We recently sat down with bLiNd, the EDM composer behind Klang’s soundtrack, and asked him a few questions about how he came to work with Klang and was able to put together such an intense collection of beats! Here’s what he said:

Interview with bLiNd, Klang’s Composer

Q: What are your artist/genre inspirations? Do you have different inspirations for your videogame remixes compared to your original compositions?

My first inspiration for making music was an old mp3.com act named trance[]control. From there I discovered the genre of trance and house music. I listened to a lot of Ferry Corsten once I discovered him and stuff that came out on his label, “Flashover,” as well as labels “Armada” and “Anjunabeats.” I have a heavy trance background and it has definitely influenced my current style and sound.

I also listen to lots of videogame soundtracks, mainly in the RPG genre, which actually inspired the soundtrack “Dragons’ Odyssey” that I composed under the alias “Jordan Steven.” One of the songs from that soundtrack was actually remixed for Klang (The Shop Theme “What’ll It Be?” became The Pirate Bay song “Shanty Shuffle”).

When it comes to videogame remixes, I definitely draw from the same inspirations I mentioned before and frame my music around some of their hits. The approach to me is the same when I compose, the only difference is I have to write the melodies, of course.

Q: You’re based in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA while Tom-Ivar Arntzen of Tinimations, Klang’s developer, is located in Norway. How did you meet each other and decide to collaborate?

Tom-Ivar originally was a fan of my videogame remixes and discovered me through a website called “OverClocked ReMix.” He actually used a handful of remixes from the website in the original prototype for Klang. He approached me, letting me know he had used them, and gave me the winnings from a contest that he won best sound in. Basically, someone from the other side of the world I had never met, wired me cash for music I had made years before. So he had my attention pretty quickly.

Then he asked if he could use the remixes somehow, but since that would require extra licensing, I offered to make original spin-offs of the remixes for him. After going back and forth for a while, we decided the best approach was to start from scratch and try to build something new and innovative. This challenged me to create a new type of sound, or spin-off genre of house, trance and electro combined, and eventually we referred to it as “Klangifying” the songs or sound effects I sent. I could send him a trance track and he would say, “It’s good but it needs to fit the game more, so Klangify it.” This relied on a specific sound palette I created just for the game. I wrote the music using those tools and sounds.

The initial inspiration for the Klang soundtrack at that point was an artist called Nhato. Nhato has a song called “Eureka” that we used as an idea for the elevator level. The first song I wrote for the game was based on that song and became “Welcome to the Kick.”

Q: Last question: Any advice for aspiring game composers/remixers?

I have a few things to say to aspiring game composers and remixers, mainly because I tutor people as a service and teach them what I have learned.

• Stay true to yourself and your taste in sound and music.
• Don’t limit yourself to one genre, or one style.
• Always stay humble when being critiqued. But don’t change your music just to please one person.
• Learn as much as possible.
• Stay a student of your craft.
• Make sure you are having fun doing it, otherwise your audience will be able to tell you aren’t.
• Find an outlet for your style and pursue it, whether that be a label for your genre, or a game genre that fits your sound.
• Build relationships with people! Footwork is everything at the end of the day because it’s always about who you know, so go to lots of events and make friends. Don’t just sell yourself to people, be personal.
• Stay busy, busy, busy. Don’t let your studio computer get dust on it.