Sound move – graduate Andrei lands role soundtracking video games

With a love of music and video games, Andrei Chetan is enjoying the best of both worlds in his new job.

After graduating from the University of Northampton’s Popular Music course in the summer, Andrei managed to secure a part-time position with My Town Games – the company behind a series of hit educational children’s video games.

His employers were so impressed with his work that he was soon snapped up on a full-time basis, and Andrei has already composed music and sound effects for several games, including Wonderland: Little Mermaid.

Watch promo videos of the games below.

While Andrei is delighted with the first step on the career ladder, he admits that he didn’t originally see himself as someone who would be working in the games industry.

“Being on the Popular Music course, I came to university with the idea of becoming a guitarist in a famous band in my head,” he said. “But I always loved to try new things, and as my knowledge expanded on the course, I realised music isn’t just restricted to bands. There are so many industries you can work in, where musicians and composers are in demand.

“I’ve always had a passion for video games and as I started to take steps on the music path, I became more interested in the soundtracks and compositions behind the games.

“Now I’m doing something that I love. I feel like I am doing something bigger than ‘just myself’ by creating the sounds and music for games that are played by kids around the world. It’s even more satisfying to know the purpose of the games is to educate, help children express themselves and use their imagination.”

My Town is a truly global set-up, with Andrei’s colleagues spread across the world.

Andrei said: “The company is based in Israel, but has studios around the world developing different parts of the games. I work in Targu-Mures, my home town in Romania, but the graphics are done in the Philippines and the administration is carried out in Israel and Barcelona. We often meet up in our Romanian office, drink coffee and have fun. It’s a great company to work for.”

In addition to his day job, Andrei still keeps his hand in with music, DJ-ing in clubs several times a month – something he also did while he was a student in Northampton.

Looking back on his time in the town, Andrei has nothing but praise for the University and the Popular Music course – but stresses the need for students to pick up industry experience while studying.

He said: “I really recommend the course, and my advice for anyone studying on it would be to use all of the facilities provided by the University to create a strong portfolio. This was key to me securing my job, because my portfolio impressed my employers and got me through the door in the first place.

“Also, students should fill their time doing different internships to build up experience, because employers are always looking for motivated graduates that are used to working in industry and are good at it.

“I would also like to say that you never know when you might meet a future employer or good contact who can help you in the future. So always be prepared with business cards and ready to network. Also, attend different music events which will help you create new connections with amazing people that do the same thing we all love, and that’s music.”

Senior Lecturer in Popular Music, Jasmine Shadrack, said: “We are hugely proud of Andrei and his success. It’s wonderful to see the hard work of his degree coming to fruition in his career.”