Voyage Austin Interview with Riot Games 2xko AAA Game Composer Jesse Zuretti
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Zuretti
Hi Jesse, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always had a musicological interest in music dating back to being a first grader in 1990, but I failed to excel with playing an instrument until I played a friends guitar in 2002 at age 16. I tried playing guitar earlier on in life, but it just didn’t click yet. But when I gave it a second shot, something snapped into place and I was able to immediately communicate with guitar. In fact, the first year I started playing, I was already challenging myself with some of the most challenging metal music that was available at the time (Between the Buried and Me’s “Self Titled album, Dillinger Escape Plan’s “Calculating Infinity”, for example).
I started my band in 2004 at 17 in high school, and things latched onto the rails and took off. I put everything into music going forward. My band continuing onward eventually took me to meeting someone who believed in my music skills enough to hire me to work with Marvel in 2018. From there, my career has just been developing as a result of building relationships and trust with the communities I’ve been invited to be a part of. Thankfully, really incredible game developers, like Riot Games as an example, have trusted me to work on the soundtrack for 2XKO – which has been the most soul-satisfying, technically challenging, yet unfettered and wholly dream-like experience I’ve ever had in my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The only thing smooth about the roads I’ve traveled has been the effortlessness to stop at nothing to achieve my goals with making music. There’s never been a need to throw another log on the fire, take a break from focusing, find wind for the sails — it’s just been undying devotion to the craft. However, the challenge(r)s that have popped up haven’t been easily conquered. Keeping a band together from your teenager years into your 30s is like keeping a small, low-earning business afloat. It requires overcoming plot changes to the course that seemingly never end. It requires being a work-in-progress, growing, learning, and pushing forward to do better with each new variable that enters the equation. Coming to terms with your own faults and weaknesses is probably the most difficult challenge, because you truly don’t understand things objectively in your formative years.
The hardest struggles as an independent contractor composer has been juggling a lot of projects at the same time. But I say this with a grain of salt, because I truly love what I do, and I wake up grateful every single day – with zero exaggeration. I find that I talk myself out of letting pressure get in the way of delivering the best music I can, in a timely manner, and with a positive attitude. My friend and brilliant thematic composer Casey Edwards once said it best (I’m paraphrasing), “The worst day working as a composer is still a great day.”
Now, in terms of working in the band world with record labels and independent artists, those struggles are just different. But I’m still eternally grateful to be in a position to work with the artists and labels I get to be a part of in their music careers. Again, 16 year old Jesse shows up during difficult times in certain scenarios to remind today’s Jesse that I would’ve sold my soul to be in the position im in right now.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently composing linear themes, stages, and focus points for Riot Games’ upcoming 2v2 fighting game 2XKO, which features characters, lore, and environments from the Runeterra (the League of Legends equivalent of Earth, we’ll say). Because of my work with Marvel, I’ve been able to bring a lot of my work creating music for massive worlds and its respective characters. Marvel and Riot Games have a lot in common, in so many ways, which has made this a dream to be a part of.
I believe my strongest ability for writing for characters and environments (stages) comes from having an insatiable appetite for more music, every single day of my life. I’ve spent more than 85% of my life as a self-professed musicologist, willing to dive down to the beginning of a genre to find more music to satisfy the day’s hunger for more. Additionally, I enjoy pursuing extensive research and supplemental education in forensic profiling, which plays a significant role in understanding what I like to think of as classifiers for characters and environments, their backgrounds, their attributes, and how they should sound musically to connect visually with the audience.
I’d almost argue that all of what was said above is something that sets me apart from a lot of folks I’ve met over the years. I can see folk’s eyes glaze over when I hear a band/artist/composer/film/game/show/food they love and I passionately rattle off unsolicited suggestions for more like it. Think “human algorithm” suggestions, but so much more than bargained for. And in terms of the forensic profiling aspect of my music and characters/environments, I have yet to meet someone else with a similar background – but I really hope I do some day!
I’m mostly proud of the work I’m doing for Riot Games and the soundtrack for 2XKO. We are creating new genre fusions, pushing boundaries, and maintaining the main objective all along the way. It really helps that the folks at Riot that I work with are some of the best human beings I’ve ever met. I think what we’re doing with our soundtrack will change the way fighting game music is developed, and that is largely due to the emphasis on respecting the FGC (fighting game community). The Riot team working on 2XKO (including our audio director, Eugene Kang) are passionate FGC members – some even professionals (formerly and presently). This makes a huge difference in considering the community’s perspective of how the entire game is made for their experience, including the music.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I take risks constantly, but they happen in myriad ways. One risk I take is being radically honest about things when I feel strongly about them. It’s very odd to think about, but I think radical candor and fully open honesty is rare. I do everything I can to avoid being ruinously empathetic when it comes to my care, concern, and passion for the outcome of the production that’s being worked on. The greatest challenge with all of this has been developing the best ways to communicate effectively and respectfully, whilst also making a cogent and salient point. But this is all with the intention of making sure that the end result is the best it can be – never ego, never pride, never without careful consideration for the sensitivity of those involved in the discussions. It also requires a great deal of objective thinking to make sure that what’s being said is fully understood (by me).
Unfortunately, sometimes, no matter how hard you work to develop and shape things to be carefully delivered, you will run into flare ups of emotions from people. And I completely understand that when that happens, it’s okay, and it’s a part of the process of building a language/relationship with folks you respect and work with. Nothing is ever about the individual, it’s always about the greater good of the end result – and sometimes that requires some gentle massaging.
This can be a great risk because you can never fully know whether or not something will reach further than you had intended, and sometimes people hold grudges, or don’t connect well with the approach enough to see past the scientifically negative aspect of discussing difficult things. Which can often be things like behavior, execution, performance, and impact – things that can very easily cause someone to feel attacked.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.jessezuretti.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessezuretti
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jzuretti
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jessezuretti