Audio
SatAM Soundtrack and Unreleased Themes
Some of you may know I'm a bit nuts with the SatAM music, Robotnik's theme in particular. I LOVE the SatAM soundtrack, and it made a big impression on me. It was composed by Michael Tavera, which can plainly be seen in the show's credits. So when the new site www.michaeltavera.com popped up, I was interested.
Especially since it provided an email contact address.
I figured sending a simple email couldn't hurt. I wrote:
Hello. I sort of jumped at the opportunity to send an e-mail when I discovered www.michealtavera.com. The reason is because of a cartoon I've never forgotten: "Sonic The Hedgehog," produced by DiC Entertainment around 1992-1994. I've been learning more about the
people behind the show, including the music composer, Micheal Tavera. The music for that series was part of the reason I remember it so well.
I've been dying to get a hold of something like a soundtrack for the series, so I can listen to it without things like voices and SFX getting in the way. I'm unsure how to go about this, so I thought the best thing to do was ask. Is it possible to acquire the music in an MP3 format or other? Thanks for taking
the time to read this.
I honestly wasn't expecting anything to come of it, or even a response. But this is what I saw in my inbox several hours later:
Hello Matt,
My assistant may be able to retrieve some of the music off of the original DAT tapes. His name is Scott and he can be reached at [number removed]. Thanks for your interest!
Have a great day,
Peace,
MT
... Needless to say, my jaw hit the floor. After sorting out which international access codes I needed to dial first and gathering my wits, I made the phone call.
Yep, I did manage to get a hold of Scott. After stumbling around words like a slack-jawed fool, I managed to ask him about Michael's work on the show. He (and those around him) was very surprised that I was referring to something produced over a decade ago. But they certainly remembered it, yes. They have it all archived. I made my intentions known that I was very interested in aquiring the soundtrack, not to mention other fans of the show would love it.
After asserting that this was not for licensing, distribution for profit or any of that jazz, it still seemed a bit uncertain - Scott would need to get Mike's permission - but after telling him about the email and Mike's suggestion about the DAT files, his concerns were put at ease. So, he asked how they should go about this. Send me a CD, perhaps upload it to an ftp webspace... he would need my address and contact details for the former, of course. That's the tricky part; I live in Australia. There was astonished laughter when I told them this, and of course the immediate question was "What time is it over there?" 1:30 AM. (cue more astonished laughter )
So, I gave them my name and email address and we should be able to continue our discussions there. That's how it stands at the moment.
I still can't believe it. It's just... whoa.
Needless to say, I... WE... may very well soon have access to the soundtrack of SatAM. After over a decade. Just... man.
Yesterday I had sent along a reply...
MT,
Thank you so much for the contact number. It was a tad difficult at first since I live in Australia, but after finding the international access code I needed to dial in everything went fine. In fact I was surprised Scott immediately recognized which cartoon production I was talking about! You
must remember it well.
He was very helpful, and should be able to maintain contact with me via
e-mail and continue discussing it from there. This is very uplifting, since
I expected communication to be much more difficult. In case there was any
confusion about my e-mail address over the phone, it's this one: matt_jones88@hotmail.com
I'm incredibly hopeful about this. To think that I may be able to aquire the music from Sonic The Hedgehog, over 10 years after first hearing it!
Thanks again,
Matt Jones
... And just today I found this in my inbox:
I'm glad that you were able to connect with Scott. We'll get it together for you...Be Well!
MT
I can't believe this, it's really happening.
Minor update:
I'll make sure that Scott gets on this today, I'm going to speak with him this morning.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
We'll make it happen...thanks for the reminder
Peace,
MT
So very reassuring.
I received the package today.
(cue insane sequence involving whoops of joy and bouncing off the walls)
Perhaps the best description I can give it (aside from the fact that it's awesome) is that it's everything I didn't expect. For starters, the CD opens with an unused main theme for the show. That's right, before Fastest Thing Alive came along Micheal Tavera produced a track that was actually in line with the show's orchestral atmosphere. It opens with Robotnik's theme before segueing to Sonic's. You can actually match this song up to the opening footage.
The next several tracks also appear to be unused theme music, complete with vocals. Most likely these were produced well before the show took the orchestral tone as it's closer to the synth-pop rock style of the video games. There's even a mix of Sonic 2's Emerald Hill in here! I don't know why, it just is.
Unfortunately, while a plethora of unreleased music has been revealed, there is little to no BGM/incidental we were all expecting present. Indeed, out of the 12 tracks on the disk only 3 of them are distinctly from the cartoon as we know it. I'm sorry... it seems I cannot deliver what everyone was hoping.
I will be uploading it to a public FTP within a few days; just ensuring it can be the highest audio quality first.
I sent an email of praise, comments and queries the other day. Here is Scott's reply... (Scott is M. Tavera's Scoring Mixer/Engineer, and also the guy I talked to over the phone):
Matt,
I'm glad that you got the CD. The truth is that we didn't have a backup system then, so we just sent the underscore to DIC. We don't have any copies of it. The music that I sent you could very well be demos that were never released. They are copyrighted, so you can use them for any personal use. Just don't sell them.
Let me know if I can do anything else for you or your friends.
Scott Cochran
Scoring Mixer
I greatly appreciate such crystal-clear clarity. So there you have it! Yes, this inevitably means more red-tape runaround from DiC, but perhaps Mike and Scott could give some advice with such matters.
I have sent the music along to PorpoiseMuffins, who is uploading them to his ftp as we speak. There will most likely be other outlets in the future as well. Rejoice!
Well, I got a response from Scott today:
Matt,
DIC won't even let us have a copy of the underscore.
I'm glad you enjoyed the music I sent.
Scott
I can't believe they refuse to give Micheal Tavera copies of his own music...
Well, there's nothing that can be done I'm afraid. If DiC won't give the music to Tavera himself then there's no way they would give it to a fan. We should cherish what we were given all the more. Three cheers for Micheal Tavera and Scott Cochran, who have been a true blessing to SatAM and its fandom!
