Interview conducted by Ian "PhroG" Taylor

Rob Overseer (aka: Overseer), is a man you might not of heard of yet, but you’ve definitely heard his music. Featured in The Matrix: Reloaded trailers, a level of Enter The Matrix, and now, the trailers for The Matrix Online, he’s certainly made the rounds within the Matrix franchise. Not only that, he’s been featured in everything from car commercials to movies. He is described as “a sonic producer who appreciates the finer ironies of life and music while crafting thunderous soundscapes brimming with bristling beats and layers of post-apocalyptic power chords” on his official Sony Music site. Ian “PhroG” Taylor had the chance to interview Rob about his involvement with The Matrix games and movies, as well as his career and involvement in the video game and entertainment industries.

MxOS: First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to answer some questions with us about your involvement with the Matrix franchise. You were featured on both The Animatrix soundtrack, the Enter The Matrix soundtrack, and now in the promotional trailers for The Matrix Online, is that right?

RO: I believe so, though I haven't seen any of them. My track “Supermoves” was also in The Matrix: Reloaded trailers.

MxOS: How did you get started in the music business?

RO: I've played various instruments in various bands at school but was always more interested in the recording side of things. Eventually the technology became cheap enough for me to program everything myself. I got my first break when a friend of a friend released my first EP and to my amazement people took notice which eventually led to publishing and recording deals. If I'd known I could do this for a living then I would have dropped everything a lot sooner.

MxOS: What are your main musical influences?

RO: Just about everything but you want me to say something like Kate Bush, The Smiths, The Cure, Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest, Radiohead, AC DC, Motorhead, Portishead, DJ Shadow, Frank Sinatra, The Pixies - the list is endless.

MxOS: How did you get involved with the Matrix franchise? Did they approach you about using your songs?

RO: Well it's a funny game the music industry - a lot of people assume that I'm personally involved with song placements, actually most of these things are decided well above my head and I find out later. Few people realize there are whole departments within record companies whose job is to get their music onto films and TV; this will be how my CD landed on someone’s desk in Hollywood. With The Matrix I knew that they wanted a track for The Animatrix and was really hoping they'd use an Overseer track on one of the two sequels - I always thought I had some perfect tunes for them - in the end I didn't make it to the main soundtracks, which was a shame.

MxOS: Have you had a chance to view The Animatrix, and specifically the segment featuring your song, Second Renaissance? What did you think of it?

RO: Shamefully I've had the DVD sitting on a shelf for a while and never got around to watching it - don't get me wrong I'm excited by it, but just haven't been in the mood to watch it.

MxOS: What did you think of The Matrix trilogy of films?

RO: I've only seen the first two which I thought were great, although the second could have been edited down without any great loss. Also, I thought they may have been a little ambitious on the CGI in the second - you can definitely see the joins in a couple of scenes. The first film was definitely a rush...

MXoS: Do you think, approached by Morpheus, you'd go for the red pill or the blue pill?

RO: The red one - but remember: just say no to drugs kids.

MxOS: Your official site from Sony Music mentions that you have been featured in many video game soundtracks and trailers, which is ironic since you aren't really a gamer, and don't even own a gaming system. Is that true? Have you had a chance to at least play/view the level in Enter The Matrix in which "Supermoves" is used?

RO: Partly true - Sony took pity on me and sent me a PS2 (gotta love this job) and some of the games I'm on. I got hooked on SSX3 for a while but I have a very low boredom threshold and the things' been gathering dust since. I haven't seen Enter the Matrix - I guess I should insist that I get sent a copy as part of any license.

MxOS: The Matrix Online is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game, which allows thousands of players to play inside a virtual world. How do you feel about this new type of popular gaming, and the “virtual world” that the internet has itself become?

RO: I have a good friend who has been running multiplayer games for years, starting with the old MUDs back in the eighties, in those pre-net days he had to have a bank of those old style modems where you actually pushed the phone handset into the couplers. Everyday I thank my lucky stars for the internet - my service went down last week and it made me realize how much I rely on it. More specifically, these games are a great waste of time (and I mean that as a compliment), just don't forget to look out the window occasionally. Then again, reality can suck big-time...

MxOS: How is it that you've found yourself as a fairly popular musician in the video game community? What is it, do you think, that attracts gamers and publishers to your music?

RO: I have never written specifically for games etc. A lot of the stuff that is being used was written because I wanted to hear this stuff in clubs back in the day. At the time dance music could mean all sorts of styles, not just house. I guess the obvious ingredient in all these songs is ENERGY, they make you wanna blow &$*% up and drive faster.

MxOS: Have you been approached to contribute any music to The Matrix Online, or the rumored Enter the Matrix sequel?

RO: In a word, no.

MxOS: Tell us a bit about any new projects you're working on.

RO: I'm beginning to get my head around to a new Overseer album although progress is slow (as it ever was). I've been writing and producing songs for Rachael Grays album (she sang 'Sparks' on my Wreckage album) which is going really well, one to watch out for in the future. I've also been asked to do some tracks for GT4 so more musical mayhem on it's way.

MxOS: And lastly, why should readers of MxO Stratics run out and pick up your most recent album, Wreckage?

RO: Because it's a quality product. The surprise is that you can listen to it at home, I'm not just about the car-crash tekno, oh no.

MxOS: Thank you once again for taking the time out for this interview, and we look forward to hearing more from you.

Make sure to visit the forums and discuss this interview, as well as your favorite Matrix-related tracks.