Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Interview – Capturing the guts and soul of the Expedition by way of music

RPG Web site: Effectively, there’s no higher strategy to begin than asking you to introduce your self, and inform us a bit about what acquired you into music within the first place, extra particularly, composing for video games?

Lorien: So I am Lorien Testard. I’m 30 years outdated now, so I’ve three years left earlier than the top *chuckles*. I’ve a very massive ardour for video video games. I began taking part in after I was like three years outdated. My father was working at a online game store after I was younger, so I performed, like, Mario Social gathering and Mario Kart after I was actually, actually younger, and actually cherished the video video games for many of my life. I began doing music fairly late – I feel I used to be 16 years outdated. And I .. I discovered on my own for 3 years, then went to a music college for 3 years. Then I began doing a little stuff by myself, like some music for trailers. I knew from the beginning I wished to do music for video video games, as a result of it is actually what I really like and what I wished to create. So yeah, but it surely’s like a deep love for video video games, and I nonetheless have an enormous love for music in video video games.

RPG Web site: How did you first develop into related with this venture and with Sandfall Interactive basically?

Lorien: It was Guillaume [Broche], he discovered my subject on the discussion board the place I posted my music. So I posted this music, and sooner or later, he got here and acquired it after which requested me to compose for the sport.

RPG Web site: About how way back was that?

Lorien: 5 years. Perhaps six. No, I feel it was early 2020.

RPG Web site: Expedition 33 clearly has a really French-inspired aesthetic, with the Belle Époque interval being an inspiration. It’s an atmosphere and aesthetic that isn’t actually seen so much in RPGs. How did you go about capturing not solely the French music and types of themes but in addition creating fantastical variations of these sounds and melodies of the interval?

Lorien: I used to be actually centered on creating an unique soundtrack, so I don’t actually take into consideration the French references. I really feel that as a result of I’m French and have been listening to the music for twenty years, it has develop into a little bit of my music, not on objective, however prefer it’s simply part of me. It was crucial to me to create one thing actually unique and incredible, just like the universe that Nicolas [Maxson-Francombe] created. The very idea is so lovely and provoking that I’ve to present it my all to make music tied to them, and to make the world across the participant really feel alive. 

RPG Web site: You have created a big soundtrack. Do you keep in mind the primary monitor you made for the sport, and did it impression the evolution of the remainder of the tracks?

Lorien: Yeah, I keep in mind fairly clearly, like, the Lettre à Maelle and the music is within the soundtrack, and we used it for the character trailer of Maelle. So it is actually significant and particular for me to see the primary music I wrote 5 years in the past to, be current and see the music again to that leads the primary tone of the story and ambiance of the soundtrack, like piano, voice, guitar, swing and melancholia and nostalgia for Maelle and the opposite characters come from this music.

RPG Web site: It is a lovely monitor and, like so many others, packs a lot emotion into this recreation. What did you discover to be the toughest, probably the most tough monitor to nail and get proper in your thoughts?

Lorien: It was the 33-minute monitor – Nos vies en Lumière. There have been some songs within the recreation that simply got here to me actually quick in a single night time, and it was all good and what I wished. So for me, a music like these have been a present. For this monitor, I put in two months of labor on this monitor on daily basis, ten hours a day. So yeah, it was fairly difficult as a result of there are such a lot of layers on the monitor, so many songs to be collectively. And I wished to place a lot stuff into this music. The ultimate verses of the sport have been actually a problem for me as a result of I put a variety of stress and a variety of love into it. I put like all of the stuff I had in me for like three years into it, I put like the entire melodies of the characters into it, and it took a variety of time to get a basis I really like. So yeah, I feel this one was fairly difficult.

RPG Web site: One of many issues, particularly with these three tracks and among the extra impactful tracks of the sport, incorporates vocals, which I feel aren’t used a lot or are far rarer in video games and RPG soundtracks. The usage of vocals works so nicely in Expedition 33. What did you are feeling that including vocals would carry to the monitor, versus leaving it strictly instrumental?

Lorien:  The human voice is like probably the most highly effective and probably the most emotional instrument. So not having vocals, for me, is like shedding emotion. So yeah. So the voice was actually necessary for the songs of Expedition 33 for the world. Alice Duport-Percier, the vocalist composer of the sport, actually gave a voice to the world. She’s develop into part of the story, part of the world. She tales, she tells love. And he or she gave me a lot emotion when she sings. However I’ll really feel the ache, will really feel the identical. Yeah. The voice is de facto highly effective and robust instrument.

RPG Web site: It undoubtedly made me really feel issues, though I did not perceive what was being mentioned, you may nonetheless inform the sensation within the emotion coming by way of, such as you mentioned, like an instrument. It’s extremely highly effective.

Lorien: Yeah, I actually loved writing all of the lyrics for the sport, as a result of if you don’t converse French, you have got some English, but it surely’s uncommon – it could be a bit summary. However, if you wish to deep dive, you’ll discover some sense and that means and a few actually cool stuff.

RPG Web site: With the music being such a essential and necessary half, what have been you offered because the composer for lots of those moments that you just’re composing for? Do you get identical to a narrative temporary? How a lot info are you supplied with earlier than you’ll compose a brand new monitor?

Lorien: I learn the script of the sport, after which I had some idea artwork for landscapes and characters, so I had a worldwide imaginative and prescient of the world. After which I used to be fairly free to do no matter I wished for every scene and occasion. Then we might speak if it was good or not. However I wasn’t requested or informed any musical concepts or path, I may actually do no matter I wished, however after we might check it in-game, like “can we use this monitor right here on this minimize scene”, for instance, to see if the music is in the fitting place. So, yeah, it was fairly free for me to do no matter I wished.

RPG Web site: It have to be rewarding for an artist to have a lot artistic freedom and liberty in manufacturing.

Lorien: Yeah, it was crucial for me. Like, I joined actually early within the venture, earlier than Expedition 33, so I used to be there from the beginning, so I acquired to see all of the evolution of the characters for the reason that begin, I knew the story, I knew the whole lot, and so I may compose music actually early within the course of and actually prematurely earlier than the manufacturing. So typically we might have the panorama for an atmosphere, and we’d have already got music earlier than the occasion tied to that place was made by the dev staff. So it actually added to the immersive world as a result of, like we might, we might have each the idea artwork and the music after they would create the occasion.

RPG Web site: Did a lot change throughout improvement that brought about you to should go and redo or rework tracks that you just had beforehand carried out? Conditions such as you’re informed “we’re not essentially going to do that a part of the story or this character’s altering”?

Lorien: There are a couple of, however not likely. We minimize some tiny a part of the sport, however I didn’t should redo a music. I’ve a soundtrack playlist with like 200 songs I wrote for the sport. And typically Guillaume would say to me, “I actually like this one music you probably did three years in the past” and had it added to the sport *chuckles*. So it was like stuff like that. To present you an instance, for instance, the Goblu boss theme, I had its draft in my trash. I cannot put it within the recreation. It was additionally like a monitor I did 4 years in the past. And sooner or later he [Guillaume] mentioned to me, “yeah, I actually love this one. Let’s use it!” So we took the music and labored it a bit and used it for the ultimate recreation.

RPG Web site: With this being your first venture and having grown up taking part in video video games, what side of composing for video video games stunned you probably the most? 

Lorien: I feel it is the scope. I wished to have a full universe to compose. I actually love video games the place you have got character themes, cutscenes, and all of the stuff. And so Guillaume gave me the world of Clair Obscur it was like the largest deal with it as a result of there’s a lot stuff to d. Just like the final music I created for the sport was like 1 or 2 months earlier than the discharge, so it was till the top that I had stuff to compose, as a result of it’s a 60 hours of recreation so I wished to have a monitor for every customized occasion, every character, and background music. So it was actually so much to compose, to create a few of my desires.

RPG Web site: What fashion of tracks did you have got probably the most enjoyable composing?

Lorien: The simplest tracks have been the landscapes, and the songs that wanted probably the most work have been battle themes, and the songs that I loved probably the most to create have been the character and story themes. I actually cherished to create songs tied to the story. So for instance, Youngsters of Lumière, which is monitor 143. I actually love the lyrics and writing the whole lot in that music. The music is de facto inspirational and emotive for me. I really feel actually related to this music as a result of I’ve like one thing to share with the participant. I’ve the soul of Gustav and the soul of Maelle to place in music and join actually intently to the characters within the story. So yeah, it is my consolation zone and what I get pleasure from probably the most creating.

RPG Web site: You talked about that you just’re conveying the souls of those characters. What all went into the primary theme, your most important monitor of the sport, Alicia? What have been you hoping to convey with that monitor particularly? And what’s it like creating a most important theme?

Lorien: Yeah, truthfully, I noticed it like a present. For ‘Alicia’, sooner or later I discovered a video of a dancer. The dancer moved in sluggish movement, and it was so lovely, and the lady appeared actually very like Alicia. I felt actually related to this video, after which I wrote the music. I’d see the motion of the dancer as I wrote the music, and, in a single night time, my portion of the music was completed. I despatched the tracks to Alice, and she or he completed her half actually quick. I feel it took perhaps two days to create, and once we shared it with the staff, all people knew this was the one. There’s something within the temper and within the melody, within the ambiance of the monitor. It’s what we need to present and share to the participant after they activate the sport. You open the sport and listen to it. The music tells so many issues earlier than you play and begin the sport.

RPG Web site: It’s extremely highly effective and exquisite. And such as you mentioned, it places you in a singular mindset going into this recreation.

Lorien: Yeah, it was a very particular music for us.

RPG Web site: Thanks a lot for sitting down, talking, and sharing your artistic course of. It has been a variety of enjoyable and eye-opening to see how a lot care you have put into this. Congratulations once more to you and everybody over there at Sandfall Interactive on the approaching launch.

Lorien: Thanks very a lot for the interview. It was a pleasure.