Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General Music composer for D:OS2?

Jeremy Soule's work in the Elder Scrolls & Guild Wars games speaks for itself. You can't really go wrong with him on a fantasy game but he would likely be the most expensive composer Larian could go for.

You can add my vote for Jeremy Soule as well!

I'm totally against Jeremy Soule.

I'd love to hear your explanation of why... Jeremy Soule has so much experience in the field and such a wide variety of soundtracks to his name (I absolutely love the Icewind Dale one)... given the large scope I can understand that you dislike a few of them, but that doesn't explain why you'd be completely against Jeremy Soule?

Weren't you the one who recommended Kai Rosenkranz, whose only real experience in the field is the Gothic/Risen series (which are all fairly similar) ? I really hope the D:OS2 soundtrack will sound nothing like those!

Well, for once I think it should be a European composer since Divinity is a traditional European franchise. Another reason is that I want a composer who would honor Kirill's legacy and spin the new soundtrack about the already existing sound patterns for the series. I don't think Soule would be willing to do so, given his track record. He's to "big" for that, too well known. He would probably want to do his own stuff completely and I don't like this idea. And then, from a pure musical point of view I think that much of his music is too pompous in the grand picture of things. While he can write great epic music, I don't like his more ambient, calm and silent tracks that much. But of course, that's on opinion thing.


It's funny how you want me to explain my reasons while you say that you don't want Kai on the project without giving any real reasons yourself for that...

Do I want that DOS sounds exactly like Gothic? Of course not. But Kai surely had the talent and skills to write genuine stuff for DOS, including and building upon Kirill's legacy imo.

Like many movie/video game composers, Jeremy Soule is too focused on the orchestra without an idea what to do with it. People confuse orchestral with "epic" and "fantasy", for some reason, while it's actually generic as all hell. Compare this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC-pqRMasPQ to anything Jeremy Soule has written.

Ben Houge did a wonderful job with Arcanum with only a string quartet and a few percussion elements. Gaming needs more chamber music, its oversaturation with the orchestra leads nowhere, not to mention they can't seem to get out of the early/mid Romanticism idea (not technique) of music which, at this point, is banal.

Shostakovich! <3 <3

*edit* - I actually had the pleasure of watching the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform that very piece. So awesome to watch those string players sweat through the movement.

Okay, I understand your reasoning against Jeremy Soule now, although there is one small point I have to disagree with:



This is definitely no longer true. Larian currently has offices not only in Gent, Dublin and St. Petersburg, but also in Quebec and Sacramento. Besides, Larian is by origin a Belgian company, so if you want to look at the company's origins, shouldn't you look for a good Belgian composer?
(but, honestly, I really don't care about the nationality of the composer, as long as (s)he is able to do a good job)



I did... I clearly stated that his only experience in the field is the Gothic/Risen series, and they all sound very similar. I have absolutely no indications that he is capable of producing a good soundtrack for D:OS2 that does not sound like any of those, and I am unwilling to simply take the risk. I'd rather put my faith in someone who has already proven that he is capable of handling the variety.

Well, Quebec is in Franconian Canada which is traditionally much more European than typcial North American. I'd even say the Quebec area has more in common with France than with the US (was there on holidays once myself)...

If they find a very good Belgian composer, why not? I just don't know any. Kirill himself was Russian though.



Maybe you want to google Kai. He kickstarted a new solo album last year and there are some tracks that are very different to how the Gothic series sounded.

This suggestion is out there, to say the least, and I'm not necessarily saying it's a good idea. I'd be intrigued to be a fly on the wall during a discussion between Larian & Darren Korb though. Darren is new to the industry, having only done two video game soundtracks so far, for Bastion & Transistor. Both games had phenomenal soundtracks however, earning praise across the industry from players & critics alike. The Transistor soundtrack in particularly is just mind blowingly good, one of my favourites ever.

Like I said, this suggestion is out there because none of Darren's previous work is remotely appropriate for a fantasy series like Divinity. If he was interested in going in a completely different direction though, I'd love to hear what he can do.

Here's the Transistor soundtrack if you haven't heard it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zA1jRmAYfU

What do you mean with "this suggestion is out there"?

Crazy, weird, odd, risky.

Why do you think composers can compose in one style only, ever? Also, there is no such thing as "fantasy music", trust me. Music is illusion and sleight of hand. If a composer knows what he's doing, you don't have to worry about it not sounding "fantasy enough".

I don't think that, which is why I suggested him.

Well, while I totally agree with you, I think it's a bit unfair to compare video game composers to a musical genius like Shostakovich...

I mean, if somebody is as good as Shostakovich, they usually don't compose for video games. Simple.


What I think is more/most important for the specific case of DOS 2 is that you need somebody who could build upon the specific sound Kirill created for DOS and the whole Divinity series while carefully integrating new ideas. I don't know how many good composers are willing and capable of actually doing so "the right way".

I wasn't implying that they have to be a genius like Shostakovich, I was using his symphony as an example of an orchestra used right. Also, most 20th century composers composed for film, along with "pure" music. There is nothing stopping them from also composing for video games. Video games aren't shameful in any way for them to turn them down.

How about Gustavo Santaolalla then? He did a great job on The Last Of Us, and has lots of experience... then again, Naughty Dog had Sony backing them, so they had the budget. Would Santaolalla be too expensive?

A lot of Kirill's work reminded me a bit of Hawkwind. So maybe they should get Hawkwind to do the soundtrack.

Seriously, though, I'm not sure who could possibly live up to Kirill. He'll be a very, very hard act to follow and I don't envy whoever has to do it...

I don't think money is the biggest issue tbh. It's more about the creative stuff. Larian also probably wants to establish a long-term relationship if possible. I mean, Kirill was no "man on hire", he was a part of the Larian team.

What I found special about Kirill (beyond his pure composing skills) was that his soundtracks for Divinity (especially for DOS) covered an extremely huge range of different sounds, instruments and atmospheres. In most games there is one specific sound and a given set of instruments that are use for everything, but Kirill managed to make a ton of partially very different tracks and still put them together to one consistent soundtrack. I can't think of many game soundtracks that could be compared to that...

Man, I really just want Kirill back. The best die always way too young...

Michiel van den Bos is another name that comes to mind. Many might remember him for Unreal soundtrack, but music for Age of Wonders and Overlord series is also his.

If nothing else, we'll get a nice collection of music here in this topic