Alexander Brandon
![]() |
Alt./Nickname: | Chromatic Dragon, Siren, Sandman |
Date of Birth: | 1974 | |
Location: | Temecula, CA (USA) | |
Website: | www.alexanderbrandon.net |
Biography / Trivia
Despite being classically trained as a pianist and choral singer, Alexander Brandon's real training came by experimenting with the AdLib sound card and later becoming a member of the demoscene and tracker community, writing music for the classic MOD, S3M, and IT formats. His breakthrough into game music came when he composed and co-designed 1995's "Tyrian," which opened the doors to further work with Epic Games and related titles, including the "Unreal" and "Unreal Tournament" series. Several works were composed together with Dan Gardopée, his partner in the game audio company Straylight Productions. Brandon's biggest success came with multiple Game of the Year winner "Deus Ex" in 2000, which he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Michiel van den Bos. He remains an active composer, with frequent stints as an audio director and producer, and is currently employed by Obsidian.
Alexander is also quite involved in organizations that promote the development of game audio, such as G.A.N.G. and Project Bar-B-Q.
- Wrote a book on the game audio industry: "Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production" (2004).
- Influential artists include: Basil Poledouris, John McGlaughlin, composer for Strider by Capcom (original version), Michiru Yamane, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Orff, Shostakovich, Andrew Sega, Steve Vai, Orb, Michael Kamen, and many others...
"As always, make sure you can do anything. Write any style, do voice acting, direct voice acting, know your equipment and technology, become familiar with engineering, composing, sound design…I consider someone a musician if they can write or play one style, but I consider someone a true composer if they can write in more than one style."
Games (22)
Year | Title | Platform | Composer | 1995 | Tyrian | PC | Alexander Brandon | 1998 | Dark Vengeance | PC | Alexander Brandon, Andrew Schlesigner, Mark Styles | 1998 | Jazz Jackrabbit 2 | PC | Alexander Brandon, Robert Allen, Sean Hiler, Bryan Rudge | 1998 | Pretzel Pete | PC | Alexander Brandon, Dan Gardopée | 1998 | Unreal | PC | Alexander Brandon, Andrew Sega, Dan Gardopée, Michiel van den Bos | 1999 | Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files | PC | Alexander Brandon, Robert Allen | 1999 | Tyrian 2000 | PC | Alexander Brandon | 1999 | Unreal Mission Pack I: Return to Na Pali | PC | Alexander Brandon | 1999 | Unreal Tournament | PC, DC, PS2 | Tero Kostermaa, Dan Gardopée, Kai-Eerik Komppa, Alexander Brandon, Peter Hajba, Andrew Sega, Michiel van den Bos | 1999 | Vigilante 8 | N64 | Alexander Brandon, Jeehun Hwang & Bon Harris | 1999 | Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense | N64 | Alexander Brandon, Dan Gardopée, Christian A. Salyer & Eric Klein | 2000 | Deus Ex | PC, PS2 | Alexander Brandon, Dan Gardopée, Michiel van den Bos, Reeves Gabrels | 2000 | Jazz Jackrabbit 3 | PC | Alexander Brandon | 2003 | Activision Anthology | GBA | Alexander Brandon | 2003 | Battlestar Galactica | PS2, XBOX | Alexander Brandon, Cris Liesch, Tom Zehnder, Steve Kuray, Clint Bajakian | 2003 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | PC, XBOX | Alexander Brandon, Mark Lampert, Todd Simmons | 2003 | Unreal II: The Awakening | PC, XBOX | Jack Wall, Clint Bajakian, Jeremy Soule, Crispin Hands, Chance Thomas, Richard Schneider, Alexander Brandon | 2004 | Thief: Deadly Shadows | PC, XBOX | Eric Brosius, Mark Lampert, Todd Simmons, Alexander Brandon | 2005 | Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows | PS2, XBOX | Alexander Brandon, Inon Zur, Rednote Audio, Alistair Cooper | 2006 | Marvel Ultimate Alliance | GBA | Alexander Brandon | 2006 | Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run | PS2, XBOX | Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, Alexander Brandon | 2007 | Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer | PC | Rik Schaffer, Jeff Dodson, Alexander Brandon |
Albums (6)
Release Date | Title | Type |
1998 | Unreal Original Soundtrack | CD |
1998 | Unreal Original Soundtrack (strategy guide version) | CD |
2001 | Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition Soundtrack | CD |
2005-11-14 | The American Album | Digital Release |
2006 | A History of Unreal Music | CD |
2006-06-14 | The American Album: Special Edition | Digital Release |
Albums - Non-VGM (6)
Year | Title | Type |
1999-04-23 | Atmospheres - Moods | CD |
1999-05-28 | Atmospheres - Pulses | CD |
1999-10-01 | Atmospheres - Cultures | CD |
2000-08-26 | Atmospheres - Rhythms | CD |
2000-12-29 | Atmospheres - Dreams | CD |
2007-10-15 | Era's End | Digital Release |
Reviews
» Deus Ex (by orion_mk3)
Links
Obsidian Entertainment
Interview (DeusEx-Machina)
Interview (MotherShip Servers)
Added by orion_mk3 & Rimo on Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM | Edited by Rimo on Sep 11, 2008 05:18 PM |