My name is Brendan O'Callaghan Ratliff and I'm a composer, sound engineer and game developer. I'm also Audio Director at Cardboard Sword where we're currently working on the forthcoming games The Siege and The Sandfox and Transmission.
- Video game music, sound design & audio production
- Design & implementation of realtime dynamic/procedural game music systems in Unreal Engine (C++ and Blueprint)
- Location sound recording & audio post production (film, TV & radio)
- Audio software & web/mobile app development
Born into a family of musicians and continuing a lineage of Irish traditional fiddle playing
from the age of 6, I also received classical violin and piano tuition and taught myself various
other instruments (guitar, bass, flute, etc) in my early teens. Since then I've been performing,
recording and composing professionally, as well as producing 8-bit/chiptune music in the demoscene
under the name Syphus since the early 1990s. When in the 2000s chipmusic finally became cool enough
to perform in public, I gigged as Syphus around the world with my Commodore Amiga and a keytar -
particular highlights included two Chiptune Alliance tours of Britain, and Blip Festival 2008 in
New York City.
Back in the studio, I've produced commissioned
original musical works for a wide range of clients including BBC Radio 3 Drama,
BBC Radio 4 Drama, Sunderland A.F.C., Newcastle United Foundation,
The Centre for Process Innovation, We Are Strongness and FME;
and for numerous video games on PC/Mac, consoles and mobile.
- Degree: BA (Hons) in English Literature & Music, Newcastle University (2004)
- Degree: MA (with Distinction) in Music, Newcastle University (2006)
- From 2008 to 2010 I worked at Newcastle University's Culture Lab, supporting and tutoring on its MRes degree course in Digital Media and gaining experience in software and hardware development, workshop fabrication, video production, interactive art installations and studio engineering.
- From 2004 to present I've also worked freelance as a web, mobile app & hybrid desktop app developer, having delivered projects for clients including the NHS, King's College London, Newcastle University, the Great North Children's Hospital and the West End Refugee Service. I also develop open-source music software for fun - available on my GitHub.
- I composed music for various games in the late 00s and 2010s, notably:
- Before entering the games industry proper, I gained a lot of experience in other film sound disciplines - Foley, sound design, scoring, dubbing and mixing - by collaborating with local film makers alongside my freelance location sound and audio post work.
Right now I'm lucky enough to be fulfilling a lifelong dream: making video games! Currently I'm employed by Cardboard Sword as Audio Director working on audio implementation and logic; dynamic/procedural music systems; composition; and sound design/Foley.
I'm also available for film and TV location sound recording work and can supply my own kit including: Sound Devices 633 recorder; SQN mixers; Zoom F8/F4/H5 backup recorders; microphones by Neumann, Sennheiser, Audix, Sanken, Oktava, Tram, OST and LOM; radio wireless. I also offer portable voice-over recording, location Foley recording, and audio post production services.
I'm not taking on new web development work right now, but I still maintain apps and platforms I've delivered for charities and non-profits in the past.
To get in touch, please email me: brendan [ at ] echolevel [ dot ] co [ dot ] uk