B&W: Can you clarify the rumor that Michael had in 1993 composed the music for Sonic 3 video game, for which you havel been credited?

Buxer: I’ve never played the game so I do not know what tracks on which Michael and I have worked the developers have kept, but we did compose music for the game. Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that’s what I did. And if he is not credited for composing the music, it’s because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music…

B&W: One of the surprising things in this soundtrack is that you can hear the chords from Stranger in Moscow, which is supposed to have been composed later…

Buxer: Yes, Michael and I had composed those chords for the game, and it has been used as base for Stranger in Moscow. […]

• Excerpt of a translated interview from Black & White Magazine, courtesy of Sonic Retro

Michael explained how he wrote “Stranger in Moscow” on his website at the time:

“Stranger in Moscow” was written when I was in Moscow on the Dangerous tour. And it was just a strange, eerie, lonely time for me. Outside my hotel was just a sea of faces and fans just chanting and screaming. But I was inside my room and I felt so all alone, like I was the last person on the planet. And in the song I say, “How does it feel when you’re alone and you’re cold inside?” I say it’s like a stranger in Moscow. And that’s pretty much how I felt. And the people were lovely, they were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and the concert was very successful. But that day, especially that day, I just felt this different feeling, and this song, “Stranger in Moscow”, came to me.