In a recent interview about his work on Aliens: Fireteam Elite, composer Austin Wintory has responded to the Grammy Awards and has finally added a video game music category. The composer has worked on many titles over the years, such as the critically acclaimed game trip. However, despite the acclaim its soundtracks — as well as many other creditable video game scores — have received over the years, the Grammy Awards have never had a dedicated video game category until now.
Wintory is an incredibly accomplished composer, who has worked in both film and video games for decades, but has only been nominated once for his work on a game at the Grammys for trip, in the Best Visual Media Soundtrack category. He has titles like Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Abzu, and Monaco: what’s yours is mine. Wintory’s most recent work can be seen in the title of the third-person shooter Aliens: Fireteam Elite, where he brought the atmosphere of the movies to the game through a brilliantly scary soundtrack. Wintory’s future projects include a collaboration with dragon era creator David Gaider on the unique musical story game lost gods.
In a recent interview with screen frenzy, Austin Wintory shared his thoughts on a video game category that will eventually make it to the Grammy Awards. In the interview, Wintory discussed his time to work on Aliens: Fireteam Elite, his creative process behind the eerie sounds, and the fact that the game came in just before the deadline to be considered for a Grammy Award. When asked to comment on the new category, and whether he was excited about this year’s event, Wintory replied:
Hilariously, today is the release window that every album must have come out in to qualify for the upcoming Grammys, including that first-ever game music category. Today is the close for release for that current window. So, with no actual intentional effort, and there was nothing choreographed about this… like I said, the game came out a year ago. Ironically, if the soundtrack had come out when the game first came out, it wouldn’t have been eligible for that Grammy for first game music. But because it came out today, on the last day of eligibility, it’s technically in the pool. Obviously, that’s just one of these funny timings, and God only knows if it will actually be nominated.
But I can tell you that as the voting starts in a few weeks, inevitably [there is] kind of a free-for-all of musicians sharing their latest musicians to keep in mind when the ballots come out. I get thousands of emails saying “Oh, by the way, in case you vote in the Best Tropical Latin Album category, here’s my entry.” People I don’t even know have somehow found out that I’m in the Recording Academy. It’s something that happens every year, and to be honest, I actually think it’s quite beautiful because it’s a bunch of people who are super passionate about the hard work they’ve put in, and honestly, there’s a lot of great records out there that I wouldn’t have found out otherwise. So I don’t call the kind of self-promotion of these various musicians with a hint of cynicism. I’m glad they do.
That said, what I’m most looking forward to is seeing the list of friends and colleagues I’ll have the chance to vote for this way. And knowing unlike in years past where I voted for game scores in the visual media category and apparently I was one of the viewers who voted for these scores by my colleagues and friends I admire – now I can with quite a lot of confidence saying that I’m pretty sure that at least some of the people I vote for will be nominated. I’m really excited about that. God knows this strange distinction that Journey is the only one ever nominated is wrong. There must be others, because it’s such a vibrant and amazing art form, and I’m surrounded by so many colleagues whose work I love to death, and who arguably deserve it a lot more than I do. So that’s gonna be fun.
The new Grammy category is a long time ago for artists like Austin Wintory
Since the dawn of video games, their soundtracks have been an integral part of the overall experience. Whether helping horror games to create a terrifying atmosphere for the player or interactive soundscape as in the toadless one making for an immersive playthrough, games just wouldn’t be the same without their music. This undeniable fact makes it surprising that it has taken so long for the Grammy Awards to add a category for the medium, given how long video games have been part of the cultural zeitgeist. With this new addition, a whole new group of artists is finally eligible for recognition for their hard and impactful work.
Austin Wintory’s work in particular has helped create memorable experiences for millions of players throughout his decades in the industry. While he’s an obvious choice for a nomination, there are many other talented performers who will eventually be considered as well, as Wintory himself noted. While there have long been special events like The Game Awards that recognize soundtracks, the medium is often not tapped outside of the game industry. Whether Wintory wins for Aliens: Fireteam Elite or another talented artist takes home the Grammy, the new categorical addition is a net positive for composers everywhere.
Source: Screen Rant
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