Cyrus Langhorne
[With the long-awaited release of NBA Live 15 just days away, the game's soundtrack creator MICK talks to SOHH about the title's sound, making sure Smif N Wessun made the final cut and much more!]
SOHH: How did this opportunity fall into your hands? Did you actively pursue EA Sports or did you guys have a past relationship? How much did you know about EA Sports and their genre of classic titles prior to working on the soundtrack?
MICK: I’ve had a great working relationship with EA for years. They are fantastic to work with. I know quite a bit about gaming and sports prior to this. Obviously now, I know even more.
SOHH: How much pressure was there to deliver a soundtrack which met everyone’s liking? From fans to executive producers on the game, there must have been a lot of checkmarks you needed to make sure went with the title.
MICK: No pressure at all. I trust my ears. I trust my relationships within the industry. I also trust EA’s team on some of their goals and ideas for the soundtrack as well. It was honestly quite seamless.
SOHH: Apologies for not knowing this ahead of time but were you involved with last year’s NBA Live 14? With the game’s relaunch, what did you take from last year’s version and applied to this year’s?
MICK: I was. I served in the same capacity for the game last year as well. The soundtracks are definitely complementary.
SOHH: Were there any must-have tracks you knew would go on the soundtrack without a doubt?
MICK: It’s more so artists and sounds, versus specific must have tracks. For example, I knew I wanted some [Action] Bronson on there, so we got that awesome song he did with Chuck Inglish. I knew I wanted to rep BK on there… So I got the Flatbush Zombies, etc.
SOHH: How do you actually work on the soundtrack? Do you work off of suggestions? Actual video gamers’ preferences? Sports heads? Arena tracklists? How much work, especially hours, goes into this type of a project?
MICK: It’s all instinct and feel. As a deejay, my job is to know and play the latest and best and coolest new stuff. It’s also to curate thru the B.S. so I’m giving people the best of the best. My job also – to me – has a responsibility for keeping the history of the culture top of mine. Which is why you find artists like Smif N Wessun on my soundtrack as well.
SOHH: With the game a few days away, how excited are you for the vast fans to check out your soundtrack during gameplay? What are you most excited about for people to either listen to or experience with the game, in relation to the soundtrack?
MICK: I’m just excited for people to hear it. It’s literally something for everybody. But it all fits together nice. I’m just glad to do my part to help my friends at EA have a successful game.
sorry but nba live been wack. 2k all the way