In this Meet the Minds feature, London-based music producer, video game composer and DJ, Pizza Hotline, was generous enough to share his story with us. He’s made original music for Nike and Fortnite, delivered a game soundtrack remix album for cult-classic RuneScape, and his Level Select album has amassed a whopping 1.5 million views on YouTube.
We discuss his musical journey, how he got his big break in video game composition, his creative processes, his go-to networking strategy and much more.
“People refer to it as video game-adjacent music”
We asked Pizza Hotline to introduce himself and his work.
“If people ask me what I do, I say I'm a music producer, but I’ve also become a composer for video games. I've always been mad about video games, and I've accidentally fallen into it via my Pizza Hotline alias that I created. People refer to it as video game-adjacent music.
“It's video game-inspired music, and features all the iconography and signs and nostalgic feeling of them, but isn't necessarily made for them. Saying that, I seem to have turned into someone who makes music for games as a result of garnering attention for making this style.”
“Although I do some sound design, and I can do some mixing and mastering, I try to present myself as a composer on my socials now. The work is exciting and it can be pretty consistent if you've got a good pool of clients.”
“I made an album called Level Select which ended up getting 1.5 million views on YouTube”
So when and how did Pizza Hotline’s musical journey begin?
“I didn't really listen to music until I was about 12, but from then onwards it was an obsession, I started to learn instruments, did music at GCSE and A-Levels and so on. Then I got obsessed with electronic music, making tunes and DJing.
“After moving to Bristol and making Techno under the alias El Choop, I moved to London and that's when I got back into video games again. At this point, video game music became a huge interest of mine. I started listening to a lot of PlayStation 1, Dreamcast, N64, and Gamecube game soundtracks. I couldn’t believe how much decent drum and bass was hidden in them.”
“I was like ‘Why is no one talking about this?’ I started making music that sounded like it would work as game menu music. It kind of had this '90s Jungle-like feel, it’s got a really specific sound that’s simple, catchy and laid-back. It turned out there was a massive community around this sort of music that was hooked on the nostalgic side of it.”
“The album was transformative for me in terms of exposure”
Pizza Hotline details the specific moment that really kickstarted his video game composition career, and explains how he turned that moment into a sustainable income.
“During the pandemic, I made an album called Level Select which ended up getting 1.5 million views on YouTube, and that really kicked off my career. It’s allowed me to work in music full time, and got me onto the radar of some video game developers. Of course, most developers are also passionate and nostalgic for that time in video games, and the music speaks to that.”
“The album was transformative for me in terms of exposure and put me on the radar of loads of people. I started getting messages from developers and other artists that I admired. Social media is great for meeting other like-minded professionals you can collaborate with. This is how I ended up producing some original audio for Nike and Fortnite.”
“More recently, I’ve been commissioned to make a remix album for the game Old School RuneScape. It’s a super popular medieval RPG that has been around since 2001, and was a formative gaming experience for many gamers today. It’s got an extremely dedicated following and a passionate crowd base.
“I got chatting online with one of the team at Jagex. He told me they get producers to remix the original soundtrack and asked if I wanted to do a remix album. I’ve worked on it on and off for nearly a year, and it finally came out on the 3rd of September.”
“It’s a really cool arrangement as I can write the music how I want”
We asked Pizza Hotline what else he’s been working on recently.
“As well as that, I'm currently working on music for another game called MotorSlice, which is a new game from Regular Studio, a developer based in Brazil. It’s a really compelling action platformer-style game with a low poly PS1 look to it.
“They got in touch and were like ‘We like your music, can you make a soundtrack for us in your usual style?’, so the Pizza Hotline artist profile is publicly associated with the game and its IP. The work I’m doing with them is part of their marketing, which is great for me as I like to be associated with the game audio industry. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, as we both benefit from each others’ followings.”
“The soundtrack I’m writing for the game will be released as an album in its own right. It’s a great working relationship as I can write the music how I want, I just need to make it fit the mood of each level. Regular Studio sends me footage and game demos of certain sections and I work from that.
“I send some ideas over and they let me know if they’d like any changes. The back and forward can sometimes go on for a while but I don’t mind because I want the game to sound superb, and getting constant feedback is the best way to get there”.
“Really, your job is to make your client happy”
And what about Pizza Hotline’s approach to creating original and remixed video game music for his diverse range of clients?
“When I start working on a new project for a client, I ask for a handful of reference tracks and for them to be specific about what they want. I don’t really want them to describe what they want in too much detail, as that often just causes problems. If they just give me a load of obscure adjectives that are only relevant to their perspective, I can overthink things, get lost, and miss the mark.”
“Research is also really important. I research their previous work and other projects that are similar to the one they’ve hired me for. I’ll go through those things back to front and work out what it is that they really want. I also look at their previous projects and see what worked best for them and their audience. Really, your job is to make your client happy. But the goal for me is to keep them happy whilst staying true to my taste and vision.”
“So now I really try to hone in on what a client is looking for"
“I’ve had clients in the past where I’ve made so much music that I really love, and they just don’t want it. It’s because I was being foolish and not appreciating what they wanted, because ultimately it’s their project. I worked on one job that was a bit of a nightmare for this because they weren’t really providing any useful feedback, it was just ‘no’ or ‘it sounds too boring’.
“So now I really try to hone in on what a client is looking for. The solution is to get decent references, work out their taste, what their style is, and go from there. Once that’s done, I make a load of sketches, maybe 10 or 15 in a day, and chuck them into a folder. Then I’ll come back to them the next day and filter through, picking out ones that are worth developing.”
“I won’t waste any time arranging something that I don’t think is good enough”
His producer’s creative process varies slightly when creating his own music under the Pizza Hotline alias.
“With Pizza Hotline, making music as an artist, I’ll be much less throwaway and will sit with a loop for hours. I’ll keep working away at the loop until I think it’s good enough to arrange. I won’t waste any time arranging something that I don’t think is good enough, or that I’m not in love with. It has to be something I can leave on for an hour, and that I can’t get out of my head.
“It has to be really catchy and memorable, but not too abstract sounding. A lot of people say to me that they listen to my music when they work, which I think helps with streaming figures! It’s used as studying music for some people, which is interesting because when you play video games, the music is often like that. It’s designed to be catchy but at the same time not to take too much of the player’s attention.”
It’s clear that Pizza Hotline has found a winning formula for himself and his creative output, so we asked if he had any advice for those looking to get into video game composition.
“You’ve got to be humble, but you’ve also got to blow your own horn a bit”
“The best advice I can give is that you can just message almost anyone you want online, whether it’s other music producers, game developers, or record labels. It’s not to be overlooked, because you can just message someone that you admire saying “Hi, how’re you doing?” and it might just be enough to spark a conversation.
“As for other advice, you’ve got to be humble, but you’ve also got to blow your own horn a bit. Share your work and let everyone know what you’re up to. Share stories, posts and reels or whatever. If you think what you’re making is really decent, then it probably is. You never know what can happen if you’re out there and you message the right person at the right time, that’s what happened to me.”
🍿🍿 Discover more from Pizza Hotline
Pizza Hotline’s Runescape soundtrack remix album is out now via Laced Records, and you can keep up with him via his socials.
