The Life is Strange series has always been synonymous with amazing music. While known for picking standout tracks from lesser-known artists and introducing them to players through memorable scenes, the series has also been gifted with nuanced, emotive scores.
For Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2, Co-Creative Director and Music Supervisor Raoul Barbet worked closely with musician Jonathan Morali, known best for his work with indie rock and folk band Syd Matters.
With Life is Strange 2, their now-seven-year collaborative relationship allowed them to develop a richer and more varied score, made possible because of the trust and familiarity created between composer and director.
Morali’s new score goes on a musical journey with Sean and Daniel, evolving alongside the story and the characters to which it introduces you. Today we wanted to share with you some insights into the score, and how it came to be, by sitting down with Raoul – Beware of spoilers ahead!
What emotions did you want to evoke when briefing Jonathan Morali?
Raoul Barbet: When I got in touch with him to ask him to work on the first Life is Strange score, I had already been a fan of his and Syd Matters’ work for a long time. Having chosen a few tracks he had composed, I wanted him to retain a similar style, to do something “Syd Matters”. Life is Strange 2, we wanted to do something quite different.
The idea was to have a rather stress-free intro that evoked the first Life is Strange, with a lot of acoustic guitar and this ‘cocoon’-like quality we knew from the first game - that tone runs through the whole Seattle section. As soon as the boys started hitting the road, we wanted to change the tone of the score, so we asked him to go with something a little different, with more electronic sounds. Colder, darker things, depending on the scenes, as we knew the brothers were going to face a number of difficulties on the road.
We talked about wanting to convey a general feeling for each scene. The themes we asked him to compose were either linked to a given scene and setting, or to a specific character. It’s all about that character’s past, the feeling we want to evoke upon meeting them, and what story we can tell through the instruments, melody, and music for each character and each setting.
In the video above, feel how the scene is elevated when the score is added. It sets a severe, sobering tone as the boys lives are changed forever.
You had the full shape of the season mapped out before work began on the score, so were there any moments or characters you were especially looking forward to hearing with Jonathan’s music?
We had quite a lot of reference material for Jonathan to listen to when we started working on the game, in terms of mood and different musical styles. In Life is Strange 2, I wanted the combination of electronic music with other instruments. We began researching what it would mean to have the brothers on the road. We knew the theme that we called ‘Into the woods” corresponded to specific moments of their journey. We started working on this very early on, especially for Episode 1. We have specific themes for important characters after that. The drifters, for instance, in the camp in Episode 3 , have a score that is tailored to their community, with certain musical layers specific to each character.
In Episode 2, we have a dedicated, warmer theme for the grandparents. We tried to create a sort of family feel, to mirror what we experience with them in Episode 2. These are themes specifically linked to scenes or characters. We discussed this a lot for each episode and we tried to establish what important themes we needed for specific characters or scenes - Jonathan and I exchanged a lot of references and ideas for each character.
I’m also thinking of Karen, who has a very strong personality, and whose themes played for the first time when we see her in Episode 4, and which you will hear again in Episode 5. It’s a theme tailored to her, and there are a number of layers of the composition that play dynamically, depending on how well we know her and what we choose to do and talk about with her. For instance, as we start talking with her at the motel, we’ll add layers to the track – giving depth to the theme.
How has your relationship evolved with Jonathan Morali since you worked with him on the first Life is Strange?
Our relationship has evolved a lot, since we’ve been working together for seven years or so. We’ve become more efficient, as we now know each other better.
Life is Strange 2 has been a huge challenge because we tried to make its score a lot richer than that of the first game, and it has some rather complicated themes. Being a road trip, there are many different tracks to compose – but I would say that our relationship has grown easier because there is more trust between the audio team, Jonathan and myself.
We let him suggest more ideas than before. We did that all along, but now that we trust each other more, we let him suggest things earlier on. We also have technical and melodic needs, too, and sometimes things are missing, so we try to discuss everything as much as possible to speed up the process. For example, if we describe a theme linked to a setting or character, he will create an initial version and then come back to us maybe once or twice but that’s it. It’s a rather fast process and we’re very happy with the results – and I think Jonathan also feels more at ease when composing and making unique suggestions.
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It’s notable that, as LiS2 goes along, there’s an increasing reliance on the score to soundtrack the key emotional moments, rather than licensed tracks. Was this a deliberate decision- and was it a conscious choice that thematically replicates the boys leaving behind all they’ve known?
That’s a really good question. Yes, that’s it exactly.
We wanted... Or rather, I wanted Life is Strange 2 to have a richer score than the first game because we love what Jonathan does. I think he’s an amazing composer, but we also knew we wanted licensed tracks for certain scenes. I really enjoyed picking the tracks, working them into the visuals, building on moments of the first game. We also wanted to continue in that vein because we knew the community enjoyed it and it spoke to our story.
There are many licensed tracks to evoke the atmosphere in Seattle, showing us Sean’s taste, what he’s listening to. They also allow us to talk about the characters he meets through the music they listen to. It gives us a quick point of entry to each character. For example, the intro to Sean and Lyla on the bus in Episode 1, set to Phoenix’s ‘Lisztomania’, or the scene with the drifters in Episode 3, with Justice’s ‘D.A.N.C.E.’. The fact that they’re existing tracks gives us a strong mood and adds impact to the scene.
We wanted to continue that way, but we also wanted the score to tell a story, to tell something about the brothers’ journey, so we have made the brothers’ themes evolve throughout the episodes with new tracks in each one. It was important to us that the score as a whole should evolve from something rather folky in Seattle, something that evoked the first Life is Strange, and continue developing until the end. As you’ll hear, Episode 5 has a very different score.
So that was the fundamental idea, and we’re really happy with how it turned out. There are fewer licensed tracks but there are still quite a few of them, and we’re thrilled with the artists we’ve been able to feature. The idea was to re-balance – or at any rate, to have Jonathan create an amazing, evolving score.
Many thanks to Raoul for taking the time to unveil some secrets of the soundtrack – we’ll be back next week with another deep-dive blog interview into Episode 2!
Stay with us all the way to the #JourneysEnd!
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