Jeremy Soule

Jeremy Soule作为一个屡次获奖的美国游戏配乐师，他的作品通常被认为是代表了电脑和电视游戏配乐产业中的最高水平，几乎已经和许多电影交响配乐水平看齐。Soule的很大一部分作品都是用电子音乐来模拟真实交响乐，其拟真度是如此之高至于无法分辨到底是模拟的还是真实的。但是，他也常常和真的交响乐团与合唱团合作，例如如雷贯耳的伦敦交响乐团和西北辛福尼亚，以及布拉格交响乐团和Pinewood合唱团。
Jeremy Soule自小就开始梦想成为一个交响乐作曲家。从5岁那年起，Soule就开始对交响乐产生浓厚兴趣。“交响乐是终极乐器。我觉得它能够表达几乎一切存在的人类情感。”Soule在他位于美国大西北的Cascadian工作室如是说。
当Soule还在中学的时候，作为一个电视电脑游戏的狂热爱好者，他感觉游戏里的音乐都“缺乏戏剧性和紧凑感”。在高中毕业后他用传统电影手法创造了一个实验性的演示来表达他想象中游戏配乐应有的样子。Soule给LucasArts和Squaresoft史克威尔 公司分别寄了录音带，没想到史克威尔听了那盘演示后立刻就把Secret of Evermore《艾薇莫的秘密》的配乐任务给了他。完成后的游戏以一个更饱满的交响音乐展现了一个突破传统的配乐并很好地与背景音效（例如风吹和海浪声）融为一体，与传统的RPG游戏中一贯的史诗性配乐形成巨大反差。
当Ron Gilbert离开LucasArts并创办他自己的公司Humongous Entertainment的时候。Soule也离开了史克威尔去给Gilbert的儿童冒险游戏系列Putt-Putt配乐。在Humongous工作期间，Soule遇到了游戏设计师Chris Taylor并为他的Total Annihilation《横扫千军》及其之后的大作Dungeon Siege《地牢围攻》担当配乐。其中《横扫千军》开创了即时战略配乐领域使用古典风格交响乐的先河，更成为了他们二人各自的代表作。这两个项目期间，Soule创立了他自己的公司Artistry Entertainment并开始了自由创作。
自那时起，Artistry Entertainment的配乐不断获得成功，Soule为一些最重量级的好游戏创作了配乐，例如Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic《星球大战之旧共和国武士》 ，Icewind Dale 《冰风溪谷》系列,Neverwinter Nights《无冬之夜》，The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind《上古卷轴3：晨风》还有Harry Potter《哈利波特》系列游戏等，让Soule的音乐挤入了游戏业的顶峰。他为《哈利波特》游戏系列创作的音乐曾于2003年在德国莱比锡的“游戏交响音乐会”上实况演出。2005年，他《上古卷轴3：晨风》的配乐也在第三届“游戏交响音乐会”上演出。
2006年是Soule最成功的一年之一，他的The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion《上古卷轴4：湮灭》，Guild Wars: Factions/Nightfall《行会战争：派系/黄昏》,Prey《掠夺者》以及二战史诗游戏Company of Heroes《英雄连》不论在口碑上还是商业上都获得了巨大成功。Soule在8月赢得了MTV 视频音乐奖中的最佳配乐奖并于10月被授予他生涯中的第三个英国学院奖题名。11月，他又在Spike TV中赢得了最佳配乐奖。07年初，由Chris Taylor设计，被誉为《横扫千军》真正续作的即时战略游戏Supreme Commander《最高指挥官》的配乐依然由Soule亲自操刀。
“每天都是一个挑战。我无法想当然地把任何东西都与音乐联系起来。音乐是种值得我一生去学习的语言。我在有着人类精神之美的声音的背后找到自然的灵感。音乐中的一切都能反映出我们在大自然中扮演的角色。”
“我爱的我的粉丝们——特别是年轻的作曲家。我鼓励任何人都在这个网站给我写信。尽管我可能不会很快就回复，但我保证我一定回信。”——Jeremy Soule
Jeremy Soule began life as a passionate composer of symphonic music at a very early age. Since the age of five, Soule took an intense interest in the symphony orchestra. “The Orchestra is the ultimate instrument. I find that it has the ability to define nearly every human emotion in existence” stated Soule from his Cascadian studio in the Great Northwest of America.
Mastering the art of orchestration, melodic composition and emotional context was no easy task for the British Academy Award winning composer...
“Every day is a challenge. I am not able to take anything for granted when it comes to music. Music is a literal language that is a life study for me. I find that the natural inspiration behind sound starts with the beauty of the human spirit. Everything in music is a reflection of who we are in Creation. Composers draw from the same sorts of places as other disciplines of the Arts in that we are all connected to some greater cause and energy. Defining our place in this energy is the beauty of our Art.”
That video games could be considered “Art” was unthinkable over 30 years ago during the debut of the first game machines such as the Magnavox Odyssey. The sights and sounds of the mid-eighties machines also did little to hint at the coming revolution. Today, video games feature development budgets in the tens of millions of dollars and often command some of the top talent in an ever-growing $20 billion industry.
For over a decade, Soule has provided music for some of the most successful and admired games of all time. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Harry Potter, Total Annihilation, SOCOM: The Navy Seals and the Elder Scrolls series can all attribute music to him. His versatility as a composer has also been demonstrated from his critically acclaimed traditional Asian score for Guild Wars Factions to his work with children’s properties such as Rugrats and Lemony Snicket and the Series of Unfortunate Events.
The year 2006 witnessed one of the best years yet for Soule with such critical and commercial success coming from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Guild Wars: Factions/Nightfall, Prey and the World War II epic Company of Heroes. Soule won the inaugural MTV Video Music Award in August for “Best Score” and was honored with his third career British Academy Award nomination in October. In November, Soule won another “Best Score” award from Spike TV and was the recipient of numerous press awards such as Game Daily’s “most iPod-worthy score”.
In feature films, Soule’s Walden Logo was used at the start of the $744 million earning film: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. His work with Narnia also continued with director Norman Stone’s critically acclaimed film C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia.
In concerts, Soule’s music was a component of the successful “Play Symphony” tour that featured prominently Elder Scrolls as well as Prey as part of their concert program. Performances were conducted with symphony orchestras in Vienna, Stockholm, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Toronto. Future performances are scheduled in Stockholm, Sydney and Singapore. Visit www.play-symphony.com for more information. A special note to our readers...
“I love my fans—especially young composers. I encourage anyone that wishes to contact me to write me here at this website. It may take me a little while to reply to everyone but be assured that I will respond.” –Jeremy Soule