Astro Bot will not be solely certainly one of 2024’s finest video games, it options certainly one of 2024’s finest soundtracks.
Whereas this gained’t come as a shock to anybody who listened to the imperious Astro’s Playroom rating, one of many absolute highlights of Astro Bot was the creativity, joyousness, and pleasure laced into each tune.
As soon as once more composed by Kenny CM Younger (LittleBigPlanet, Tearaway), the soundtrack options remixes of fan favourites, such because the GPU tune from Astro’s Playroom, in addition to dozens of latest compositions.
Not solely that, the sport comprises 5 ranges themed after traditional PlayStation characters, full with Astro-fied variations of these soundtracks. Now, a month faraway from Astro Bot’s launch, the sport’s soundtrack is out there on streaming platforms, permitting gamers to revisit their favorites.
Forward of the discharge, we caught up with Kenny from his dwelling in Scotland to talk in regards to the soundtrack, these PlayStation homages, and extra.
For extra Astro Bot content material, click on over to our behind-the-scenes report from developer Group Asobi.
Video Interview: Kenny CM Younger
With a soundtrack of this dimension, it’s virtually troublesome to know the place to begin relating to speaking about your course of. Are you able to communicate to how an thought for a observe varieties, and are you seeing gameplay lengthy earlier than you begin writing the music for that stage?
Kenny CM Younger: Unusually for a composer, I’ve obtained a improvement equipment, so I can play builds of the sport. You’d suppose that will be regular, however that’s not normal apply. It’s fairly laborious to come up with a dev equipment for those who’re not a developer, but it surely helps that I used to work at Sony, and I do know all the precise folks (laughs).
I might obtain builds of the sport and test stuff out, I discover that basically essential, significantly for these ranges the place it’s not clear precisely what it wants, it’s actually essential for me to have the ability to really feel it.
Nico, the sport director, is simply actually nice. He actually is aware of what the sport they’re attempting to make is, which you suppose could be regular, but it surely’s one thing he’s significantly good at. He’s speaking about his course of, however for me, it’s about focus. He is aware of what’s essential. He can let you know about that upfront, after which he may give you nice suggestions as as to whether what you’ve achieved is reaching what it must do.
How lengthy does it typically take?
KCMY: How lengthy it takes relies upon, when it’s very clear what a stage wants, typically talking, it’s fairly tropey. So if it’s a fireplace stage it’s like, alright, it’s heavy metallic, you don’t even have to inform me at that time (laughs).
I’ve obtained this assortment of tips now to reply questions like “How will we make this enjoyable?” “How will we make this robotic?” “How will we make this digital?” all these kind of pillars of the visible aesthetic and the artwork course.
For one thing like Papa Tree or Effervescent Below, which have interactivity occurring, one thing like that’s extra more likely to take like six, or eight weeks. For one thing like Papa Tree, there’s nothing tropey, so there’s no approach to know what the style wanted to be. Asobi did know that they wished that to be a tune, which initially was sort of terrifying as a result of clearly the GPU tune went down so properly, so that they thought it could be cool to have one other a kind of.
There’s a little bit of strain occurring there, but additionally, what am I supposed to write down the tune about precisely? It’s a tree. I didn’t suppose xylem and phloem, going again to my normal grade biology, was the precise factor to sing about, so initially, I knocked that again and was like, “There’s nothing to write down about.”
It was principally the observe that’s within the completed sport, however with backing singers, with the thought being that we’d make you solely hear the backing singers whenever you’re exterior, so whenever you’re inside, we kind of fade these out. So it’s meant to be like all of the little vegetation which are across the stage are singing alongside. So I used to be like, “Yeah, they’ll be proud of that!” However Nico was identical to, “No, I desire a tune.”
Astro Bot options over 90 tracks, together with some that return from earlier Astro initiatives. How completely different was it to work on a venture that required that quantity of music in comparison with Astro’s Playroom, which had a way more condensed tracklist?
The factor to deal with as properly is that there are another composers within the venture too, and that, once more, that’s identical to a sensible factor. How a lot music can one individual write? (laughs).
There’s music that’s reused from Astro Bot Rescue Mission, and a number of the tracks, primarily those from the opposite composers, are additionally reused from a number of the earlier, kind of proto-Astro Bot video games, so we’ve obtained some good protection there.
I suppose pondering as properly is that, you already know, there’s a variety of good music there, which lots of people haven’t heard, so we’re fairly snug reusing it. We already shipped two video games collectively, so we had a good suggestion of how lengthy it was going to take when it was a simple observe.
There was much more experimental writing on this venture than I had anticipated. We knew upfront that the Sony first-party stuff was going to be experimental in nature. Although the transient was clear, insofar because it was like, properly, “we have to take that IP and make it work in Astrobot,” that bit was clear and apparent, however truly what which means was a whole unknown.
I used to be on the venture for 2 years, so it was only a large chunk of labor. Clearly, everybody tries to make the most effective sport that they’ll. Nobody’s getting down to make a nasty sport. However having it have such a great reception is simply, you already know, it’s not simply icing the cake. It’s truly like a large reduction after pouring all of your blood, sweat, and tears into one thing for that time frame. It’s fairly tense. It’s writing music day after day for 2 years, and it’s full-on.
The music for the PlayStation-themed ranges, significantly Bot of Battle and the God of Battle homage, was a selected spotlight. What was that course of like, and the way a lot freedom did you could have with the unique materials?
KCMY: That was truly the primary one I labored on. It had the longest course of as a result of it was attempting to work out, “Okay, what’s the means of taking, what is key, in that instance, grownup IP definitely, how do you are taking that sort of materials and make it family-friendly?”
And for me, what was attention-grabbing was that little second the place you truly first rescued Kratos within the boat after the octopus boss. It’s a really bizarre mash-up as a result of it’s like this kind of Astro Bot seaside music mashed up with a God of Battle theme. It’s a bit bizarre, however that was the very first thing we did, simply to see, okay, that’s very Astro Bot.
It simply wasn’t going to work within the gameplay stage, which is far much less Astro Bot and way more Kratos. So, that method of transcribing the music and making it in synthesizers with ukuleles and vocoders for the robotic vibe wasn’t going to work. That was a great discovery, however just a little bit nerve-wracking as a result of it’s like, “What does it imply to be extra Kratos however nonetheless have it work in Astro Bot?”
It’s a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, the place you begin with the jigsaw, and it’s completed, and you then simply tear all of it up, and also you begin, pushing little bits towards one another that aren’t fairly designed to do it. And for those who attempt that sufficient, and also you experiment sufficient, ultimately you get it. It’s under no circumstances the unique, however you may hear and see bits of the unique in it, and it’s on this new configuration.
The God of Battle observe was truly the best to take to a brand new place as a result of it’s so versatile; it was much more difficult to get that to work with the Horizon and Uncharted themes as a result of these are large, previous, sprawling themes which have a number of sections which are there. In order that’s why these ones are just a little bit extra trustworthy to these melodies, as a result of for those who reduce these up, it simply stops being Uncharted, it stops being Horizon.
Have any of the composers of the unique music reached out to you?
KCMY: No, not but. I noticed Julie Elvin was fairly thrilled at the truth that I’d used her vocals within the within the Aloy remix. Joris de Man (Horizon composer) appears happy with the tunes. I’ve met Joris just a few occasions, so I sit up for the subsequent time I see him having a wee chat about that!
I don’t know if Greg Edmondson has achieved a lot sport work exterior of Uncharted stuff. I’m unsure what he’s as much as today. So he’s most likely much less contactable, and I’m not going to possible stumble upon him at a video games convention anytime quickly.
After I was working it out, you might be aware of the truth that that is another person’s child, that you’re kind of slicing up successfully. However you already know, I believe the 2 issues to try to do there may be, like, Yeah, do it with love and respect and, respect and people are video games that I’ve performed that I’ve obtained a variety of respect for too. So, hopefully, that comes throughout within the music. I don’t suppose I’ve ruined it (laughs). I’ve tried to maintain the essence of what was there while altering it to make it match Astro Bot.
I used to be questioning as I used to be enjoying, ‘Are we going to get to the tip of this and there’s going to be an Astro Bot model of The Final of Us theme?’
KCMY: (Laughing) I’ve obtained a banjo, I’ll give it a go! That appears like the final word problem.
In any case this work and the massive quantity of tracks you’ve made for the sport, do you could have a favorite?
KCMY: I’ve obtained a mushy spot for On line casino. Elements of that observe are the closest I’ve obtained to a Nineteen Sixties or Seventies library observe. It’s simply me, you already know, I’ve obtained an actual curiosity in retro aesthetics, you may hear that within the music on this sport specifically.
However that’s one thing that I initially obtained all for for LittleBigPlanet as a result of there are comparable issues about nostalgia. In a manner, these productions don’t have anything to do with the notes; it’s the way in which you current the music. As a sound designer, that’s certainly one of my expertise. I’m not the most effective composer on this planet. I can write a great tune, as a fiddle participant, I believe I’ve obtained an ear for a melody, however you already know, when it comes to my precise capability as a composer, there’s lots of people who’re higher at it than me.
One of many methods to make music extra sonically attention-grabbing for me is to current it in a manner that will make most individuals run in the wrong way. So like most there’s not a variety of composers and video games who’re like, “Yeah, library music!” whereas I’m like, “Yeah, library music!” So it’s yeah, it’s like a responsible pleasure and a fetish being compelled on the viewers.
Astro Bot’s soundtrack is out there now on all main music platforms, together with Spotify.