Hello and welcome to 20 Questions with the Isaac Team. Im your host, Mega Satans dad. PSA: If you haven't done so already, please be sure to add The Binding of Isaac: Repentance to your [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1426300/The_Binding_of_Isaac_Repentance/javascript:AddToWishlist( 1426300, 'add_to_wishlist_area2', 'add_to_wishlist_area_success', 'add_to_wishlist_area_fail', '1_5_9__407', 'add_to_wishlist_area' );]Wish List! As a way for you to get to better know the team responsible for your favorite game of all time, well be interviewing the various lovable and very talented members of the Isaac team in the coming weeks and months. This week were spending some time with Ridiculon, the musical duo responsible for The Binding of Isaac soundtrack.
What are your names and where are you from? Matthias: Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans. We are both from Cape Cod. Raised in the towns of Dennis and Yarmouth respectively. We went to the same high school. Did burnouts in the same abandoned lots. You've known each other most of your lives. When did you decide to get into music? Matthias: Weve both been playing since childhood. Jon went to Berklee in Boston and I went to New England Conservatory in Boston. It should be said that we only became friends a decade ago. How did you go the same high school and only become friends in the last decade? Matthias: Jon is ten years older than me. He could have been my dad in some awkward kind of way. Currently we share the same love interest: Metal. And we often fight over her. Was there a Matthias + Jon before Ridiculon, or is this your first musical endeavor together? Jon: Our first!!! We traveled in the same circles when we lived in the Bay Areawe were actually neighbors. But never shared the stage together in any way until we moved back to Cape Cod. Our first project together was recording the narration to The Binding of Isaac.
(Left: Jon Evans playing live with Sarah McLachlan. Right: Matthias Bossi with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) What were you doing music-wise before Ridiculon? Jon: We both toured with millions of bands and made records as sidemen. Matthias: Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Book of Knots, St. Vincent, John Vanderslice, The Tiger Lillies, Pretty Lights, Cosa Brava Jon: Tori Amos, Linda Perry, Sarah McLachlan. The list goes on and on. What's each of your most memorable takeaways from touring? Matthias: Arm Wrestling with a fan mid-song. Jon: Madison Square Garden. You've been working on The Binding of Isaac for the better part of a decade. Matthias: Man... where to start? Its such a part of our identity. And it has shaped our sound for every game weve done since. We still remember writing the first sketch for Diptera Sonata in the living room. Big shoutout to Edmund for keeping it in the family! How did you connect with Edmund for Isaac? Matthias: We were doing music for Mewgenics (now back in dev!!!!) and he asked us to submit for Isaac. The rest is history! Mewgenics itself was a crapshoot! We submitted along with other composers and just had a more natural and quirky sound that fit the retro aesthetic. Winners!!!! Did you know Edmund and company before that, or was it your first interaction? Matthias: Edmund was a fan of my band Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. He was always at our shows in Santa Cruz with his then-girlfriend Danielle. We stayed in touch! That's a great segue into working together. What's the flow and direction for creating a song for Isaac? Matthias: Improvise! Improvise! Flow! Go with your first instinct. Commit to the danger. Combine organic instruments with a healthy dose of broken and distorted samples. Turn up the guitar. Crank the scary. Smear with ambience. Also, listen to Ed. He has lots of opinions about music. And hes always right on the money. What is he looking for when you're composing music for the game? Matthias: Ed speaks in colors and poetry. Not necessarily the language of music and notes, etc. It has to hit a nerve. Something raw and emotional and personal. It being perhaps a semi-biographical game and all. What songs are you most proud of pre-Repentance and why? Jon: Sodden Hollow for its dripping groove. Sheol for even being allowed to be so terrifying in a game OST. Delirium for its dank heaviness. And it should be said that every track weve written for Repentance is our fave.
What's the writing process like for Ridiculon? Matthias: Honestly, a lot of our material is improvised at first. We establish a tempo and usually lay down bass and drums first. Try to find the unique voice for a particular track with the most basic and primal resources. BASS and DRUMS! The foundation of humanity! We like to build from the bottom up. Heavy rhythm section vibes. By the time we get to the top, our melodies are usually very simple. Along the way we like to throw in some swirling and dissonant ambient tracks that give all Ridiculon music its signature unsettling vibe.
Nothing is ever written down! Nothing notated. Our secrets are protected forever by our unwillingness to document the process. Jon is the engineer and mixer. We literally would suck without him. Everything is recorded through our Quad 8 console. Nice warm analogue vibes. We record with ProTools and sprinkle in some samples from our pals at Heavyocity and Arturia. How much of the game does the development team need to show you before you get the proper feel for how musical elements will be tied to a specific part of the game? Matthias: We often work in solitude without too much visual information. But we have to say that recently Vinh has been sending footage that has been mind-blowing! And its really inspiring to see how our music is meshing with gameplay! Dev teams will send requests in written form or send along a YouTube music reference to get us going sometimes. But its rare that we see gameplay along the way. At this point teams trust our aesthetic.
How many minutes of new music can we expect for Repentance? Jon: Almost as much as Rebirth. Dare we say nearly 45 minutes of music? Its a hefty load. Tons of high-energy stuff. And one of the more beautiful and sad jams weve ever written. Actually Matthias fave Ridiculon piece ever. Its very much in keeping with Isaac. Itll be a familiar sound to our fans. And to players. Heavy and thick and sad and scary. VERY ISAAC. Just further polishing our approach. If this is to be the final hurrah, then we might as well go out with a bang. Kids will not be disappointed. Have you found that the music for each chapter in the Isaac story changes, or do you try to keep certain themes that are familiar to the player? Jon: We are always reusing themes from Isaac. It really helps with the flow of the game. For instance, you can always expect some version of Genesis 22:10 to make its way into every Isaac game. The main theme is so iconic at this point. We try and up-cycle it with every new DLC. Also, boss music is constantly revamped and toyed with. But always keeping that original Rebirth thread. Its like scoring a film. Re-orchestrating is part of life! Our duty! What's been the most challenging part of the Isaac experience for you both these last seven years? Matthias: We love a challenge. We thrive under duress. We appreciate honest and direct feedback. Ed is as direct as they come. Works for us. This game has given us a life and a career and we are immensely grateful. Is there a different feel or challenge between playing live or in the studio? Jon: Both are so rewarding and offer different challenges! Playing live, your ears have to be open wide! Your every move is tracked by the audience! You feed off crowd energy! Some things are out of your control! In the studio, you can give the illusion of perfection. Everything can be pored over. Polished. Nudged. Can be as airtight or loose as you want it. Full control. We're revealing River of Despare next week. Without any spoilers, what can you tell fans to expect? Matthias: River of Despare is my favorite song ever written for any Edmund project. That was the song we were talking about earlier. Things I love: The chords never repeat. Its a distant cousin of Sodden Hollow. Its so achingly sad and lonely. The melody stays with me day and night. Where can fans find Ridiculon? Do you have a Soundcloud, Bandcamp, an Instagram? Is there a website available to learn more? P.O. Box? What is your social security number? Mom's maiden name? Slide into our DMs anytime, people! We can offer marriage advice and tuning advice. Also, were both great cooks! Winter is around the corner! Get out that slow cooker and we can send you the recipe for Mama Jons pesto meatballs. Now made with Seitan! You can find us on Twitter: @PlanetRidiculon Bandcamp: ridiculon.bandcamp.com and anywhere music streams!