes

Yallabalagan

https://www.facebook.com/YallaBalaganVlog
https://www.youtube.com/@YallaBalaganVlog

Eddie Marianukroh

https://www.facebook.com/esoundsignal

https://www.youtube.com/@esoundsignal

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5b4B4jhYzFohbJPCZaLOsh

 The interview:

Please introduce yourself to our readers (How old are you? Where are you from? Is there a favorite instrument that you like playing the most? Any other hobbies or interests that you have?)

• Hello, I’m Eddie Marianukroh. I’m a composer for video games based in Dallas, Texas, with my latest work being the soundtrack for the 16-bit SNES-style JRPG, Chained Echoes. My favorite instrument to play is the piano but I am the most proficient with the guitar. My general hobbies revolve around seeing family and friends, as well as watching anime, playing video games, listening to music and drinking coffee.

How did you get into music?

• I’ve always had a fascination with music as a child but did not pick up an instrument until much later (I believe I might have been around 15-16 years old). Truth be told, my friends needed someone to play guitar in their band, so they pushed a guitar on me and forced me to learn how to play. I fell in love with the instrument right away and played guitar whenever I could. It wasn’t until college that I started playing around with orchestral sample libraries and eventually taught myself how to compose. From there, I just kept at it to this day.

If I'm not wrong, this is the first time that you composed for a game? How did it come to be?

• I’ve actually composed music for various games before Chained Echoes. Unfortunately, most of those games were never released, which is an unfortunate reality that happens often in this industry. However, I first got started in game music when Randy Buck of The Sound Department - Austin reached out to me just to say some words of support for my music. It was under his guidance that I was given my first opportunities to write for games. I will always be forever grateful to him.

Composing music to a game, especially a JRPG, is not an easy task because generally in those games the OST is one of the key elements for creating atmosphere, emotions and so on. What was your inspiration for the OST of Chained Echoes?

• To be honest, I draw from a lot of inspirations when I write my music. However, one of the strongest sources I pull from when composing is generally stories. Before I would lay down the first note, I would ask Matthias what is the backstory of the character/area/theme that I am writing for. Because Matthias’ story was so cleverly written with so many intricate details that were meaningfully connected in so many ways, I had an abundance of material to draw from. The soundtrack for Chained Echoes is what it is because of Matthias’ beautiful story.

Do you have a favorite melody from the game?

• It’s difficult to really pick which melody from the soundtrack I could consider my favorite. I spent so much time pouring my soul into each song that there’s something in every piece of music that catches my ear. But, if I had to choose, perhaps “Crimson Wings Spreading Through the Blue Sky” has some of my favorite melodies.

In Chained Echoes, I hear a lot of instruments. How was the soundtrack created? Did you use actual instruments, or was it all just digital software and sounds for everything (also, if that was the case, what program did you use [Ableton, FL, etc.])?

• The majority of the instruments heard in Chained Echoes comes from sample libraries, with everything written in Logic Pro X. However, I was fortunate enough to hire many musicians for various songs. For example, both the “Main Theme of Chained Echoes” and “Crimson Wings Spreading Through the Blue Sky” have musicians playing almost all the instruments except for the percussion and a few other instruments.

You and Matthias Linda (the creator of the game) are living in different countries. How was it working long distance, and how was it working with him? Did you have the chance to meet?

• Honestly, despite living in different countries and having a large gap with our time zones, it was very easy to work with Matthias. He trusted in my ability to handle the music, so he granted me complete freedom to do as I pleased with the soundtrack, which is very rare for me to come across. Not only that, he’s genuinely a good person, which made it all the more enjoyable to work with him. I have not met him in person but perhaps someday I will.

Did the two of you have the same image of how the OST should sound and fit the scenes from the game in the end?

• I believe we did have a similar view of how the soundtrack should sound when we first started together. Of course, once the music started materializing, more experimentation occurred and the music branched out, such as incorporating more synths, trying out rock music and other styles.

I've listened to all your albums on Spotify 🙂 Besides “Chained Echoes,” my favorites are "Thank You" and "Piano Works: Vol. 1." Before Chained Echoes, were there other projects in other mediums (like movies, tv etc.)?

• Oh, well thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying my music beyond the Chained Echoes soundtrack. Before I started working on Chained Echoes, I was working on internet commercials, short films, video games and solo albums. A lot of my releases before Chained Echoes are quite old, so with Chained Echoes there has been quite a bit of musical growth since then.

Do you play video games? If so, what is your most beloved console/pc and what is your most beloved game?

• I certainly do play video games, though I find it more and more difficult to find time for them. My favorite console is the Playstation, and my most beloved game is Final Fantasy VII. I’m also a big Smash Bros fan.

Did you play Chained Echoes? If so, what did you think about it?

• I certainly did play Chained Echoes. In fact, I helped playtest the game during various builds in its development. What did I think about the game? Well, I apologize if this is a little long-winded but, to explain, I would like to ask: do you remember what it felt like being a child and being so deeply moved by the video games/anime/music/art that you grew up with that you still cherish them to this day? I certainly remember, and most likely many people share this same sentiment. Well, I’ve noticed that the older I get, I find less media that has as strong of an emotional impact on me compared to my earlier days. This doesn’t mean that I’m not deeply moved by anything current, but it just means it happens much less than before. However, with Chained Echoes, I can say with full certainty that this was one of those moments where I was brought back to the place that the video games I hold dear would take me. Even now, I am still brought to tears with the story that Matthias crafted, and I can still fully recall with fine detail how so many moments in the game left me breathless. I still cannot believe he allowed my music to accompany his work. I truly do hold him in the same view of the greats, and I will forever be grateful to him for giving my music a chance.

What’s next for you? Do you plan to keep developing games? Are you going to compose more soundtracks in the future for games? Is it something that you would like to do?

• I currently intend to compose for more game soundtracks in the future. I would also like to one day score an anime. At the moment, I’ve been spending time with my family, as my schedule was so busy leading up to the release of Chained Echoes. But I’m always writing music in my head, so in a sense, I’m always working on something, whether I like it or not. So, whatever I compose next and release, I sincerely hope you enjoy the sounds. Thank you for giving my music your time.