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Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra

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Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra
Background information
Birth nameBlake Robinson
BornLondon, UK
GenresSoundtrack, Orchestral, Classical, video game music
Occupation(s)Music software developer, Composer
Years active2001–Present

The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra, also known simply as The Synthetic Orchestra, is the pseudonym for a British video game music composer and orchestrator Blake Robinson, who has developed a substantial following on YouTube, primarily for his orchestrations, recreations and remixes of popular video game music.[1]

Career

YouTube

Blake frequently releases orchestrations of popular video game music on YouTube. His channel features titles from a large variety of genres and various eras of gaming history from Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the Sega Master System to Alan Wake on the Xbox 360.[1]

Games development

Blake began a career in video games development as a tools programmer and web developer for Electronic Arts. As music became a bigger interest in his life, he turned his focus to making a career of it, leaving EA and becoming a freelance music software developer and composer. Whilst he is no longer a full-time games developer, Blake still spends his free time designing and developing independent video games.[2]

Composing

Blake is a keen user of Image-Line's FL Studio and is listed as a power-user on their website. He frequently posts tutorials and walk-through videos on his primary and secondary YouTube channels and is known to go into great depth about the processes and tools he uses to create his music.[3] Blake has also extended his influence outside of YouTube, releasing several albums of original music composed by himself.[4] Blake is also a member of the independent record label, Joypad Records,[5] where he releases a collection of his video game music orchestrations.

Sample development

Blake's primary career is audio software development. He is currently part of the Spitfire Audio development team, a collection of composers and engineers that create sample libraries for the Kontakt sampler by Native Instruments.[2][6][7]

The Stanley Parable appeared during the third season of House of Cards, where President Frank Underwood is being shown the game by a novelist and video game reviewer who is writing his biography, with the puzzling nature of the game used as a metaphor for the current politics in the show's fiction. Robinson's music from the soundtrack accompanied the scene.[8][9]

Discography

  • The Synthetic Orchestra : Originals Volume 1 (2012)
  • Super Metroid : Ridley's Theme Orchestra (2012)
  • The BIOSHOCK Song : Instrumental Version (2012)
  • Pixel Hero and the creation of Dr Mindframe (2012)
  • Pirates of New Horizons (2012)
  • Chrono Trigger : The Last Day of the World Orchestra (2012)
  • Dexter For Orchestra EP (2012)
  • Uncharted : Drake's Theme Orchestra (2012)
  • Final Fantasy IV : Main Theme Orchestra (2012)
  • Video Game Orchestrations Vol 1 (2012)
  • An unhealthy obsession (2012)
  • NumNumNumNum Touch my Body (2013)
  • The Synthetic Orchestra : Originals Volume 2 (2013)
  • Super Metroid Symphony (2013)
  • Video Game Orchestrations Vol 2 (2013)
  • NUKEM: Duke 3D Remixes (2013)[10]
  • Banjo-Kazooie Symphony (2013)[11]
  • Chrono Trigger Symphony : Volume 1 (2013)[12]
  • Chrono Trigger Symphony : Volume 2 (2013)
  • Bits of Music from The Stanley Parable (2013)[13]
  • Chrono Trigger Symphony : Volume 3 (2014)
  • Mystery Match : The Soundtrack (2014)
  • Crafty Candy : The Soundtrack (2015)
  • Portal Knights (2016)[14]

Video game credits

  • Crafty Candy: Composer
  • Mystery Match: Composer
  • Terraria: Console Trailer Composer
  • The Stanley Parable: Composer
  • Pirates of New Horizons: Composer
  • Portal Knights: Composer

Awards

  • In 2014 Robinson was announced as an IGF finalist in the category of "Excellence in Audio" for The Stanley Parable.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Gallagher, Danny (2012-09-06). "This "Synthetic Orchestra" Recreates Some of Gaming's Greatest Tunes | Side Mission". GameTrailers. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  2. ^ a b "Interview with Blake Robinson". Nintendo Nation.net. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  3. ^ "Blake Robinson (Synthetic Orchestra) « Power Users List". Image-line.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  4. ^ "Synthetic Orchestra: "Originals Volume 1″ (Review)". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  5. ^ "Store". Joypad Records. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  6. ^ "Blog « Spitfire Audio LLP". Spitfireaudio.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  7. ^ "Albion II" (PDF). Spitfire-webassets. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  8. ^ Rivera, Joshua (March 4, 2015). "How House of Cards broke new ground for video games in pop culture". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  9. ^ Phillips, Tom (March 2, 2015). "Watch indie games star in House of Cards season three". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  10. ^ "VGMDB NUKEM: Duke 3D Remixes". vgmdb.net. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  11. ^ "Nintendo Life Banjo-Kazooie Symphony review". nintendolife.com. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  12. ^ "iTunes - Music - The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  13. ^ "BandCamp - Music - The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  14. ^ "The Portal Knights Soundtrack". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  15. ^ "IGF Finalists 2014". igf.com. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  16. ^ http://awards.bafta.org/award/2014/games. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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