"You learn a few things with each company. With Korg, for instance, I got graded on my sounds. It was…"

“You learn a few things with each company. With Korg, for instance, I got graded on my sounds. It was like being in a college class. The Japanese developers would grade you on how well the sound played. How expressive is it? How musical is it? How much animation does the sound have? How much is going on? Can you hold down one key and it tells a story? With each project, I learned new things that I applied on the next project with another company, or with a new piece of technology.”

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The intriguing thing about this is that the traditional cultural expectation, especially in Japan, is to work for one company for a great many years. This is more true of business management than sound design, however.

But Richard’s observation of incrementally accumulating each set of experiences into the whole of what you’re capable of doing the next time is refreshing, and stated with clarity.

The end product isn’t all you take away from doing work.

Richard Devine Interview | Electronic Musician Interviews Richard Devine on Working in Electronic Music