Interview With Eric Roth

Interview Date: 8/7/2021

Interviewer:  Samantha Ferreira

Editor's note: lightly edited for clarity.

Anime Herald: Last night, I caught your show—the OPENWORLD show—and I noticed that the crowd was incredibly subdued until you turned around, [and] reminded them where we are and what we're able to actually do now. As a performer, has this ever happened to you? Where the room just kind of exploded to your reassurance everything's gonna be okay, like that?

Eric Roth: That's an interesting question. I didn't really perceive it that way. I'd have to be honest with you. I'm not disagreeing with you, but that wasn't my experience in the moment. The way you describe it does remind me a little bit of an experience I had performing in Kuwait, believe it or not.

It was explained to me that the performance culture there is an extremely skeptical one. You know, that people are very skeptical of what the performance experience is going to be like, until they get a little way into the concert. Now, this is just how it was explained to me, but I perceived that while performing. But after a certain point, like maybe ten minutes in, or something like that, a couple tunes in like, just, it opened up into a totally different feeling. So yeah, I mean, that's the only thing I can kind of compare to what you're describing, that I remember experiencing.

Anime Herald: And out of curiosity, how did you actually end up kind of starting the OPENWORLD project? Like, what led you to really kind of bring the world of video game music to the chamber setting like this?

Eric Roth: Well, OPENWORLD, we developed and started because we have been playing conventions with A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY. And talking with the convention organizers, they would say, "hey, do you have something else?" You know what I mean? “That we could do on a year that you're not here with Final Fantasy project?” And we said, "Yeah, we could have something else!" (laughs) So we made it and, and at this point, we've done a bunch of shows. And, you know, it's been a success to do that. You know what I mean? So that's, that's how it started. And that's how it continues, thankfully.

Anime Herald: Thankfully, yeah. And I noticed that you had some [genuinely] playful arrangements of compositions. What would you say is the biggest challenge of kind of bringing these really synthy tunes, like, say, like Green Hill Zone(from Sonic the Hedgehog), things like that, into the chamber setting?

Eric Roth: This is a very complex question, is this alright? (laughs) I mean, it's just, I could talk about it for a long time.

I guess, the way I look at it, is that you need to retain the identity of the original in a meaningful way, right? And if you're not doing that, you know, and that means more than just playing the melody, right? It means more than just getting the tempo in the ballpark. There's, like, you need to achieve certain energy and flavor, I guess, is a good way to put it. So, on the one hand, there's a real challenge to retaining the identity of the original music. And I take that very seriously, right? Because if you're not satisfying that, then nothing else really matters. I mean, like, we're not out there to do some sort of arranger's fantasy on video game music or something like that.

Then, there are other sorts of like, really crafty challenges, like "how am I going to make this digital sound feel good with acoustic instruments" in a fresh, rewarding way. And that requires some creativity and imagination. You can't just always be like, "Okay, this, you know, I hear this sine wavey the sound and I'm going to make the flute play it." It just gets, it gets boring if you don't bring your imagination to the table with it. So, I mean, and then I could go on for like a few more hours if you wanted me to. (laughs)

Anime Herald: Certainly! I could buy drinks and listen to this all night. (laughs) My brother is a drummer, so I love hearing this stuff. And in 2018, you mentioned in an interview that you'd like to see gaming music become less, quote unquote, like "ghetto-ized." Do you think we've seen real progress towards that?

Eric Roth:Well, I think there's a coincidence of timing. I think all live music has become somewhat devalued during the pandemic. And I don't mean, like, for public health mitigation efforts. I'm not talking about like, for gatherings and things like that. I mean, I'm talking about, what are [the] essential things that humans do? You know, what's the important stuff that humans do that we’ve got to find ways to do for us to be able to have meaningful and rewarding lives and communities?

And, you know, we're sure that we need currency speculation. For example, you know what I'm saying? (laughs) And again, I want to be clear, I'm not talking about like, I'm not comparing this with any public health Coronavirus spread mitigation efforts. That's not what I'm talking about.

Anime Herald: Absolutely.

Eric Roth: But more central to your question. Do I think there has been progress? I think there certainly has been. And I think that it's largely because it's hard to ignore. You know what I mean? It's hard to ignore the millions of beautiful people who want to have these experiences.

I think it's difficult to be in the concert production game, and not see how much growth potential there is for audiences of video game music and anime in live concert settings, especially with orchestra and chamber music, things like that. I mean, from my perspective, you only don't see it if you don't want to see it.

Anime Herald: Absolutely.

Eric Roth: You know what I'm saying? It's like, if you want to put your ear to the ground, if you want to look at the numbers, if you want to pay attention to the concerts that have happened, that continue to happen, and you know, then you'll figure it out. (laughs)

Anime Herald: Definitely.

Eric Roth: So that that's my take. May I add just one more thing to that? I think that like, this, what I was talking about in that interview that you're referring to, is part of a larger phenomenon, in lots of music institutions. That should be behind us, in terms of our history. Like, we should be getting past this stuff.

And those are these destructive divisions between what we consider "high art," and what we consider something else that we're going to bring into the concert hall. That's garbage to me. So I think that when, what I was talking about, about the "ghetto-ization" of, you know, not just video game music, but of all sorts of music that some of our most well-endowed music institutions don't do centrally. I think that's part of that. In a bigger sense.

Anime Herald: Absolutely. Thank you. And I did notice that, on your profile, it said that your arrangements for use for Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Neurology Telemusic program. How involved were you with the initiative, and what was the biggest challenge of working with that project?

Eric Roth: Well, there's a pilot program I should be clear, right? How involved was I? I created arrangements of music, so I wasn't involved with patients, you know, or anything like that. My job was making arrangements of music and, I mean, I loved it. I loved it. You know? It was a great, beautiful, worthy thing to do, and I learned a lot in a lot of different ways. But it's not like I had a collaborative relationship with the neurology department. That was really [in] the performer, the violist's hands. That was her.

Anime Herald: And it looks like our time is running short, so I just have just one more question. Do you have any questions you like to ask me?

Eric Roth: Yeah, I do. If you could see an anime orchestra or chamber music concert. Just throw out a couple of titles that you'd love that you would jump at.

Anime Herald: Personally, I'd be down for Sakura Wars. In particular, some of their soundtrack albums. They have a lot of stuff that just never hit the games with some iconic songs. Like, say, Tsubasa or Subete ha Umi he that are just beautiful compositions by Kohei Tanaka, and I can't speak highly enough about.

Eric Roth: Very cool.