Interview With Nima Fakhara

Otakus & Geeks had a chat with composer Nima Fakhara. Nima composed the music for the game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday. Nima chats with us about the process of composing the game and much more.

Otakus & Geeks: Can you take us back to your music background. When did you fall in love with music and how did you know you wanted to be a composer?

Nima Fakhara: I have grown up with music.  I started playing music from a very young age.  I was trained in Persian Classical music before moving to the U.S. and studying orchestral composition and “Western music”.  Once my family and I moved to US, I started to perform and compose for orchestras in Washington DC.  My path led me to Los Angeles were I continued my education in composition and was exposed to the use of exotic percussion and rhythmical elements in film scores.  The score to “Black Hawk Down” by Hans Zimmer was the trigger that I realized I could have a part in this vast field.

Otakus & Geeks: How did you come abroad this project for 1979 and what was it about the project that sparks your interest?

Nima Fakhara: I learned about this project about 3 years ago when Navid Khonsari was developing this project where I reached out to him and expressed my interest to be involved with the project.  With my background as an Iranian this story intrigued me and I had to be involved somehow.

Otakus & Geeks: Can you tell us how you approach composing for a videogame? What is the process like? Do you play the game first, read the script or see the finish product first?

Nima Fakhara: With this project it was a bit different.  As a player you get to choose the path you take and every decision becomes a critical aspect on the story telling.  I worked very closely with the script and charts that I created on how the story would change with each decision.  I also worked really closely with Navid to figure out the musical language needed for the project.

Otakus & Geeks: How long did it take you to compose the soundtrack?

Nima Fakhara: Ha, it took a while.  I was working on this project for a about a year. The challenge was to create the right tone so the exploration of that was the adventure I was undertaking.

Otakus & Geeks: Do you have a favorite track from the game that you like most?

Nima Fakhara: This question is very loaded. It like which one of your children do you like most. I think the score is a very unique and every aspect of it was special. But to pin point an element…my favorite was the idea of combining my early training of Persian classical music with my experience in working as a modern composer and utilizing techniques of the late 70’s early 80’s to create the colors needed for the project.

Otakus & Geeks: What was the most challenging part of composing 1979? Did you have any difficulty finding a particular sound that you wanted?

Nima Fakhara: The biggest challenge was to find the right tonality for the project so the modern story telling aspect of the project was not hindered.  Navid and I discussed many different approaches for the music until we found the right elements that worked.

Otakus & Geeks: What is up next for you? Any future projects?

Nima Fakhara: I have a couple of projects in the works but can’t talk too much about it, all I can say is that I am building tons of custom instruments and my welder is really busy.

Otakus & Geeks: How can fans follow you on social media?

Nima Fakhara: Mostly on Twitter as @ostadnima