[Though he's always been super-low-profile, i've every reason to believe that since this interview was written in 1997, Rob Hubbard is still working at EA in the States, heh..]

Rob Hubbard, well, what can you say? :) Classic English C64 composer of such gems as "Delta" and "Thing On A Spring", possibly one of the best-known computer game musicians of all time, in recent years he's disappeared out of the limelight somewhat, taking a more management-related role at Electronic Arts on the West Coast of the USA. We asked him about his legendary past, what he's doing now, and how he sees game music advancing in the future.

h0l: What were you doing before you got into computer music?

RH: I always worked as a pro musician, playing and writing arrangements

h0l: When did you last compose a tune on the C64?

RH: Around 1989 or 1990. I think it was "Power Play Hockey" or "1 on 1".

h0l: Indeed, do you get fed up with people asking about your classic C64 compositions?

RH: Well I did back in 1987, but not now. I answer most questions looking back with nostalgia.

h0l: Would you prefer they appreciated what you're doing now?

RH: No, I'm doing a much different job these days, and the biz is very different now compared to the old days.

h0l: What's your favourite music of your own on the C64?

RH: Probably "Sanxion" and "Kentilla".

h0l: Did you appreciate the extra opportunity for sample-quality/melody which came along with the Amiga, and eventually the PC? Or were you used to composing with just the 3 channels?

RH: Well, the technology has been advancing every year, and you have to try to exploit what is available in order to be competitive.  3 channels was a huge restriction that you had to overcome.

h0l: Several interviews I've read with you have suggested you've moved much more into a management role, and really don't compose so much anymore. Why did you decide to do this?

RH: There are several reasons. The nature of the industry is more mainstream entertainment. It costs a lot of money to develop games these days and so no-one takes any big risks. There was an obvious need for someone to help out with huge task of managing all this.

h0l: Name the oldskool and newskool musicians composing for games that you admire the most.

RH: Old-school would be Martin, Ben and David Whittaker. New-school is more difficult as there are games that movie sounds tracks taken from the CD. There are film composers like Williams and Goldsmith that I admire.

h0l: Is computer game music still underappreciated, or has the realisation that it's very important finally caught on?

RH: Producers and reviewers pay much more attention to audio these days, and there are some games that have excellent audio. There is still the challenge of true interactive music and sound effects.

h0l: Do you match musicians to projects at EA or rely on musicians that can do many different styles?

RH: We would match musicians to projects. There are many people who can do digital music, and it makes sense to find the best person for each SKU.

h0l: What are going to be the big changes in game music/fx in the next few years?

RH: There is the challenge of interactive music,  physical modeling of music instruments and sound effects, and a trend towards much more sophisticated audio implementation in the games.

h0l: What game have you played most over the past few months?

RH: have looked at the new "Wing Commander", "FU2", "NHL98", "FIFA98" and the new "Tomb Raider".

h0l: Finally, what do you miss most about England in the States? Or have you been in da US so long you don't really notice?

RH: I have been here 10 years now and really don't miss much about England. I do miss things like the BBC, and the English music scene is much better than the US, unless you live in New York !

h0l: Thanks!