Everyone knows that Dundee is a hotbed of creative talent, from cultural to information technology. One local business pushing the boundaries is Realtime Worlds. Started by Dave Jones , the creator of Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto franchise, RTW is developing games for next generation consoles, while employing a fair few Dundonians within its ranks. Once such person is Ross Nicoll, BAFTA winning audio designer who we caught up with for a short interview.

What is your exact job title?

Audio Designer

Is the game industry as fun as it’s made out to be?

Erm, yeah it does have its fun moments, but it’s still hard work at times. When we have deadlines, we have to pull pretty long hours. It’s fun most of the time, but when things are broken it can be frustrating.

How big a role does music play in your life and also in the work that you do?

In my personal life, Music is basically everything. It’s not such a big aspect of my job - my job is mostly sound design based, but it does include a bit of music, which is cool with me. I think it’s quite a good balance as it keeps work and home separate and allows me to still enjoy music as much as i always have, rather than making it feel like “work”

What’s the most fun you’ve had at work?

I had a lot of fun doing vehicle recordings. To be honest, whenever i’m out in the field recording stuff, i generally have good fun, whether its smashing things up, driving cool cars, or just recording ambiances, i enjoy it all.

How important is the music and sound effects in a game’s overall experience?

Just as important as everything else. It’s a vital part of the overall experience, and without it, the game wouldn’t be the same. It’s a subtle art, and a lot of the time users appreciate it on a subconscious level, but if you take it out, the game feels lifeless.

Do you get a lot of creative freedom in how you approach the creation of sound effects / musical score?

We have a general audio vision for each game that we try to stick to. For example, in crackdown, we tried to make everything quite hi-tech and sci-fi-ish, but in a more comic book over-the-top style than your average science fiction sound effects. Everything was meant to be larger than life, yet still with a futuristic style. Provided all the audio designers stick to the same vision, we pretty much have free reign to do what we want.

What is the strangest object you’ve used in your quest to create that perfect sound clip?

Jeez, no idea. I’ve used a lot of strange things, including a raw chicken to create punch noises.

The team at Real Time Worlds recently won 2 BAFTAs for Crackdown (best use of audio and best action and adventure). How did that feel and has the success of Crackdown been a surprise?

Amazing. All my friends are thoroughly fed up of me bringing up the BAFTA at every possible opportunity. I was particularly chuffed about winning the best use of audio one (obviously)

Who are your biggest influences and the people that inspire you the most?

My colleague Stuart Ross has probably had the biggest influence on me in a professional capacity. That won’t mean much to most people, so I’ll just say The Beatles. ha ha.

Jim is a key figure in Scotland’s music scene. Championing local music he was the first to play artists like The View and KT Tunstall. We managed to catch up with him to ask him a few questions about local music, winning the John Peel Award and the future of radio.

Full interview after the jump…

Firstly congratulations on winning the PRS John Peel Award in April. How did it feel to be recognised for the outstanding work that you have put in to promoting new music in Scotland?

Pretty amazing really considering I’m pretty much the first person outside London to get it… and so many of the previous winners are household names.

At one point you were studying Media Studies, was becoming a radio presenter at the top of your list when you finished?

I’d say so. New music was always my passion rather than radio itself, but radio’s a brilliant platform for promoting new and interesting sounds… TV has pictures you see, and press doesn’t have sound…. Radio is just a listening experience, but I suppose nowadays with the growth of the internet that’s all changed a bit. Maybe if I was starting out now I’d be looking at a web based thing.

You started off at Moray Firth Radio in Inverness. How did that set you up for your future in the radio business?

Brilliantly! It’s a small station, but covers a huge area. I really learned so much in my 3 or so years there. From making tea to answering phones, I think I was actually on air in my first week doing work experience there… doing What’s Ons. It was a really good team, with a lot of volunteers and probably taught me more than any college course could do.

What has been the finest moment of your radio career thus far, and why?

The John Peel Award probably… but it’s an amazing feeling when you see a bounds career flourish. I get such a thrill seeing acts whose demos I played, like The View, The Fratellis, The Enemy, KT Tunstall and Amy Macdonald go on to sell hundreds of thousands of CDs.

What’s the worst or most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you while on air?

Probably have at least one of those every night! I’m really anal when it comes to facts, so I hate getting things wrong.

You’ve been to a lot of places while working as a DJ. What was your most memorable road trip and where are you looking forward to going the most this year?

I’ve been to SXSW in Texas the past couple of years, which is an amazing experience. It really is the No.1 new music festival in the world, with everyone from REM through to the freshest acts out of their bedroom. It’s a bit surreal though as it’s probably the one time you network with folk from the UK industry! I’ve also done a couple of the Miller tours across the states… 5 days, 3 cities each time. They took me to Vegas, LA, Miami, San Francisco with gigs and clubs at every destination. Saw the likes of LL Cool J, Good Charlotte and Snoop Dogg doing exclusive shows just for Miller winners from around the world and media blaggers like myself. This year I’m doing pretty much all the Scottish festivals, but probably looking forward to Wickerman the most because A. The Fall are playing and B. the wife and kids are coming with me. We had a swell time their last year.

What do you think of the future of radio given the rise of internet stations and services like last.fm and pandora? Is traditional radio doing enough to keep up with new technology?

Internet radio’s going to grow, that for sure, especially as it becomes more portable. I think I maybe actually have an advantage in why I do to some extent, in that I’m seen as a bit of a taste-maker rather than just playing the same old fodder you might hear elsewhere. What the technology will hopefully do as it develops, is give you more choice… though that’s maybe not always a good thing. It’s criminal how little I know about chart pop music these days… and that’s down to being able to be more selective in what I listen to… whether it’s the internet, DAB or whatever. Umbrella was number one for about 4 weeks before I actually heard it… and what a song!

Having been promoting new music for a number of years now how do you feel about the state of the Scottish music ’scene’ and what, if any, do you feel its strengths / weaknesses are?

I think acts are allowed to grow out of the eyes of the London media and music industry, which can be quite healthy. The scene’s probably stronger than it’s ever been. When I was growing up I think their was about 1 band from Dundee that had a major deal, and the same with Fife. Even Glasgow and Edinburgh didn’t have that many acts on big labels. It seems that nowadays, despite constant tales of gloom about the major labels, more Scottish bands than ever have been signed. Maybe the independent label scene isn’t as strong as it has been, but all the big labels seem to have scouts up here now.

Being a Dundonian, you must be pretty proud of the music that is coming out of the city of late with the likes of The View, The Law, The Hazey Janes and Alamos. Do you think the city can maintain this trend and what advice would you give to those trying to break through?

Well for starters, thanks to the success of The View, coming from Dundee isn’t such a stigma these days (and you have to give credit to Radio 1 for building the Dundee momentum with the One Big Weekend). My main bit of advice really is stay true to yourselves and don’t pander to “The Man” unless you want to become a puppet… I like it when bands stick together and create a scene, and that’s exactly what’s happened in Dundee. Even bands from down south are catching onto the idea that they can tag onto the Scottish thing… the likes of The Steeples and Underground Heroes have been doing really well up here.

Do you think local councils are doing enough to encourage youngsters to develop their creative skills such as singing / songwriting?

Why should they? I certainly don’t think things should be handed out on plate courtesy of the taxpayer. Support is good, but sometimes I get the feeling that people are asking too much. Lets face facts, most bands wrote their best material while struggling to make a living. You’re right though about developing techniques, as long as it doesn’t become too clinical.

What artists are really attracting your attention right now that we should all watch out for?

I love a band from Edinburgh called We See Lights. Quite folky, but also a bit like a Scottish Arcade Fire. The Fire And I are pretty special too. Really there are so many at the moment that I’m digging! Watch out for Brendan Campbell though… not just another folk tinged singer songwriter. He’ll sell a lot of records.

What myths about the Scottish music scene would you like to dispel?

Rod Stewart ISN’T Scottish!

Finally, the GoNorth festival pays a visit to Dundee in June. Are you coming up to check out a few of the acts?

Doing a panel on the Friday, and hopefully going to hang around and see some bands… though I do need to be in Inverness first thing on Saturday for Rockness… but I’ll see a lot of the acts there anyway, as I’m hosting the goNorth X-Posure Stage at Rockness…

UGS would like to thank Jim was taking time out of his schedule to hook up with us.

Jim presents Xfm’s X-Posure on Monday to Thursday evenings from 22:00 to 01:00.