David Wise (composer)
{{Short description|English video game composer}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = David Wise
| image = David Wise by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption = Wise in 2024
| alias = Dave Wise
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Coalville, England, United Kingdom
| origin =
| instrument = Synthesizer, piano, saxophone
| genre = Video game music
| occupation = Composer, musician
| years_active = 1985–present
| associated_acts = Robin Beanland
Eveline Fischer
Grant Kirkhope
Graeme Norgate
Steve Burke
| website = {{url|http://davidwise.co.uk/}}
| label = Brave Wave Productions
}}
David Wise is a British video game music composer and musician. He was a composer at Rare from 1985 to 2009, and he was the company's sole musician up until 1994. He has gained a dedicated following for his work on various games, particularly Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country series. Wise is known for his atmospheric style of music, mixing natural environmental sounds with prominent melodic and percussive accompaniment.
Career and influences
Wise has said that he has had a wide range of musical influences. The first instrument he learned to play was the piano, before later learning the trumpet, and learning to play the drums during adolescence. He played in a few bands during his youth, and he was active in a band as of 2004. His career at Rare began when he happened to meet its two founders; as he explained in response to a question posted on its company website: "I was working in a music shop demonstrating a Yamaha CX5 Music Computer to a couple of people, Tim & Chris Stamper. I'd written and programmed the music for the demonstration material. They offered me a job."[http://www.rareware.com/extras/tepidseat/music/index.html Rare: The Tepid Seat – Rare Music Team (December 2004)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206184941/http://www.rareware.com/extras/tepidseat/music/index.html |date=6 December 2006 }}
While working at Rare, Wise gained attention and acclaim for his work on the Donkey Kong Country series. In addition to the percussive and ambient 'jungle' influences that serve as a thematic undercurrent for much of the series, the games feature a wide variety of different musical styles that are reflective of the various areas and environments they appear in. In the January 1996 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Wise stated that his travelling experiences largely shaped the sound and mood of each Donkey Kong soundtrack, further saying that the music for Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest was composed during what he called his "experimental Paris phase". In the book Playing With Super Power, some influences for the music of Donkey Kong Country were mentioned. Specifically, Koji Kondo's work on the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series; the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Plok, composed by Tim Follin and Geoff Follin; and synthesized film scores and rock and dance music from the early 1980s. He has composed the soundtrack for the Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.{{fact|date=September 2024}}
In October 2009, it was announced by the OverClocked ReMix community that Wise was remixing a track for Serious Monkey Business, an unofficial Donkey Kong Country 2 remix album. Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland collaborated on this track, playing guitar and trumpet respectively.{{Cite web|url=https://dkc2.ocremix.org/|title=OverClocked ReMix Presents 'Serious Monkey Business'|website=dkc2.ocremix.org|access-date=16 May 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02000|title=Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest "Re-Skewed" OC ReMix|access-date=16 May 2020|via=ocremix.org}} On 15 March 2010, Serious Monkey Business was released and Wise's track, "Re-Skewed", was featured as track No. 33. Much like his contribution to Serious Monkey Business, Wise later remixed his own composition, the GBA version of "Jungle Jitter", for an unofficial Donkey Kong Country 3 remix album titled Double the Trouble!, which was released on 1 December 2012.{{Cite web|url=http://dkc3.ocremix.org/|title=Donkey Kong Country 3: Double the Trouble!|website=OC ReMix|access-date=16 May 2020}} Wise also provided a saxophone solo for another remix, in addition to mixing and mastering the track.{{fact|date=September 2024}}
On 14 November 2009, Wise announced his resignation from Rare, feeling that the company had "changed a great deal" and there was no longer an opportunity to create music tracks that Rare is most known for.{{Cite web |url=http://mundorare.com/news/2009/11/david-wise-composer-since-1985-leaves-rare/ |title=MundoRare {{!}} David Wise, composer since 1985, leaves Rare (November 2009) |access-date=1 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119053646/http://mundorare.com/news/2009/11/david-wise-composer-since-1985-leaves-rare/ |archive-date=19 November 2009 |url-status=dead }} In December 2010 Wise created a personal studio called the "David Wise Sound Studio".{{Cite web|url=https://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/davidwise.shtml|title=Game Music :: Interview with David Wise (December 2010)|website=www.squareenixmusic.com|access-date=16 May 2020}} In June 2013, it was announced that he would be composing for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, after receiving a call from Retro Studios president Michael Kelbaugh, who previously worked at Rare.{{Cite web|url=https://www.destructoid.com/david-wise-composing-donkey-kong-country-tropical-freeze-256058.phtml|title=David Wise composing Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze|website=Destructoid|date=11 June 2013 |access-date=16 May 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://gamnesia.nintendoenthusiast.com/david-wise-explains-how-he-got-his-job-on-tropical-freeze/|title=David Wise Explains How He Got His Job on Tropical Freeze|date=6 March 2014|website=Gamnesia|access-date=16 May 2020|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804203032/https://gamnesia.nintendoenthusiast.com/david-wise-explains-how-he-got-his-job-on-tropical-freeze/|url-status=dead}} Wise composed for Yooka-Laylee along with Kirkhope and Steve Burke.{{Cite web|url=https://www.playtonicgames.com/team/|title=The Team So Far...|website=Playtonic Games|access-date=16 May 2020}}
Works
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|1=http://www.davidwise.co.uk}}
- {{musicbrainz artist|id=ae29aae4-abfb-4609-8f54-417b1f4d64cc|name=David Wise}}
- [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,165438/ Profile] at MobyGames
- {{IMDb name|id=0936336|name=David Wise}}
- {{Commons-cat-inline|David Wise}}
{{Rare}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, David}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:British male composers