Lead Composer, Geoff Knorr on TheCivShow Podcast

[MoySauce]

Geoff offers us some very interesting stories including controversy with the Cree music, how he recorded remotely with Vietnam's music (including shipping 70lbs of equipment to accomplish the task) and some of his favourite pieces he's made for the soundtrack.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

Is it possible for you to relay to Geoff Knorr that I love the music he has made? It just never misses the mark, every Civ 6 theme is incredible.

 

[MoySauce]

Is it possible for you to relay to Geoff Knorr that I love the music he has made? It just never misses the mark, every Civ 6 theme is incredible.

We told him that the community cherished him and look forward to new music as much as we look forward to new civilizations.

 

[Morningcalm]

Geoff offers us some very interesting stories including controversy with the Cree music, how he recorded remotely with Vietnam's music (including shipping 70lbs of equipment to accomplish the task) and some of his favourite pieces he's made for the soundtrack.

Extremely interesting! So glad you were able to chat with Geoff Knorr! Did you reach out to Geoff by email to ask him to join?

 

[Alexadamz]

The real reason I am expecting a new season pass or some spare DLCs with new Civs is to get some new themes from Geoff Knorr. The best thing in the game is the music score

 

[9gkj548hkm20vk79dj689bnj4]

He's done a great job,
though I personally prefer the more atmospheric tracks of Civ 5. Even if many are much more downbeat that the fun folk music of Civ 6

 

[Tigranes]

Is it possible for you to relay to Geoff Knorr that I love the music he has made? It just never misses the mark, every Civ 6 theme is incredible.

He has a twitter account with just handful of followers but posts regularly. So I knew about 70 lb box from picture he posted.

 

[MoySauce]

Extremely interesting! So glad you were able to chat with Geoff Knorr! Did you reach out to Geoff by email to ask him to join?

Yes we emailed him via his website. He seems to be very responsive to his emails based on some of his responses in the interview.

He has a twitter account with just handful of followers but posts regularly. So I knew about 70 lb box from picture he posted.

His twitter is honestly a gold mine of interesting things.

 

[Kupe Navigator]

Geoff knorr did fantastic job with two of my country's music- Korea and Maori! I will say Korea theme in civ 6 is BETTER than its theme in civ 5!

 

[Villager720]

Some random thoughts :

• I can’t believe I actually listened through the whole hour+ but it was pretty interesting throughout
• I did not know how young Geoff is - but to be tasked with delivering music at studio development pace while dealing with the added complexity of representing different cultures/styles/instruments and then managing to incorporate different artists per piece - it is just amazing that he is not only managing but knocking it out of the park. Very impressive
• Was glad to hear that the Cree “controversy” was seemingly overblown and that those actually involved were very excited about being involved and even had their unique request(s) granted

 

[Haig]

Always thought he was some old grayhaired dude hehe...

Music is definately one of the highlights of the game and brings personality to it.

One piece that doesnt get enough mentions is Ethiopia theme, I love it.

 

[Duke William of Normandy]

One piece that doesnt get enough mentions is Ethiopia theme, I love it.

Especially the drop in the Medieval Theme, it's just beautiful.

 

[shaglio]

I did not know how young Geoff is

Always thought he was some old grayhaired dude hehe...

Me too. Maybe because when I think of composers, the first 2 that come to mind are John Williams and Arthur Fiedler

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

Wait! Just to mention it so his work isn't forgotten, Geoff Knorr (while writing more of Civ 6's music and all of it for the NFP, from what I can tell) is not it's only composer!

Roland Rizzo does plenty of it, too. I'm just going to quickly list off the themes he did:

• Poland
• Rome
• Netherlands
• Aztec
• Mapuche
• Korea
• Hungary
• France
• Inca
• Norway
• Phoenicia

And this is not to mention Phil Boucher, who (as far as I can tell) is the one fully responsible for remixing the Industrial Themes into Atomic Themes.

Geoff Knorr has done phenomenal work on his own, but I just didn't want to see these artists go uncredited.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Great interview. Those custom Cree/Civ 6 jackets sound dope!

 

[MoySauce]

Wait! Just to mention it so his work isn't forgotten, Geoff Knorr (while writing more of Civ 6's music and all of it for the NFP, from what I can tell) is not it's only composer!

Roland Rizzo does plenty of it, too. I'm just going to quickly list off the themes he did:

• Poland
• Rome
• Netherlands
• Aztec
• Mapuche
• Korea
• Hungary
• France
• Inca
• Norway
• Phoenicia

And this is not to mention Phil Boucher, who (as far as I can tell) is the one fully responsible for remixing the Industrial Themes into Atomic Themes.

Geoff Knorr has done phenomenal work on his own, but I just didn't want to see these artists go uncredited.

Yeah I realize when I said "One and only", I didn't mean that as the only composer for Civilziation, I meant that as the one and only unique person, Geoff Knorr. Roland played a bigger piece in the other expansions, and Phil Boucher adding electronic elements to every atomic theme should also be accredited. Thanks for clarifying that!

Some random thoughts :

• I can’t believe I actually listened through the whole hour+ but it was pretty interesting throughout
• I did not know how young Geoff is - but to be tasked with delivering music at studio development pace while dealing with the added complexity of representing different cultures/styles/instruments and then managing to incorporate different artists per piece - it is just amazing that he is not only managing but knocking it out of the park. Very impressive
• Was glad to hear that the Cree “controversy” was seemingly overblown and that those actually involved were very excited about being involved and even had their unique request(s) granted

Glad you enjoyed the episode! You also don't need to watch it all in one sitting, the podcast is also available on Spotify, Apple, Google, anywhere where you get your podcasts, so take your time through the hour! I'm really glad to hear his side of the Cree story. After reading articles about it and also reading how Geoff really takes into consideration getting the music right for the culture, I found it hard to believe that he would be put in the spotlight like that. Really glad he was able to clear that up.

Great interview. Those custom Cree/Civ 6 jackets sound dope!

This is the custom jacket. The front (can no longer find a picture), had the Civilization VI logo on the left breast of the jacket.