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Whatever happened to Matt Seldon?

Crane

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After creating what might be the best soundtrack ever in a video game for DreamWeb (including that bonus cd), Matt Seldon apparently withdrew from the gaming industry entirely. Not only that, but I can't find anything on the internet about what he did afterwords, like if he created any other music or got involved in anything else. Whatever happened to Matt Seldon? Did he die? Was Matt Seldon a pseudonym that somebody else used?
 

Crane

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My google searching abilities have been pushed to their limit. Help me, codex hive mind.
 

Crooked Bee

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Crane

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^ I would brofist your post if I had the ability. I sent an email to creative reality asking about Matt Seldon. Who knows if they'll reply - if anyone even checks that email anymore.
 

Crooked Bee

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^ I would brofist your post if I had the ability. I sent an email to creative reality asking about Matt Seldon. Who knows if they'll reply - if anyone even checks that email anymore.

You could also try sending an email to ScummVM for what it's worth, if you can find their email address; dunno if they list it on their website or facebook page.
 

Crane

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Well, putting aside that it's a matter of opinion, have you listened to the whole soundtrack?
 

Squelds

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LOL... I'm still very much alive, not quite monk status, but living life to the full!

Glad to see you guys are still appreciating the soundtrack even after all these years. Unfortunately back then the budget was tight and us 3 young and inexperienced guys had to make this whole game out of our bedrooms... on my part I had an old 8 track tape machine, so sound quality of the master is not like modern technology. Most of it was actually sequenced through keyboards and then stitched together via timecode... hard work! Maybe someone one day will remix/remaster the whole album which would be amazing and they would have my full support!

Anyways I'm still around, lurking in the shadows, looking for my next creative project that I can get my head into.

Peace, love and respect to you all... thanks for bringing back some amazing memories of creating this, means a lot :)

Matt ;-)
 

m_s0

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LOL... I'm still very much alive, not quite monk status, but living life to the full!

Glad to see you guys are still appreciating the soundtrack even after all these years. Unfortunately back then the budget was tight and us 3 young and inexperienced guys had to make this whole game out of our bedrooms... on my part I had an old 8 track tape machine, so sound quality of the master is not like modern technology. Most of it was actually sequenced through keyboards and then stitched together via timecode... hard work! Maybe someone one day will remix/remaster the whole album which would be amazing and they would have my full support!

Anyways I'm still around, lurking in the shadows, looking for my next creative project that I can get my head into.

Peace, love and respect to you all... thanks for bringing back some amazing memories of creating this, means a lot :)

Matt ;-)
I still go back and play the game quite often just for the audiovisuals and overall atmosphere.

Have you been working on any music since by any chance?
 

Squelds

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Hey guys,

Well after the release of Dreamweb I worked for Creative Reality for a few years, who then merged with another company called Heartland Enterprise's. I worked on a few other games such as Pheonix Soccer, a Polly Pockets release (yes I did write that lol) for Mattel/Viacom and Of Light and Darkness to name but a few. I left the gaming industry after a few years to pursue a career in the music business, which saw me working for bands such as Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Glitterbox and DReam. I had a range of jobs including front of house (mixing desk etc), guitar tech, and it also allowed me to do a few remixes here and there... nothing major. I setup a local trance type band called HĂĽtter, named after the legend Ralf HĂĽtter from Kraftwerk who was a big influence on my early years... but unfortunately it kinda fizzled out due to band members going there separate ways and life in general. Around mid 2000 I got into producing film and animation. I set up a small company specialising in business promotion through media and this kinda led me into what I am doing now. All these years later, with a family under my belt and all the stuff that goes with it, I am now Lead Designer Head of Film and Animation for a nuclear awareness company that specialises in training civilian and service personnel in all aspects of the nuclear industry. This ranges from small independent companies up to the big boys like Rolls Royce, BAE etc.

I still write the music for the animations and films, as well as creating all types for media as per requirement. I enjoy the work I now do as it involves a lot of creativity and I have a great team behind me. Guys I'm getting on a bit now lol - 44 just gone - but I wouldn't change a thing. I still love my gaming, still love my music... and tbh the path that producing Dreamweb opened for me was well worth the effort and all the late nights.

Like I said, I'm so glad it inspired some of you, so glad it got such a warm reception at the time... and even now all these years later I get people commenting on it, so many thanks I appreciate it a lot. What the future holds... who knows. All I can say is that if it is as eventful as the past 20 years then bring it on!!

Happy days :)
 

Owl

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I've paid a ridiculous amount of money for that cd on ebay a few years ago... but i don't regret it, it's now a collector's item.
For me, it's one of the most memorable game soundtracks ever, along with Jeehun Hwang's Mechwarrior 2. It's interesting that there's surprisingly little overlap with the in-game music, you can recognize a few melodies, but most of the tracks are very different. It fits the atmosphere of the game very well, though.
 

Owl

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BTW if anyone's interested in the lossless rip of the cd, or the ripped ingame music (pc and amiga versions), let me know.
 

DramaticPopcorn

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Let me just jump on the bandwagon and tell you how much I love Dreamweb. Its style, atmosphere and ambiguous narrative created one of the most memorable experience I've ever had and, to this day, despite the distortion that is created by marketing and overabundance of varied entertainment, I still fondly remember every part of the game in great detail

Lot's of love, keep on rockin' :love:
 

zabo

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Hello everybody, newcomer here. I joined the forum because of this thread. Thank you Matt for this great work of yours. I didn't even played the game yet, even if I am from the 90's gaming era, but I stumbled upon the soundtrack some years ago and still listen to it as a standalone music piece. It has become one of my favourite game soundtracks.

BTW if anyone's interested in the lossless rip of the cd, or the ripped ingame music (pc and amiga versions), let me know.
great! how can I contact you?
 

craterfield

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Hi Everyone,
Hi Matt,

In 1995 I played a game which should profoundly influence my taste in Music. As you can guess, it was Dreamweb. :D The Flying Sounds, the super atmospheric Synthpads, the catchy but gentle melodies, in combination with the dystopian scifi story of the game was, and still is, really outstanding. I still go back and listen to the Songs by their own, even though they are in 80kbps @22khz. I especially talking about the PC in-game Soundtrack. The Dreamweb Audio-CD with the High Quality Versions/Remixes of the in-game-songs I came across much later, so these don't have such a fond place in my heart like the ingame "Sanctuary", "The Dealer" "Septimus" and "Blood Stained Santa", and the Only CD-Quality Song on the Games CD "What went wrong, do you really don't know?". (Writing this now I don't even know if these Names are the real ones, the Files are as old as my Music-collection and I don't know how they were named)

So, since the Internet was around, I tried to find out more about you and your work, and If there is more like the Dreamweb Soundtrack for my hungry ears. But you hide pretty well, Mr. Seldon. ;D I found this Thread in this Forum some years ago, just to see that I'm not the only one wondering about what you've done since back then. Now, by pure luck, i found it again and who is here? the Man himself. :D Nice to hear from you, and getting a glimpse of the production of the Soundtrack really filled my heart with joy. :)

Now to the Point why I tell you this: I make Electronic Music <-Link. I'm no Professional Artist, even though I'm quiet passionate about it, making Music with Synthesizers and Sequencers for about 10 Years now. I operate from my home Studio and I release my Music without any ambitions on making money out of it. If you listen to some of my Tracks you will hear that they aren't mastered or overly polished, but I follow the illusion that at least my sound is rather unique and quiet enjoyable.

Now, I read in you first post that you wouldn't be too upset if someone would try to remix/remaster your Songs. It would be the fullfilment of a wish i never dared to make, if I could take that chance and give your Music some 2015 fidelity. All with the most respect for the originals as possible, of course.

To be honest, I already tried to rebuild "Sanctuary" with soft-synths, but reaching the Sound of the original with these is quiet impossible, and in that case I'm rather perfectionistic. If I have to guess Synthesizers, I would say you used something in the Kawai K4 direction? Maybe a Roland D-50 with custom patches? - Which brings us to the core: As I said, trying to recreate the original Sounds via software is a rather fruitless work. Are you still in the possession of anything related to the Songs? Maybe even (beware, wishfull thinking ahead) the Masters from your 8 Track Recorder? Or some Version from before it got compressed for the Game? Midi Notations would, of course, help a lot too, but with these I would need to know which synthesizer(s) you used, and would try to match these etc...

oh man, I'm already talking too much. Even Though you wrote here in 2014, I really hope you read this.
Have a listen to my work, if you like, and if you think it fits, drop me a note at dms@craterfield.com, or answer here on the forum. It would be a real honor.

Greetings from Germany,
Daniel
(craterfield)
 

Phage

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I dunno why this random euro thinks that making a post on this forum will get Squelds attention when he hasn't been online for 6 months.

That said, never knew about this game or its soundtrack - listening to it now, and it's pretty great. Thanks for sharing Crane
 

craterfield

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Thanks for the warm welcoming, Phage. I know that "the randome Euro" is rather late on the Topic, but I think i explained the how and why in my post.
That Squelds / Matt Seldon reads this someday is all I can hope for, as there is no other way of finding or contacting him.
And if he does and the remastering would happen, everything that derives from it would be available for everyone to listen to and download for free.
Seems rather beneficial for everyone, i would guess...
 

A horse of course

Guest
craterfield please ignore Phage as he is the most widely despised poster on the entire forum. He actually admitted eating a live dog a few years back.

I've actually had pretty good luck contacting randoms animators/artists/composers from old games so long as they're not working for massive AAA studios these days (in which case anyone trying to contact them can go fuck themselves unless they're accredited members of the press going through the developer's PR department). Both Crooked Bee and Squelds have left a pretty substantial breadcrumb trail for you to work with. Don't be afraid of sending polite emails to old co-workers etc. (unless he simply doesn't want to be found anymore).
 

craterfield

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Thanks, Ed123. I will try it that way too, even though I'm quiet uncomfortable with stalking People i don't really know to that extend. But for the greater good... :D
 

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