I worked on the score for Sony Playstation's God Of War 3. I wasn't part of the original composer team, but the game's director Stig Asmussen invited me to join after hearing some of my music. I wrote one theme he really liked, and from there it just expanded into a substantial share of the score.

For the most part the score to GOW is massive, epic and brutal. 'Hera's Garden' is a more intimate track from the score. Although it grows into a more menacing piece of music, it also gave me a chance to incorporate some Middle Eastern instruments. I had Ramin Torkian (of the amazing electro-world music group Nyaz) play tar and saz - two essential string instruments from Iran. The rhythm is primarily the daf - a middle eastern frame drum.

Wanting the score to be a little more experimental I also played phrases on the Ney (a traditional Arabic end-blown flute) but heavily processed it through delays and a harmonizer plug-in for a strange, unexpected and more 'other-worldly' effect. It's a very distinctive sound that I come back to from time to time.

​Orchestra and male voices start to creep in as the track evolves and moves more toward a film score sound from the quieter world music feel.
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The score to Sony Playstation God of War III has been nominated for the 2010 Hollywood Music In Media Award. I share the nomination with the rest of the team of Cris Velasco, Mike Reagan, Gerard Marino, and Ron Fish. All terrific composers. It was fun and a real creative challange. I created about 25 minutes of original material, and as the developers completed the game, tracks were remixed and rearranged into a number of variations.
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​We recorded the score last fall at Lucas Film’s Skywalker Ranch in northern California. It’s an amazing facility. State of the art in a rustic natural setting. The staff there is the best I’ve worked with, including head engineer Leslie Ann Jones (daughter of the brilliant band leader Spike Jones). The team from Sony ran things with amazing precision and polish.