Kasson Crooker
Encyclopedia
Kasson Crooker is an American
electronic musician, composer, and the artist behind Symbion Project, his solo moniker. He also works collaboratively in The Planets Won't Let You Sleep Tonight and his past bands are Freezepop, Splashdown, Larkspur, and Sirensong. DJ HMX, Komputer Kontroller, and Cosmonaut Zero were fake alias bands used only for the videogame FreQuency and Amplitude. In September 2009, he retired from the synthpop
group Freezepop
, of which he was a founding member. While in the band he went by various aliases, starting as "The Duke of Candied Apples," then briefly being known as "The Duke of Belgian Waffles," and finally "The Duke of Pannenkoeken
." His main solo project is Symbion Project, with four releases, the "Red
" album, released in 1998, "Immortal Game," released in 2003, "Wound Up by God or the Devil" released in December 2006, and "Misery in Soliloquy" released in October 2009. His past bands include the dreampop band Sirensong and the more well-known Splashdown
, whose albums include "Stars and Garters", the "Halfworld" EP, the "Redshift" EP, and the unreleased full-length albums "Blueshift" (which was completed for but never released by Capitol Records) and "Possibilities" (an album of remixes and demos). Crooker is also a Project Director at video game developer Harmonix and was the Project Lead on Phase, RockBand2, Dance Central 1, and Dance Central 2 for Kinect/Xbox360. The music of Symbion Project and/or Freezepop has been featured in the Harmonix PlayStation 2
games FreQuency
, Amplitude
, the Karaoke Revolution
series, Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Phase
, Rock Band
; the InCog
-developed Downhill Domination; and one of the North American Dance Dance Revolution
games developed by Konami
, which publishes Karaoke Revolution
. He and Eric Brosius
took home the 2006 Game Developers Choice Award
for Best Audio for their work on Guitar Hero. Kasson has a vast collection of vintage analog mono and poly synthesizers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electronic musician, composer, and the artist behind Symbion Project, his solo moniker. He also works collaboratively in The Planets Won't Let You Sleep Tonight and his past bands are Freezepop, Splashdown, Larkspur, and Sirensong. DJ HMX, Komputer Kontroller, and Cosmonaut Zero were fake alias bands used only for the videogame FreQuency and Amplitude. In September 2009, he retired from the synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
group Freezepop
Freezepop (band)
Freezepop is an American electronic band from Boston, Massachusetts. They formed in 1999 with Liz Enthusiasm, Sean T. Drinkwater, and The Duke of Pannekoeken, an alias for composer Kasson Crooker. As of December 2009, the current lineup includes Enthusiasm, Drinkwater, Robert John "Bananas" Foster...
, of which he was a founding member. While in the band he went by various aliases, starting as "The Duke of Candied Apples," then briefly being known as "The Duke of Belgian Waffles," and finally "The Duke of Pannenkoeken
Pannenkoeken
A pannenkoek or pannekoek is a Dutch pancake. Pannekoeken are usually larger and much thinner than American or Scottish pancakes. They may incorporate slices of bacon, apples, cheese, or raisins...
." His main solo project is Symbion Project, with four releases, the "Red
Red (Symbion Project album)
Red is the debut full-length album by Symbion Project, a.k.a. Kasson Crooker. Released in 1997, Red contains a collection of songs conceived as early as 1992. The mostly instrumental album includes a mixture of downtempo, techno, and ambient songs, and many tracks feature Middle Eastern overtones...
" album, released in 1998, "Immortal Game," released in 2003, "Wound Up by God or the Devil" released in December 2006, and "Misery in Soliloquy" released in October 2009. His past bands include the dreampop band Sirensong and the more well-known Splashdown
Splashdown (band)
Splashdown, formed in Allston, Massachusetts, in 1996, was an American pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2001; their last show was at the release party for the debut CD of Freezepop on February 2 of that year. Splashdown gained a small but extremely loyal following in the Northeast United...
, whose albums include "Stars and Garters", the "Halfworld" EP, the "Redshift" EP, and the unreleased full-length albums "Blueshift" (which was completed for but never released by Capitol Records) and "Possibilities" (an album of remixes and demos). Crooker is also a Project Director at video game developer Harmonix and was the Project Lead on Phase, RockBand2, Dance Central 1, and Dance Central 2 for Kinect/Xbox360. The music of Symbion Project and/or Freezepop has been featured in the Harmonix PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
games FreQuency
FreQuency
Frequency is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by SCEI. It is the first major release from Harmonix. It was released in November 2001. A sequel titled Amplitude was released in 2003.-Gameplay:...
, Amplitude
Amplitude (game)
Amplitude is a 2003 PlayStation 2 musical video game. It was developed by Harmonix and is the sequel to the game Frequency.-Gameplay:In Amplitude, the player controls a ship moving down a path of varying shapes and lengths, containing up to six tracks...
, the Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
series, Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Phase
Phase (game)
Phase is a music-themed iPod game created by Harmonix exclusively for the iPod click wheel interface. It is similar to other Harmonix games Amplitude and FreQuency.- Gameplay :...
, Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
; the InCog
Incognito Entertainment
Incognito Entertainment was an American video game development company founded in May 1999 and is the developer of titles such as Twisted Metal, Warhawk and Jet Moto. The team was formed by former employees of SingleTrac, it was based in Salt Lake City and was part of Santa Monica Studio...
-developed Downhill Domination; and one of the North American Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
games developed by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, which publishes Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
. He and Eric Brosius
Eric Brosius
Eric Brosius is a musician and video game developer, and a former employee of Looking Glass Studios. He is a former member of the band Tribe, and is married to Terri Brosius, also a former Looking Glass employee and Tribe member....
took home the 2006 Game Developers Choice Award
Game Developers Choice Awards
The Game Developers Choice Awards are annually presented by the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games.Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were presented from 1997 to 1999.The 2009 award presentation was...
for Best Audio for their work on Guitar Hero. Kasson has a vast collection of vintage analog mono and poly synthesizers.
External links
- http://www.symbionproject.com/
- http://www.freezepop.com
- http://www.theplanetswontletyousleeptonight.com
- Nashville Review interview with Kasson Crooker