Bring the Noize: A chat with River City Girls composer Megan McDuffee

destructoid.com:

Much like another of WayForward’s top franchises, Shantae, River City Girls understands that the key to connecting with an audience is to imbue your characters and worlds with life, personality, and charisma. This can be achieved through storytelling, script, visuals, and, of course, music. For Kyoko, Misako, their allies, and their enemies, music plays an essential part in setting the scene, with pulse-pounding beats, retro-electro, and dramatic vocals scoring the duo’s fast ‘n’ furious town tear-up.

River City Girls’ distinct sound was meticulously composed by Washington-based musician Megan McDuffee. McDuffee’s work brings life and dynamism to RCG, affording its 2D visuals fullness of character, springing the game’s heroes, villains, and locales to life. Now preparing to return for the upcoming River City Girls 2, we spoke with the award-winning composer about their sound, their influences, and their thoughts on River City’s most dangerous rockstar, NOIZE.

Destructoid: Hi Megan, and thanks for sitting down with us! I guess it’d be best to start at the beginning, which I’ve heard is a very good place to start. How did you get started in music? And, for those yet to hear your music, how would you personally define your unique, eclectic sound?

Megan: There was never a time when I was not in music — it’s been part of my life since day one. I always knew I’d have a musically focused career. I’m an amalgamation of all the things I listened to both growing up and as a young adult. Rock, jazz, classical, pop, and electronic were on regular rotation in my collection. And while my sound varies between projects, the underlying thread is my electronic production and highly melodic sensibility. I’d say for my own personal artist