MMANews recently had the chance to interview Konrad OldMoney, the Canadian music producer who supplied the official theme music for EA Sports’ new video game UFC 3.
Konrad specializes in motivational/workout music and is also featured on the game’s official soundtrack (“Undefeated” feat. Korean Rap star Junoflo and Dyme Def), which you can listen to below. Here are the highlights from our interview:
MMANews: With a decorated background in traditional music, what is it like producing music specifically for a video game?
Konrad OldMoney: It’s a much different process because there is a whole team of people with a very specific vision. It’s a team effort at the end of the day that makes these things successful. By the time you’re done a song, you might have around 10 iterations of it. And usually by the time you arrive at the perfect song for a whatever the game producer and the music director wants, you might have a whole load of other songs that just didn’t make the cut. It’s really important to have a team around you that know what they’re looking for and can help guide your creative process to make the perfect product.
MMANews: Are you an MMA fan and if so, does that influence the type of music you produce for for a project like UFC 3 for EA Sports?
Konrad: I am definitely a big fan of MMA. I guess understanding the energy behind these types of sports helps me make music for various moods associated with getting physical. I put my own influence into whatever project I am working on to help iterate the current trends in the acoustic landscapes around the sport.
MMANews: Have you ever been involved with, or have been interested in composing or producing music specifically designed for a fighters walk-out in MMA or boxing?
Konrad: There have been some projects on which I have done exactly that. The Fight Night series was one of those. I did both the soundtrack cuts as well as some of the walkout songs for certain characters. I love doing those types of projects.
MMANews: You’ve worked with EA previously on the Fight Night boxing franchise. When were you first contacted (or you first reached out) to be a part of UFC 3?
Konrad: Well, it’s been a while in the works as there is LOTS to do on these games. The game Producer/Designer, Freddy Ouano and the Music Director I work with, Ricardo Almeida, are on this stuff many many months before anything gets put together. They’re real MVP’s man. There are many others of course on these projects and they’re awesome too, but I work directly with these guys on these projects…
Keeping a coherent vision and organizing so many moving parts to bring a game together and have the music be something people really respect and enjoy seems to me like a very daunting task. I also have a couple songs on UFC2 from the year prior. Those songs were called RAGE and FIGHT KICKS by Konrad OldMoney feat. Sleep Steady. I love the UFC and Fight Night projects!
MMANews: What would you consider to be your career highlight in the music business thus far and what are some of the goals you are still actively pursuing?
Konrad: A few highlights would be, this past year I have produced a chart topping album in Poland for Polish superstar Dawid Kwiatkowski, I got to score the Fifa17 reveal trailer ” The Story of Alex Hunter” which was shown live to millions of people all over the world, I got into Forbes for my work on games and various artist projects, I did some amazing projects for EA, those are definitely all high up there for me… And I have gotten to travel all over the world and perform live for thousands of people.
There are many highlights in my career as every day brings something new, but some of the most cherished moments for me are getting to work with artists I really respect and look up to, seeing people dance and scream the lyrics to my music, as well as getting to see my music all over the video games I play and love.
MMANews: So you’re a fan of the UFC games released by EA. What did you notice on the new UFC3 that you think are worthy of taking note? What should the players out there expect and be excited about?
Konrad: I have had some good amount of time to play the game and learn about it. I like to nerd out on these types of things myself, and I did notice a few awesome things in this game. Things in this game are way more life-like and responsive. Impacts are much more realistic, you can literally see and pretty much feel the recoil of a well landed strike! Also, this one is much more about strategy, and understanding advantages and drawbacks between each fighters. For example, someone starts to target your leg and your leg takes a lot of damage, you might want to switch stances to minimize the chance of having your leg be the downfall to the match etc.
Also this game uses Real Player Motion Tech (yeah more nerd talk lol), but basically what I was really stoked on about this detail, is that this technology really dials in the fighting movement in games. Everything looks more fluid and life-like. There are also other features in the game that I personally enjoy, like being able to build hype to gain fans, earn cash and train at various new gyms. You literally get to promote your player that you build in the G.O.A.T Career Mode. I am an RPG and Sports game fan so this type of stuff really appeals to me. Knockout mode is badass too! That’s the best one if you got homies over and want to show off and yell at the tv.
MMANews: Thank for your time, it’s been a pleasure. Anything else you’d like to say to our readers?
Konrad: Keep doing what you drives you and thank you for checking out my music! I have lots of cool projects on the go so check out my socials and play some tunes to get you hyped. I hope you enjoy the music I’ve created for the variety of artists and EA games, as you mash some buttons and raise your blood pressure!
Big thanks to Konrad OldMoney for taking the time to speak with us. Visit his official website and Spotify artist page to check out more of the projects he’s worked on.
Follow him on Twitter @KonradOldMoney and Instagram.
Undefeated by Konrad OldMoney feat. Korean Rap star Junoflo and Dyme Def
