A born musician, David Wise began by learning to play Piano and Trumpet, later adding Drums to his repertoire late in adolescence. This tendency towards musical work landed him a fateful job at a music store, where he programmed a demonstration piece he had composed onto a Yamaha CX-5. Legend has it that when he pitched this machine to Tim and Chris Stamper, they hired him on the spot as the only music composer at Ashby Computers and Graphics (which later became Rare). Although many of the games that Rare released during 1985 to 1994 did not credit the composer, Wise was the only known composer at Rare during that time. He is most well-known for his soundtracks to the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, widely regarded as some of the best music to have ever come out of the 16-bit era. His atmospheric tones, combined with evocative percussive melodies, make him one of the more distinctive composers of this era also.
Today, Wise still works at Rare, even after the departure of the Stamper brothers in 2007.
