Skatebird? Like a bird... on a skateboard?
Indeedilly-do-dilly! When Megan Fox, of Glass Bottom Games, first approached me about working on her next game, SkateBIRD, I was MORE than intrigued. For those that don’t know, I’ve worked with Megan and her company since 2010 on multiple indie titles including Spartan Fist and Hot Tin Roof. Megan has a unique ability to always make games that push the boundaries. This helps push me into areas I don’t normally get to go in as a composer and artist. Working with her has been one of the highlights of my career and I’m thankful for her friendship and support over the years!
Roll to this music.
You can now enjoy the entire SkateBIRD official soundtrack on Spotify. This 27 song album combines elements of hip hop, R&B, soul, jazz, funk on top of a lofi bed then sprinkles bird calls and narration from classic, public domain documentaries about birds. We’ve been jokingly calling it “Birb-Bop.”
Take it out for a spin below:
Curious what "Bird Bop" sounds like?
So much time went into this album. I would estimate it took about a year’s worth of time to produce the full thing but that year was spread out over a much longer period of time. I was working my day job at SciPlay the whole time and also working on several other games including Great Wolf Lodge’s MagiQuest. At first it took some trial and error to nail down exactly what kind of sound we wanted SkateBIRD to have. We knew we didn’t want to mimic the edgy, rock or punk driven soundtracks of other, previous skateboarding games. It wouldn’t fit the vibe and feel of SkateBIRD.
Spinning multiple plates
So I would write a song for SkateBIRD and then toggle back to MagiQuest, then work on another side project then back to SkateBIRD. All during my “free time” outside of normal work and family duties. It was a busy time, to say the least! The album is also available on Bandcamp, Youtube and Soundcloud – with more stores being added often! The game is slated to come out next month, August 12th, so stay tuned!
BIO:
Nate Madsen is an established composer, sound designer with nearly 16 years experience and over 870 credits. He’s worked in-house at FUNimation Entertainment, NetDevil, Bee Cave Games and is currently a Principal Composer, Sound Designer for SciPlay. Two of his recent side projects have been Great Wolf Lodge’s Magiquest and Glass Bottom Game’s SkateBIRD. He lives in Austin, Texas. Be sure to reach out to Nathan with any audio needs you may have!