“Dark and cool – that’s what you want from Black Ops”: Jack Wall on soundtracking one of the biggest gaming franchises in historyIn the gaming world, a new Call of Duty release is a bonafide event. Since the franchise debuted in 2001, it’s sold a staggering 500 million copies — and it reached that milestone before the launch of its latest smash hit, Black Ops 6, which is reportedly already making 60 per cent more sales than its predecessor, 2023’s Modern Warfare 3.

READ MORE: Behind the sound of Star Wars Outlaws: a polarising game with a Grammy-nominated soundtrack

In the constellation of Call of Duty titles, Black Ops gets crazy – each entry in the series jumps across time periods, realistic and fantastical settings, and offers fans different play modes. One thing you can always depend on is composer Jack Wall; he’s scored five of the six Black Ops games and his music has become a glue that helps hold the series’ ambitions together. How does he do it? He starts by figuring out what universe he’s working in.
“When, where, who, what, and why,” fires off Wall when asked what ‘day one’ of scoring looks like. “Every single Black Ops is in a different time period, so we always look at that first.”
In the case of Black Ops 6, the ‘when’ is 1991 – a time of windbreakers, the MC Hammer dance, and the first Gulf War. Musically, the year presented both opportunities and challenges for Wall. “I looked at the charts to see what the most popular music of the day was,” he explains. “For quite a bit of 1991, it was Enter Sandman by Metallica, but, in terms of music history, it’s just on the cusp between the 80s synth era and the early grunge era.”
Jack Wall conducting the AIR Studios orchestra. Image: DMSMedia / Top Dollar PR
Wall’s score strides across those two decades; full of the lush and lyrical orchestrations that defined classic 90’s action flicks, coupled with growling synth lines, and some truly massive drum hits. “Dark and cool, that’s what you want from Black Ops,” states Wall. “But I like to add some humanity to it; when I write my scores I like to inject a melody, a theme, or a sound for you to remember. That’s the challenge.”
“There’s the era that the game is occurring in, but there’s also the story itself,” Wall continues. “That informs a lot of what the score should be. I write the main theme of the single-player campaign, trying to capture the feeling in one piece of music, and then I can sprinkle that theme throughout the score in different ways.”
A centrepiece for every Black Ops game is the multiplayer theme. Built for the chaotic shooting sprees of a battle royale, these are often some of the most pounding and rhythmic pieces on the soundtrack. Raining the Fire is certainly no exception, but Walls also wanted to bring a feeling of musical transition to the track. To anchor the rhythm, he sought something that could sit between a massive Phil Collins-style drum sound and the back-to-basics intensity of Dave Grohl’s work with Nirvana.

“One night I was scrolling Instagram and up pops this guy, Nicolas Bitove, from the band Romes,” recalls Wall. “He’s a brilliant drummer and technologist, he puts his drums through all these effects and I was really inspired by what he was doing. So, I asked him if he’d like to join the band, so to speak.”
Alongside Jimmy Hinson, better known as Big Giant Circles, the crew smashed together orchestral strings, rock guitars, distorted synths, pounding drums, and ethereal vocals to produce one of the most rousing Call of Duty themes in recent memory. “We were approaching it more as a collaboration this time,” Wall reflects. “More like a band putting music together.”
Wall is certainly no stranger to band dynamics. Prior to his career in game audio, he spent years as an engineer at Synchro Sound Studios in Boston, working with David Byrne, Patti Smith, and Nine Inch Nails, among others. Over the years, his duties expanded to producing and arranging, and he worked alongside The Velvet Underground’s John Cale on everything from feature films to ballet productions.
These days, Wall says he draws on all those different experiences to tackle scores like Black Ops 6: “My first career in engineering and producing music was hugely important to my career as a composer, because everything is about sound to me. It’s not just about composition and counterpoint, harmonic progression and orchestration. All that stuff is important, but it’s about the sound.”
When it comes to capturing sound, there’s one spot on earth that Wall prizes above all others – AIR Studios in London. In comparison to his last Black Ops game, 2020’s Cold War, which saw Wall trying to manage orchestral and choir recordings amidst COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing rules, this time everyone was back in person and enjoying the venue’s storied acoustics.

“We’ve recorded all five of these games with different orchestras,” Wall reflects. “But AIR Studios… I call it the perfect storm of music-making. To me, it’s the best room in the world that I’ve recorded in, and I’ve recorded in many. I love Abbey Road, I love Nashville, but there’s something about AIR Studios; it’s the combination of Jeff Foster, the engineer who just knows that room back and forth, the players themselves, and the atmosphere that the staff create, it’s so warm and inviting and creative. “
In a narrative universe as loosely connected as Black Ops, Walls music feels like a thread guiding players into each new time, place, and tale. Five iterations in and Wall seems to draw palpable energy and inspiration not only from the game itself but from the team of people that make it all possible.
“Tackling this was fun because we all approached it with a fresh perspective and wanted to do something as good as we could,” states Wall. “That was evident from the writers, from the game designers, from the audio department, the music editors, everybody. I think it was just a joy for everybody working on such a cool game.”
Read more music production interviews. 
The post “Dark and cool – that’s what you want from Black Ops”: Jack Wall on soundtracking one of the biggest gaming franchises in history appeared first on MusicTech.

How to blend synths and a string orchestra with Ólafur Arnalds and Spitfire Audio’s CellsAd feature with Spitfire Audio
Working alongside its frequent collaborator — the Emmy- and Grammy-nominated Icelandic composer and producer, Ólafur Arnalds — Spitfire Audio has produced a library that expertly straddles synthesis and string orchestra to produce evocative hybrids.

The sounds are undeniably gorgeous, but it’s Cells’s ability to generate musical variation that will do wonders for your workflow. Instead of writing string parts line by line, you simply hold down a note or chord and let the engine produce a range of musical ‘cells’ that constantly shift and change. These micro expressions can encompass different intervals but will never stray from the harmonies you’re working with.
The inspiration for this library comes from Arnalds experience working with live musicians. Rather than simply dictating exactly what should be played, the composer often collaborates with the performers, asking them to produce random variations in pitch, timbre, and expression. Cells takes that concept and introduces a set of intuitive randomisation tools to keep your sound ever-changing within a chosen key.
The results are often fascinating, surprising, and, most importantly, never static – taking you one step closer to the organic expression of real-life orchestral players on a scoring stage.
Merging strings and synthesisers

Combining strings and synths can produce some fantastic, hard-to-put-your-finger-on sounds. Straight out of the box, Cells comes with superb presets that merge organic and electronic textures for instantly atmospheric tones.
If you want to get more hands-on control over the exact balance between synth and string, Cells has you covered. The plugin comes with Spitfire Audio’s well-established eDNA engine which is custom built for such a purpose. To open this alternative user interface, click on the Mode menu and select Synth.

The interface centres around two ‘Sound Bays’ where you can load in samples. To start blending timbres, simply load a string sample into Bay A and select a synthesiser sample for Bay B.
We’ve loaded ‘Long Medium (Unison)’ and ‘Mallet Swarm 04’. Move the crossfader to hear how the two sources combine together.
Oscillating between the two sounds is the quickest way to produce evolving textures. Turn on the Oscillate Mixer checkbox and adjust the multiplier setting to 16x to hear a slow shift from one timbre to another. You can also choose how much of each sound will be fed into the mix by adjusting the small vertical sliders on either side of the crossfader.

This, however, is just the start — opening up the effects tab offers huge potential for further crafting. The string and synths each run through their own effects bays labelled ‘Bay A FX’ and ‘Bay B FX’. Select the one you want to work with, then experiment with the various effects by turning on the toggle and clicking on the effect name. From there, adjust the levels as needed.
How to use Ólafur Arnalds Cells in your music
This library effortlessly delivers drama and emotion. The sounds bubble and morph in a way that captures your ear and keeps you hanging on for more.
You can use it to build a chord progression with immersive depth and weight, and this makes it ideal for lush swells, and highly emotive passages. However, it’s also ideal for break-out moments where the strings spill into the foreground.
If you know the scale you’re working in, then adjust the Key setting to suit. This feature allows you to lock in your harmonic centre and play without worrying that you might accidentally hit a wrong note.
You can also break out of a key and play freely. Cells will automatically analyse the notes you’re playing and generate variations in the texture that fit perfectly within the given key.
You can do this in the Standard mode window by switching the variation engine to ‘Played’.
To change the kind of variation Cells produces, you can choose from a series of preset cards which each feature different images of musical notation. Some cells give an obvious idea of the result like ‘Intensity’ or ‘Motion’, while others like ‘Cirrus’ or ‘Clouds’ need you to play and discover the results.

Shaping your sound
Sometimes you might want a middle ground between keeping in the key of your music and breaking out to play a few chromatic notes that don’t belong. To set this up, click the toggle next to ‘Out-Of-Scale’ to turn the setting on.
If you want to refine the detail of your sounds, or make them feel more present in the mix, try experimenting with the dry/wet balance on Cells’ reverb. There are two ways to access the effects linked to each preset – either press the grey button in the centre of the interface, select your effect, and then change the master dial, or, you can click on the ‘FX’ tab and see all the audio effects side by side.

Finally, if you don’t know what scale you are playing in, then you can manually input your notes one at a time. The circles on the right-hand side of Cells’ interface represent all the intervals in a single octave, so all you need to do is choose the notes that you’ve been playing and the engine will automatically recognise the key and scale for you.
Cells sale
With the unique ability to create evolving string textures, paired with an organic palette of atmospheric synths, this plugin is ideal for anyone who wants to beautifully underscore moments of drama and emotion.
Cells features an engine that can instantly recognise the key you are playing in, but for those who want deeper control, the eDna alternative interface offers even more in the way of effects bays you can experiment with, an oscillator for crossfading your sound in a unique way, and plenty more options for further crafting your sound.
If you’re after a quick and easy tool for producing that hard-to-define sound of strings in synths melded together, save 20% on Ólafur Arnalds Cells now with Spitfire’s introductory offer.
The post How to blend synths and a string orchestra with Ólafur Arnalds and Spitfire Audio’s Cells appeared first on MusicTech.

Slate Digital introduce Stellar Echo SD-201 plug-in Slate Digital’s new Stellar Echo SD-201 plug-in offers a meticulous recreation of the iconic tape echo that helped to define the sound of the dub, reggae and alt-rock records of the 70s. 

Token Economy for Musicians: Monetize a fanbase with $AMPSThere are dozens of startups creating new and better ways for artists to connect with a monetize fans Learn how $AMPS is creating a token economy for musicians to connect with and monetize fans while retaining control of the data.
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Gifts Under a Grand 2024Boss Katana Artist Gen 3 1 x 12-inch 100-watt Combo AmplifierThe BOSS Katana Artist Gen 3 leads the charge of BOSS’s revamped line of Katana amplifiers, taking the series to fresh new sonic heights complete with the company’s evolved Tube Logic technology. This 100-watt, 12-inch combo amplifier is equipped with a sweeping sonic arsenal of six amplifier voices (including a new Pushed voice), six voice variations, and the Gen 3 addition of a Bloom switch to sharpen up your sound. boss.info $599.99 Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS Electric GuitarThe Player II Stratocaster HSS is a stage-ready guitar with contemporary updates to power your performance and inspire your playing. Features include a contoured alder, chambered ash or chambered mahogany Body, modern "C" neck profile, and 9.5“-radius maple or rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges. fender.com$929Roland JUNO-D6 61-key SynthesizerFeature-packed and ready to rock, Roland’s next-generation JUNO-D is a sleek synthesizer that’s ideal for working keyboardists who need instant access to a vast library of professional-grade sounds in a lightweight, budget-friendly instrument. Powered by Roland’s flagship-class ZEN-Core engine, JUNO-D provides a massive arsenal of sounds for instant deployment—plus the expansion opportunities of Sound Packs and Wave Expansions on Roland Cloud. roland.com$899.99Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard Copper IridescentThe Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 1955 Les Paul Standard was inspired by one of Joe’s rarer finds: a 1955 Les Paul Standard he nicknamed “The Brown Thing.” The original axe is a prime mid-’50s specimen, boasting typical Les Paul Standard specs, including P-90 pickups and a custom iridescent finish. epiphone.com$849Radial Nuance Select Studio Monitor ControllerThe Nuance Select is Radial’s flagship studio monitor controller, offering a sleek and ergonomic design with extremely low distortion for complete transparency. The result is a pristine signal path for seamless switching between two audio sources and two sets of powered speakers. radialeng.com$699.99Walrus Audio Mako MKII ACS1 Amp and Cab Simulator PedalEquipped with true-to-life amp models, pro-designed cab IRs, and truckloads of performance-ready features, the Walrus Audio Mako MKII ACS1 packs a full-fledged guitar rig into a compact, easy-to-use a stompbox. The MKII ACS1 contains Fender-style cleans, Marshall-flavored crunch, and Vox-flavored chime, plus three additional high-gain models, putting a total of six fan-favorite sonic options at your feet.  walrusaudio.com$449.99Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 4th Gen USB Audio InterfaceThe fourth-generation Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 offers a significant upgrade over previous generations, boasting updated mic preamps, RedNet-derived AD/DA conversion, Auto Gain and Clip Safe features, a Dynamic Metering display, and more. This 18-in/20-out USB-C audio interface includes guitar-friendly hi-Z inputs, a custom-designed headphone amp, loopback, Focusrite's acclaimed Air Mode, and enough outputs to accommodate two sets of studio monitors or your favorite piece of outboard gear. focusrite.com$649.99Fender Player II Jazz Bass Fenders Player II Jazz Bass radiates timeless Fender charm, but under the hood, it's primed for today's players. Everything about the neck is designed for fast and fluid playability, from the Modern “C”-profile with silky satin urethane finish on the back to the comfy 9.5”-radius slab rosewood or maple fingerboard with smooth rolled edges and 20 medium jumbo frets. A classic alder body is available in both timeless Fender finishes and never-before-seen colors unearthed from the archives. Player Series Alnico V Single-Coil J bass® pickups offer sweet highs, growling mids and seismic lows that elevate any genre. fender.com$799.99JBL IRX OneBoasting legendary JBL fidelity and performance, IRX ONE utilizes concert line array-inspired directivity control, resulting in a custom-tuned, C-shaped array. Featuring six 2” high-frequency drivers, the array delivers rich clarity, a wide sweet spot and seamless front-to-back coverage. The advanced 8” woofer features a bass-reflex design that ensures low-frequency response down to 40 Hz. jbl.com$699Alesis Nitro Max Mesh Electronic Drum SetNitro Max raises the bar for both beginner and more advanced drummers, delivering an authentic playing experience with ultra-quiet Alesis mesh drum heads, all in a compact design. Featuring 32 different kits from the renowned BFD drum sample library, Nitro Max offers seamless play along with music streaming services via Bluetooth, a host of built-in learning features, and three months of Drumeo for unlimited lessons.  alesis.com$399AEA R92 Ribbon MicrophoneOffering a classic ribbon character in the form of a near-field, the dual-tone R92 functions as a versatile creative tool with innumerable possibilities. Similar in sound to the AEA R84, but with a more pronounced midrange and minimized proximity effect, the R92 performs brilliantly when up close to brass, guitar amps, kick drum, and percussion. aearibbonmics.com$989Universal Audio Enigmatic '82 Overdrive Special Amplifier PedalBuilt on powerful dual engine processing and world-class UAD modeling, Enigmatic ‘82 Overdrive Special Amp gives guitarists the mythical "D style" tube tones made famous by John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Joe Bonamassa, and Carlos Santana. uaudio.com$399Audigo Wireless mic and iOS appAudigo is the first of its kind integrated solution—a high quality midside smart microphone, an audio+video iPhone app, and bundled cloud services that create a streamlined mobile multitrack recording solution that works anywhere your creativity strikes—not to mention can effortlessly increase the overall audio quality of iPhone videos. audigolabs.com$449Arturia KeyLab 61 mk3 61-key Keyboard ControllerArturia’s KeyLab mk3 is an advanced MIDI controller designed to meet the demands of professional use and integrate seamlessly with software and hardware instruments. With a pro-grade semi-weighted keybed, touch-sensitive controls and innovative creative features encased in a durable, high-quality construction, discover a keyboard built without compromise that musicians can rely on at every turn. arturia.com$549The post Gifts Under a Grand 2024 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

‘BITSANITY’ — Records broken with $70B in volume for Bitcoin stocks, ETFsMicroStrategy saw more trading volumes than the US spot Bitcoin ETFs combined as its shares tanked over 25% on Nov. 21.

Apple is reportedly building a more conversational Siri powered by LLMsApple is developing a new version of its voice assistant, Siri, powered by advanced large language models (LLMs), according to sources cited by Bloomberg. This more conversational Siri is part of Apple’s attempt to catch up in AI, where competitors have released impressive features, like Google’s Gemini Live, that are far more natural to talk […]
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Custom Mouse Rocks Neat Thumbstick DesignA mouse is just two buttons, and a two-dimensional motion tracking system, right? Oh, and a scroll wheel. And a third button. And…now you’re realizing that mice can be pretty complicated. [DIY Yarik] proves that in spades with his impressive—and complex—mouse build. The only thing is, you might argue it isn’t really a mouse.
The inspiration for the mouse was simple. [Yarik] wanted something that was comfortable to use. He also wanted a mouse that wouldn’t break so often—apparently, he’s had a lot of reliability issues with mice in recent years. Thus, he went with a custom 3D-printed design with a wrist rest at the base. This allows his hand to naturally rest in a position where he can access multiple buttons and a central thumbstick for pointing. In fact, there’s a secondary scroll control and a rotary dial as well. It’s a pretty juicy control surface.
The use of a thumbstick is controversial—some might exclaim “this is not a mouse!” To them, I say, “Fine, call it a pointing device.” It’s still cool, and it look like a comfortable way to interface with a computer.
We’ve seen some other neat custom mice over the years, too, like this hilarious force-feedback mouse. Video after the break.
 

Believe unveils new leadership structure in MENA regionLiliana Abudalo appointed Head of Label & Artist Solutions, MENA and Celine Hitti named Head of Artist Services, MENA
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Warner’s ADA appoints Rasti Sryantoro to head up Indonesia, Arisa Maruekatat to lead Thailand, inks deals with DPM, GMM Music“Expanding our operations in Indonesia and Thailand is a crucial step in our strategy to empower artists and elevate their music on the world stage"
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FREE-WILi Turns DC32 Badge Into Hardware Dev ToolWith few exceptions, electronic event badges are often all but forgotten as soon as the attendee gets back home. They’re a fun novelty for the two or three days they’re expected to be worn, but after that, they end up getting tossed in a drawer (or worse.) As you might imagine, this can be a somewhat depressing thought thought for the folks who design and build these badges.
But thanks to a new firmware released by the FREE-WILi project, at least one badge is going to get a shot at having a second life. When loaded onto the RP2350-powered DEF CON 32 badge, the device is turned into a handy hardware hacking multi-tool. By navigating through a graphical interface, users will be able to control the badge’s GPIO pins, communicate over I2C, receive and transmit via infrared, and more. We’re particularly interested in the project’s claims that the combination of their firmware and the DC32 badge create an ideal platform for testing and debugging Simple Add-Ons (SAOs).

Don’t know what the FREE-WILi project is? Neither did we until today, which is actually kind of surprising now that we’re getting a good look at it. Basically, it’s a handheld gadget with a dozen programmable GPIO pins and a pair of CC1101 sub-GHz radios that’s designed to talk to…whatever you could possibly want to interface with.
It’s a bit like an even more capable Bus Pirate 5, which considering how many tricks that particular device can pull off, is saying something. As an added bonus, apparently you can even wear the FREE-WILi on your wrist for mobile hardware hacking action!
Anyway, while the hardware in the FREE-WILi is clearly more capable than what’s under the hood of the DC32 badge, there’s enough commonality between them that the developers were able to port a few of the key features over. It’s a clever idea — there’s something like 30,000 of these badges out there in the hands of nerds all over the world, and by installing this firmware, they’ll get a taste of what the project is capable of and potentially spring for the full kit.
If you give your DC32 badge the FREE-WILi treatment, be sure to let us know in the comments.

Black Friday deals from Soundtoys Soundtoys have announced the launch of their annual Black Friday Sale, with significant discounts now being applied across their entire range of plug-ins until 5 December 2024.

OFFstep Is a Tech-Savvy, User-Friendly Hub for Music DistributionThe following was developed in collaboration with OFFstep, a company Ari’s Take is proud to be partnering with. OFFstep is the simplest, easiest-to-use, and most affordable music distribution platform for independent artists. As a sister company to ONErpm, OFFstep uses the same advanced technology to deliver a seamless experience. OFFstep provides a full range of […]

Bandsintown’s Fabrice Sergent joins NIVA Advisory BoardBandsintown's Fabrice Sergent joins the NIVA Advisory Board expanding on the collaboration that launched the innovative Live Independent certification and marketing initiative earlier this year.
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Music Streaming Fraud Guide For ArtistsMusic streaming fraud is a growing issue that can derail a career. Learn how to recognize, prevent, and protect from fraudulent practices with this music streaming fraud guide for artists.. Continue reading
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