We look back on the recent Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts with an exclusive interview with Rare’s music department. Hear some tracks from the game’s score, learn what went into getting the music recorded with a live orchestra, and much more.
The music department at developer Rare has long been held in the highest esteem by fans – everything from the deliciously wacky tunes of classics like Donkey Kong Country to the glorious orchestral scores of modern titles like Kameo: Elements of Power and Viva Pi have left an indelible mark. For last month’s Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Rare’s latest score united that endearing whimsy of old with the lush orchestral productions of recent years, and it’s safe to say the result is once again destined to be one of the most intriguing game soundtracks of the year.
Eight long years after the last major Banjo-Kazooie title, original series composer Grant Kirkhope was undeniably thrilled by the opportunity to write for the franchise again. “It’s a Banjo game!” he enthuses. “It can’t help but be exciting to work on…what can I say?” Over the years Kirkhope has had the chance to compose music for everything from Donkey Kong 64 to Perfect Dark, but he has always held the popular bear and bird duo in high regard. “It really felt like a favorite pair of shoes that I’d not worn for a while.”
“I wanted to keep the ‘oddball’ feel of the early games as I thought it really gave Banjo and Kazooie a big piece of their character,” Kirkhope says. “Also, I thought it would be good if I could reference as much of the earlier tunes as possible, even in small snippets, so as to retain some link to the originals. The earlier games all had their own identity and we tried really hard to add that to all the new pieces. Obviously with the all the old melodies popping in and out of the pieces it really helps that aspect. Going through all the old melodies and thinking about which ones I could pull back out again was fun – a trip down memory lane!”
