Interviews

The other side of Adam

There was a time when video games were the pastime of children
but now they are big business Most of them gross more income
that some major Hollywood movies and many of these video
games are like movies themselves and are enjoyed by people of
all ages.
Mark Ritchie talks to UK Cabaret design manager Adam Press
about Adam’s brand new project
Making a ‘Movie-like’ video game now also requires a ‘Movie-like’
soundtrack, a vital and necessary part of every piece of visual
media to hit our screens, and that’s where the composer comes in.
In this case it is our design manager, Adam Press.
As I am sure you are all aware, as we have mentioned before in this publication, Adam is a seasoned
performer, singer and musician who, up until COVID-19 halted show business as we know it, appeared
regularly on all the major cruise liners around the world, but now, Adam has shown he has another string to his
bow (no pun intended), composing!
Adam has told us about a project he has been working on throughout the pandemic. He has composed the
complete soundtrack to a Video game due for release on March 12th 2021. The game is called ‘The Dark Side
of the Moon’ by Tayanna Studios. It is a psychological mystery thriller where you play the part of protagonist,
Dean, who is trying to fathom out the disappearance of his wife and two children. The game is made entirely of
film footage and the decisions and choices you make are critical to steer the story in the right path. It is the
equivalent of playing a part in a Movie or TV drama but where you control the plotline.
We asked Adam what composing for a video game was like and how it differed to writing a backing track or a
score for a movie. He said: “It’s tougher than writing for a movie because movies or TV shows have a
beginning and an end with a straight line connecting them, so the score can continue along the same
path. The same goes with a backing track, an original song or tune. This is different as it’s like a tree
with many branches; the choices you make can send you down a totally different path requiring many
varying scores, from light suspenseful undertones, to ethereal sci-fi moods to full orchestration, albeit
with a strong motif tying the whole thing together”.
As we had only just discovered that our resident designer was also a composer in disguise we asked if it was a
new venture for him. Adam replied: “Honestly, no. I have been composing since around the age of 12. I
have been playing Piano since I was 10 and always had a keen interest for making music. I have written
pieces for many projects and have done backing tracks for people, scores for games, jingles for media,
music for singers and stage magicians. I also write music regularly for top musician, Adam Wakeman
who is Musical Director for Ozzy Osborne and the son of Rick Wakeman. I have also been lucky enough
to work alongside a great composer, Richard Myhill, who had a hit with ‘It takes two to tango’ but has
written songs for Duran Duran, Cliff Richard, Adam and the Ants and The Nolans to name a few and
countless TV advertisements and major film and TV scores. He has taught me a lot.”
So I’m assuming the game will be available to buy in the near future? “Yes. The release date is 12th March
2021 and will be available to download via a PC games platform called Steam. You will also be able to
purchase the official Soundtrack of the game either on its own or at a reduced price as a bundle with
the game.”
Everyone here at UK Cabaret wishes Adam the best of luck with this project, and hope it does very well, but not
too well as we would quite like him to stay with us as our design manager!!

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