Alexander Brandon (also known as Siren in the demoscene and tracker community) is an American musician, former member of Straylight Productions, who composed music mostly for games produced by Epic Games, or games based on Epic technology, including Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Tyrian, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, and the cancelled game Jazz Jackrabbit 3D.[1] Brandon is also a voice actor, having been cast most recently for the parts of Ancano and Amaund Motierre in the Role Playing Game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by Bethesda Game Studios.
Alexander Brandon | |
|---|---|
 Alexander Brandon in Georgetown, Texas in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Brandon |
| Also known as | Siren, Chromatic Dragon, Sandman |
| Born | September 29, 1974 |
| Genres | Electronica, synthpop, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, musician, voice actor, voice director, sound designer, audio director |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, PC, guitar |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Materia Collective, Funky Rustic Records |
Brandon started composing music at the age of 14 when he got an Ad Lib music synthesizer card for Christmas.[2] He worked in several MOD music groups over his composing years in the late 1990s, including the Kosmic Free Music Foundation. During that time, he also composed for several musicdisks such as Return to Stage 9.
Brandon has built several audio departments, starting with Ion Storm Austin in mid-2000. This was followed with an audio director position at Midway Home Entertainment in San Diego until 2007 when he started the audio department at Obsidian Entertainment.[1] In February 2009, he built the audio department at Heatwave Interactive, also providing business development and overall media management. In April 2010, Alex launched Funky Rustic, an independent audio production studio, working out of Georgetown, Texas.
Past nicknames
During his tracker career, Alex has used several nicknames:[3]
- 1995: first tracks released under the name "Chromatic Dragon"
- end of 1995: name changed to "Siren"
- middle of 1996, during KFMF membership: name temporarily changed to "Sandman"
- end of 1996: name changed back to "Siren"
Note that there were several (two or three) tracker musicians around the world, who have used the nickname "Sandman" independently of Alex.
Influences
Alexander Brandon's influences include Peter Gabriel, Dream Theater, Frost*, Andrew Sega, Steve Vai, and Ozric Tentacles, among others.[4]
Personal life
Brandon lives in Georgetown, Texas with his family.[5]
Works
Video games
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Tyrian | Composer, level designer, writing, story, dialogue | With Andres Molnar |
| Extreme Pinball | Sound effects | ||
| 1998 | Jazz Jackrabbit 2 | Composer | With Sean Hiller and Bryan Rudge |
| Unreal | With Michiel van den Bos, Dan Gardopée and Andrew Sega | ||
| 1999 | Unreal Tournament | ||
| Tyrian 2000 | Project leader, writing, dialogue, story, composer | ||
| Dark Vengeance | Composer | With Andrew Schlesinger, Mark Styles | |
| Vigilante 8 | Nintendo 64 version, with Dan Gardopée | ||
| 2000 | Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense | ||
| Deus Ex | With Michiel van den Bos and Dan Gardopée | ||
| 2003 | Unreal II: The Awakening | With Jack Wall, Clint Bajakian, Jeremy Soule and Crispin Hands[6] | |
| Battlestar Galactica | |||
| Deus Ex: Invisible War | Audio Director, sound effects, music | ||
| Activision Anthology | Composer | ||
| 2004 | Thief: Deadly Shadows | Cinematic post sound effects, special thanks | |
| 2005 | NARC | Audio manager | |
| Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows | Audio Director, music, sound effects | With Inon Zur, Rednote Audio and Alistair Cooper | |
| 2006 | Rampage: Total Destruction | Audio engineer | |
| MLB Slugfest 2006 | Dialogue recording | ||
| Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run | Audio director | ||
| Happy Feet | |||
| The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy | |||
| The Ant Bully | |||
| 2007 | TouchMaster | ||
| Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer | |||
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am | Special thanks | ||
| 2008 | Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir | Audio director | |
| 2010 | Bejeweled 3 | Composer | With Peter Hajba and Allister Brimble |
| Alpha Protocol | Additional Sound Effects & Foley | ||
| 2011 | Bejeweled: Classic | Audio | |
| Deus Ex: Human Revolution | Composer | With Michael McCann and Yohann Boudreault | |
| 2012 | Dust: An Elysian Tail | With HyperDuck SoundWorks | |
| 2013 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Sound effects | |
| Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded | |||
| Aliens: Colonial Marines | Additional sound design | ||
| 2014 | Wasteland 2 | Sound design | |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Contract audio | ||
| 2016 | Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives | Audio | |
| 2017 | Torment: Tides of Numenera | Audio director, sound design and implementation | |
| Aven Colony | Composer | ||
| 2018 | Cloney: A Tapped Out Adventure | ||
| The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep | Sound Design/Audio Consultant | ||
| Cancelled | Jazz Jackrabbit 3 | Composer | |
| 2020 | Wasteland 3 | Audio Director, voice acting, additional music | |
| Unreleased | Dead Matter |
Other work
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | AtmosphereS: Cultures | With Dan Gardopée |
| AtmosphereS: Moods | ||
| AtmosphereS: Pulses | ||
| audiophonik - music for the scene generation | With various others | |
| 2000 | AtmosphereS: Dreams | With George "The Fat Man" Sanger |
| AtmosphereS: Rhythms | ||
| 2008 | Era's End | With Bryan Rudge |
| 2010 | Earthscape | |
| 2011 | Violet Eclectic | |
| Songs for the Cure '11: Esuna | With various others | |
| Impostor Nostalgia | ||
| 2013 | Nukem: Duke 3D Remixes | |
| Deus Ex: Sonic Augmentation | ||
| Spectrum of Mana | ||
| 2014 | The Glory Days Remixed | |
| Just Fun | ||
| Just Fun Miami | ||
| The Ad Lib Collection | ||
| 2016 | Sound Waves: A Tribute to Ecco the Dolphin | With various others. |
| Chronicles of Time: A Chrono Trigger Arrangement Project | ||
| 2018 | Just Fun Custom | |
| 2019 | The Belmont Adventure | With various others |
| 2020 | Conspiravision: Deus Ex Remixed | With Michiel van den Bos |
Voice acting
| Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Deus Ex: Invisible War | Generic Citizen, Tracer Tong |
| Thief: Deadly Shadows | Keepers |
| Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows | The Emperor |
| L. A. Rush | Additional voices |
| Mortal Kombat: Armageddon | |
| Stranglehold | Kwong Fang |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Ancano, Amaund Motierre |
| DC Universe Online | Black Lightning, Black Adam, General Zod, Major Force and Cyborg |
| SOL: Exodus | The Commander |
| Vacation Simulator | Additional voices |
| Pagan Online | Dabog |
| Wasteland 3 | Additional voices |
Books
- Brandon, Alexander (2004). Audio for Games: Planning, Process, and Production. New Riders. ISBN 978-0-7357-1413-7.
References
External links
- Developer Bio at Gamasutra
- Developer Bio at MobyGames
- Musicography and tracks collection for 1995–1999 (Chromatic Dragon / Siren period)
- Musicography for 1995–2002 (incomplete)
- Alexander Brandon discography at MusicBrainz
- Alexander Brandon at IMDb
- Artist profile at OverClocked ReMix
Interviews
- "Interview with Alexander Brandon". MotherShip Server: Kemmerer, Peter (June 1999)
- "Interview with Alex Brandon" Archived January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. DeusEx-Machina.com: (Jan. 2001)
- "Alexander Brandon Interview: Going Solo". Game Music Online (November 1, 2007)
- "Epic Composer Interview: Alexander Brandon". Epic Games (May 16, 2012, archived)
- "PC classic commentary: Tyrian 2000 with Alexander Brandon". PC Gamer (July 3, 2014)