Neil Voss

{{Infobox musical artist | name = Neil D. Voss | image =  | caption =  | background = composer | birth_name = Neil D. Voss | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|10|7}} | birth_place = United States | genre = Electronic, techno, video game music | occupation = Composer, musician, producer | years_active = 1990s–present | label = | website =  }}

'''Neil Voss''' (born October 7, 1974) is an American video game composer. His first recognized work was on ''Tetrisphere'' for Nintendo 64 in 1997, an acclaimed effort that earned him a "Best Soundtrack" award from ''Nintendo Power'' that year. He later composed tracks for ''The New Tetris'' in 1999, also for the Nintendo 64. Voss subsequently transitioned to the Game Boy Advance, producing soundtracks for ''Racing Gears Advance'' in collaboration with Orbital Media Inc. Many of his compositions for the Commodore 64 are included in The High Voltage SID Collection.

== Background == At the early age of 12, Neil Voss began experimenting with electronic music on his Commodore 64, and this hobby soon became a significant part of his life. He later emerged as an underground electronic music developer but observed his fellow composers signing with game developers, prompting him to join H2O, a third-party developer for Atari's Jaguar. His first project was ''Phear'', but after the Jaguar platform's failure, the project was moved to Nintendo and evolved into ''Tetrisphere''. As audio director, Voss produced, composed, and engineered the entire soundtrack for ''Tetrisphere'', which some attribute to the game's success.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060225p1.html |title=IGN: Composing Tetrisphere |date=16 June 1998 |access-date=2006-09-09 |archive-date=2012-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205071812/http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060225p1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Voss went on to create more notable techno music for the N64 puzzle game ''The New Tetris''. This soundtrack quickly became a favorite.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=2804 |title=Fathers of the U.S. Gaming Industry 2001 |access-date=2006-09-09 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204157/http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=2804 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2005, Voss worked on ''Racing Gears Advance'' for the Game Boy Advance, which received the award for "Best Use of Sound" from ''IGN''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051223154101/http://bestof.ign.com/2005/gba/11.html IGN.com presents The Best of 2005]</ref>

== References == * [http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060225p1.html Composing Tetrisphere] – Interview with Neil Voss (Part I) at ''IGN'' on June 15, 1998 * [http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060226p1.html Interview With Neil Voss (Part II)] at ''IGN'' on June 16, 1998 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604115901/http://www.nintendojo.com/archives/interviews/view_item.php?1051117857 Neil Voss: The Melody Behind the Addiction] – Interview with Voss at ''Nintendojo'' {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{musicbrainz artist|id=4e2262ae-1841-4728-b2ac-9f96da20d918|name=Neil D. Voss}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Neil D.}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American composers Category:American video game composers Category:Musicians from Tampa, Florida Category:21st-century American male composers