Writing a soundtrack can be a daunting task for producers, many of whom have found their success by creating a musical universe of their own, but in the case of the enigmatic electro artist DANGER, the challenge resulted in a true labor of love. The masked producer, whose sound has led the curve since his 09/14 2007 EP over a decade ago, recently shifted focus from his own universe to that of Haven, the most recent adventure outing from French gaming studio, The Game Bakers. DANGER leaves his dark and aggro aesthetic at the door in writing the soundtrack for Haven, instead aligning his sound into the game’s rich and vibrant whimsy like a perfectly fitted gem. The OST goes to great sonic lengths to represent the relationship Haven’s core, but also manages to stand on its own as an opulent and evocative electronic LP.Dancing Astronaut sat down with DANGER to discuss his approach to the Haven soundtrack, his anime-based artistic roots, and all things gaming. In addition, the French producer will be taking to Twitch on Saturday, March 20 at 6:00 a.m. EST (11:00 a.m. CET) with an exclusive performance of songs from the release. Watch the stream live or catch a recording following the event here, and find the full Q&A below.You’ve talked about how you enjoy releasing your music so that everybody can interpret it differently and find their own narrative. However, with a project like Haven it seems like you’re producing for an existing narrative. From a creative standpoint, does this feel more like an obstacle or an opportunity, and how did it affect your approach to writing the music?From what I gather, you’re a fairly big fan of Final Fantasy games (or at least their soundtracks). One of my favorite things about RPG (role playing game) soundtracks has always been how diverse their soundtracks feel as a total package. You have boss fights, open-world adventure themes, victory jingles, tunes to bop around town and visit shops to, and even tracks written solely for going through menus. Were there any moments of Haven that you were particularly excited to write music for, or that you found yourself pleasantly surprised by the results of?The HAVEN soundtrack strays a bit from your darker electro sounds. Did you ever consider releasing it under a pseudonym or did it always feel canon to the DANGER alias?I grew up on a mix of RPG soundtracks and Japanese music games (like Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX and Pop’n Music), which I think did a great job of defining two ends of the spectrum that don’t see much mainstream attention. Were there any particular soundtracks that opened your eyes beyond ‘popular music’ as you developed your style?I’d interviewed French producer SebastiAn last year and was surprised to hear that his dream film to score would be something along the lines of Interstellar or The Arrival, which both stray quite far from his French-electro and industrial sounds. Similarly, what would be your dream video game to have had the opportunity to write a soundtrack for? Skrillex recently had the opportunity to co-write the theme song from Kingdom Hearts 3, which got a pretty inspiring orchestral version following the game’s release. Which of your songs from the Haven soundtrack do you think would make for the best orchestral rendition?Why do you think certain types of Japanese artistry (anime/video games) are so coveted, while we see little influence from the culture in other areas like the global music industry?Tags: anime, astro arcade, chrono trigger, Danger, electro, Final Fantasy, John Williams, kingdom hearts, manga, miku hatsune, role playing games, sebastiAn, skrillex, the game bakers, vocaloid, z-machines
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