Here at Enter the Shell we deal in music. We bring you indie artists, rappers, folk musicians, and a whole boatload of goodies from different corners of the globe. Well, here today in the artist of the week section we’re bringing you yet another gem to add to your playlists. Though we mainly deal in bands and acts that are travelling and available to see live, but in our lives there is one format of music that we often overlook and/or take for granted, and that is soundtracks and scores. Think about it, would Darth Vader be as bad-ass if he didn’t have the “Imperial March” behind him? Would the fight between Cloud and Sephiroth have been as epic without “One Winged Angel” striking fear into your heart, all the while encouraging you to save the world? Music has the power to influence our emotions and guide our feelings to the places and sentiments a director needs us to go in order to get the most out of a story. This week we bring you the talents of Greg Edmonson, known for spanning the TV and video game world with memorable pieces that you probably didn’t know were his.
If any of you were fans of the cult-hit TV show Firefly, then you are familiar with the work of Greg Edmonson. For those of you not in the know, it was a sci-fi western created by Joss Whedon and staring Nathan Fillion about a band of thieves with hearts of gold who go shuttling through the universe in search of treasure, odd jobs, and trying to avoid danger (or rush headlong into it) whenever possible. The music complimented the show’s themes and environments perfectly. It captured the spaghetti-western feel that the show often took on, but also the solitude of the final frontier and the expanse of space.  On top of the atmosphere, the music cut into the action was always timed perfectly and brought the viewer to the point of excitement, despair, or longing that they were supposed to reach in the episode’s main segments. Though Firefly lasted less than a season (though fans were able to rally enough support to get a movie made), Edmonson’s work was far from done.
While Firefly may be something that fan-boys and girls can get on board with, Edmonson’s most popular work has probably been his work for the successful Play Station 3 action-adventure series Uncharted. The games put players in the role of the descendant of English explorer Sir Francis Drake as he goes through Indiana Jones-like quests for treasure in one of the best-written series ever made. As video games become more and more cinematic, the format needs to adjust itself to attain that level. Edmonson has treated the games as such and has come out successful. With the Uncharted series, it often feels like you’re taking part in an interactive movie. Edmonson’s compositions greatly help in bringing the adventure and the drama of a big-screen film to the personalized experience of a video game. Throughout the series, main character Nathan Drake is brought to thrilling and exhilarating points with the aid of Edmonson’s sores. Scaling walls, avoiding gunfire, getting into fistfights with people seven feet tall, whatever you’re doing, the music is backing you up as you’re backing Nate. Whether capturing the sounds of an Amazonian jungle, the bitter cold Himalayas, or the blistering heat of the Sahara, Edmonson’s music is sure to help light the way to adventure.
Edmonson has won various awards for his compositions in the Uncharted series, and with the release of the third installment earlier this year, you can bet that he has more coming to him. Aside from the two examples above, Edmonson has also worked on the Fox cartoon King of the Hill and as a studio musician, showing his versatility in the musical entertainment world. While Edmonson is one fine example of scores that may go unnoticed, there are plenty of others that provide the same services and are worth individual research. As we reach the end of the year it’s only appropriate that a musician can help us reach the grand scale of the parties soon to come, and, as usual, get your fix below!