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Peter McConnell (Psychonauts 2), Jimi Hendrix & Ivan Tcherepnin on CrossFade – Send Questions & Songs!
🕑 Added 2021-08-18 14:06:40 +0000 UTCThis week on CrossFade, composer Peter McConnell (Psychonauts 1+2, the Sly Cooper franchise, Grim Fandango, Escape From Monkey Island, and more) is discussing Jimi Hendrix and experimental composer (and Peter’s mentor) Ivan Tcherepnin! We’re recording this episode early, so leave a question and song for our guest and host below by the end of the day Thursday, Aug. 19!
From LucasArts to Double Fine to Sly Cooper, you’ve definitely heard Peter’s music, playing, editing, or influence across games for the last 30 years. He’ll be introducing Matt to the music of Ivan Tcherepnin, who taught Peter as a Harvard undergrad, specifically his “Flores Muscales” and “Five Songs” collections. Bringing up the pop end, Matt picked “Axis: Bold as Love,” the groundbreaking 1967 record by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, which highlights the R&B roots Hendrix would become famous for – and land the album on multiple all-time best lists.
This episode is bound to get experimental, electronic, and more than a little strange – join us for the ride by leaving a question and a song below!
“What’s CrossFade,” you ask?
CrossFade is MinnMax’s music podcast hosted by Matt Helgeson and produced by Jason Dafnis where a guest has Matt review one of their favorite albums and vice versa. We publish every other Friday, so subscribe, rate, and review wherever you get podcasts: https://apple.co/3kWBb5K
Even if we don’t get to your song this episode, we’ll add it to the CrossFade Community Spotify Playlist (https://spoti.fi/3aRRgox) and your song might be pulled on a future Community Shuffle episode, so keep sharing!
Thanks for checking it out!
Comments
podbod
OH and my song suggestions is Treat Em Right by the Nevermen (Boards of Canada remix) Nevermen have a member from TV on the Radio! Y'all should definitely talk about Return to Cookie Mountain on the show
Thom Blackburn
My song suggestion is from the Fleet Foxes, I chose this because despite it being a mellow indie track, it is pretty impressive in scope with different acts, key changes and a great use of triplets on the guitar to lend a western vibe while the lyrics talk about the sunlight being inescapable. I just thought it might be the type of thing that a composer could appreciate within popular music. https://open.spotify.com/track/6srpczSEgGgBEsYsxD8oDR?si=014lVFJDTESNr-0P5JUTmA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1 ps. it is also worth checking out the music video as the whole thing is animated by the singer's brother
podbod
Love the show! I recently went on a road trip, and my friend and I often listened to CrossFade in the car. My question is a pretty classic one. If you could pick just one album to take with you to a deserted island, what album would you take? I'd take Aphex Twin's Drukqs. Not only does it have some of my favourite tunes on it, it also has some complex songs that I continue to discover new things about, even after countless replays. Much love from Japan 💕
Tanner Hoisington
Alternative question: which game of yours holds the most special place in your heart? Not just the soundtrack but also the game itself.
Tanner Hoisington
Hey Peter, you are probably my favorite western game composer, thanks for your music over the years. My introduction to point and click games wasn't LucasArt but instead Telltale's Sam and Max series. You and Jared Emerson-Johnson were both in-house composers of sorts for these studios and worked on Sam and Max. Did you ever interact with him? Certain songs, like this jazzy theme for the freelance police's office, remind me of your work https://youtu.be/0mt-p3yraFk
blacklink firelink
If you could play as a guest musician with any band/artist, past or present, for one live concert, which one would you choose and why? My song this week: Farewell Transmission by Songs: Ohia. Songs: Ohia was the project of the late Jason Molina, one of my absolute favorite artists. This is probably his "biggest" song, not necessarily my favorite. If I were to choose my own Crossfade album for the podcast, I would 100% pick the Songs: Ohia album Didn't It Rain. Masterpiece album, highly recommend. Do not listen unless you want to be sad forever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=malJUMz2A9Y
Mike Lynch
LucasFilm has a reputation for hiring innovative independent artists (Chad Vader voice actor, Luke Skywalker deep fake face). Were there any audio artists such as that hired during your tenure at LucasArts?
Mike Lynch
Welcome to Crossfade, Peter. Your only two acting credits are as Yoda and Admiral Akbar in the Super Star Wars and Rogue Squadron 2 games. How'd that come about, and are there other iconic characters youd like to voice? ***Summer of Punk final song. Gacked On Anger by Amyl & The Sniffers*** https://open.spotify.com/track/0U1uG8n1zkZzwRS1KBMh9z?si=yC_fGT9oS-Cq7RY7aBzQQQ&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
Tyler Sticka
Question for Peter: I find that hearing your compositions immediately brings me back to where they occurred in-game, especially for Psychonauts and Sly 2. Are there secrets to writing music that evokes not just an emotion but a sense of place?
Ben Hanson
When was the last time you went back and listened to your own music or heard it somewhere and thought "Oh, this is quite good."
This is great! Second week in a row where the guest is a big influence of mine (and Matt's been killing it with the album choices too)! My question for Peter is this: your work with Michael Land on the iMuse system is one of those big touchstone developments in gaming, and at this point interactive music is almost expected in most games today. What's been the most surprising change you've seen in interactive music today compared to the old midi systems you started on? Are there any modern games that stand out to you for their use of interactive music? Song: Desperado Under The Eaves by Warren Zevon
Randolph Sparks
The music in the Sly Cooper games is so underrated
