
It’s hard to think back today to a time when video games barely had anything we could identify as “music” the bleeps and bloops of Pong and Space Invaders are ancient history for those who grew up in the Post-Nintendo era and a distant memory for those who didn’t. Music and sound in games became much more complex after the NES and by the time the first PlayStation popularized CD quality sound in games, video game music was an established art form. Video game franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy, for example, achieved great feats with the Super NES sound chip that would stand the test of time, no matter the technological advancement. Recent years have brought us a boom of orchestral tributes to such storied franchises and, like The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy before it, Pokémon has gotten the orchestral treatment. Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions takes music from across Pokémon’s history and translates it in full orchestral glory. The tour will be making its way to Toronto in August and we had the chance to talk with the project’s key creative producers, Jeron Moore and Chad Seiter, on growing up with Pokémon and the challenges of putting together a concert tour worthy of celebrating the franchise’s nearly 20 years.
How did you two get this job? Were you approached or did you seek it out?
Jeron Moore: Well, we sought this out. When Chad and I were in the middle of touring The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, which we had created for Nintendo, we were beginning to think about what our next project would be, and we landed on Pokémon. So with that decision, the onus was on us to present the idea to The Pokémon Company for consideration.
Pokémon’s music has always been midi chip tunes which have given it a distinct charm to those who grew up with it. How do you carry that over to an orchestral composition? What has orchestration added or taken away from Pokémon’s score?
Chad Seiter: Right. I grew up listening to a lot of game music and playing Pokémon. Growing up I listened to a lot of orchestral music and film music and when I would play these things as a kid, and being a composer now, I’d play them and think, “this is really cool but it would have so much impact if it, you know, sounded like this, my favourite film scores.” So, chip tunes are great, I love them and they carry a lot of emotional impact and I think they’re very creative, I like the technical aspect of them and it’s basically exchanging it for one creative form to another. An orchestra is also very technical and has a lot of limitations and abilities and so really what I wanted to do is show the audience on the music side what it felt like for me to play these games growing up, how I kind of heard it in my head.
You guys said that you also worked on the The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. I went to the Toronto show and it was great, by the way. What considerations have to be made when you’re putting together an event like Symphony of the Goddesses or the Symphonic Evolutions you’re doing now?
JM: One of the staples of mine and Chad’s productions is that we’re always very focused on story and narrative. All these games have different palettes, whether they be visual or musical.. With the handheld consoles, Pokémon has sort of, pardon the pun, evolved over a series of platforms from the original Gameboy all the way to the 3DS, and with each hardware upgrade the midi palette kept getting better and better, and so we like to bring that all under one roof, unify the games as one whole, rather than segregating them by platform.
CS: I think that making sure we approach it creatively and making sure we tell a story is the best way to connect with your audience no matter where it is in the world… and staying as faithful to the material as possible.
JM: We never want to betray the intention of the material, that’s extremely important to us, for the fans, for the creators. It’s important to respect where it came from, that’s always top on our priority.
You two seem well versed in the Pokémon game series. Is working on this like going back to your childhood or are the Pokémon games still a part of your lives as adults, have you played the re-release of Ruby and Sapphire, for example?
JM: Chad and I grew up with Pokémon in different ways, Chad can speak to how it influenced his childhood, I very loosely grew up with it. The Pokémon series came out when I was sophomore or junior in high school, and at that point I’d put down my Gameboy for a while and was getting involved in the PC gaming craze which was on an upswing. So, I had limited experience with Pokémon Red and Blue and Gold and Silver and most of that was borrowing my cousin’s cartridges. I liked it because I was a big RPG fan, but I didn’t keep up with it until I got back into my handhelds and started to catch up. So, the most recent game I’ve played is Y. I haven’t dug into Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire just yet. We did play through all the games up to X and Y when putting the show together, so we got to dive back in and catch up and familiarize and make sure we were on the same page with the material.
Were you guys familiar with the “expanded universe,” the anime, the movies. How much of that was part of your lives?
JM: That’s all Chad.
CS: I grew up with the anime, I remember watching it every day at my grandma’s house growing up [Laughs] in the afternoons after school. So, for me, when this came up, I couldn’t help but laugh at how cool it was that we were going to be working on Pokémon. [Laughs]
Pokémon was supposed to be a “fad” but here we are nearly 20 years later and the franchise is still going strong, how much of a role do you think the music has played in the brand’s longevity?
CS: Well, Of course, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” is iconic, everyone knows that song at this point and I think the games themselves, for anybody that plays or has experience with JRPGs, Pokémon music is right up there with the best of them. So, to be able to work with this music, which hasn’t gotten the same kind of exposure in this arena such as Zelda or Final Fantasy, it’s fun to be the one bringing this to the concert hall, rolling out the red carpet, so to speak.
How involved were Nintendo and The Pokémon Company? Were they very hands on or did they give you free reign to do what you wanted creatively?
CS: Creatively, we had quite a lot of freedom, actually. We brought them our show concept and they gave us what we needed to create it. We worked with Junichi Masuda, the original Pokémon composer, which was so much fun and he was always very happy with our arrangement.
JM: It’s an important distinction to make that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are two different entities. We’ve been working exclusively with The Pokémon Company whereas we worked with Nintendo on Zelda. They [Nintendo] haven’t really been involved in this show. The Pokémon Company does a great job of managing the brand, and working with them has been a great pleasure because, as Chad said, they’ve provided us with all the things we need to make the show a fantastic experience for fans, including connecting us with Masuda-san, and getting everything to the high quality bar that we demand. So, it’s just been a really terrific experience all around.
You’ve performed the English Pokémon anime theme [“Gotta Catch em’ All”] at your shows, do you think you’ll incorporate some other songs from the anime, like the ones during the Pikachu’s Jukebox segments or, dare I say, the Pokerap itself?
[Both Laugh]
CS: Well, one thing’s for sure, there is no shortage of Pokémon music we can utilize so all I can say is that by you recommending that, now we’re going to look into it [laughs].
JM: We definitely take all of the fans suggestions and recommendations into consideration, we’re reading all the comments and looking at all the feedback and are definitely mining those community resources for future ideas.
Speaking of the fans, how’s the response been from fans?
JM: It’s been fantastic.That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of doing something like this; you spend so much time with the material. Chad and I have probably seen the concert in concept hundreds of times by now, both visually and audibly, whereas audiences are just now beginning to see it and when we’re able to get into a concert hall and fill it with a lot of fans and people who may not be familiar with the brand and people who are just there to hear great music and then seeing their reaction, their faces glow, the smiles, all the commotion during intermission and the cheers during the concert that the orchestra receives, it’s just really rewarding and a lot of fun.
Which piece would you say has been the crowd favourite?
CS: Oh, well, [sigh]… the favourite is definitely the Red and Blue material at the beginning of the show. We have a Red and Blue battle medley that people just flip out during [laughs]. Another one I know that get a lot of attention is “Battle with Red” from… uh… Gold and Silver. [Laughs] I was going to just say Gen 2 [laughs]. I know that one is insanely popular, and also “Gotta Catch ‘Em All”, the audience never fails to sing along with it [laughs].
JM: When you ask an audience member what their favorite was, which I like to do after every show, more often than not they just have hard time deciding. They just say “all of it,” which is always a good sign…
CS: [interjects] and they may or may not be crying when they say that [laughs].
JM: Pokémon fans are so passionate. We love that about them!
Yeah, Pokémon fans take every opportunity to sing along, I remember being at an X and Y launch event at an EB Games and the line of people would just sing the theme while waiting for the store to open. That’s just a thing they do
[Both laugh]
Which game has your personal favorite Soundtrack?
JM: I really like Ruby and Sapphire, personally, I like the melodies and the texture and tone of that soundtrack. Chad, what’s yours?
CS: Actually, I would say the same, but I think X and Y has a lot of really cool stuff, kind of like next evolution in quality. It definitely expands on what the technical limitations [of that platform] were, and aside from that, I think X and Y sounds beautiful.
JM: I would agree with that.
Finally, what Pokémon is your favourite and why?
JM: [laughs] Chad… ?
CS: You go first, mine’s less popular of an opinion [laughs].
JM: [laughs] You know, I really like Chespin. I think he’s adorable and a friend of mine, she actually drew my Twitter avatar, a Pokémon trainer version of me, with Chespin on my shoulder because I like him so much. He was my starter on Y, and I have an affinity toward him. Of course we all love Pikachu in a certain capacity.
CS: Well, that’s… I hate to say it, but mine is Pikachu, only because he’s so iconic to my childhood. Growing up watching the cartoon, whenever Pikachu would talk my grandma would giggle [laughs], so I like Pikachu the best.
Mine is Slowking, since you both shared yours.
JM: Awesome! I love the music video with Slowpoke [“Donai Yanen Yadon”].
Oh yeah, the Slowpoke video, that is ridiculously amazing.
[Everyone laughs]
JM: It’s mesmerizing.
Thank you so much again for taking the time out. Good luck and I hope to see you in Toronto in August.