Their forms are crumbling in the vaults around,
Whilst I, across the sea, but dream the sound.
- H.P. Lovecraft
Greetings, Dreamers!
Today we’re going to embark on a musical journey to unveil some of the production secrets of Being and Becoming. Welcome Holland Albright, the genius behind the original score, whose works you will get to know closely in the upcoming demo later this year.
Holland is a self-taught composer, specializing in fantasy, video game/RPG (VGM), classical, orchestral, and piano music.
Where the music of Dreams is born: Holland Albright home studio.
Let the music transport you into the deepest layers of the subconscious Collective mind:
Here’s the tracklist of the upcoming demo:
- Corrupted Dream (Demo Main Menu)
- Encore et Encore (Instrumental)
- Surprise Attack
- Surprise Attack: Reveal
- Encore et Encore (feat. Tze Liew)
- The Apostate (Phase 1)
- The Apostate (Phase 2)
- Dreamcatcher's Theme
Q: Which works inspire you when you’re working on Being and Becoming?
A: The things that inspire me for Being and Becoming specifically are mostly the beautiful artwork and creative stories the team comes up with.
One of the early concept arts.
Q: Which classical composer do you find the most impactful on your music aesthetics?
A: For "capital C" classical influences, I think it's a mix of composers like Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Chopin, Satie, Brahms, probably more. I tend to like romantic and impressionist classical music.
If I can add some well-known modern composers to the list: Joe Hisaishi, Nobuo Uematsu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yoko Shimomura, among others, have been influential to my work as well. It's hard to write a short-list of influences because I keep discovering new music for games and animation that I love that probably end up influencing my work as well, like the Octopath Traveler OST - it's gorgeous and right up my alley in terms of musical aesthetic.
Q: Do you find inspiration in any game/movie/TV-show OSTs besides the classics?
A: For music generally, I'm inspired a lot by Zelda and Studio Ghibli, also Final Fantasy, but I think those might be considered classics. It's hard to pick specific soundtracks that inspire me vs. ones that I enjoy, because I think when we like things, they may inspire us consciously or subconsciously. That said, for recent TV, I like the Wheel of Time and Rings of Power soundtracks. I also really love the Record of Lodoss War OVA soundtrack - it's incredible music from a very good old-school anime.
Q: What is your work process? So, you get a task assignment… What do you do next?
A: Studying concept art or whatever art the artists are working on helps me quite a bit to get a feel for what I'm writing for. There's a lot of emotion in the game's artwork. However, sometimes artwork hasn't started yet, so Anthony [Note: Anthony Fischer is the creative director, writer, and developer of Being and Becoming] will describe things to me and I start sketching out ideas on piano. Generally that's where most of my work starts - on piano.
After I make a piano sketch, I'll notate it so it's in a fixed format that I can use for reference. While I'm sketching, I'll often hear what instruments I want to play the melody, so once the sketch (and sketch notation) is done, I'll start writing first where I clearly hear melody and/or harmonies and work outward from there. I jump around a lot while orchestrating (whether it's for orchestra, small ensemble, synths, electronic, etc.) - it's not a linear process most of the time.
Orchestral parts in the digital world: the sonic heart of Being and Becoming.
Once I get one part of the song finished (a phrase or a few measures), I might start on a different part of the piece where I also know what sound I want, and then keep doing that and fill in places in between as it comes together. It's like a puzzle - I have the full idea in the sketch, I just need to place where all the parts go.
Q: What do you think makes your music work so well with the setting?
A: A friend once told me that some of my music could work well for horror and/or dark fantasy because a lot of horror music is really emotionally charged, as well as the stories sometimes being very personal despite the scary setting. I think about that sometimes when I'm thinking of what to write for Being and Becoming. There's a deeper emotional undertone. I want the music to reflect that where it makes sense to.
A sinking feeling at the pit of your stomach, as you dive deeper into the unknown.
Q: Finally, just a quirky one: have you ever had a weird lucid dream after a work session on Being and Becoming?
A: I can't remember specifics of all the weird dreams I've had while working on this project, but one time I had a bad dream with this creepy creature that, no matter where I turned my head, it was always directly in front of me staring right at me. Its eyes had no pupils or iris, until suddenly they did (they came and went but were never consistently there). It freaked me out a bit, but I mentioned it to Anthony in case he wanted an idea for a new monster for the game.
Could one of them be the one?
Thank you, Holland, for sharing your thoughts and dreams with us today!
And now, with a glimpse behind the curtains, you have gained more knowledge than before. But do you feel truly satiated?
Stay tuned, as we have much more to offer: more art that transcends the reality you know, more music that wields the power to transport you where it wishes, and more announcements that will make all the wait worth it.
See you in the next one, Dreamers.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1917990/Being_and_Becoming/
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