EarlyGame's Artist of the Day: The Black Proteus

The Black Proteus are a super-cool intercultural rock band. Thus, we asked the guys about video games. Makes sense, right?

Black proteus artist of the day
Who are Black Proteus? And what on earth's going on with those hats? | © Black Proteus

The Black Proteus is a strong Viennese Melange that unites Slovenian, Austrian and Turkish heritages into one single intercultural squad. Not only do Matt, Sašo, Roman and Temmuz hail from different cultures, but they also from different times. Sounds strange, right? Well, let's explain...

Their background coalesces into a unique output: jump-inducing analog 8-bit rock riffs, combined with memorable melodies and kitchen-towel-covered drum beats that will make you nod along. Sounds pretty great, doesn't it? Well, yeah, you should check them out. Of course, the best place to start is always a band's first big milestone. In the case of The Black Proteus that means the band's EP, We Meet Again, which was release in 2018.

In 2021, The Black Proteus released the single and video Soul for Sale that showed the band exploring the depths of the cosmos. The crew finally returned to planet Earth. The catch: they landed in 1921. Their return is documented in the video for their latest single Becoming Someone.

The song and the video hint at the band’s musical mindset which is "in with the old, out with the new". Both the song and the music video are a glimpse into their upcoming album ‘Loading’, which you can expect to release in May 2022.

Naturally, we decided to ask them a few questions about music and video games. Here's what she had to say...

What is your favorite video game soundtrack?

Roman: Definitely Quake.

Matt: There are more. Little Big Adventure 2, The Witcher 3 and Lotus via PC-speaker.

Who's your favorite video game music composer?

Roman: There are a lot, but recently I listened a lot to P.T. Adamczyk.

Matt: I really appreciate the work of Martin Bezjak from Epix Productions. You should definitely go check him out.

What’s your favorite video game?

Roman: Outlaws and Monkey Island and Duke Nukem and … ahhhh so many.

Matt: I cannot choose one. It’s somewhere between Half Life 2, Little Big Adventure 2 and Rocket League.

What game inspired you to do music?

Roman: Tetris.

Matt: Definitely early 80’s and 90’s games, many of which weren’t even polyphonic.

What video game are you currently playing?

Roman: Guardians of the Galaxy.

Matt: Rocket League.

Would you ever like to write music for video games? What would it be like?

Roman: Sure, why not - Strategy Games.

Matjaz: Absolutely yes. What about 8-bit music with an orchestra?

How important is music for video games / video games for music?

We are a good example of the impact of games on music. Our upcoming album ‘Loading…’ unites 8-bit music with rock. As we grew up fighting over who gets the controller or a seat at the keyboard this style came very natural to us.

Evan Williams

Australian gamer, musician, and journalist at EarlyGame. Currently living in Germany so no, I don't ride a Kangaroo to work. I am currently hard at work making our CoD and Rocket League pages the best on the internet. Lofty ambitions,...