Rutvig Vaid interviews Roy Thompson aka Royish Good Looks, a musician/singer who’s best known for his Star Wars music, which singles out characters and explore their stories (or elements of their stories) through unique and original songs.
He doesn’t simply sample existing themes and cues however. The music is unique. The music is original and whilst drawing inspiration from the Star Wars universe and pop music, at its heart, is Folk music.
RV: Firstly, I just wanted to say that I love your music and videos. The channel is wonderful, so congratulations. I’m so glad that my friend’s 5 year old – a Star Wars nut – Sameer tuned me in to your work.
Where did your fandom for Star Wars begin?
RGL: Thank you! I appreciate the kind words!
I’ve been a lifelong Star Wars fan. The special editions re-release in 1997 was probably the catalyst. I saw them in the theater and, of course, re-watched them on VHS constantly. The deluge of 90s computer games didn’t hurt either! I’ve lots of fond memories playing Rebel Assault, Dark Forces, Rebellion, Rogue Squadron, etc.
Around that same time, I started piano lessons and learned all the songs from the soundtrack. Lightsabers are cool, but the music is what really transports me to a galaxy far, far away.
RV: My overall understanding of how one comes to create a piece of music is relatively limited, and I’m extremely interested in process. So I wanted to ask you how you come to a finished piece. What’s the first step?
RGL: “You’ve taken your first step into a larger world!”
If it’s a Star Wars song specifically, then the first step is to pick a cool scene or line of dialogue to branch off of. That’s the easy part! After that it’s usually a long process of trying out melodies and lyrics and arranging the instruments. I get lost in the fun of music-making. You don’t always know what it’s going to turn into, but you experiment. Sometimes songs will come together quickly, but sometimes you have to piece them together like a puzzle.
RV: Your videos, which contain short clips from the films, are incredibly well cut together and perfectly fit the narrative your lyrics create. How dependant are your lyrics on the literal footage? Or do you take a theme from the films and run with that?
RGL: Thanks! Just like writing and recording the song, I’m also very methodical with the video edit. I often try to write lyrics with the specific scenes and plot in mind. It makes it easier to produce the video and it also gives the song more weight overall.
Of course, cherry picking exact dialogue is super helpful, but I’ll also follow themes and riff off of that — the struggles of the characters, the power of the Force, etc. The videos often turn into “super cuts” of one character or story line; like it’s a mini movie.
Read more of the interview here, and be sure to listen to Royish Good Looks’ music, and learn more about him, on his YouTube channel, Spotify, Facebook, and Instagram.
