The long-standing fan theory appears to now have finally been confirmed.
Though Sonic the Hedgehog fans have long been studying and dissecting the similarities between Michael Jackson’s music and the tunes featured in the 1994 game Sonic the Hedgehog 3; it appears as if all their conspiracy theory dreams may have finally come to fruition.
As it turns out, it’s all true. A new feature by The Huffington Posthas brought to light the real story of the making of Sonic’s soundtrack and the secret contribution made by Michael Jackson himself. Six composers are officially credited on the game, which was developed in a secure location in California’s Silicon Valley: Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Doug Grigsby III, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, and Cirocco Jones.
However, after the Sonic community exploded with rumours of Jackson’s involvement, as well as mounting evidence of the similarity in the music’s melodies, a 2009 article in French magazine Black & White seemed to give first official confirmation of the collaboration. Within its pages, an interview with Brad Buxer stated he had worked with the singer, though he was unsure whether anything had made it into the final game; “I’ve never played the game so I do not know what tracks on which Michael and I have worked the developers have kept.”
The Michael Jackson Video Game Conspiracy from Test Kitchenon Vimeo.
The Huffington Post has now significantly substantiated the story; elaborating that Jackson had, indeed, visited the Sega Technical Institute in early 1993. “He wanted to drop by and say hello,” stated Roger Hector, who headed the development team for Sonic 3. “There was no agenda beyond it other than, he really, really liked the game. He enjoyed playing it a lot and he wanted to meet the people behind it.”
It was during that visit, purportedly, that he was asked to write music for the game. “I was working with Michael on theDangerous album,” Buxer stated, “and he told me he was going to be doing the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtrack for Sonic 3. He asked me if I would help him with it.”
The six composers worked for four weeks alongside Jackson, creating an estimated 41 tracks (or cues, as gaming culture names them); Cirocco Jones even recalls receiving late night phonecalls from the singer to discuss ideas and melodies for the game.
Audio was recorded in full for later compression into the game. “We were recording lots of beatboxing. Lots of Michael’s mouth percussion. … He’d be laughing, joking, and that kind of infectious attitude would … make the work not seem like work,” recalled one of the game’s sound engineers, Matt Forger. “Michael understood that this was for a game, he was in a really up mood whenever we’d be working.”
Read more at the Independent
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