Interviews// Richard Jacques

SPOnG: You have worked on many games, as well as television and movie projects. What has been your favourite project to date? We love your Metropolis Street Racer soundtrack and that Bacardi Breezer theme you did a while back.

Richard Jacques: Thank you! Yes I really enjoyed working on Metropolis Street Racer, and I still get emails to this day asking for a soundtrack release. Perhaps I should organise one with SEGA!

I enjoy my work so much and am very passionate about the industry, so all projects have been enjoyable to work on. Some of the projects that stand out for me are Headhunter, Jet Set Radio Future, Metropolis Street Racer, Sonic R, Starship Troopers, Pursuit Force and of course The Club.


SPOnG: How does it feel to be working with Bizarre Creations after your work with Metropolis Street Racer?

Richard Jacques: It’s been a great experience working with Bizarre again. We had an excellent working relationship on M:SR, a long and very challenging project for all concerned, but it’s fantastic to see how well they are doing. They really are an incredibly talented bunch – and some of the nicest people in the industry. The working process has been very smooth, very creative and ultimately highly rewarding.


SPOnG: What interested you about working on the soundtrack to The Club? Are you working closely with Chris Chudley to make the single player and multiplayer music sound like they belong together?

Richard Jacques: Well, firstly it was the opportunity to work with Bizarre Creations once again. It’s funny how things had almost come full circle after working together on M:SR! They are really talented developers and I admire and respect their work ethos, not letting the sometimes-corporate nature of the business affect raw talent and creativity. Plus, when I heard about The Club, it was a real departure from what they are perhaps better known for, so I knew they would be working on something special, fresh and exciting, and those are exactly the kind of projects that make me compose the best music. I have been working closely with the entire audio department at Bizarre, ensuring everything runs smoothly and all the music in the game works together.


SPOnG: What kind of sounds are you creating or imagining with the setting and atmosphere of The Club?

Richard Jacques: I can’t give too much away at this stage but, as you know, The Club is a fast paced shooting game, so the music is equally fast paced and ‘in your face’. It’s mostly electronic in its nature but we have been able to create some unique sounding tracks by working on a lot of musical sound design elements before I actually put each track together. The results work really well with the game because of this approach, and simply putting in a licensed track would not have provided as much synergy between the music and the gameplay environments. The visuals and gameplay have almost entirely provided the direction for the music, and I also worked with a lot of concept artwork.


SPOnG: Singer T.J. Davis has worked with you on many projects, along with many other artists. Will you be collaborating with anyone in particular for The Club?

Richard Jacques: I have indeed worked with singer T.J. Davis and many other artists, but I'm not collaborating with anyone else on The Club, except for my lead sound designer. I may be working with her later in the year but cannot talk about that yet!