With professional experiences in the Movie & Film, Amusements, Video Gaming and Advertising Industries – often in a QA Testing or Technical Support role, Joseph brings a wide angle view to music and game creation as one of his hobbies.
Link to the latest music
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/josephhatcher/3min-matcha-game-soundtrack-by-joseph-hatcher
Where are you based?
East Tennessee
How long have you been making music?
As long as I have been able to talk as a walking soundboard. I had no idea beat boxing was a thing until AOL and Compuserve came online before the internet got mainstream. I have been making mildly annoying noises for decades, and only semi-decent, kinda listenable tunes since the 1990s.
What genre would you consider your music to be?
It varies like most people’s tastes. I lean towards electronic, dance, trap, techno, drum N bass, Lo-Fi and ambient positive vibes. I aim to make an album listeners will want to leave on loop. 🙂
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
I would not call it a career but, it definitely inspires me when I have designer’s or writer’s block. I try to have each song contain its own story or theme to itself, while also fitting with a project I am working on. It is mentally and emotionally rewarding to take your beat, melody, or idea from your head and mouth, sketching ideas for it, learning software and hardware tools to help give it some aural life and vibe well.
What are your biggest musical influences?
Pretty much everything from the 1800s to now, depending on mood and current playlists. I appreciate the skills and I am always inspired by: Yuzo Koshiro, Frank Klepacki, Koji Kondo, All of the Technosoft Composers, Graeme Norgate, Robin Beanland, Michael Jackson, Prince, Patrick Stump, Dave Grohl, Jack White, and especially for my 3Min Matcha Game Soundtrack – Peter Hajba (Skaven) of Bejeweled match 3 games & more!
Are you signed to a label or are you an independent artist?
Indie.
What have been the biggest challenges in your music career?
Teaching myself various tools on multiple platforms on Nintendo DS/3DS, Switch, PC, Linux, Android, Playstation 1 and 2, while trying to make something that sounds like it goes together. Accepting that you have to keep trying, even if your friends and family are not supportive in the ways you might perceive that they should be. Music is an art, tastes vary, and we can learn from that but, should not take the criticisms personally.
How many songs or albums have you released to date?
Previously I helped produce my offspring’s album of Baby Stepz Remastered by Caeh Hatcher, and my previous game soundtrack for LOOTRONS 1982 on PC.
Can you tell us a few things about your latest release?
Each track was designed to present a little story when listening to it outside of the game. 9 of the tracks play at random when you start a level. I think all of the tunes were made between August of 2021 and December 2022. I have had to sit on them until I get the game to a more final, release state. Some of the tunes are inspired by other games too. Animal Crossing, Fortnite, Steam overall, Mario Kart, Resident Evil, Five Nights at Freddy’s, other match-3 games and Tetris.
Any plans for new music or upcoming projects we should know about?
I always have various incomplete music and game project demo or prototypes. Trying to get something “good enough” and released is super challenging. You have to do it though, learn, adapt, and move on to your next project! For this album, there were over 70 tracks that didn’t make it. For my previous soundtrack, over 100 tracks were dismissed. Maybe something will get used in the future. I try to release B Sides on Newgrounds and other sites, in case someone out there wants to use them (freely).
