In this week’s article I’m going to look into the the Human and Synth species for the Lord of Rigel soundtrack, and like in previous weeks cover the sounds and styles that were used and why.
The humans are a species I really wanted to get a certain mood for. With them being the same species as the majority (hopefully all) of those that will play the game, I wanted to make their theme something that you can connect with on a emotional level, more so than perhaps with any of the other species in LoR. The neutral track is quite somber sounding, made up of piano, an airy synth and distant drums. The piano is a great instrument to purvey that kind of sadness. The hostile track uses the same sound palette with the addition of a cello ostinato line. This drives the music and gives it a feeling of aggression and momentum and I have used stabbed piano underneath the ostinato to add more punch. The synth from the neutral track is used to create a simple melodic line and it is this particular instrument that I think defines the sound of the humans.
The Synth’s grand scheme is to be the best machines the universe has seen, and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to create a 90’s synthesiser aesthetic. The hostile track is quite reminiscent of the music used in The Terminator, except I had to leave out the anvil sounds as I had already used them for the Ornithon (much to my disappointment). However, there are metallic and glitchy sound effects accented throughout the track that help reinforce the Synth’s robotic appearance.
Again for the neutral track, as with the humans, the sound palette is very similar but the tone is much lighter. It still has that 90’s synthesiser feel to it but is more open and ambient. I’ve used a deep bell sound with a large reverb that fills out the low end and is a nice contrast to the high end synths. The part that makes up the main melody is a delayed pluck that helps further lighten the tone of the track.
The Synth are an enjoyable species to work on for me because I’m really into those kinds of sounds and the films and music they are found in. That’s what makes this project so much fun to work on, I could almost say it about the entire soundtrack.
