After two years of tiptoeing into the world of video game composing, Los Angeles-based chanteuse/songwriter/composer Jessica Fichot recently got her big break in the genre.
But she can’t talk about it.
When you land on the bigger scale of indie gaming as she has, there are certain rules of competitive etiquette that kick in, like not spilling the beans on what could be a hot new game on the market.
“I found out that a lot of projects, because they take so long to do, you can’t talk about them that much,” she said, citing possible changes in the game and marketing strategies as reasons for the prerelease silence.
Fichot, who returns to Tucson for a Rhythm & Roots concert on Saturday, Aug. 26, at Club Congress, is juggling a couple video game projects including “Growbot,” an adventure game about a robot who has to save her home from a dark crystalline force. The game is being developed by a woman in England and the storyline includes a space station with fantastic plants and aliens, according to the game’s Facebook description (facebook.com/pg/growbotgame).
Fichot, whose music is featured on two indie video games on the market and a third waiting to be released, said the “Growbot” designer asked for atmospheric music to create a soundscape. She likes to think of the music as cinematic, like a soundtrack for a movie.
“At times when there is cinematics, moments in the game when you achieve something, then I can go write something with a more present melody and something more ‘normal,’” she said.
Her video game music is a far cry from her singer-songwriter catalogue, which draws on her multilingual, multiethnic French/Chinese/American heritage. Her music is best summed up as a fusion of French chanson, 1940s Shanghai jazz, gypsy swing and international folk, most of it sung in French, English and Chinese.
Fichot, who plays accordion and toy piano, will be joined by her band — Sylvain Carton on clarinet and sax; guitarist Adrien Prévost; and PJ Wyderka on upright bass — for her Tucson show and a show Friday, Aug. 25, at the Chandler Center for the Arts. Saturday’s concert begins at 7 p.m. at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $10 in advance at ticketfly.com or at the door. This is a 21-and-older show.
Saturday’s concert is something of an encore to her July 2016 Congress show.
“I like Tucson,” said Fichot, who has performed here almost yearly since 2010. “I like going there because I just like the vibe of the city and I’ve appreciated people coming out to see me. I have a small fan base in Tucson so it’s always nice to see people who have come to see me before.”
- Cathalena E. Burch
