Revisiting the culmination of almost a year of work, I am still immensely proud of the soundtrack of Howl: A
Tale of Wolves.
Below, I highlight some of my favorite tracks in the album and the process behind it.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead if you have yet to play the game.
Tracklist
The Theme of Howl
Introduction
Spring Begins
Movements of Spring
Peace And Ends
Fiery Devastation
Bitter Hunger
Unfamiliar Grounds
The Last Stand
Growth
Life After You
Seasons
Seasons (Instrumental)
With twelve tracks (and one instrumental version) composed for the game, a lot of planning was done ahead of
composing.
We decided that the mother would be represented by a piano, while the pup would be represented by a flute. This
naturally led to the woodwinds thematically symbolizing good/warmth/comfort, while the brass instruments were
selected to be the opposite.
Then came the main motif in Eb major, the core of the entire soundtrack, repeated multiple times across the entire game and also, the very first notes you hear when you step into the world of Howl.
The Theme of Howl has three main sections, Spring, Winter, and the Epilogue.
Spring starts as a calm duet between the Mother and Pup, where the mother encourages and leads the pup onwards,
while
the pup follows along, in simple melody.
As they progress into Winter, things start to move quickly. It is a bittersweet melody sung between the two, and
also a
little foreshadowing of the hardships coming.
The Epilogue restates the main motif and was structurally inspired by the alternating notes of the third
movement
of
Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique.
On the first listen, one might wonder if more instrumentation and a fuller sound for the starting track of the
game
would have been a better idea, but I decided that I wanted it to be as raw sounding as possible. When you
complete
the
game and return to the menu where it is once again played, you will hopefully hear and experience the intended
effect
that this creates :).
Movements of Spring plays in the first chapter of the game which is - you guessed it - our Spring level. The track was one of the earlier pieces where we first started experimenting with our custom dynamic music sequencer which allowed us to trigger transitions based on in-game events. In the context of this piece, when you start off as the mum on the first leg of the journey, the music plays in 3/4, a slow gentle movement styled after a waltz. Once you are rejoined by your pup, it switches to 4/4, an easier and more relaxed time signature as the mum slows down for the young pups to follow and catch up alongside her.
Right up next, Peace and Ends was such an exciting piece for me to work on and it was also one of the first few tracks I completed. As the piece plays alongside the game's beautifully hand drawn cinematics done by the amazing Anthea, I had to work hand in hand with her to sync up everything and to time the music sequences as best as I could. Crucially, the Ends portion of the song is a key story moment and I had to ensure that there was enough of a drastic change in atmosphere to incite an emotional response from the player.
Bitter Hunger, in my opinion, is perhaps the track that works the least well as an independent piece, but functionally, was one of my favorite due to the insane amount of transitions, events, and blending that I put in to create the bare and dire atmosphere of the winter level. As an example, the simple one note motif at the start (kudos to you if you recognized it as the main motif) modulates to a harsh, dissonant variation as the mother and pup grow hungrier in the game. While deceivingly simple, I felt that it did its job in conveying the atmosphere of the level, without taking too much attention away from the game.
And now, the absolute highlight of the entire soundtrack, Seasons.
Seasons was conceptualized and completed within the last three to four weeks of the project and the idea came to
me as a
sudden spur of inspiration and motivation to cap off the entire project with something amazing. It took many
iterations
and tries, both logistically, and musically, to put everything in place. We had to go through multiple channels
of
administration to get approval and when it finally happened, we barely had about a week or so to fit everyone’s
schedule, get the artist (the insanely talented Chow Jia
Ying) down physically to record, which thankfully took
place
just before the circuit breaker measures kicked in, and for me to mix and put all the parts together. We only
had
the
chance to do three or four full takes due to time constraints and thankfully it was more than enough for us. We
also had
the help of our friend Bryan Soon, who agreed on short
notice to perform and record the acoustic guitar portion
of
the
song.
The style of the piece was heavily influenced by Klaus' Invisible (the
orchestral version) though many who have
heard it
have told me that it sounds like either My Heart Will Go On or A
Whole New World…
The lyrics of the song reflect a bittersweet thank you and farewell, a sort of tribute and promise that the life
given,
will not be lived in pain, but to the fullest.
I hope you enjoy the tracks as much as I enjoyed composing them and be sure to check out the full game if you
have
yet
to.
Cheers!
Seasons
Left, without you
I get lost, in this darkness
How long, can I go
How far more will the roads stretch
The colors disappear
No goodbyes no last words
A life so precious gone,
Its hard to see the light
I promise you I'll be
All you've ever wished
A new start born of you
Lived without regrets
Feelings so hard to explain,
Bittersweet memories of you
In this life you left for me,
I'll remember you by the seasons
You've, been everything,
That I don't deserve but
Its time, and it hurts,
To move forth, in this cruel world
The colors disappear
No goodbyes no last words
A life so precious gone,
Its hard to see the light
I promise you I'll be
All you've ever wished
A new start born of you
Lived without regrets
Feelings so hard to explain,
Bittersweet memories of you
In this life you left for me,
I'll remember you by the seasons
And I,
Will forever,
Love like you taught me
And you,
Will forever,
Live on within me
Feelings so hard to explain,
Bittersweet memories of you
In this life you left for me,
I'll remember you through the seasons