Multi-Award winning games composers with 20 years of experience

Bob & Barn know games, it's that simple!

Bob & Barn started composing music for games in 1990. Yes this does, on occasion, make the duo feel old, but they are from the rare breed of composers who still remain contemporary.

A key factor when scoring games is that they are primarily designed to be enjoyed by games players from 8 - 25. As such, one of the appeals of using a games composer to a developer is that he or she has kept a sharp eye on what the rest of that demographic are listening to. When choosing to hire a composer for a project, as the games industry has matured, so has the importance of music and therefore the choice of composer.

Having been around for 20 years, the duo have followed the trend of being required to 'write in all styles' whilst being both freelance and in-house up until they started Bob & Barn in 2001. Their 'apprenticeship' also served to get them to grips with the disciplines of sound design, foley work, field recording, mixing and implementation. All of these experiences culminated in a thorough and detailed understanding of all of the sound disciplines. They also used this time to hone their composition skills and focus on the musical styles that they enjoyed writing the most. So, cutting to the chase, are they right for your project?

The music they write now would come under the banner of 'action / adventure'.

From the sweeping lavish scores to the recent 'Neverwinter Nights 2 : The Storm of Zehir', the gothic comedy of the 'MediEvil' series to the fantasy 'Primal', these are all examples of symphonic orchestral scores which would come under the term 'adventure'. On the action front, the score to 'Brink', with it's strong world percussion & ethnic instrument dominated sound thru 'Sega Rally', a high energy contemporary rock meets electronica score with acoustic overdubs and 'Kung Fu Chaos', a soundtrack combining 70s disco, funk & kung fu serve as examples of scores in that vein.

The music they write tend to feature acoustic instruments heavily from a solo soprano voice, through instrumental session 'bands' put together for the project all the way to full orchestra and choir. They like to mix it up, their musical 'voice' would also feature ethnic and other unusual instruments such as Tuvan vocals, Chinese Violin, Hangdrum & medieval Psaltery. Contemporary elements come through the sparse inclusion of samples & electronica, elements that unless served by the project are kept low in the mix to let the acoustic instruments tell the story. Of course, their musical backgrounds come into play, so a tongue in cheek addition of funk, rock and jazz is known to happen from time to time.

Since 2000, the pair have spent a lot of time learning and researching the art of scoring sound-2-picture from the world of film. Fortunately, their research has led them to be tutored by a number of composers working in Hollywood today, allowing them to really raise their game - pun intended.

If you wish to hear examples of their work, older ones can be found on this website, newer examples can however be found on the SMA website. They were recently signed up by SMA (Soundtrack Music Associates) and their new showreel can be found on their composer page here.