Richard Vreeland (born June 29, 1986), better known by his stage name Disasterpeace, is an American composer and musician. He first got started in music after learning the guitar in high school and started writing music around the age of 17.[1] Known for his work as a chiptune artist, Vreeland has scored many video games, including Fez and Hyper Light Drifter. He stepped into film score composition with the 2015 film It Follows, and has since composed the scores for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Under the Silver Lake, Triple Frontier, and Bodies Bodies Bodies.
Disasterpeace | |
|---|---|
 Vreeland in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Vreeland |
| Born | June 29, 1986 Staten Island, New York, United States |
| Genres | Chiptune, electronic, ambient, experimental rock |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Website | disasterpeace |
Childhood
editVreeland's first introduction to music was as a child, growing up in Staten Island. He spent a great deal of time learning from his step-father, who was a trained musician. In an interview, Vreeland stated, "As a child, I was mesmerized by drums. My step-father was the music director of our church and they would have band practice in the basement. Many of my fondest memories are of going down there to jam away on the drums, when they were there".[2]
Career
editFez
editVreeland composed Fez's chiptune-esque[3] electronic soundtrack. Despite his background in chiptune, Vreeland limited his use of that genre's mannerisms in the score. He worked with soft synth pads and reverb to push the score closer to an '80s synthesizer sound. He also reduced reliance on percussion and incorporated distortion techniques like bitcrushing and wow. Vreeland opted for slower passages with varying tempos that could "ebb, flow, and breathe with the player".[4] He left some portions of Fez without music. Vreeland worked on its soundtrack at night for about 14 months while scoring Shoot Many Robots,[4] and Brandon McCartin of Aquaria contributed the game's sound effects.[5]
It Follows
editIn 2014, Vreeland produced the soundtrack for David Robert Mitchell's sophomore film It Follows, after being approached by Mitchell, a fan of Vreeland's work on the video game Fez.[6]
Hyper Light Drifter
editDisasterpeace composed the soundtrack for Hyper Light Drifter, a game developed by Heart Machine in 2016. The score follows Disasterpeace's previous soundtrack work and was listed as "One of the year's best scores, in any medium" by FACT.[7]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004 | History of the Vreeland |
| 2005 | The Chronicles of Jammage the Jam Mage |
| 2006 | Atebite and the Warring Nations |
| 2007 | Under the Influence |
| Level | |
| Neutralite | |
| 2011 | Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar |
EPs
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Cereal Code | N/A |
| 2010 | West | |
| 2016 | Mud Water | Theatre |
Compilations
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Daniel, Matthew & Richard | Improvisational album |
| 2007 | Noon Kids | B-sides |
| 2010 | Midnight Orphans | |
| 2011 | Deorbit | |
| 2013 | Strays | |
| 2016 | Singles | N/A |
| 2017 | Video Games | |
| Disasters for Piano | Arrangement album |
Soundtracks
edit| Year | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Limeade Grin | Unreleased video game |
| 2008 | Rescue: The Beagles | Video game |
| 2009 | Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter (UST) | |
| Woosh | ||
| Waker | ||
| High Strangeness | ||
| Bomberman Live: Battlefest (UST) | ||
| Bright-Coves | Brightcove video platform | |
| 2010 | Astral Puzzle Meltdown | Video game |
| Bonk: Brink Of Extinction (UST) | Unreleased video game | |
| Passcode: Soul Of The Traveler | Web-series | |
| Cat Astro Phi | Video game | |
| 2011 | 360° Sharks | |
| Puzzle Agent (UST) | ||
| ZONR | ||
| 2012 | Fez | |
| Shoot Many Robots | ||
| KRUNCH | ||
| 2013 | Runner2 (UST) | |
| FZ: Side F | Fez OST remix album | |
| FZ: Side Z | ||
| Apoc Wars | Video game | |
| Soundodger+ | ||
| Somewhere | Short film | |
| 2014 | The Floor Is Jelly | Video game |
| Famaze | ||
| Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake | ||
| Cannon Brawl | ||
| 2015 | It Follows | Film |
| Loop Ring Chop Drink | Short film | |
| Gunhouse | Video game | |
| Mini Metro | ||
| 2016 | "Bad Jubies" | Adventure Time episode |
| Hyper Light Drifter | Video game | |
| Reigns (UST) | ||
| Beasts of Balance | Tabletop game | |
| 2017 | Ram Son (original soundtrack for River City Ransom: Underground) | Video game |
| 2018 | DIY - Volume One | TV cartoon |
| Under the Silver Lake | Film | |
| 2019 | Triple Frontier | |
| Crimson Tooth | Video game | |
| 2021 | Solar Ash | |
| Marcel the Shell with Shoes On | Film | |
| 2022 | Bodies Bodies Bodies | |
| Hyper Light Fragments | Hyper Light Drifter OST additional tracks | |
| Paradise Marsh | Video game | |
| 2023 | Soundodger 2 | |
| 2024 | Viktor | Film |
References
edit- ^ "Fine Tuning Interview: Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace)". Esperino. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Courtney, Timothy (March 26, 2016). "Game Talk: Composer of Games Like Fez & Shoot Many Robots, Rich Vreeland Interview with Timothy Courtney". timothycourtney.io. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ Hollander Cooper (April 12, 2012). "Fez review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Kirk Hamilton (April 12, 2012). "Fez's Beautiful Soundtrack Lives and Breathes Video Game Dreaminess". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ "GameSetWatch Two Minutes Of Fez's Charming World". gamesetwatch.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ "Scoring Horror Interview with RICH VREELAND". Cinema Knife Fight. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ "The 50 best albums of 2016". FACT. December 13, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.