Today’s special guest is Tom Salta, a hugely talented and accomplished artist and producer. He’s worked in film, TV, ads and games for over 30 years and has produced with legends like Bobby Brown, Cher and Peter Gabriel. He’s spent the last 20 years working in games including Cold Fear and Red Steel and some of the world’s largest franchises like Tom Clancy, Just Dance, Prince of Persia, Halo, Killer Instinct, Wolfenstein and PUBG.
Join us as we chat with Tom about his game music career over the past 20 years, from his breakout tracks to more recent hits. He’s a stylistic chameleon and no two tracks sound alike, so you’re in for a treat! A big thanks to our previous guest Nick Marinelli of VGIC for connecting us with Tom Salta!
Tom also recently launched a fabulous online masterclass for game music composition called Game Music Essentials. If you’re interested in game music composition, it’s an incredible resource and well worth the price of admission. Use the special promo code “Pixelated50” for $50 off.
Track List
All tracks composed by Tom Salta unless otherwise stated
- 0:00:00 “2 Days or Die” (as Atlas Plug)
- licensed for the games Rallisport Challenge 2 (Xbox)
- from the album 2 Days or Die
- 0:14:48 “Angel’s Heaven” from Red Steel (Wii)
- 0:23:38 “Artemis Ascendance” from Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X (360, PS3, WIN)
- 0:35:01 “The Menagerie of Legends” from Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii version)
- 0:42:30 “Dagomba” from Just Dance 2 (Wii)
- 0:50:18 “Onslaught” from Halo: Spartan Assault (WIN, 360, XB1, iOS, WP)
- 0:55:14 “Halo Theme Gungnir Mix (feat. Steve Vai)” from Halo 2 Anniversary (XB1, WIN, XSS/X)
- Originally composed by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori
- Adapted and Orchestrated by Tom Salta, Paul Lipson, Lennie Moore, Brian Trifon, and Brian Lee White
- 1:04:28 “Enter the Battletoad” from Killer Instinct: Season 3 (XB1, WIN)
- Composed by Atlas Plug and Celldweller
- Based on music composed by David Wise (Battletoads), Robin Beanland and Graeme Norgate (Killer Instinct)
- 1:17:43 “Maverick” from Lawbreakers (PS4, WIN)
For more info and work from Tom Salta, see the links below
- tomsalta.com
- TEDx Talk – Breaking into and staying in the game industry
- Dance it Out – feat Samama – Official music video
- Ghosts – Song by Atlas Plug and Celldweller
- 2 Days or Die album
- Around the World Remix EP
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:06 — 111.5MB)