Interview with Jericho: Nightmode Records & Knock2 Music Kit.
I had the pleasure to interview Tucker also known as Jericho. He has been a content creator and a streamer for more than a decade now. A few years ago he started his own electronic music record label named NIGHTMODE Records which is a DMCA-free music label.
Despite primarily being an electronic music label, the record label had still ventured in the gaming world from time to time and in August 2022, we saw the record label release their own music kit in Counter-Strike featuring one of their hit songs “Dashstar* by Knock2”; which has been one of the most popular music kits in the game since then.
I asked him some questions regarding the Knock2 music kit, the success of both the music kit and Nightmode records and, regarding the music label itself. You can read the interview below:
Nightmode Records
Nightmode is coming towards its 4 year anniversary which is a big milestone, Do you think you've accomplished the goals that you've set-up for yourself 4 years ago when you started it and what are some goals that you have now?
I think that ultimately we crushed all our stretch goals for the label in the first 3 years, which is incredible and also kinda scary. From EDC art cars to music in Counter-Strike and Fortnite, I'm just excited to see what comes next.
Where did the idea come from to make Nightmode records a DMCA-free label?
I'm a content creator who has spent over a decade looking for music that's both GOOD and available to be used in my content, so the idea of launching a label and also risking a copyright takedown while listening to our own music would be awful. It was clear that it would be a problem at some point on the platform.
Nightmode obviously started before the DMCA strikes by Twitch which brought a lot of attention to the topic of DMCA-free music. Did you somehow anticipate this and knew this was coming?
Well, it definitely doesn't predate DMCA laws and the issues presented by them, so it was only a matter of time. This has been a problem on YouTube since inception and the whole Twitch wave of copyright claims definitely woke up people who were unaware or "not bothered" by the legal consequences of streaming music they don't have the rights to.
What is a dream game that you would like to collab with? Maybe it’s a game that you just liked or a game where you think the song(s) by Nightmode would fit the game.
After Counter-Strike and working with Riot Games / Epic Games, I think my next goal is racing / sports games. Forza, EA FC, or a radio station on something like GTA have to be the next dream collab.
Apart from your goals in the music industry, what are your goals for Nightmode records in the gaming world?
Boring answer, but see above. I think a big area thats underserved is "stream safe" music settings that every game seems to have now. They just remove all music audio...why? Makes the games suck, and I feel like we can step in to provide real, good music for these games in those situations as well.
Is there any artist that you want to see on Nightmode; either having their song on the label or just a feature with one of your artists on Nightmode (Any artist in general, doesn't have to be a DJ)?
I love the idea of building up artists and helping their careers explode. Knock2 is a great example of what the label’s goals are, so outside of growing talent, a major artist that I've always looked up to like Dillon Francis or Deadmau5 would be insane.
Spotify playlist containing all the releases by Nightmode Records
Knock2 Music Kit
Did you run across any people who were introduced to Nightmode via your music kit?
Absolutely. The coolest thing for me as a fan of CS was having completely random gamers using the music kit. To know that thousands of people were introduced to the track by the game is always a fun feeling.
Do people ever recognize you in the game when you are playing with the Knock2 music kit?
I always stream under "NIGHTMODE recs" so people have definitely put 2 and 2 together.
Did you send the parts which you wanted to be used for specific situations such as MVP music, round start etc or did Valve just take the song and use it accordingly? Maybe Valve already had an idea how to use the song for the music kit?
So the kits are made of multiple sound cues that play during various moments in the game. Valve took the stems of dashstar* and made the track fit these situations better than simply cutting up the master track. When you die, just the stem of the 'plucks' from the beginning of the song play.
Was there any specific reason that you/Valve picked Dashstar* by knock2 over the other Nightmode releases?
No clue what their interior motives were for the track, other than "it's a banger," but it came with an electronic themed music pack with artists like JUELZ, so I think that was the theme they focused on.
Was Knock2 involved in the process? Like choosing what song he wanted for the kit or what part of the section should be used for something?
He was involved in the kit itself, but not choosing anything.
The music kit came out in the same music kit as the 3kliksphilip one along with a few other music kits, the kit soon turned out to be one of the most expensive music kits on the steam market. Did you think that the Knock2 music kit would perform as well as it did or did you think that the 3kliksphilip kit might be the music kit that would be more sought after by the community?
3kliks is a legend. I'm deeply in the CS scene, so I thought it was dope to have someone from the community be involved. Pretty sure this was the first "kit box" they've done, so I had no concept of how well the track would be received, but being up there with Taco Truck is an honor.
Were you surprised with the reception it received from the CS community?
Loved seeing random Tiktoks of creators reacting to the kit and loving it, so yeah I'd say overall it's been way above expectations!
Will you be open to having another Nightmode music kit in the game if you get the opportunity?
Lord please, I'd never turn down an opportunity to work with Counter-Strike. I think in the future, we'd be more involved with the creation of the kit process, because I've got thousands of hours in the game, and I feel like taking these songs and making them truly fit for every moment of the game would take the music kits to the next level.
Bonus question: You ever got to talk with GabeN? Did he get to hear the kit? People usually send their Dota 2 clips to Gabe and he tries his best to read/response to all of his emails maybe you can send him some music for feedback?
I have never spoken to anyone outside of the music team at Counter-Strike, but since Deadmau5 has performed at The International, I can only hope Gaben would be a fan.
You can get the Dashstar* - Knock2 music kit from the Initiators Music Kit Box in CS2. You can listen to all the tracks by Nightmode records on your favorite audio streaming platforms and since it's a DMCA-free label you can save their playlist and use the music for your own content or when streaming without having to risk a DMCA strike.
Make sure to follow Jericho on his socials like X/Twitter to stay up-to-date on what’s going on, you can also check out his Youtube or Twitch channel.
You can follow Nightmode records to keep up with all of their new music releases. You can also visit their website to know more about the record label.
