Cody Matthew Johnson
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Cody Matthew Johnson is a multi-media composer, music producer, sound designer, and multi-instrumentalist whose irreverent, unapologetic, and fresh perspective on music blurs the boundaries of conventional media music.
Through fusing traditional musical styles and electronics with hard-hitting modern production, Cody has pushed his way to the forefront of the video game and film scoring industry all the while collaborating with some of rock music's biggest upcoming acts.
Prior to his move to Los Angeles, Johnson was raised on the coasts of Lake Erie in Northern Pennsylvania where he developed his affinity toward performing classical, jazz, and theatrical music as a brass musician. After a near-fatal accident as a teenager, Johnson's injuries damaged many of his musical faculties. Cody used this as an opportunity to expand his musical palette beyond orchestral and jazz to electronic music production and sound design. His interests eventually pulled him to Los Angeles where he studied composition and sound design at Musicians Institute. Before graduating at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Music in Composition Scoring for Visual Media, he began to work alongside critically acclaimed composer Jeff Rona ("Far Cry 4", "God of War III") composing additional music, producing, and mixing a variety of TV, film and game projects. He is credited on scores for TNT's "Claws", Sony's PSN debut series "Powers", and a variety of feature films and documentaries.
Finding his home in video game music, Cody's most recent contribution was for Capcom's highly anticipated sequel "Devil May Cry 5" (2019) and the disturbingly hyper realistic recreation of "Resident Evil 2" (2019). Johnson first caught Capcom's attention with his remixes of classic Capcom and Marvel character theme songs for the "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite", including "Devil May Cry 3", "Spider-Man", "Captain America", "Mega Man", and "Ghosts n' Goblins." Ultimately, it was Johnson's modern production techniques and experience with heavier metal, industrial, and electronic genres that led him to compose and produce Dante's new, fully-immersive and interactive theme "Subhuman" (featuring Michael Barr, previously of band Volumes, on vocals) for "Devil May Cry 5."
Shortly after completing "Devil May Cry 5", Cody was again tapped by Capcom to write the end credits easter-egg song "Saudade (feat. Shim)" for the "Resident Evil 2" remake. Rock singer-songwriter Shim (formerly of Sick Puppies) collaborated with Cody on the lyrics and vocals and included a solo performance by guitarist Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros). Set at the same time as the original Resident Evil 2 in 1998,), the song's grunge influence sets a certain nostalgia for those players returning to this game twenty years later. Directors Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Anpo appropriately named the song "Saudade" to perfectly capture that nostalgia, literally translating to "a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something" - a nod to the chorus lyric "Now it's all gone. The pain of remembering."
Through fusing traditional musical styles and electronics with hard-hitting modern production, Cody has pushed his way to the forefront of the video game and film scoring industry all the while collaborating with some of rock music's biggest upcoming acts.
Prior to his move to Los Angeles, Johnson was raised on the coasts of Lake Erie in Northern Pennsylvania where he developed his affinity toward performing classical, jazz, and theatrical music as a brass musician. After a near-fatal accident as a teenager, Johnson's injuries damaged many of his musical faculties. Cody used this as an opportunity to expand his musical palette beyond orchestral and jazz to electronic music production and sound design. His interests eventually pulled him to Los Angeles where he studied composition and sound design at Musicians Institute. Before graduating at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Music in Composition Scoring for Visual Media, he began to work alongside critically acclaimed composer Jeff Rona ("Far Cry 4", "God of War III") composing additional music, producing, and mixing a variety of TV, film and game projects. He is credited on scores for TNT's "Claws", Sony's PSN debut series "Powers", and a variety of feature films and documentaries.
Finding his home in video game music, Cody's most recent contribution was for Capcom's highly anticipated sequel "Devil May Cry 5" (2019) and the disturbingly hyper realistic recreation of "Resident Evil 2" (2019). Johnson first caught Capcom's attention with his remixes of classic Capcom and Marvel character theme songs for the "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite", including "Devil May Cry 3", "Spider-Man", "Captain America", "Mega Man", and "Ghosts n' Goblins." Ultimately, it was Johnson's modern production techniques and experience with heavier metal, industrial, and electronic genres that led him to compose and produce Dante's new, fully-immersive and interactive theme "Subhuman" (featuring Michael Barr, previously of band Volumes, on vocals) for "Devil May Cry 5."
Shortly after completing "Devil May Cry 5", Cody was again tapped by Capcom to write the end credits easter-egg song "Saudade (feat. Shim)" for the "Resident Evil 2" remake. Rock singer-songwriter Shim (formerly of Sick Puppies) collaborated with Cody on the lyrics and vocals and included a solo performance by guitarist Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros). Set at the same time as the original Resident Evil 2 in 1998,), the song's grunge influence sets a certain nostalgia for those players returning to this game twenty years later. Directors Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Anpo appropriately named the song "Saudade" to perfectly capture that nostalgia, literally translating to "a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something" - a nod to the chorus lyric "Now it's all gone. The pain of remembering."
