Spring4Sims – The Best Finds, Downloads & Hints for Your Sims

Working on music for Sims was nothing special except the language. For music in The Sims 2, composing and recording tracks took about a year. Robi Kauker, Maxis audio director, said singing in Simlish was for singers very easy. He says:

“You’d be surprised how singers like it.”

He also says that many artists use their own form of Simlish when composing songs and fill in real words later. Rappers seem to acclimatize to Simlish and many of them have great fun by adding secret messages, says Kauker. Some singers give shout-out to their friends by hiding their names in lyrics. Kauker says Maxis doesn’t mind as long as some words aren’t obvious. This ‘hiding tradition’ stared by Drew Carey, who appeared as a celebrity Sim in the House Party expansion and hid his friend’s name in his Simlish dialogue.

Recording tracks for Sims costs just as recording any other song. Some of the songs may get a second chance as the The Humble Brothers, a pair of music mixers and composers who worked on other games as well as projects in music industry (their big hit was ‘1stp Klosr’ featuring Linkin Park), plan to record selected tracks from Sims in English.

For The Sims 2 University were used so-called ‘emerging recording artists’. There were used real singers for second time – for the first time it was used in Urbz: Sims in the City for Xbox, where Black Eyed Peas were used. 11 new songs were written for College Rock station where you’ll meet with tracks by Dexter Freebish, Abra Moore, Charlotte Martin, Da Riffs and Steadman.

Each artist recorded one of their songs but changed the lyrics to nonsensical Simlish. And because of the fact words in Simlish don’t have any meaning, artists are free to use any sounds, any meaning (especially personal) as long as English and known words aren’t used.

Charlotte Martin, whose song ‘Beautiful Life’ was used for University, made sure all the words were consistent with their counterparts in English version, says this:

“It still had the same meaning, I just had to write in alien language.”

She also says that in rewriting the song it changed the way she thinks about lyrics, letting her come at her creation from a more technical standpoint, playing closer attention to syllables and rhythm. She isn’t a gamer even though she swears she’s going to try The Sims 2.

For songstress Abra Moore, whose song “Big Sky” was used in the game, says singing in Simlish gave her a new perspective on her music.

“It’s like jazz for me; I just take to it like a duck to water. It was very liberating creatively.”

However, Moore, who also speaks Italian and Spanish, said she took special care that none of her Simlish words ended up accidentally being curse words in foreign languages. The experience made such an impression on Moore that she said she’d consider recording a song in Sim-like scat on a future album. She perceives the emotional lyrics, divorced of a specific meaning, in almost a spiritual light. She’s fascinated that fans try to interpret the nonsensical lyrics.

“It represents the essence of human nature to take meaning from something that has no meaning.”