Mike Shinoda is a founding member of Linkin Park, and was one of the band’s vocalists as well as its primary songwriter, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and producer. A lifelong videogame fan, he has contributed to game soundtracks and even featured in an 8bit game with his band. When quarantine began earlier this year, Mike began creating music and art live on Twitch in collaboration with his fans, and has recently released the resulting tracks on an album, Dropped Frames, Vol. 1. Here, he talks epic Linkin Park tour-bus Halo sessions, composing with chiptunes, and connecting with fans in the time of Covid.
HYBRID THEORY
Mike contributed to the soundtrack of 2012’s Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. We ask, is any more game music in the works?
“I would do more, but I would want it to be something that’s more integrated into the culture of the game,” he says. “I mean, look at what Fortnite’s been doing. There’s a lot of untapped potential in that cross-section between gaming and music. Every performing musician out there is looking for cool stuff to do because they can’t go perform right now. You can only do so many livestreams from your living room, it’s boring. You want to get in front of people and connect with fans in a real way.”