The show will be a series of adaptations of Tim’s 'Duet' soundtrack, blending the symphonic might of the QSO with Tim’s signature delicate electronic tapestries. “Ryan got in touch with me at the end of last year and pitched to me the idea about performing the soundtrack of Duet with the QSO. He’s been an orchestral arranger based in Brisbane and LA for the last however many years and I think he was looking for a way to work with the QSO and pitch to them the idea of doing the soundtrack as part of the QSOCurrent Festival, which is focusing a bit more on experimental and newer work than what might normally be performed in its repertoire.”
The overall aim of the project is to merge the two vastly different worlds into one harmonious masterpiece, and Tim says they’re coming close to hitting the nail on the head. “We're just trying to create a very immersive experience and something that doesn’t necessarily feel like a dude with a lap top who is playing backing tracks to an orchestra over the top of it. We're trying to create something that feels like a real glue with the electronic and the organic and acoustic instruments of the orchestra and I think we're really getting there.”
Accompanying the show will be a visual feast that will perfectly match Tim’s 'Duet' soundtrack. “The show also has large scale immersive visuals as well from a Brisbane video artist called James Loveday, and he’s been working on the visual aesthetic of 'Duet' which is really unique.”
Tim didn’t have to hesitate when he got the opportunity to be involved with the project, claiming that it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come up too often. “When Ryan suggested it to me I didn’t really have to think twice about I because when do you ever get asked to perform with an orchestra, you know? Of course I said yes straight away.”
It’s a nice twist to a project that Tim has been involved with for a couple of years – one that was sparked by watching a film about the emerging indie video game scene.“It all started when I saw a documentary about indy gaming called ‘Indie Game: The movie’. I've always been a bit of a gamer – not super hardcore, but still interested in video games and I saw a type of gaming that I didn't really know existed.”
Once he had seen the movie, Tim decided he needed to be a part of the subculture. “After I saw that film, I just felt like it would be a good thing for me to get in to writing music for video games. A friend of a friend introduced me to the guys behind 'Duet', which is a small team of developers from Melbourne called Kumobius. They showed me a really early prototype of the game and I told them about my music and shared with them some of the stuff I've released in the past, and we quickly figured out that that it was a good fit.”
Many reviewers of the game regard Tim’s soundtrack to be as much of a masterpiece as the game itself, but Tim says the real magic lies in the harmony of the music and the game as one. “I think where the game really succeeds is with the marriage of the music to the game play. 'Duet' has a really minimal aesthetic. It’s really elegant and simple and we paired that with a soundtrack that at times, is really deep and full of flourishes, layers, melodies, harmonies and cross rhythms and I feel like that sort of balance between the stark visuals and the very flowering music which doesn't often appear in a mobile game is where 'Duet' succeeds.”
With the huge success of 'Duet' under his belt, Tim says he’s hopeful that he’ll get the opportunity to work on more video game soundtracks in the future. He’s simply waiting for the right game to come along.“I've been looking for a game that is creative as 'Duet'. Because it is a bit of a one off that you have a game that is so simple but just so elegant. So trying to find a game like that and of that standard, and also a game where the music and sound is such an integral part of the experience of the game. Those are the kinds of games I'm interested in working on. I wouldn't say it’s been hard finding something like that, but I guess I'm being patient in waiting for the right project to come along.”
Of course, Tim’s music is not limited to just video games. Tim has been an accomplished electronic musician for many years, formerly releasing music under the moniker ‘Faux Pas’. Electronic music has certainly evolved significantly in the time Tim has being messing around with it, and he says it’s only going to evolve more and more. “I think more people are open to it now and more people are trying to make it now even more than just ten years ago for a lot of different reasons. I think just the continued shrinking of the world via the internet and social networks connect music lovers and musicians together. It’s only getting deeper and deeper through those kinds of networks.”
As for what floats Tim’s boat the most, Tim says he enjoys music that goes beyond the limits of classification. “I'm finding I’m really enjoying seeing the conventions of electronic music being broken down and redistributed among all music. That’s really exciting to me. I think to me the music that I’m most drawn to is the type of music that can't really be categorised – music that can’t sit in the space between genres or labels.”
It's this unclassifiable, obscure and wonderful music that Tim shares with the nation on Triple J’s ‘Something More’ programme on Sunday nights. Fans of electronica were certainly devastated by the cancellation of Fenella Kernebone’s ‘The Sound Lab’ show on Sunday nights, but Tim has been warmly welcomed by electronic music aficionados nation-wide. “'The Sound Lab' fans have been really welcoming with open arms. I think Fenella and I have a lot in common in terms of what we think is interesting in music and late at night on a Sunday is the perfect spot to kind of get loose and get weird, so that’s what I’ve been doing and so far people have been really getting into it which is great,” Tim says.
During his time hosting ‘Something More’, Tim has been fortunate enough to interview electronic music heavy weights including Flying Lotus, Gilles Peterson and John Hopkins, but unfortunately being the host of the show means he hasn’t had the chance to collaborate with them. “It’s tempting being a musician as well, you kind of want to see what you can do there but it’s a little bit suspect. I'm there to interview them about their music and to share their music with people. If that means that I can’t hit them up to collab then that’s it.”
'Duet' plays The Edge, Stanley Place, 15 May. QSOCurrent plays multiple venues across Brisbane, 15-16 May.
