Published Interview: Steven Belledin

I had the privilege to interview an extremely talented artist for the Russian Sci-Fi/Fantasy magazine Mir Fantastiki! This is an English transcription of that interview, which was done in English. The rest of the article was translated from Russian, though I've taken out the uniquely Russian Idioms that don't translate well into English. Special thanks to Sergey Serebryanskiy for the intro and formatting and to Mir Fantastiki for allowing me to post this!

A Conversation with Steven Belledin

Belledin was born and raised in Pennsylvania. After high school he moved to New York and studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Over the years Belledin has worked closely with Wizards of the Coast. He started illustrating Dungeons and Dragons books and then became one of the leading artists working on the collectible card game: Magic: The Gathering. In addition to concept art, Belledin works on covers and interior illustrations for various projects.

"The main thing is catching the mood."

When and why did you become an artist?

It was just something I did and enjoyed since I was a little kid. For whatever reason my parents were encouraging so from a very early age this was something I wanted to do. I had some really excellent art teachers in school and I ended up going to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. That's where I learned the nuts and bolts of how to put a real painting together and learned the craft. I've always taken art very seriously, as a profession. I didn't really understand what the lifestyle would be but I understood that I wanted to make art for a living. I'm not sure that if I really understood [what it entailed,] that I would have made the same choices but now that I'm where I'm at I wouldn't change a thing.  I just wanted to make cool pictures and tell stories visually. I didn't really have anybody telling me that I couldn't or shouldn't be doing it. I was just very fortunate because I was always encouraged and I happened to be decent at it. It was one of those things where I've had a fairly realistic view of how good or bad I am and at the very least I feel like I can say "well at least i'm decent enough to warrant getting jobs here and there." I'll probably never be Frazetta* but I'll keep doing it because I'm compelled.

*Frank Frazetta - The famous American artist of science fiction who has had

a big impact on fantasy art.

What projects do you enjoy the most and why?

Any project where I really get to explore more introspective or moody imagery because I like to explore broad emotional cues. I'm much more interested in the quiet moments and thought driven imagery as opposed to cool battle scenes and giant swords. I love all that stuff but what I feel most fulfilled by is the weird, austere, emotive exploration.

Some people see your art as being somewhat dark. Would you say it's something that you put into your work or do people seek you out to create dark images because it's something you're good at?

I think it's much the latter. It's not something I ever set out to do as far as the imagery goes. Perhaps the people that assign work to me see it in me or they were curious to see what I would create with that subject matter. It's one of those things where it's sort of self-propagating. Someone will say "Oh, he's done this well so let's give him more of it!" For the most part I don't really mind as long as it's not over the top. Darker imagery doesn't really bother me. I didn't set out to become a horror artist but in a strange way I've sort of stumbled into it.

You once said that the beauty of the horror genre is "what's not shown," as opposed to gore or gratuitous violence. In your opinion, what is more characteristic of modern horror?

There's room within the genre for both but for awhile there was a trend towards more explicit torture or blood and guts films. I think there was a whole sub-genre for a few years called something like 'torture porn' and that's what horror became for awhile. I think people like Guillermo Del Toro really appreciate moody, suspense-driven horror which is my cup of tea way more than the blood and guts. I also think it's a little more universal. 

Do you have any favorite horror films?

I'm still a sucker for Jaws but I don't know that people would really call that horror by today's standards. To me the idea of it is really horrifying and I still don't like to swim. I think it's a good example of "things not seen." Of course Spielberg couldn't show the shark because the [mechanical] shark didn't work but [as a device in horror] it worked. That shape in the water basically takes on whatever you impose upon it. To me that's always more interesting.

Tell us how you first got involved with Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Gathering?

I played [Magic] in high school and college but when I graduated I could basically afford art supplies or Magic, so I chose art supplies and stand by that decision. I got involved with Magic because I was doing Dungeons and Dragons [Edition 3.5] work for years. I did artwork in 20 or so books so while I was in Seattle I got to take all the art directors I ever worked for out to lunch. While I was there I figured I could maybe get an interview with the art director for Magic. He agree to see me but as far as I was aware he didn't like anything in my portfolio but he hired me for the next set.

There are many differ artists who work on Magic: The Gathering. What unites them in their works and would you say that there is a MTG style?

I don't know if there is a specific style but, at least currently, Magic is driven by more realistic artists. There's a lot less stylization than there used to be in classic Magic. It's very much a realist-driven fantasy aesthetic. There are no caricatures anymore and there's an effort to try to make characters and environments as realistic as possible.

Are you often given strict guidelines in your creations? 

It varies. Some assignments have been extremely explicit with "this is exactly what we want, please make this for us." Others are very broad. To me, and probably for most artists, the broader assignments are the most fun simply because there's more wiggle room. The less we as artists get to bring to the table the less interesting things tend to become. The more open ended and the more abstract it is, the more fun it is.

Do you prefer to work from your own creative imagination or other people's ideas? How often do you think clients restrict your creativity?

I enjoy doing everything and get bored very easily. I think that even in working on my own stuff constantly I'd eventually get bored so I really enjoy the challenge of having to work within the confines of clients' needs. Restriction is inherent to assignments but whether restriction inhibits creativity probably varies on a case by case basis. Creativity thrives from problem solving and usually [as an artist] you're given problems that you have to solve. Sometimes the solution is obvious and sometimes it takes a lot of thought and exploration to come to the solution. There are some clients that crush a certain degree of creativity by dictating everything down to the color pallet or composition of a piece but in general restrictions within the confines of an assignment aren't restrictive to creativity. I'm game for anything at the end of the day.

What inspires you? Where do your characters and ideas come from?

I'm mostly inspired by "old timey" painter guys, basically the American golden age of illustration. That's one of those things that has always recharged me. As far as i'm concerned the kings of that era are N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, the Leyendecker brothers, and Norman Rockwell. They're just visual storytellers who were amazing painters. I grew up not very far from where N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle lived and worked and they've always been a huge inspiration for me. Rockwell was everywhere when I was a kid too. There was a Rockwell calender up in just about everyone's house, it seemed. Those were the guys I looked to while growing up and who I still look to for inspiration. If i'm not sure how to approach a painting, I'll go back and look at their works or even go further back and look to Jacques Louis David and a lot of 19th century heavies. A lot of 19th century painters also serve as my inspiration.

What fantasy/sci-fi books or movies do you like and do you think they influence your work?

I'm all over the place. I'm more of a movie guy than a book guy for whatever reason and when it comes to Sci-fi, modern sci-fi always aesthetically comes back to Blade Runner. I'm a big fan, aesthetically of Dune (The Kyle Maclachlan version, not the SciFi Channel series) as well.  Fantasy wise, oddly enough I like the 1980's movie Dragon Slayer with Peter MacNicol. It's pretty cool. The design of the dragon is interesting and it's got a very earthy, used, and dilapidated feel to it. It's really atmospheric and cold, as well. The hero of the film is some shmo [Interviewer note: word meaning "a nobody" or "an insignificant person"] who's thinks he's a wizard. I saw it when I was relatively young. And of course Star Wars is huge (the old ones not the new ones) and as far as fantasy: Lord of The Rings (both the films and the books).

You have very strong beliefs on how you portray women in your work. Could you elaborate on them and talk about your views on the oversexualization of women in fantasy art and video games?

I think it's something that's coming more to light as more women start to play video games, as more women get involved in gaming in general, and as more women get into the genre. There is objectification of both sexes but there's a huge disparity between the breadth of ways that men are portrayed in science fiction and fantasy versus the very narrow way that women tend to be portrayed [in those genres]. At the end of the day there's always going to be people who continue that narrow depiction of women. Ideally I would like to see less of it, but the only thing I really have the power to change is my own work. I've been surrounded by very strong women throughout my life and I find that more inspirational than anything. I just can't see myself doing something that depicts women just as sexpots because it doesn't ring true to the women I know and have known. So that's one aspect of where I'm coming from. Another aspect is that a lot of the products I work on are targeted at people who are between 15-35 [years old] but there's a lot of younger people who get into it [Magic, D&D] much younger than 15 and I don't want to color their perception or contribute to little boys seeing women a certain way and little girls seeing themselves a certain way. I want to give them way more options than that if I can.

Do you think the limited portrayal of women in these mediums will change in the future?

I think it can. A surprising number of art directors and decision makers within the industry are women and their numbers are increasing. Their awareness of the subject is very real and the industry will change because they'll make it change. I strongly suspect it will, anyway. It's not that I have anything against sexiness or sex. What bothers me is that sexiness is what they use to define women, whereas it should be character first and sexiness if it applies. That's the thing, I like depth to every character and I think women are just as deserving as men of that kind of depth.

Do your values bring you into conflict with prospective clients?

They have. I don't work with certain clients because of it and I've almost lost jobs over disagreeing with changes to pieces. I try to work a middle-ground as much as possible and I've compromised more than I'd liked to on certain pieces, which I have regrets over. I have tried to stick by what I want to do as much as I can but it's kind of difficult because a lot of clients expect certain things out of you and you do have to eat. A lot of people have a very difficult time finding a path. I'm very fortunate in that I can afford to turn down certain jobs, but not everybody can.

Do you ever reject offers for being boring or do you try to make them interesting?

I reject certain clients because the aesthetic they require of me is not what I want to do, sort of like forcing a round peg into a square hole but I can't say that I've found something so boring I didn't accept it. I'll give anything a shot and feel on some level that if it ends up not being interesting it's because I'm not interesting.

You work by hand. A lot of your work is by done hand. Where do you see the profession of the artist evolving (or not) in the future?

In general everything is becoming more digital. I'm always at a disadvantage there because I work traditionally and my stuff has to go through a process of digitization to work in those mediums. I wonder whether there will even be actual books or just [digital] files except for very rich collectors 50 years from now. Despite the rise of digital media, there's been a growing population of people interested in owning original artwork. I suspect that there will always be people collecting art, passing those pieces on to their kids, and stoking the fires of the collector inside their kids. If that's the case, then there will always be room for traditional artists but I think the evolution is clearly progressing in a digital direction and there's no escaping it. 

Do you know any Russian artists?

As far as Russian painters there's a guy by the name of Viktor Vasnetzov who did these really fantastical but realist paintings. They're really cool. If I recall he lived in the 19th century and while I don't know much about the politics of Russian history of that era, a lot of his work was allegorical to what was going on at the time.

Do you have any advice for any young artists?

[Jokingly] Don't do it! Ha ha... Building a community of peers is really essential, people you can trust to tell you the truth about your work whose criticisms you can take but not take offense to. They can help push you in a positive direction, slap your wrist when you make mistakes, and urge you towards getting better while you return the favor. You also get to grow together and build upon on another's successes. For me, personally, that has been one of the huge hallmarks of how I got where I am.


You can see more of Steven Belledin's work on his website. He also maintains a weekly blog, outlining his latest projects.

Captions: 
Overgrown Tomb - A rare landscape done for Magic: the Gathering. I always enjoy doing this kind of thing, and this piece is among my favorite things I've painted for the brand.

Izzet Chronarch - A recent image done for Magic: the Gathering where I was asked to create a new version of a classic Magic image. This kind of thing is always difficult when I'm familiar with the original art because I find it hard to get the old image out of my mind. Hopefully I did the original image justice.

Nightveil Specter - This piece took a long time to paint. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it's gotten a really positive reaction from fans. I think if I had more time, I might have made the city below more detailed.

Surrender - The bottom half of this was used for a Magic card, and this remains the sole image I've ever done for that game that I will never sell.

Valentine - One of the few comic-related projects I've ever done. It's the cover for a printed version of an online comic. It was a lot of fun to work on and the client was really easy to work with. I wish every client were like this!

The Battle of Badass -  The most recent in the Badass book series. This time the book focused on amazing historical battles. It was an interesting job because it had to feel consistent with the other two covers. I ended up making subtle changes to the piece for myself after I handed it in. I'm happy I went back into it.

Badass - The cover for the first in a series of books about amazing characters throughout history. A ton of fun to work on and my first job for a non-gaming client.

The Legend of Badass - The cover for the second book in the Badass series. This one was about fictional and mythological characters. The cover turned out to be quite a challenge as I had to repaint half of it due to a last-minute change in the characters they wanted me to depict.

First Born - This was done during a week-long intensive class. It was a great opportunity to focus on a piece for myself and to do some science fiction imagery for a change. It was also the largest piece I'd done professionally until quite recently.

Grizzly - This is an old personal piece that was completely inspired by the stuffed bear. My wife has had that bear since she was very young. She dragged the bear everywhere she went and as a result its color faded and it became very worn. I don't know why, but I became fascinated by the idea of a man who was a worn out as the bear, and so I painted this.

Teutoberg Forest - Of the interior pieces I've done for the book series, this is my favorite. It's simple, moody, and says exactly what it needed to. It's also the first piece I've ever done fully digitally.

The War of Arauco - Another rare all digital illustration done for the historical book series. I was inspired by comics more than anything on this one. It was a chance to do some fun, over-the-top action imagery and it was a blast!

Kono Michiari - Another of the small interior black and white paintings for a book series. One of the best parts of these illustrations is that the work was not mired in strict historical accuracy. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of really amazing and excellent historical paintings that are thoroughly researched and truly accurate, but I'd probably go mad if I had to do one, myself. Instead, I get to just go for these really dramatic contrasty images like this where the detail becomes mostly obscured.

How to: Interview with a Game Designer

World Map for my Sunday D&D Group

Preface:

A close friend of mine is about to shape his life into the mold of one who seeks employment at a video game company. He wants to become a game designer or artist, but has very little first-hand knowledge on the topic. As I don't know much either I interviewed an anonymous friend who works at a large game design/publishing company as a programmer to find out what sort of things are needed these days to be a game designer!

Interview by Careless

What does one need to learn to get started in a game design/development position?

Hmm, well that depends on what you want to do. There are lots of roles in game development: programming (within that, AI, gameplay, systems, optimization, UI, physics, online [the trickiest and best-paying]), 2d art, 3d art, concept art, texture art, 3d modeling, 3d lighting, 2d animation, 3d animation, rigging, facial animation, sound engineering, sound production, music production, audio engineering (in the programming sense), interface design (that's what I do), gameplay design, general design, project management, press relations and marketing, quality assurance, and many others.

If you're talking about being a straight up auter game designer then in my experience what you chiefly need, unfortunately, is a lot of luck. Design is what everybody wants to do, so there are a lot of applicants. The trend at My company (intentionally not named) has been to look more to graduates of the game-design master's programs from specific colleges I can't list here... These guys (As opposed to some of the two year colleges) know their stuff!

So, if you want to be a designer you can get a degree in Game Design and you will have a better chance at getting a job than if you didn't have the degree, sure. But anyone's chances at getting a (paying, anyway) job as a Game Designer are pretty slim because there are so many applicants and it's often not really about how smart or clever or creative you are, it's more about leading a team around one vision, which is both much easier and much harder than writing code.

I got into the industry by getting a degree in Comp Sci and becoming an Actionscript developer. I spent a year making very little money, doing Flash web sites, and sending out internet applications. Luckily, it turns out, most video game UI is built in Flash, usually running on top of Scaleform. So knowing how to build stuff got me in the door.

By the way, about Arts Colleges--there are several folks working at my company who are graduates from arts colleges. They all work as artists (A VERY hard gig to get unless you're utterly amazing) or interface designers. If you know how to make a badass Flash website, then you are qualified to do UI on a 3D game, or make 2D games in Flash. I guess I'm recommending that you learn Flash! No matter what Apple thinks about it, it's here to stay in game development for at least the next console generation and with the web trending away from it, less people are going to be competing for it.

What should someone include in a portfolio (concept art, project experience, demo reels, etc)?

As much as possible, honestly. When we hire, we're looking for experience. The more stuff you have in your reel, the greater the perception is of you being experienced, and therefore ready to work and contribute from day one.

Use images or other multimedia wherever possible, instead of a bulleted list of projects. Feature screenshots or concept art! You want to dazzle. Even if the image represents a collaboration you definitely want to pique interest first and foremost.

That being said, if I'm looking at a reel of three awesome things, and another of ten mediocre things, I'll pick the first one. So be proud of whatever you're showing. "Whatever is in your portfolio is going to be someone's assumption of the level of quality you'll be able to deliver the second you sit down at your desk." The specific type of stuff in your portfolio, of course, will depend on the position you want. Whatever it is find some way to be visual and exciting.

Should one attempt to make their own games for their portfolio?

If you follow a game design track in school you'll come out the end with several school projects under your belt. Show these, but don't be deterred from applying without games in your reel.

If you decide to become a programmer, you'll be hireable in games even if you've never worked on a single game.  Just find a way to present your past work visually and dynamically. If you want to be a designer, then you absolutely will need to show games you've either built, or worked on.

Is there a way to shadow someone to see what it's like within the field of game development?

My company has historically offered unpaid internships but they're difficult to get and I'm not sure if we still do them. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have about what it's like, but generally it's just about what you'd imagine. Lots of hard work, lots of meetings. Lots of sitting in a cubicle. Lots of frustrations, lots of heartbreak. But if you love games, it's worth it.

Pixel Soldier by Adam Cartwright

Is animation good to learn as well?

Only if you want to be a full-time animator. Roles on big projects are very specialized. If you're more of a jack-of-all-trades, you'd be better off working at a small company where role-switching happens a lot because there aren't as many people. The drawback to this, of course, is that small teams just can't keep up with the EAs and Activisions with their hundreds of artists, so they don't generally bother with 3D art. Instead (smartly) they do 2D facebook/mobile games.

I'd definitely recommend you ignore 3D art of any kind unless you want to market yourself as an expert in that field, because there really isn't much demand for someone who only dabbles--it takes a loooong time and teams of artists to do that stuff. Being a 3D artist doesn't mean you can't eventually make the jump to design either, by the way. I find that once you're in the organization, if you work hard and meet the right people, you can transition to new roles.

My last question: Is it advisable to learn programming? If so what languages?

My personal recommendation--keeping in mind I'm biased--is to start with actionscript. You can acquire a copy of flash, or use Flex, the open-source actionscript compiler. Tons of great online tutorials are available available. You can build a game or any kind of application you want from scratch and you will be hireable as an interface designer. Google "scaleform games" for an idea of how many games' menus were built using Flash. Scaleform is specifically a sort of in-game Flash player. That's not even the whole story: Companies I've worked with use proprietary software that does the same thing as Scaleform and this seems to be a common practice.

If you want to be a software engineer--and make big bucks and have bulletproof job security--then C++ is the way to go. Get Visual Studio and a couple of books and get started. Even at an intermediate level, if you have a head for logic (NOTE: You don't need to be a math or science whiz. Programming is just LOGIC!), you will be hireable in games. Even better, you'll be hireable in about 40 other industries, all of which will pay you enough to start your own small game company if the mood ever strikes you.

But even if you are destined to become a Game Designer who never codes as part of his job the answer is still absolutely 'YES, you must learn at least a little programming.'

If you love music but can't sing or play any instruments, can you write a song? If you love movies but don't know lenses or lighting or cinematography, can you direct a film? If you're the best race car driver in the world but don't know any mechanical engineering or physics, can you design a car?

A computer game is a piece of software. Therefore a computer game designer is a SOFTWARE designer. If you don't know how software works you can't design it. You can come up with ideas, but so can everyone on the Internet.

I'm not saying you have to be an expert coder, but you do need to know the basics--variables, loops, conditionals. You will be working with engineers who will tell you your idea is impossible, every day. People resist ideas that aren't their own. This is human nature. If they can steamroll you by giving you a bunch of technical jargon and you can't understand it, they will always win the argument. This is something I see happen all the time. Whenever I want to innovate and I need engineers to build something for me, the fact that I know conceptually how it can work and can speak their language goes a long way in seeing that the thing actually gets done.

Don't be scared of programming! It's really not that hard. Like I said, it's just logic. You do not need to be a genius to program. The computer does all the work for you. Programming is just how you tell the computer what you want it to do. Best of luck to your friend and anyone else who reads this!

Social: Raspberries (The portrayal of Russians in films and video games)

Advertisement for Red Alert 3

The following is a slightly edited transcription of a discussion I had with my friend Sergey from Moscow, used with permission.
Careless: Okay, so huge question. I love Command and Conquer and have played the series since the original... However, more than Command and Conquer, my favorite games in the series have been Red Alert 1 & 2, the ones in which Russia outright declares war on America and starts World War 3. Being Russian what are your views on these games, which are clearly over the top but make Russia out to be... Well, rather goofy at times. I should also preface this with the fact that I pretty much only play as Russia because they're awesome in the game as well.
Sergey: Russians don't feel any hurt by such views of our nation. Russians LIKE the views like the ones found in Red Alert or Swarzenegger's Red Heat. Even more, sometimes Russians deliberately spread such stereotypes and points of view! There is a special word that describes all such things, a cultural code or genre of art...We call it... *drumming* the KLYUKVA (клюква, Russian for cranberries). Enthusiasts compile list of Klukva and like to search it in any foreign books/movies/games about Russia. Short-list (by memory): Lenin, vodka, balalaika (musical instrument), red color, the wrong use of Russian Language in Hollywood films, when people "wЯitе" like this...

There are many web communities, that enjoy Klukva. 

Here are some fun examples:

Fantastic Four The name of the ship is "Head of Toe"... Better call it "ToeTanic"
Independence Day 

The Map is horribly wrong showing cities where there are none. Also, Петроrрад was the name of St. Peterburg in before it was called Leningrad and the third city on the map is entirely unreadable

The Simpsons 

It translates to "Speak English or get out!"

(And of course...) Red Alert 

on the spine of the books: БРЭТ ЖОПА. The first world is meaningless and the second means: butt (or ass).

Of course, Red Alert is an outstanding game! I remember when I first played it. I must have been 8 or 9...It was entirely awesome. I think one of my friends said it best though, "It's impossible to not to love a game, when the units go to the battle with words "For mother Russia!""

Interview: My Interview with the Russian Magazine Mir Fantastiki

Last month I was interviewed by the Russian Sci-Fi/Fantasy Magazine Mir Fantastiki!

They also published a short article I wrote and did a cool drawing of me! This is an English transcription of that interview. The original is available for you to read here: http://mirf.ru/Articles/art5622.htm

Credits:

Art by Alexander Remizov (remizov.blogspot.ru)

Image and Article used with permission by Mir Fantastiki (mirf.ru)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Today's column was written by the musician we interviewed. Who knows more about the music than the writer/performer?

Meet Careless, the careless frontman of Florida's Video Game Music (VGM) rock band, Random Encounter.

Music Center

Back in 1999 the Video Game Music Scene was born with the emergence of a band called The Minibosses. I can 

still remember listening to them for the first time on the internet. Real instruments were playing ‘Searching 

Friends’ from Final Fantasy VI. It was revolutionary and I wanted more. Hours, days, and weeks were spent 

searching for more VG songs using primitive search engines and Napster knock-offs only to yielded a handful of 

more songs from VG-bands. This was the first time I’d ever had an interest in music so it was all I listened to and 

it became my passion. I even spent hours each night learning to play the accordion just so I could play the songs 

from the video games I loved.

     Over the next five years I’d found few more bands on the internet to listen to but it wasn't until I went to 

an Anime convention in 2004 that I got to SEE a performance in person by the classical VG band’ Select Start.’ 

The performance itself was fantastic but the night was made more remarkable by the band members staying 

around after the show to socialize and answer questions. In chatting with the band’s guitarist I was told that there 

wasn't any magic to starting a band and that I too could be a part of the VG performance scene if I applied myself. 

With this in mind, a year later I met a talented pianist in a chance Random Encounter [Note: This is a play on words. In English Random Encounter also means the band's name] who shared in my desire 

to play the songs from video games and we formed a band with a few other like-minded musicians. It was a really 

great learning experience but we were without direction after the pianist graduated college and moved to Korea. It 

wasn't until the band completely died and was reborn in 2010 that I became aware of the VG Music Scene. Through 

playing at VG music festivals I found out that there are hundreds of people who all know and love the same music 

that I do, that they enjoy the same bands, and that some of them are in the bands I enjoy. It is a friendly community 

that encourages others to join it and it’s one that I’m proud to be a part of. It’s grown a lot since 1999, but the Video 

Game Music community is just as special to me as the day I discovered it. There are just more of us now.

Guest: Careless

Currently:

Playing: Thief: Gold (1998)

The original stealth game where you avoid hurting people 

and hide in shadows to survive. It's very immersive and 

does not give you an accurate map of where you are, only a handwritten one.

Listening to: Lesnikov 16 (Пенетратор 2.0)

I only just discovered these electronic cosmonauts but 

they’ve been on loop in my headset for the last day, nonstop. 

I really love the sounds they use and the guy’s voice is hypnotic!

Random Encounter

Interview by Sergey Serebryanskiy

Tell me about origins of the band. How and when RE was born?

Random Encounter was actually born twice. First in 2005 after I randomly met a pianist who wanted to perform video game music. We asked the first people we saw the next day if they were musicians and we added a drummer and guitarist. It was a college band though, and as members graduated or quit we’d replace them. In 2010 the entire band dissolved but still had shows booked throughout the rest of the year. One of my best friends (Rook) thought it was a shame that the band would end so we formed a new band of the same name. The other band members joined because of other truly fortunate Random Encounters.

We've heard about some other "Random Encounter" band. One with a similar logo. Do you know more?

You've heard about them too? Back when Youtube was still kind of new I was looking for performance videos of my band and came across a very different 'Random Encounter' band from Poland that plays a very different style of music. However, they had the exact same instrumental lineup that we had. Accordion, two guitars, bass, drums and for the brief time in 2007 when we incorporated a trumpet they also started using a trumpet! It was getting really weird... And a year or so later I was able to find their website, only to discover that their logo was a Black and White circle with the letters "RE" inside it! I think they used arrows at the ends of the letters but it was still extremely strange that we were so alike and were entirely unaware of each other. I was able to chat with their front man (the accordionist as well) at some point by email, only to discover that they'd never heard of us. He was very nice and offered to play a show together if we were ever in Poland. I am under the impression that they've stopped playing as of 2008/2009 though.

It's like it's time paradox! Accordions are an unusual and rare instrument for rock music. Why did you chose to play it?

This is going to sound really weird but it’s the truth. On my 16th birthday I had a very powerful dream where I heard a sound. When I woke up I was able to identify the sound as being from an accordion and I felt a very strong impulse to recreate that sound. My parents helped me find someone who could teach me to play a week later and my love for the instrument grows every time I play.

Why were some songs from the first Random Encounter album re-recorded for the second one?

It's funny that you should ask because while Random Encounter 'Self Titled' was recorded by Random Encounter... It was recorded by a completely different group of people from the "old" Random Encounter. When Rook and I formed the "new" Random Encounter we still wanted to play some the same songs like "Terra" and "Ahead of Our Way." We were also a completely different band from the incarnations that came before and it just felt natural to re-record the songs in a way that represented the new band. We pretty much consider "Unavenged" as Random Encounter's first album, and see Self Titled as a Proto-album made by different people.

We thought songs sounded very different... It's almost like there are three Random Encounter bands! What’s more difficult: Writing your own songs or arranging melodies that were not written for a rock band?

We typically decide that we’re going to remake a song because it’s something we think will fit the band's arrangement well to begin with. These songs start off with a strong melody, are well written, and already have a following. Writing original songs is a lot more subjective and in some ways stressful. It’s a lot more of a learning process and we’ll often experiment with them during shows. For instance, our song about Baba Yaga “Swamp Witch” was originally longer, but we noticed that people seemed to loose interest and shortened it. It was terrifying releasing our new single “Dead Labs” for those reasons and I think if it were a cover song I’d have been more confident that people would like it.

Why do most of Video Game Cover bands play music from selected games: Final Fantasy VI & VII, Castlevania?

I think things are shifting and while VG bands usually prefer songs that people will be familiar with it’s becoming more common to hear bands perform or record obscure tracks. “Lords of Thunder” and “Descendants of Erdrick” are really good examples of bands that play obscure music. I’ll also shameless plug my side project “Careless Juja” as a recording group that works with more obscure tracks like ‘Sword Master’.

Is there some kind of movement, an informal club of bands playing video game music?

Yes and no... I can only speak for the U.S. VGM scene but 80% of us know and see each other a few times a year at big events. The part that amazed me is how friendly and approachable everyone is and how no one feels different then the audience members. For instance, if anyone reading this sends Random Encounter or any other VGM band a message on the internet they should know that they’ll likely get a friendly response back... 

Is it true that there is a new subculture in USA, a Nerd culture? Will the Nerd culture take the place of indie culture in the world? 

Nerd Culture is growing steadily in the US. Many stores carry nerdy clothes, video game & geek-television memorabilia, toys, anime, and video games. While I don’t personally think it will replace indie culture I think that it’s a large part of indie culture and in some ways has even become mainstream. For reference, the #1 Nerdy band of 2012, They Might Be Giants, just released a new album 'Nanobots' and is currently scheduled to be on tour for the next 6 months, almost non-stop, playing to large crowds of over 500- 2000 every night. A less well-known band I’m personally friends with, “The Protomen”, is also on tour for most of the year, which means that on any given night of the year over 100-300 people in any given city will come to see them perform. I feel that their success is a good indication that our culture is growing.

Do you have live concerts often? How does it go?

We typically play one or two shows a month but sometimes we’ll do one every week, or play a show every night if we’re on tour. Our shows are a lot of fun from my perspective because I enjoy singing and playing accordion with the other band mates. That fact that other people are there to watch us is an excuse for me to try out goofy things like putting the accordion on my head, playing with my teeth, or seeing if I can walk off stage and sneak up on people in the audience. It’s also really gratifying because we have the ability to make people happy if we do a good job.

Members of RE like different music. What brings you together?

Everyone in Random Encounter has completely different musical tastes. For instance, Rook loves 80’s music and I can’t stand it. Konami loves folk, and Kit is something of a Metal-head. This makes writing and arranging music difficult but we work hard to make sure that all of us enjoy the finished product. Our shared love is video games. Every one of us is a fairly hardcore gamer with a different specialty and it’s that love that brought us together. 

How did you become interested in Russian culture?

(laughing) I've been waiting for this one! My great-great ancestors are from Russia so it’s always been an important place to me that I've regrettably never been to. I love history and grew up enjoying stories about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ivan the Great, and the strong spirit of the Russian people that has seen you through Napoleon, Hitler, and countless other great threats. 

One of my American friends had lived in Tambov for a few years and told me about life there. He specifically mentioned a few stories he’d heard about about Baba Yaga, a name that VERY few Americans know. When I did some research, I found dozens of fantastic legends about Baba Yaga and lots of other supernatural beings. It was like suddenly discovering Egyptian or Greek mythology for the first time, only to find out that no one you know has ever heard any of the stories. After discussions as a band we concluded that being legendary Tambov-based supernatural monster hunters was a fun way to introduce people to these legends.

Our cover is that we are posing as a Video Game band to not be noticed as we travel around the US in our search for the hidden soul of Koschei the Deathless...which was brought to America from the Island of Buyon around the time Michael Jackson became white.

Tell the story about origins of the song “Voshititelniy Egoist”. Who helped you with the text and pronunciation?

The intention behind Delightfully Selfish was to create a love song in Russian that only used negative terms to describe endearment... I will never truly know if I succeeded or if my accent/pronounciantion was awful because I speak very little Russian. Musically it was strongly inspired by the main “Diablo” theme. I had a few friends and family members translate it to Russian, cross check, and help me pronounce it but ultimately a 2 hour pronounciation session with an elderly woman from Russia really helped me learn how to properly pronounce the song (to the best of my abilities), despite me not knowing a word of Russian beforehand. I recorded her saying the words right and repeated everything over and over for hours at a time until I finally memorized the song. I hope that some of my original vision for the song translated well.

What’s next for Random Encounter? Are there new tracks or releases in works?

We just released a new original single called ‘Dead Labs’, that is greatly inspired by the video game series Dead Space and System Shock. Now that we’re done with the single, we've started recording songs for our next album: ‘Let Me Tell You a Story’. It will be roughly 50% original, 50% cover, and will also feature a song about Baba Yaga. Based on the speed we’re currently working at I think it should be out around mid-Summer, because we want to be sure that the level of (performance and recording) quality greatly exceeds anything we’ve released. Also, I should mention here that anyone who cannot afford our music we fully welcome to torrent or stream it for free. Should you be able to support us one day, or “like” our facebook page, we appreciate it but feel free to enjoy our music in the meantime.

How do you spend your own time?

I spend at least an hour each night working on something musical... recording, writing, practicing, or just goofing off. I also host a Dungeons and Dragons [Pathfinder] game each week and regularly practice German Longsword. My favorite video games are generally the ones I’m playing at the time. This month I really enjoyed Far Cry 3, Thief, and Dishonored. I rarely get time to read but i’m a big fan of Warhammer 40k books by Dan Abnett, or certain Batman comics like ‘The Killing Joke.’ My favorite book is The Hobbit.

Can you say that Random Encounter is well-known band? Even Russian magazines interview you :)

(laughing) I am always pleasantly surprised when I find someone who has heard of us and it seems to happen fairly often. While I don’t want to call us “well known” just yet I’ll humbly concede that we’re slowly gaining recognition. Thanks for the interesting and enjoyable chat!

I almost forgot, do you have anything you'd like to tell your Russian fans?

I hope to meet you in the future, and even become a fan of your music!

From America with Love,

Careless & Random Encounter