Over the past two decades or so, my activity in several arenas has received positive notice in the press. Lots of additional articles regarding the food opera project are collected over at audiogustatory.com. Below are interviews regarding my recent installations, videos, and performances, plus some reviews of the music and sound design of the video games EndWar, Arcanum, and King's Quest: Mask of Eternity. Several articles discuss the Seattle School collective, to which I contributed from its inception until moving to Shanghai in August 2004. To read some favorable remarks about the Sound Currents concert series I founded, visit the Sound Currents press page.

Interviews and Related Articles:

• "At HubWeek hackathon, one team ties together breathing and music," The Boston Globe, October 3, 2019
  (I'm not named in the article, but I was the composer and programmer on the SPRYTHM team that took home the $30k top prize.)
• "Ben Houge of Berklee Pairs Meals with Music in Food Operas," Boston Magazine, April 11, 2018
• "Food Operas Elevate the Art of Eating," The Boston Globe, January 22, 2018
• "Berklee Students Compose Music for a Feast," The Boston Globe, August 25, 2017
• "At Berklee, Scoring a Meal like It Was a Movie," Metro Boston, August 9, 2017
• "Music Class Teaches Students to Score Meals," Food & Wine, August 3, 2017
• "¿La escasez nos hace ser más creativos?," El País, February 10, 2017
• "How Kitchen Sounds Influence Food Flavor," NPR's All Things Considered, December 24, 2016
• "Ben Houge’s Food Operas Turn Your Plate into a Stage," Paste Magazine, December 7, 2016
• "St. Paul’s musical meals let diners taste sound-food pairings," St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 29, 2016
• "Podcast 128: Ben Houge," Art + Music + Technology Podcast, May 22, 2016
• "Poor Lonely Computer: Prince's Misunderstood Relationship With The Internet," NPR, March 8, 2016
• "Podcast: Happy New Year!," American Highways, December 2015
• "John Chowning: Pioneer Of Electronic Music & Digital Synthesis," Sound on Sound, September 2015
• "Vox Festival," Berklee Valencia Campus, July 3, 2015
• "La Bonne Cuisine," American Highways, June 2015
• "St. Paul Food Opera looks to heighten the dining experience," Knight Foundation Blog, April 30, 2015
• "Faculty Profile: Ben Houge," Berklee Valencia Campus, April 14, 2015
• "From Food Operas to Video Game Scoring, Making Interdisciplinary Connections through Music," Berklee News, March 26, 2015
• "Rising to the challenge, St. Paul artists will split $1.4 million from Knight Foundation," Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 30, 2014
• "Top 5 Audience Participatory Opera Experiences," WQXR, May 1, 2014
• "Entrevista a Ben Houge de Berklee College of Music," ESAT Game on TV, April 8, 2014
• "Food Opera: Merging Taste and Sound in Real Time," New Music Box, September 11, 2013
• "Sounds of the Farm Accompany Diners at Bondir's Food Opera," Cambridge Chronicle, August 8, 2013
• "Boston Date Night Pick," Boston Herald, July 29, 2013
• "A Sound Diet," Kill Screen, June 20, 2013
• "Sensing Terroir: Where Taste and Sound Collide," Dig Boston, November 12, 2012
• "Artful Activists' Public Appeals," The Harvard Crimson, October 2, 2012
• "Review: The Virtual Drawing Room @ David Friend Recital Hall, Dig Boston, September 27, 2012
• "The Top 12 Video Game Soundtracks Of All Time," Forbes, September 9, 2012
• "Feast for the Senses: MDesS students host Food Opera at the GSD," Harvard GSD News, July 2, 2012
• "Asparagus: a food opera," Radio National First Bite, June 16, 2012
• "The Sound of Asparagus, as Explored through Opera," NPR, June 1, 2012
• "Cycles, Tides, and Seasons at the Boston Harbor Island Pavilion," WGBH, June 1, 2012
• "Listen to a Clip from Harvard's Asparagus Opera," Grub Street Boston, May 22, 2012
• "Visiting Artist Ben Houge leads lively 'Sound and Real-Time Systems' panel," MIT News, February 17, 2012
• "Phantasma: Ben Houge," Dig Boston, October 6, 2011
• "Currently Hanging: Ben Houge's Shanghai Traces," The Stranger, May 12, 2011
• "How to Buy Chinese Art for Less," CNNGO, March 18, 2011
• "Changing the Game Plan," Global Times, November 8, 2010
• "Ben Houge and Friends in Suzhou," Kungfuology, November 8, 2010
• "Ben Houge leaving Shanghai: Catch his last show in Suzhou," Shanghaiist, November 4, 2010
• "The End of Ben," SmartShanghai, November 2, 2010
• "Deep Ambiguity: A Conversation with Ben Houge," Digicult, June 2010
  (Check out the uncut version on Kunsthalle Kowloon [if you dare!] or the versione italiana.)
• "Why I Love Jay Chou," Time Out Shanghai, June 2010
• "Communist Propaganda Show Airbrushed From Shanghai," The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2010
• "Two prints from the shut down OV Gallery show," Shanghaiist, June 1, 2010
• "Here Comes the Spring at MAO Livehouse, Ben Houge at Not Me," Kungfuology, May 30, 2010
• "Repressing History," Urbanatomy, May 29, 2010
• "Local Musicians on Songs They Wish They Had Penned," City Weekend, May 7, 2010
• "Zodiac Horoscopes: 12 Shanghai Personalities," City Weekend, February 2, 2010
• "The Friday Cinco 1: Ben Houge," Aric with an A, October 22, 2009
• "Art Review — Wuwei: Being and Nothing," City Weekend, October 20, 2009
• "Postcards from SH Contemporary," Artforum, September 29, 2009
• "Ben Houge, Not Me," Kungfuology, August 28, 2009
• "Ben Houge's 29 Giraffes," That's Shanghai, July 2009
• "Critics' Picks: Music to my Eyes," Artforum, April 30, 2009
• "Music to my Eyes," Time Out Beijing, April 2009
• "Shanghai Noise: Freedom Sound," Spin Earth, April 10, 2009
• "We Taste Ben Houge's Cookies," Shanghaiist, March 21, 2009
• "Interview: Ben Houge," SmartShanghai, March 12, 2009
• "MP3 Monday: 10 (and Ben)," SmartShanghai, November 17, 2008
• "EndWar Podcast #1 - The Sound of EndWar," Ubisoft Propaganda Mouthpiece, July 9, 2008
• "The Sounds of War," IGN, March 20, 2008
• "Ben's Bold Adventure into the World of Noise Craft," China Daily, September 21, 2007
• "Game Boy: Video Game Virtuoso Ben Houge," That's Shanghai, November 2006
• "Bring the Noise!," Shanghai Talk, June 2006
• "Sound Man: The Art and Science of Composing Soundtracks for Computer Games," Shanghai Talk, March 2006
• "Klasyka wchodzi w gre (Classics comes into the game)," RMF Classic, January 27, 2006
• "Interview with Ben Houge," G Soundtracks, October 19, 2005
• "Interview with Arcanum Composer Ben Houge," Music4Games, August 23, 2005
• "An Interview with Ben Houge," 4Players, March 2005
• "Songwriters really face the music in iron composer competition," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 2004
• "Composing Insanity," The Stranger, September 9, 2004
• "Going Yoko," The Seattle Weekly, March 31, 2004
• "Strange Fruit," Tablet, 2004
• "The New Opera," The Seattle Weekly, April 30, 2003
• "Video-game music isn't just kid stuff, it's a concert," The Seattle Times, February 23, 2003
• "Seattle Live Game Music Concert," Music4Games, February 2003
• "Interview with Ben Houge - Music for Arcanum," RPGDot, May 15, 2001
• "An Interview with Ben Houge," Videogamedesign.com, January 29, 1998

• "Shanghai's own pop genius"
• —Time Out Shanghai, June 2010

• "Everyone's favorite Shanghai songsmith"
• —City Weekend, November 19, 2009

• "Local-based sound artist and multi-talented musician Ben Houge makes a welcome return at the [Mini Midi] Festival...equally at home performing punk-rock, synth-pop and experimental noise..."
• —Time Out Shanghai, May 2010

On Self-Portrait, Dusk, at the Point of Departure (2010):

• "Imagine 18 television screens in front of you playing the same movie. There's a barren tree on the front lawn of a house in the middle of winter. You notice an unexpected flicker and realize that the projections on each screen aren't just playing in a loop or some preset pattern. They are altering and changing randomly. Your eyes jump from screen to screen as the tree is made new again through juxtaposition. What seemed on the surface to be something straightforward and simple becomes a source of wonder and inspiration."
• —Tom Mangione, Global Times, November 2010

On Study for Insomnia (2009):

• "The strongest entry is American Ben Houge's video installation Study for Insomnia, which sets out to create a new language for landscape art, further honing his patented computer-generated algorithm programme that ingeniously takes recorded images and sounds and projects unpredictable combinations of both. The resulting video alternates between various landscape forms—clouds one minute, water the next—while also spanning emotional distances. Changes in light and form elicit different reactions from viewers; dark, manacing forms give way instantly to bursts of euphoric light. It is a beautiful work that satisfies both intellectually and aesthetically."
• —Xhingyu Chen, Time Out Shanghai, August 2010

On 29 Giraffes (2009):

• "Very pretty."
• —Casey Hall, CNNGO, March 18, 2011

On Psalmus (2005):

• "[Psalmus] includes overlapping monk-esque chanting, chimes and bells. It reminds me of church music on acid."
• —Shanghai Talk, December 2005

On Laudate Dominum (2004):

• "The Houge work is destined to become an audience favorite. An electronic hum ran through it, beginning with a din as the singers rapidly chanted the same phrase separately, like dozens of talking heads in their own worlds, to Borg-like effect.... Suddenly, the chorus split into three groups. Each appeared to have singers in all four voice parts, facing and following their 'new' conductor. The breakdown triggered an awareness of sonic layering that continued through the concert, beyond when the singers reunited and finished Houge's piece in a fade of whispers."
• —Jen Graves, The News Tribune, December 7, 2004

On EndWar (2008):

• "Fantastic audio and visuals put you in the thick of the action… The sound design does an even better job of immersing you in battle. This is partially due to the din of combat, which is loud and violent, perfectly appropriate for World War III. However, it's the constant radio chatter and responses of your units that have the greatest impact, making you feel as though you really are in the role of a military commander. It isn't just for show, either: EndWar's constant feedback is an important tactical tool, letting you make split-second decisions that could mean life or death for your squad."
• —GameSpot

• "Units constantly updating you on their status is a fantastic addition to the RTS interface toolbox…Everything about EndWar's presentation screams quality…Constant explosions buffet your ears and keep the intensity high."
• —Game Informer Online

• "Graphics and sound in EndWar do a good job of telling the tale...The voice work is excellent; all the actors are quite believable. I especially liked the extremely varied and smart troop comments while selecting units; it's a great way to gauge unit morale and to get a chuckle. Also, the funky bass riffs during menu selection screens are nice."
• —Cheat Code Central

• "Sounds fab and is suitably noisy and full of explosions. Sound: 9/10"
• —Boomtown

• "EndWar's gameplay falls neatly into a call/response groove that feels remarkably more responsive and efficient than any other control scheme before it. You quickly get used to listening as much as looking, because oftentimes your on-the-ground forces will become aware of situations because they are right in the middle of them and alert you accordingly. Although the voice command is a cool gimmick, it's the detailed and quick audio responses that earn EndWar high marks for innovation."
• —GameSpy

• "Sound-wise…EndWar is very good indeed…the voice acting in particular is top notch…provides a rich and varied audio experience."
• —Ferrago

• "Por último hay que destacar que el apartado sonoro es igualmente bueno, con unos efectos de sonido brillantes, unas buenas partituras musicales y un doblaje a nuestro idioma muy adecuado."
• —Juego Xbox 360

• "Excellent audio production. The audio…clearly crosses the road from average to superb. The war-like chatter, loud explosions and subtle soundtrack all help pull you in the experience. The quality is there, the voice command technology is crystal clear and the entire project seems to come into one immersing pot of 'Clancyness'."
• —Extreme Gamer

• "The sound…is brilliant, with plenty of dialogue making itself heard during battle, great for immersing you in the action and providing audio clues to the player. Sound: 9/10"
• —Videogamer

• "Tanks rumble across the battlefield, gunship blades whirl realistically, and actual explosions vibrate loudly through your game speakers... The overall sound effects were really well done; it's obvious a lot of thought was put in by Ubisoft to making sure the sound really immersed the player directly into the gameplay experience... The audio queues in the game work in conjunction with the voice controls to really immerse you in the role of 'commander'. When you order a unit via voice to a certain location, you are instantly greeted with a 'yes sir/right away sir/moving out' response. Units will even complain if you order them to attack a unit they will most certainly lose against, which will help new commanders enormously... The immersion factor is really intense in EndWar thanks in part to the audio tying directly into the fully implemented voice system. Sound: 9/10"
• —MSXboxWorld.com UK

• "Weapon sounds are impressive. Sound: 9/10"
• —WonderwallWeb

• "Heureusement que l'emballage sonore sort un peu plus du lot avec un fond musical qui sait s'effacer au bon moment - au hasard lorsque l'on parle - et des bruitages qui mettent bien dans le bain sans pour autant nous marteler le crâne. La VF est, de son côté, plutôt réussie dans son genre, même si l'on n'échappe malheureusement pas aux répliques hyper stéréotypées et complètement premier degré que l'on retrouve toujours dans les jeux estampillés Tom Clancy."
• —GameKult

• "Sound: 9/10"
• —Hooked Gamers

• "Sound design is of the high standard that fans of Ubisoft titles must now come to expect. Sound effects are convincing and the voice acting is deliberately a little cheesy and at time quite funny. Friendly units give you verbal updates on what is happening and you are warned if a particular unit is approaching a bad engagement before it is too late. If you find the time to watch them intently and listen, the individual soldiers in your units even have animated conversations between themselves."
• —Xbox World Australia

• "We're reserving our heartiest high fives for the audio design. Every injunction you dish out is met by some hard-as-nails militaristic quip via your speakers or the headset, and you'll quickly build up a gruff rapport with the squaddies."
• —Kikizo

• "The sound effects during the game are outstanding with plenty of bomb blasting entertainment."
• —Beefjack

• "As far as the sound is concerned, End War delivers. Everything from the musical score to the sounds of the weapons sounds fantastic and great in 5.1 surround sound. The voice acting and battle commands are also particularly good and belong in a class all by itself. The clarity and responsiveness of the voice command system is impressive…Clearly, developers spent a significant amount of time perfecting the games audio and it pays off. Overall I found the weapon sounds and explosions to be very life-like with the latter having the ability to jolt out of your seat at times. The game features a wide variety of weapons and will surely appease all those hard core war-like shooter fans. All the weapons, rockets and other tools of mass destruction have very unique sounds and seem to reflect what you'd expect them to sound like in real-life. Of course there are ample explosions in the game which I found could border on thundering…Many will be impressed with End War's total sound package. Sound: 9/10"
• —Game Boyz

On Arcanum (2001):

• "[One of] the top 12 video game soundtracks of all time."
• —Forbes, September 8, 2012

• "Arcanum is a thesis in player-character depth. My first trip through, I murdered Virgil the second he showed up, then went lone-wolf as a half-elf magic user with a penchant for cheap harlotry and booze. My second romp: I rolled as a charismatic capitalist gnome, collecting NPCs to do my technological dirty work. Having the Industrial Revolution stirred in with a reactionary, magic-using population is a setting unrivaled in RPGs. And that music…"
• —PC Gamer, in citing Arcanum as the 60th best PC game of all time, March 2012

• "The Arcanum suite, recorded by four exceptional string players from the Seattle Symphony, is sophisticated enough to pass muster on its own as an extended string quartet."
• —Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times, February 23, 2003

• "From the interesting voice actors to the beautifully haunting classical Victorian music, the sound is some of the best we've ever heard in a computer game."
• —Next Generation Magazine, October 2001

• "Ben Houge's musical score strikes you immediately. The melancholy, soulful adagio for string quartet that accompanies the intro movie sets an unusually introspective, romantic mood for a game. While there are some ambient tracks, most of the game's music is in fact scored for string quartet, and to great effect: the few instruments allow for music that's intimate yet diverse and usually emotionally effective. The unusual scoring suits the game's unusual setting."
• —Games Domain, September 2, 2001

• "One of the best soundtracks ever heard in PC gaming."
• —Game Addicts Network, August 23, 2001

• "Musical Score: I was impressed with the quality of Arcanum's musical score. Sierra composer Ben Houge uses an elegant-sounding string quartet playing a variety of themes conveying a sense of the 19th century, while leaving room for the renaissance/middle ages feel usually found in fantasy RPGs."
• —Adrenaline Vault, September 21, 2001

• "The music in Arcanum is wonderful...beautifully composed and very atmospheric."
• —GameStats, September 8, 2001

• "The musical score is truly unique. Rather than the typical sweeping orchestral soundtrack as in Baldur's Gate II and Icewind Dale, Arcanum features cellos, violins, and other instruments that are meant to evoke an atmosphere appropriate to the Industrial Revolution that Arcanum is undergoing. The music is pleasantly different from the norm in RPG music these days."
• —RPG Planet, November 10, 2000

• "The in-game music...is absolutely superb, and sets a new high water mark for computer game compositions."
• —The Wargamer, October 17, 2001

• "Deep cellos and violins give the entire game a classic, mature feel that's foreign to most adventure games. Instead of crashing cymbals and orchestrated layers, you're left with a small, sincere, sparse soundtrack that never even dared to get boring during the entire time I played."
• —IGN PC, Nov. 2, 2000

• "The music...yes indeed, the music was very well done. Perfect."
• —Head 2 Head, September 18, 2001

• "The music is a unique and haunting blend of classical with some Victorian themes and instrument selections. It fits the theme of the game perfectly and blends into the background where it never becomes annoying or repetitive."
• —Multi-Player Online Gaming, September 21, 2001

• "The music in this preview version is brilliant, very atmospheric.... Going on the music so far we can't wait to check out more from other parts of the game."
• —Gamerush, March 5, 2001

• "Aurally, the team has stated its desire for the music to enhance the mood of various game areas and events without being overwhelming. In more than 40 hours of playing the beta, this seems to have been achieved. Like the graphics, the music is understated and effective."
• —RPG Vault, Nov. 6, 2000

• "In short, the music of Arcanum is fantastic."
• —BlueSmoke, May 21, 2001

On King's Quest: Mask of Eternity (1998):

(Note that I shared composing duties on King's Quest with two other composers: Mark Seibert and Kevin Manthei; I also designed all of the in-game sound effects.)

• "Mask of Eternity has a lush, orchestral soundtrack that greatly enhances the gaming experience.... And the sound effects are uniformly excellent."
• —GameSpot PC, December 29, 1998

• "As with every graphic adventure, KQ:MOE relies heavily on sound, and the audio team did a superb job of integrating the soundtrack as well as the sound effects into the game. There is a dramatic, dynamic fantasy soundtrack that fits the settings perfectly, and the environmental noises and sound effects are extremely well done, actually changing with surface characteristics and distance. For example, the sound of your footsteps will change as you tread on different surfaces such as cobblestone paths, earthen trails, or grass."
• —IGN PC, January 8, 1999