Gareth Coker

Gareth Coker (born 7 May 1984) is a British composer. He has composed work for video games by Moon Studios, Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Halo Infinite.

Life and career[]

Coker learned the piano at a very early age. In school, he joined the orchestra and a jazz band and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music pursuing a major in musical composition. He traveled and lived abroad in Japan for three years where he taught English^[1] and studied various ethnic instruments.^[2] He later moved to Los Angeles, where he juggled between composing for video games and the University of Southern California's film scoring program.^[3][4] Coker cites Alan Silvestri's score for Forrest Gump and Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter as inspirations to becoming a composer.^[5]

Ori and the Blind Forest[]

In 2011, Coker composed the accompanying music to the game's prototype after studio director Thomas Mahler had stumbled upon his work. Speaking about the game's musical approach, Coker was given free rein by the studio to experiment with the music and scored the game mostly based on the visuals.^[6] He worked with the idea of using instruments that would represent the area. For example, using wood-based percussion instruments for the Ginso Tree area. He also worked closely with the game's programmers to balance the pacing and timing of the music. Coker recorded the score at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios with the Nashville Studio Orchestra.^[7]

The musical score was praised by critics and fans,^[8][9] garnering nominations for several industry awards including a BAFTA Game Award for Best Music. Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku appreciated the score's orchestral approach, comparing it to the works of Joe Hisaishi on the Studio Ghibli films.^[10] Yahoo's Ben Silverman called it "a wonderful score" and recalled how it was akin to the score of Howl’s Moving Castle.^[11]

Awards[]

Works[]

References[]

External links[]

• Gareth Coker at IMDb