JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Music can transform an entire gaming experience. And that's the case with "South Of Midnight," a new title from Compulsion Games.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWO-TOED TOM")
CAROLINE OWENS: (Singing) The storm passed on, but the river's raging. Long days...
SUMMERS: Players take on the role of Hazel Flood, a young woman who's thrust into a journey full of magic and danger across the American South. The game captures the spirit of the region using fiddles, a children's choir and church organs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWO-TOED TOM")
OWENS: (Singing) Two-toed Tom. Two-toed Tom.
SUMMERS: The mind behind the game's score is French composer Olivier Deriviere. He says when he got the call to work on the game, he was a little confused.
OLIVIER DERIVIERE: My first reaction when they got in touch with me was like, why? Why are you doing this? I'm not American. I'm French. Quickly, they explained it to me because it was very OK (ph) for them. Like, they wanted to get inspired by the Deep South but to bring this into their own fantasy.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLIVIER DERIVIERE'S "BLUES SHUFFLE")
SUMMERS: When we spoke last week, I wanted to know how he approached bringing the true spirit of the American South to life with music.
DERIVIERE: To create this authenticity, it was to go and record people from Nashville. That was the key because basically, me - I wouldn't be able to produce the music the way we produced it without those performers. And, for instance, we have kids, a choir of kids, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHERIE TREE")
EINEN: (Singing) Our life force moves...
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) Our life force moves...
EINEN: (Singing) From thing to thing.
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Singing) From thing to thing.
EINEN: (Singing) But without you, child...
DERIVIERE: Me, as a very European, French writer, you know, like, a composer, I would write the notes, and I would play them exactly in the same as they are. If I had a choir, you know, they would go exactly the way they are. The girls, the way they did the note was not like (vocalizing) - like this, but (vocalizing). They do like (vocalizing) - like this, you know? I'm no singer, I'm sorry.
SUMMERS: (Laughter).
DERIVIERE: But they could - you know, they could - they took it on their own, and they created the music that was not exactly written this way. But because of this authenticity, the background, you know, their own culture, it became what it became.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHERIE TREE")
UNIDENTIFIED CHOIR: (Vocalizing).
SUMMERS: I want to talk to you a bit more about the soundtrack because the soundtrack in this game isn't one that kind of just fades into the background during the action sequences in this - in the game. At times, the songs themselves are really the narrative that helps us as the players understand the stories of the characters in the game. So I want to ask you about one song - the song "Benjy," which we encounter relatively early.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BENJY")
MICHAEL LUSK: (Singing) I remember my brother. His fate was so cruel.
SUMMERS: Tell us Benjy's story and how the music brings it to life.
DERIVIERE: Yeah, so Benjy's story is about, you know, two brothers, Rhubarb and Benjy. And basically, you know, Benjy has a different way of living, a different way of seeing things. And Rhubarb, you know, for most of his life, was sort of seeing him as a burden. And at some point, you know, looking at him and thinking about his own life, Rhubarb decides to put his own brother inside a tree and nail him inside the tree. The director told me - he said, oh, we want to have a murder ballad about, you know, this tragic and horrible story.
I write the song and then I need to cast and find the voice. And this is very challenging, you know, to find the right voice. We picked up, you know, a few singers that were all amazing, but one of them, who is Michael Lusk, you know, he stood out. You know, and it was like, wow, what a voice. And I think in the game, when the song starts, I've seen people playing the game now, you know, online, and they all like, oh, what is this? - because the voice kicks in and you're like - already you're into it. And this is his magical voice, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BENJY")
LUSK: (Singing) He was my brother, Benjy his name. He saw things different. He was my shame.
SUMMERS: What do you hope it is that players take away from Hazel's story and from the music that is all around it? What do you hope players take away?
DERIVIERE: Basically, you have Hazel's stories and also tons of different stories, but each story, you know, it's about being hurt, of course. It's about loss, grief. It's about, you know, compensating - tons of things that most people - most of us, actually - will go through life. But also, we need to accept, you know, our failures. We need to accept our deficiencies only to grow. And, you know, if, you know, the songs or mainly the game, you know, can sort of, like, you know, tell this message in a very, let's say, emotional way and if it works, you know, then, you know, this is the takeaway I wish, you know, it would go with.
SUMMERS: That was composer Olivier Deriviere. He is the composer of "South Of Midnight," which is available on Xbox now. Thank you so much for joining us today.
DERIVIERE: Thank you, Juana.
(SOUNDBITE OF OLIVIER DERIVIERE'S "THE REALIZATION") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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