Sean Booth, one half of electronic music veterans Autechre, has finally spoken about why the band were included in the credits for 2002 Nintendo GameCube sci-fi shooter Metroid Prime - widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.
The revelation came during a lengthy Ask Me Anything session on Twitch, in which Booth was quizzed on the subject. “Even though I am violating an NDA technically by saying this,” he replied, “basically we got asked to do the soundtrack”.
Booth went on to explain that the request came from Texas-based Retro Studios, who developed Metroid Prime. “We met up with them in Austin, and they were really keen, and we were really keen, because it was fucking Metroid, you know - best game ever”.
The collaboration never happened, though: “Nintendo kind of borked it, for some reason,” said Booth, adding that “they wanted their guy to do it”. However, Autechre’s name still ended up in the credits.
While some are of the opinion that the finished Metroid Prime soundtrack has similarities to Autechre’s work, Booth isn’t convinced. “I’ve read people saying that they think it sounds a bit like us but I don’t think it does,” he said. “But it’s subjective that, isn’t it?”
Booth formed Autechre with Rob Brown in 1987, becoming one of the biggest acts on the iconic Warp Records label.
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