Our Allies over at UGO.com recently had a pretty sweet interview with The Track Team where they talked alot about their inspiration behind the amazing Avatar The Last Airbender Soundtrack." You can read the full interview over at UGO but i'll highlight some pretty neat information here. [caption id="attachment_1842" align="aligncenter" width="230" caption="Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn talk the music behind Avatar The Last Airbender, and forthcoming Avatar The Legend of Korra"]

The Track Team Benjamin Wynn and Jeremy Zuckerman

[/caption]

Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn (who was room-mates with Bryan before Avatar started) took traditional Asian instruments and added their own spin to the music style to make the incredible Avatar Soundtrack.
The Track Team didn't have any influence on The Last Airbender Movie Soundtrack but did note some areas that featured parts from their original soundtrack, Jeremy said "In the credits in the end, you can hear very subtly three notes of the main Aang theme"
Jeremy and Benjamin now known as "The Avatar People" :) say that the Avatar music wasn't really their original style (they did more of the electronic type of music).

If you are just looking for Avatar The Legend of Korra news then" check out the following excerpt from the interview: Matt Patches: I know that the Airbender follow up isn't until 2011, have you guys started chatting about that with everybody and preparing to work on that show? Jeremy Zuckerman: A little bit, very briefly. A very brief stylistic conversation. We really don't know too much. Patches: I know Mike and Bryan had a few conversations with people at Comic-Con about where the show is going, it's seventy five years down the line and takes place in a metropolis big city. So I was very curious about, as of right now before you dive in, where stylistically it will be going and the evolution of the music as time has passed in this world. From your point of view, how is this show going to change from the original? Zuckerman: When we talked to them about how they were pitching this show, we thought it was a great idea because it was a way to continue the story with all new characters and you kind of see how those other characters influenced this world. It's pretty genius, you know? We talked very briefly about the music and it seems exciting because it sounded like they wanted the environment of this big city to influence the music of it. I think I remember Bryan mentioning industrial or somehow it sounded like we might be able to use some of our electronic...know how or whatever...to enter it into some the score, which sounded pretty cool. That was a long time ago when we had the conversation so I'm not sure if that still really applies, but I think at the very least the industrial nature of that city is going to influence the music some how. Benjamin Wynn: There's also something about referencing the sort of feeling of the roaring 20's because it's sort of around that period I guess. Is it, is it not? We don't know. Zuckerman: It sort of sounds like it's going to be around the industrial revolution. Wynn: Right, and so it's like, how do you use the Roaring Twenties with an Asian feel? It'll be an interesting challenge. That's one of the ideas that have been thrown on the table. Who knows what will actually happen in the end, but it was one of things that Bryan mentioned and seemed like an interesting idea. It's not like these traditional instruments will be abandoned but I'm sure the instrumentation will be different. It all really depends on the storyline and the motions that we need to convey. Patches: Story comes first. Zuckerman: Exactly. Patches: Music to my ears. Are you guys going back to work soon or are you kinda of just waiting for...I don't know, has Bryan come over to your room and told you to start writing? Wynn: No, [laughs] we each got places of our own. Patches: Congratulations! So is there a time table? Zuckerman: I think we start post-production early next year. The cool thing is that it's going to be twelve episodes... Patches: Right, only a mini series. Zuckerman: Right, I think it will be very tight and emotionally compact and probably pretty deep because of the... Wynn: Yeah I think that's a really good thing. It'll probably be really cool.

[caption id="attachment_1843" align="aligncenter" width="505" caption="Benjamin Wynn has released an album under the name "Deru" which features more of the electronic style The Track Team originally did (before Avatar)"]

[/caption] Personally I think it would be cool to see a mix of Jeremy and Benjamins more modern electronic music with asian ethnic instruments, could be really epic!" You can see an example of other music Benjamin Wynn (known as Deru) has produced on Amazon called "Goodbye to Useless" to get an idea for their electronic music. So sounds like The Track Team is gearing up big time for the new Avatar Series, I for one can't wait to hear how it sounds. Read the Full Interview here

Amon The Checkerboard Champion