Imagine, if you can, a space opera unfolding to the cosmic jams of Sun Ra, Miles Davis, and Alice Coltrane, weaving together the physical and metaphysical story of the universe's creation, all played out through the hardboiled b&w lens of film noir. You're beginning to grasp the scale ambition of Genesis Noir, a BAFTA nominated, critically acclaimed video game on Mac, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Talking on the roles of audio direction, score composition, songwriting, sound design, foley, audio system design and implementation, we made everything you can hear in Genesis Noir, over the course of four years. We recorded a full orchestra, a small choir, a live jazz band and a handful of instrumentalists to create music spanning bebop, spiritual jazz, exotica, world fusion, big band and electronica, often blurring the lines between music and sound, art and science.
“The game sizzles with invention… An astonishing, memorable, and novel piece of work”
~The Guardian
Feral Cat Den, the game's developers, reached out to us after compiling a list of music references to discover we'd made half of them.
“There’s a musical sequence in Genesis Noir which rivals the best in recent video game memory.”
~Vice
Musical Storytelling
Beyond a regular game score, Feral Cat Den saw the music as an integral part of Genesis Noir's gameplay. With no dialogue throughout its ~6-hour journey, Genesis Noir relies heavily on music and sound to tell its story.
We devised a system of leitmotifs to create plot signals and conceptual connections in the minds of our audience as well as expressing the unspoken feelings of the characters. As a result, the music becomes the glue of Genesis Noir's story, unifying and exploring its themes and emotions.
Reception
The critical reception for the game was amazing and, quite unusually, the soundtrack was mentioned in a large percentage of the reviews. Our work won a tonne of awards, including the prestigious IGF Excellence in Audio prize at GDC, The game itself was nominated for a BAFTA.
The positive reception is a testament to the game's success, and we're thrilled to be working on its sequel, Nirvana Noir!
“Its beautiful jazz score is entrancing”
~Washington Post
The Album
We spent two months significantly overhauling and extending cues. Adding solos, new sections, and vocals to create the soundtrack release Big Bang: Music From the Universe of Genesis Noir.
“The soundtrack is fantastic”
~Metro
Order Big Bang: Music from the Universe of Genesis Noir on Luxury Double Vinyl here
Making-Of
A mammoth project, we coudn't possibly fit everything on one page. Read more about our techniques and approaches in these articles:
