Hi golfers and music lovers,
As you read in my last post, we have a long soundtrack for an indie golf game. 70 minutes of relaxing music, which incidentally is 70 minutes more music than we ever intended or imagined having in the game when we set out on this journey.
One of our earlier videos showing off the game, when it was just golf and no journey, caught the attention of composer Haakon Davidsen who gave us the opportunity of writing music for the game. Initially he was only going to make a couple of tracks, but with each new piece we wanted to give the game the soundtrack it deserved, which means you'll now get to enjoy 22 tracks covering a wide range of styles. The final result is one of the most soothing game soundtracks you'll ever hear that doesn't require you fighting dragons.
I recently had the chance to ask Haakon a few questions to get into his mindset.
- What drew you to want to work on A Little Golf Journey in the first place? Actually, the first thing that amazed me about the game was the grass. It had a really playful character to it - kinda looks like someone picked grass from their garden and put it into a toy world. The levels had so many unique details to look at, it feels like an interactive painting. I could just sit and watch the scenery, it is so beautiful! One of my first thoughts was “There are so many golf games, but I have never experienced golf like this before"
- Does anything surprise you about A Little Golf Journey? The variety of areas really surprised me. There are these areas you would normally find in a golf game, but there are also so many more other places to explore. I have never before played golf during the winter, or at the moon. Especially not in cyberspace!
- What inspired you when composing the music? I drew a inspiration from a lot of things for sure, but I think the nature was my biggest inspiration source. With each track, I always imagined where it could be played. I could go like «This chord makes me think of the beach», and then I imagined myself playing it at the beach. I tried to make each song tell a story, and that was easier to to once I could place them in a setting.
- Did Norway factor in to your inspiration and if so, how? Norway is famous for its nature and forests. I actually live next to a forest, and would often look out the window to see if I could draw inspiration from it.
- The music is often very emotional at times. Did anything help bring that emotional weight? Yes, indeed. Emotions are something I often like to explore in music. With each track, I tried to imagine in what places I would either play or listen to each track. That helped me visualise how the music should sound like. And when you start thinking about that, it is easy to remember something that has happened in your life and connect the music to the emotions.
- Along similar lines, was there something you were trying to convey from this music? I had three main overall ideas for the soundtrack, that helped me shape everything. The first, was that I wanted the music to be something that the listener easily could connect with. I wanted it to be something you could learn to play yourself. Not too huge or grand that requires much from the listener, but something that would build to the relaxing atmosphere of the game. The second is somewhat connected with the first. I wanted each song to be…a song! Something that you could listen to while playing, but also listen to each song as a standalone piece of music. I put a lot of effort into each melody and chord progressions, to make sure that there are always small musical ideas you don’t pick up the first time, but maybe the 2nd or 3rd. The third is a bit more abstract, but I will try to explain the best I can. The gameplay strips away all unnecessary things from golfing. It is just you and the ball. In some way, this makes you the golf ball, and the path between the start and the hole is your journey. Because of the close relation between the player and the ball, I wanted to make the music feel intimate and close. The music tells a story, but it is up to you how you interpret it. As you play, you will hopefully get a story in your head. A unique story that the golf ball experiences while it is traveling.
- Can you explain how you made the music? did you use real instruments, how you mixed it, what software used etc? Most of the songs started out as improvisations. I would either sit by the piano or guitar, and just play something. I tried not to think too much before playing, because I wanted the musical idea to come naturally. When I found an idea I liked, I would usually play around with a think until it started to sound like a melody. I would then record a quick version of it, and move on to the next song. When I had recorded 3-4 ideas for different songs, I would leave them for a day or two. When I listened to them again, I would quickly hear if something was worth expanding on to a full song. Since my piano skills are not on par (pun intended), I had to record one hand at the time. So, if I want to play my own songs, I would have to practice! For pianos, I only used virtual ones. This gave me the advantage to pick a specific piano for the song. Many of the tracks are piano only, so I tried to make it more interesting for the listener to have different piano sounds. Some are more polished and clean, and some are more «wooden» and imperfect. I felt this gave each song its unique character. All guitars however, are played by me on my Gibson J-45. I used Logic Pro to record everything.
- What was your biggest challenge when creating the music ( either in general or on a specific track )? The hardest part was probably to balance everything between simple and interesting. I always tried to keep things simple, but at the same time leaving room for unexpected parts and new ideas.
- Is there any location in A Little Golf Journey you're excited to explore? ( You can check the screenshots on the steam page for that ) The locations that are not traditional golf areas are the ones that I look the most forward to, like the moon and the canyon.
- Do you play or have you ever played golf for real? How good are/were you? I have actually never played real golf before! But I was pretty good at Mario Golf back in the day, if that counts. I have also played a lot of minigolf. I even wanted to build my own minigolf course in the garden when I was a kid! Turns out building it was a bit too much for a 8-year old, but maybe one day I will have my own course in the garden.
- Which track is your favourite? Oh, that is always a tricky question. I think maybe I will have to go by “First day of spring”, “A summers breeze”, “Coffee cup” and “Two good friends”. But it is hard to pick between your babies!
- What do you hope people get out of the music once they hear it, besides enjoying it? I really hope people will enjoy the music, both while they are playing, and just by listening to it. But I also hope it inspires people to learn the songs and make their own versions of them. If one person makes a cover of one of the songs and puts it on Youtube, it would make my life complete. (This interview was done just before that video was made! - Charles)
- Are you looking forward to playing the game? Do you think you'll try to 100% it or just sit back and relax to it every now and then? I am very excited to play the game! I usually play games at my own pace and just absorbing the experience, not worrying about trophies or achievements. But the game encourages you to explore and find all the secrets, so I will probably end up 100% it.
- Do you have any final words to add? To work with okidokico was a pleasure already from the start. I had so much fun writing the music, and I learned a lot on the way too. It is always a bit scary to see how people react to what you have made, but I hope people will enjoy the game and the music. The soundtrack will be released on all streaming platforms along with the game.
If you want to listen to the soundtrack you can listen to it here, and we'll update you with more links once it becomes available to buy: https://soundcloud.com/haakond/sets/alittlegolfjourney
Charles - Okidokico