Fred Gray, c64 musician extraordinaire, talks to Retrofusion
Posted by boyo on Apr 7, 2010 08:18 (Apr 7, 2010 08:18)
Retrofusion: Did you see the other C64 composers at the time as competition/a threat? Or were you all a happy bunch that shared tricks and ideas?
Fred Gray: I knew how popular the other musicians were from friends and magazine reviews, so I was always a tad jealous but knew they were just musicians earning a crust like me. I think there was more rivalry among fans than musicians about who wrote the best music. As for being part of a happy bunch of composers, the only other musician I ever met during my writing days was Martin Galway. He had his own room in Ocean and we would talk during my visits there. Another room was filled with arcade machines and I would take my kids along sometimes and leave them in there for hours!
Retrofusion: What came fist, the SID tune or the game? Did you ever play a game first which then in turn inspired the basis of the tune produced?
Fred Gray: I rarely got to see games before writing though often got a rough spec. Working for Denton Designs was a nightmare because their game specs were positively surreal at times.
Retrofusion: A steady stream of remixes of your C64 compositions have been delivered over the years. Are there any particular versions that stand out to you? What do you consider comprises a good remix?
Fred Gray: There are lots of great and well crafted takes on my music - thanks guys - but Reyn Ouwehand's Mutants really captures the mood so well - such amazing guitar bending sounds.
Retrofusion: David Whittaker successfully ported his compositions across a number of 8-bit platforms. Were there any reasons you stayed away writing tunes for the Amstrad and Spectrum home computers?
Fred Gray: David was the master of the arpeggio and his compositions lent themselves well to the AY chip - personally I hated it after working on the SID chip for so long.
Retrofusion: A large proportion of your C64 tunes appeared in Ocean games. What was the company like to work with? Did they reject any of your tunes? Did they provide you with any feedback that you thereafter applied to improve the tune?
Fred Gray: They paid top money for anything on offer and always paid on time - I was a happy bunny as they were my main customer. It was so sad to return to their old premises in Manchester to find it closed. I think the room where all the arcade machines were was being used as a second-hand book shop. It is about time we had a museum dedicated to the British computer games industry - that building would have been absolutely perfect.
Retrofusion: Is there any particular game you had wished you were involved with musically?
Fred Gray: Post-64, games like Max Payne maybe. The graphics and musical capabilities if modern PCs are awesome - it must be great to be coming into the computer games industry now!
Retrofusion: Do you keep in touch with any of the 8-bit composers such as David Whittaker and Rob Hubbard? Have you been involved at all in the Back in Time events?
Fred Gray: The first time I met the other musicians (apart from Martin Galway) was at the Birmingham BIT event then later at the Brighton gig. Both were fabulous events but those are my only encounters with the other musicians - so, no, I don't keep in touch with any I am afraid to say. I was quite in awe of them all - they were such fun to be around - Ben Dalgish and David Whittaker especially.
Retrofusion: What is your link with Chris Abbottt?
Fred Gray: Chris is a great guy and has made many sacrifices, taken many risks and put a lot of hard work into making the Back In Time concept work. I can't remember exactly how we came to be in communication but I have had a lot of fun taking part in the events he organises. We even discussed hosting an event in Liverpool at one point as it was so central and its airport caters for most of Europe - but the logistics didn't add up. We keep in touch still by email - hi Chris!
Retrofuion: Do you ever reminisce about the good old days? Do you prefer the games industry the way it is now, or as it was back then?
Fred Gray: I loved the early Atari games - they were magical and I was addicted to Missile command, River Raid and Dig Dug especially. I even worked in an arcade at one point and played as much as I liked. While the C64 was musically more sophisticated I really did welcome the 16-bit machines and the ever-increasing power that the PC later offered both graphically and musically. Like I said - there has never been a better time to enter the computer games industry and I envy those who are at its heart now!
Jul 10, 2010 00:09:59 (
Jul 10, 2010 00:09
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