Roll7’s upcoming skater shooter, rollerdrome, is our first to feature an all-original soundtrack, featuring dark retro-futuristic synth beats from the incredible Electric Dragon. I spoke with Ian, the artist behind Electric Dragon, to discuss the process of working on the project and creating this brand new album.
Jemima Tyssen Smith: Hi Ian! I had the pleasure of working with you as you created the incredible brand new music for rollerdrome. This was such an exciting project for Roll7, as it’s the first time we’ve had a completely new soundtrack created for one of our games. What attracted you to the project?
electric dragon: You called me!
Haha – it’s true! Yes, I was actually the first to contact you – we only wanted one number initially, right?
Yes, that’s right – I didn’t know the full details of the game at the time, but what I saw was super interesting to me, and I even offered to do original work at the time. Then I met with part of the team and we discussed what was needed in more detail. I was in a rut with the album I was working on, and talking to the folks at Roll7 really gave me a burst of inspiration. I think it actually all came together really well for everyone involved. I’ve always wanted to work on a soundtrack for a game, and Rollerdrome is an incredible game to be working on.
I think when you talked about the possibility of original songs that felt perfect for us because we wanted such a specific vibe for the soundtrack. Can you talk about that?
Yeah, so the energy we were looking for was a soundtrack with the power of synthwave, but with a distinctly 70s flavor. It felt like it could be quite difficult to keep the balance, because we also really wanted to avoid going disco – the game has a obscurity that needs to be reflected in the music. In the end, it actually came together quite naturally. I basically tackled the soundtrack like it was kind of a 70’s corner, forward looking – very BBC ‘Tomorrow’s World’, you know? And then I got a bit inspired by a lot of different things: pioneers of the 70’s like Vangellis, Wendy Carlos, Philip Glass, Giorgio Moroder, Tangerine Dream… a lot of inspiration from many places!
It’s so inspiring to see all the cool kits you have – they’re all really interesting stuff. What was it that drew you to music and synthwave in the first place?
I had a Commodore 64 as a kid and my uncle bought me some software called ‘Utilisynth’. It was very complicated, but I managed to make some great wobbly noises, and from then on I was kind of hooked! I started playing guitar, I played house music in the 90s, I was even in a death metal band for a while… but after a while I returned to synth.
And we’re very glad you did! This project is obviously very different from working on an album that isn’t so closely tied to a game and a concept – how did that work for you?
Yeah, since the songs have to fit the gameplay, I couldn’t make breakdowns the same way I would on a completely freeform album, so that was a really interesting challenge to work around. I also had to find a balance between the dystopian story and the exciting gameplay – the tracks needed grit, but they also needed a sense of fun. I think those moments of positivity really help to darken the darker parts of the game, which I really like. One thing I did like about the process – and this may seem crazy – is that the story really helped me pick track titles. I always find it a bit difficult to name tracks, so it was a real relief to already have content to pull titles from!
Finally, I have to ask – where does the name ‘Electric Dragon’ come from?
It’s from a 2001 Japanese movie – Electric Dragon 80,000 V. It’s about two rivals who get electrocuted and then end up with super powers… and they also play some seriously guitar-destroying solos.
That sounds so cool! I’m adding it to my watchlist as we speak. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today and for creating this epic soundtrack. I just can’t wait for people to experience it in-game.
Me neither!
Rollerdrome is coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on August 16.
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