Italians Do It Better Artist JOON Discusses Wheel World and Making Music for Games

By Garrett Martin | July 22, 2025 | 2:00pm

Photo courtesy of Italians Do It Better

Video Games Features wheel world

Italians Do It Better Artist JOON Discusses Wheel World and Making Music for Games

Nidhogg developer Messhof has teamed up with the record label Italians Do It Better for the soundtrack to the new cycling game Wheel World, and it’s a pretty great match. Wheel World is all about riding your bike in a world where time hasn’t stopped but isn’t moving forward, which can also describe the steady pace of the soundtrack’s retro-minded, synth-heavy music. Like Kraftwerk before them (perhaps the first band to realize the similarities between cycling and electronic music), Italians Do It Better artists JOON, Orion and Johnny Jewel (of Glass Candy and the Chromatics, and the co-owner of the label) recognize that weird combination of the mechanical and the soulful that’s at the heart of both cycling and the best electronic music, where constant repetitive motion becomes a kind of trance that can lead to ecstasy.

Endless Mode recently talked to JOON about cycling, writing music for games, and her contributions to the Wheel World soundtrack, which is available today on all major streaming platforms.

Endless Mode: Is your process for writing video game music different than how you normally write music? And if so, how?

JOON: I’ve done music and sound design for a few smaller games before, and I also worked at a video game company in Malta for a couple of years. The process is definitely different for me. When I write my own music, it’s more spontaneous—I just go with the flow and express myself freely. But when I’m writing for a game, I try to get into the world and imagine what the music from that world would sound like. I actually find it easier in some ways, because there’s more direction and a clearer purpose. It’s not as heavy a process and it’s a lot of fun.

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Endless Mode: Have you played Wheel World? If so, what are your thoughts? And had you played any of Messhof’s games before starting on this project?

JOON: I haven’t played Wheel World yet, but I’m really looking forward to trying it. I also hadn’t played any of Messhof’s games before this, although I’d heard a lot about Nidhogg. I’m not much of a gamer, I actually enjoy watching other people play more than playing myself.

Endless Mode: What, if anything, did Messhof or Annapurna send you to use as inspiration or as a guideline? Did they send you images from the game, or some kind of mood board, or anything?

JOON: They sent us some images with descriptions of the world, along with a mood board or more like a sound board—a playlist with tracks that captured the vibe they were going for in different areas of the game. We also had meetings to talk through everything. They’d already listened to some of our music and pointed out which tracks had the kind of feeling they wanted, so that helped guide us too.

Endless Mode: Cycling and electronic music have always been a good fit, something supported by Kraftwerk’s long association with cycling. Are you a cyclist? If so, what sort of music do you think goes best with cycling?

JOON: I’m not much of a cyclist but my partner at the time was really into cycling, it was actually part of his job! So he used to send me great electronic tracks that he liked to ride to, and he’d test out my music while cycling as well. It was mostly upbeat, fun, feel-good music, which was exactly the kind of sound I was going for for Wheel World.

Endless Mode: I know some musicians and composers have mental images in mind when they write music, even if the music isn’t for any specific film or game project. What role does visual imagery play in your music and your music-writing process?

JOON: When I’m writing for myself, I don’t really picture anything specific. It’s more about feeling and intuition, I just let things flow and see where the music goes. It’s very in-the-moment and emotion-based. But when I’m writing for something visual, like a game or a film, it’s a totally different process. Having imagery to work with makes everything more immersive. I can place myself inside that world and imagine what it might sound like from the inside. It gives me direction, but also opens up new creative ideas I wouldn’t think of otherwise. I love that kind of work, it’s inspiring in its own way and makes the music feel like part of a bigger story.

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Editor-in-chief Garrett Martin writes about video games, theme parks, travel and more. Follow him on Bluesky.