Jeremy Soule

Jeremy Soule作為一個屢次獲獎的美國游戲配樂師，他的作品通常被認(rèn)為是代表了電腦和電視游戲配樂產(chǎn)業(yè)中的最高水平，幾乎已經(jīng)和許多電影交響配樂水平看齊。Soule的很大一部分作品都是用電子音樂來模擬真實交響樂，其擬真度是如此之高至于無法分辨到底是模擬的還是真實的。但是，他也常常和真的交響樂團與合唱團合作，例如如雷貫耳的倫敦交響樂團和西北辛福尼亞，以及布拉格交響樂團和Pinewood合唱團。
Jeremy Soule自小就開始夢想成為一個交響樂作曲家。從5歲那年起，Soule就開始對交響樂產(chǎn)生濃厚興趣。“交響樂是終極樂器。我覺得它能夠表達幾乎一切存在的人類情感。”Soule在他位于美國大西北的Cascadian工作室如是說。
當(dāng)Soule還在中學(xué)的時候，作為一個電視電腦游戲的狂熱愛好者，他感覺游戲里的音樂都“缺乏戲劇性和緊湊感”。在高中畢業(yè)后他用傳統(tǒng)電影手法創(chuàng)造了一個實驗性的演示來表達他想象中游戲配樂應(yīng)有的樣子。Soule給LucasArts和Squaresoft史克威爾 公司分別寄了錄音帶，沒想到史克威爾聽了那盤演示后立刻就把Secret of Evermore《艾薇莫的秘密》的配樂任務(wù)給了他。完成后的游戲以一個更飽滿的交響音樂展現(xiàn)了一個突破傳統(tǒng)的配樂并很好地與背景音效（例如風(fēng)吹和海浪聲）融為一體，與傳統(tǒng)的RPG游戲中一貫的史詩性配樂形成巨大反差。
當(dāng)Ron Gilbert離開LucasArts并創(chuàng)辦他自己的公司Humongous Entertainment的時候。Soule也離開了史克威爾去給Gilbert的兒童冒險游戲系列Putt-Putt配樂。在Humongous工作期間，Soule遇到了游戲設(shè)計師Chris Taylor并為他的Total Annihilation《橫掃千軍》及其之后的大作Dungeon Siege《地牢圍攻》擔(dān)當(dāng)配樂。其中《橫掃千軍》開創(chuàng)了即時戰(zhàn)略配樂領(lǐng)域使用古典風(fēng)格交響樂的先河，更成為了他們二人各自的代表作。這兩個項目期間，Soule創(chuàng)立了他自己的公司Artistry Entertainment并開始了自由創(chuàng)作。
自那時起，Artistry Entertainment的配樂不斷獲得成功，Soule為一些最重量級的好游戲創(chuàng)作了配樂，例如Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic《星球大戰(zhàn)之舊共和國武士》 ，Icewind Dale 《冰風(fēng)溪谷》系列,Neverwinter Nights《無冬之夜》，The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind《上古卷軸3：晨風(fēng)》還有Harry Potter《哈利波特》系列游戲等，讓Soule的音樂擠入了游戲業(yè)的頂峰。他為《哈利波特》游戲系列創(chuàng)作的音樂曾于2003年在德國萊比錫的“游戲交響音樂會”上實況演出。2005年，他《上古卷軸3：晨風(fēng)》的配樂也在第三屆“游戲交響音樂會”上演出。
2006年是Soule最成功的一年之一，他的The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion《上古卷軸4：湮滅》，Guild Wars: Factions/Nightfall《行會戰(zhàn)爭：派系/黃昏》,Prey《掠奪者》以及二戰(zhàn)史詩游戲Company of Heroes《英雄連》不論在口碑上還是商業(yè)上都獲得了巨大成功。Soule在8月贏得了MTV 視頻音樂獎中的最佳配樂獎并于10月被授予他生涯中的第三個英國學(xué)院獎題名。11月，他又在Spike TV中贏得了最佳配樂獎。07年初，由Chris Taylor設(shè)計，被譽為《橫掃千軍》真正續(xù)作的即時戰(zhàn)略游戲Supreme Commander《最高指揮官》的配樂依然由Soule親自操刀。
“每天都是一個挑戰(zhàn)。我無法想當(dāng)然地把任何東西都與音樂聯(lián)系起來。音樂是種值得我一生去學(xué)習(xí)的語言。我在有著人類精神之美的聲音的背后找到自然的靈感。音樂中的一切都能反映出我們在大自然中扮演的角色。”
“我愛的我的粉絲們——特別是年輕的作曲家。我鼓勵任何人都在這個網(wǎng)站給我寫信。盡管我可能不會很快就回復(fù)，但我保證我一定回信。”——Jeremy Soule
Jeremy Soule began life as a passionate composer of symphonic music at a very early age. Since the age of five, Soule took an intense interest in the symphony orchestra. “The Orchestra is the ultimate instrument. I find that it has the ability to define nearly every human emotion in existence” stated Soule from his Cascadian studio in the Great Northwest of America.
Mastering the art of orchestration, melodic composition and emotional context was no easy task for the British Academy Award winning composer...
“Every day is a challenge. I am not able to take anything for granted when it comes to music. Music is a literal language that is a life study for me. I find that the natural inspiration behind sound starts with the beauty of the human spirit. Everything in music is a reflection of who we are in Creation. Composers draw from the same sorts of places as other disciplines of the Arts in that we are all connected to some greater cause and energy. Defining our place in this energy is the beauty of our Art.”
That video games could be considered “Art” was unthinkable over 30 years ago during the debut of the first game machines such as the Magnavox Odyssey. The sights and sounds of the mid-eighties machines also did little to hint at the coming revolution. Today, video games feature development budgets in the tens of millions of dollars and often command some of the top talent in an ever-growing $20 billion industry.
For over a decade, Soule has provided music for some of the most successful and admired games of all time. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Harry Potter, Total Annihilation, SOCOM: The Navy Seals and the Elder Scrolls series can all attribute music to him. His versatility as a composer has also been demonstrated from his critically acclaimed traditional Asian score for Guild Wars Factions to his work with children’s properties such as Rugrats and Lemony Snicket and the Series of Unfortunate Events.
The year 2006 witnessed one of the best years yet for Soule with such critical and commercial success coming from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Guild Wars: Factions/Nightfall, Prey and the World War II epic Company of Heroes. Soule won the inaugural MTV Video Music Award in August for “Best Score” and was honored with his third career British Academy Award nomination in October. In November, Soule won another “Best Score” award from Spike TV and was the recipient of numerous press awards such as Game Daily’s “most iPod-worthy score”.
In feature films, Soule’s Walden Logo was used at the start of the $744 million earning film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. His work with Narnia also continued with director Norman Stone’s critically acclaimed film C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia.
In concerts, Soule’s music was a component of the successful “Play Symphony” tour that featured prominently Elder Scrolls as well as Prey as part of their concert program. Performances were conducted with symphony orchestras in Vienna, Stockholm, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Toronto. Future performances are scheduled in Stockholm, Sydney and Singapore. Visit www.play-symphony.com for more information. A special note to our readers...
“I love my fans—especially young composers. I encourage anyone that wishes to contact me to write me here at this website. It may take me a little while to reply to everyone but be assured that I will respond.” –Jeremy Soule