ZD Gallery: The Zelda Synthetic Orchestra

Welcom back, Zelda fans, to the newest installment of ZD Gallery! Every other Sunday we select an artist who’s created something inspired by The Legend of Zelda and showcase them and their masterpieces! So this week, allow us to introduce Blake Robinson. Robinson’s YouTube channel, The Synthetic Orchestra, is the home of his many covers- and even some of his own original work- that he’s created using synthetic instruments. His covers range from television series like Dexter to video game franchises like Final Fantasy and, of course, Zelda. In fact, Robinson currently has twenty-four orchestrated songs from the Zelda franchise and has no desire to stop there.

Go ahead an make the jump to check out some of his work!

ZD: What was your first Zelda game or experience that interested you in the series?

Robinson: I’ve only really become more interested in Zelda over the past few years because of it’s music, but I remember playing Ocarina of Time way, way back on my brother’s N64. I’ve always been a big fan of platform games, and the Zelda series has great stories and characters, and some amazing music.

ZD: Which game is your favorite?

Robinson: If I had to pick one, it would be The Wind Waker. I really love the unique art style and the way that it looks like you’re exploring and traversing a unique world. There’s also so much good music in the game, and the variations on the traditional Zelda motifs are some of my favorites.

ZD: What inspired you to create synthetic orchestra pieces for Zelda songs?

Robinson: When I first started The Synthetic Orchestra project years ago, there wasn’t a lot of old video-game music being orchestrated. As time has gone on it’s become more popular, both commercially and on social media like YouTube/Soundcloud/etc. I’ve always enjoyed hearing orchestrations of my favorite video-game themes, and when I heard the music of Zelda I felt like I had to give it a go. A lot of orchestrations out there deviate from the original quite a bit, so a lot of the time I like to try and stay close to the original, with a little bit of my own style added in. Orchestrating existing video-game music is also a great way to learn the tricks that great composers such as Koji Kondo employ when writing their scores.

ZD: What is the process in which you go about creating an orchestrated song?

Robinson: Typically before I start I’ll listen through a few times to remind myself of how the original song goes, and then I’ll completely close everything and begin orchestrating. To start with I tackle the chord progressions and the accompaniment so that I have good foundations to build on. Sometimes It’ll be a straight translation of the original, but other times I’ll change chords to give it my own twist. Once the framework of the track is orchestrated I go through and write the melody. I usually keep very close to the original as I like to keep the theme of the music I’m orchestrating. The changes I do tend to make are where the original wouldn’t fit an orchestra so well, or relied on a specific sound of old console hardware that can’t be replicated. The final part is to go through and add a bit more of my own personality. This is the point where I introduce my own counter melodies and harmonies, play with new ideas such as new instruments, alternate endings and generally add decoration or flourishes to the music. There are a few ‘making of’ videos on my YouTube channel where I show the process behind orchestrating music from Zelda (including the recent Beedle Shop piece I did), so they’re worth checking out if anyone’s interested in doing the kind of things I do.

You can find the behind the scenes video on Robinson’s Beedle Shop piece by following this link.

ZD: You’ve got quite a few songs in your playlist, do you have a favorite? (Or perhaps a top three?)

Robinson: I think if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Dragon Roost Island. It was one of the first Zelda orchestrations I did and I was really happy with how it turned out. A couple of other favorites of mine are Song of Storms and Kokiri Forest. I’d love to try re-orchestrating these again – the last time I tried I didn’t have access to the same kinds of orchestral sounds and software that I’ve developed over the past three or four years.

ZD: Do you have any plans for more Zelda content in the future?

Robinson: Definitely! Zelda is currently the most composed game in my collection, with over 24 Synthetic Orchestrations. That said, there’s still so many great Zelda tracks to orchestrate, and they’re always received well by people who listen to my music, so I’ll definitely continue to make my way through them.

Just so you don’t miss out on any new content- or perhaps you’d just like to hear the entire playlist- you can find the rest of Robinson’s Zelda covers here. What do you think of Robinson’s synthetic orchestra? Of the few songs we’ve showcased- or if you’ve already gone ahead and checked out his entire playlist- which song is your favorite? What song would you like to see Robinson do next? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Source: YouTube.