This album has been on top of the classical music Billboard charts for weeks, and it's from a video game
Sandfall Interactive
But my mind was made up when the screen brightened after a battle versus one of the mysterious, spindly creatures that populate the world of 'Clair Obscur,' and I heard singing. Several unaccompanied voices braided, separated, weaved back together in a fashion that sounded like it could have come straight from the pen of
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Pretty much the whole world, as it turned out. 'Expedition 33,' developed by the small French studio Sandfall Interactive, had broken containment. Even French President
Advertisement
Founder, CEO, and creative director of Sandfall Interactive Guillaume Broche works on the newly developed video game "Clair Obscur, Expedition 33" at the Sandfall Interactive headquarters.
GABRIEL BOUYS/Getty
Advertisement
The composer behind most of the music is French guitarist Lorien Testard, a self-professed game music fanatic who had never created music for a major game before, and joined the project after lead writer Guillaume Broche stumbled across his music on an online forum and reached out. Testard didn't respond to an interview request, but in a video featurette the studio released earlier this year, the composer said he'd wanted to create an 'entire sound universe,' and he'd taken much inspiration from art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe's 'evocative and stunning' concept illustrations.
Concept art from "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33."
Sandfall Interactive
But just as important was Testard's collaboration with singer Alice Duport-Percier, former singer of the polished nerdy-classical fusion group Grissini Project as well as a core member of several early music ensembles, including Les Kapsber'girls, a clever allusion to the 15th-century Italian lutenist and composer Kapsberger. (Their 2021 album '
After Testard invited Duport-Percier to sing on the soundtrack, she initially thought she'd just be working off the score. Instead, Testard invited her to compose and improvise her own vocal lines over his instrumentals. The first day they collaborated, they created one of the major themes for the game, which they said made it into the final cut almost unaltered. 'It felt like beginner's luck, like winning a board game the first time you play,' Duport-Percier said in the featurette.
Advertisement
From "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33."
Sandfall Interactive
Conductor and arranger Daniel Sicard, who led the sessions for the music that was recorded live, was similarly enchanted. 'This isn't some big production making just another game,' he said. 'There's a genuine emotional connection.'
In video games, as in so much popular entertainment, we are living in the age of franchise dominance. Unsurprisingly, this year so far, most of the hype and press have gone to major players in the industry releasing new installments based on existing intellectual properties: for example, 'Sid Meier's Civilization VII,' 'Monster Hunter Wilds,' and 'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered,' each of which has roots going back decades.
By contrast, 'Clair Obscur' features a totally original narrative. It feels apt that it released just a few days after the US theatrical debut of Ryan Coogler's '
The same goes for listening to the soundtrack. You'll probably pick up on a theme — perhaps the sweet and sad melody for the ruined city of
Advertisement
From "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33."
Sandfall Interactive
Which is to say, there are classical pieces on the 'Clair Obscur' soundtrack, but the eight-hour album also contains jazz, symphonic rock, ambient, dance, chanson-esque chamber pop, and more classifications than this article can hold. I'm not sure if I'd personally label the entire eight-hour soundtrack as 'classical,' but there is certainly a critical mass of pieces that I'm dying to hear from live musicians, whether that's a solo cellist or guitarist, a chamber choir, or a full orchestra. And if the powers that be at Billboard deem it's classical, I won't complain. Andrea Bocelli will probably be back up there soon enough.
A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Francis Ford Coppola said George Lucas made him direct ‘The Godfather,' says America may fall like ancient Rome
Before he broke through with 'American Graffiti,' before he became an instant legend with ' Star Wars,' George Lucas became the unsung hero of another American classic that changed cinema history: ' The Godfather.' Or so claims the director of that 1972 masterpiece, Francis Ford Coppola. 'Everyone turned 'The Godfather' down, all the wonderful directors of the time,' the 86-year-old filmmaker told an enthusiastic crowd at the Palace of Fine Arts. 'So they tried to hire me. Here was the logic: 'One, he's Italian-American, so if it gets a lot of flack, they'll blame him. Two, there's a script that wasn't very good, and he's become a successful screenwriter, so he'll rewrite the script. And three, he's young and has two kids and a pregnant wife, so we can just push him around and order him to do everything we want.' 'Well, I turned it down. I had a young apprentice, and we had come together to start a company (San Francisco-based American Zoetrope). His name was George Lucas. He said, 'We can't turn it down, we have no money, the sheriff is going to chain our door because we haven't made the taxes on the thing. You have to do it, we have no other alternatives.' I said, 'You're right George.'' Billed as 'An Evening with Francis Ford Coppola and 'Megalopolis' Screening,' the event in Coppola's adopted hometown on Friday, Aug. 1, finished off a six-city tour designed to create more awareness and discussion of his 2024 $120 million self-financed dream project that tanked at the box office. Coppola was certainly generous with his time. The event lasted nearly four hours, with a screening of the two-hour, 18-minute film followed by a 90-minute discussion with the filmmaker simply sitting in a chair pontificating on a wide range of issues while occasionally taking questions from the audience. Topics included anthropology, history, societal evolution, and the philosophy of human innovation and creativity. ' Megalopolis,' which likens the fall of Rome to the current state of American politics and culture, is informed by the development of human civilization over 300,000 years, noting that patriarchal societies began with the domestication of horses. So, not your typical film discussion. Still, the audience who paid prices ranging from $61-$205 and mostly filled the 1,000-seat venue were enthusiastic and attentive, giving the auteur standing ovations as he took the stage and as he left it. However, there was a small but steady stream of people who began leaving about 45 minutes in. One topic that hits close to home for Coppola is homelessness in San Francisco. The director noted that he founded a nonprofit, North Beach Citizens, in 2001 to help the unhoused find housing, food, and services because he felt the city wasn't doing enough. 'I used to walk to work and see these homeless people sleeping, and people would call them human garbage. What, are we crazy?' said Coppola, who added that the solution to most of society's problems has to be addressed first at the community level, inverting the top-down aspect of federal government. Coppola did, of course, give insights to his films, from the two 'Godfathers' to the San Francisco-shot, Watergate-era thriller ' The Conversation ' (1974); the troubled production of the Vietnam 'Apocalypse Now' (1979); and 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' (1992), his biggest non-'Godfather' box office hit.\ And, of course, 'Megalopolis.' Although he did not address various controversies about its production, including on-set inappropriate behavior (and no one asked about it, either), he believes it serves a warning about America and yet provides hope for the future. America will get out of its mess, Coppola said, as today's generation of children matures. 'Look at the world around us right now, wars all over the place, and the most horrible thing of all children being killed,' Coppola said. 'The kids being killed in Sudan or in the Middle East, someone was gonna find a cure for cancer or write the most gorgeous music ever been written or make a great film. So to me the children are precious. They are our future.' For now, Coppola refuses to release 'Megalopolis' digitally, content to tour with the movie for special one-off screenings. The film only made $14 million globally after its release in September. He did acknowledge there eventually will be a Blu-ray, and the man known for re-editing his past films teased the audience with an alternate cut of the film. 'Right now I'm working on 'Megalopolis Unbound,'' he said to laughter, and ended the night.
Gizmodo
3 hours ago
- Gizmodo
‘KPop Demon Hunters' and ‘Expedition 33' Are Having a Moment
Have you watched KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix or played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Chances are the answer is 'yes,' and if not, you've certainly heard of them: both were released earlier this year to fairly glowing reviews (if not outright critical acclaim) and performed very well commercially. The latter, a turn-based RPG from newcomer Sandfall Interactive, will likely pick up some awards at year's end, while Netflix is planning to go all in on KPop. Along with talks of sequels and an ever-growing wave of merchandise, the streamer submitted the mid-movie song 'Golden' for Academy Award consideration. Both may also wind up jumping to live-action; Expedition had a movie announced months before the game's release, while Netflix is reportedly mulling over a remake with human actors. There's at least one movie, game, or show that becomes the talk of the town each year, but the way KPop and Expedition have been moving feels more significant than most. Both of them certainly build on the foundation set by their predecessors; musically, K-pop has been a popular genre for years, but it's possible general audiences didn't fully know just how much until now. Even if folks didn't watch KPop Demon Hunters, they've sure heard the music, which has risen in the charts in the weeks after release and beat real groups like BTS and Blackpink. (In a fun nod to the film, the two bands, Huntrix and the Saja Boys, became the highest-charting female and male K-pop groups for U.S. Spotify while competing against each other.) Several prominent artists in the genre have reacted to or covered the film's music, which has also become a viral sensation in Korea. Even before that point, viewers had KPop fever the moment the credits rolled and immediately demanded Netflix greenlight a sequel and shared their ideas for a TV spinoff. View this post on InstagramMeanwhile, Expedition 33 was built on the back of decades' worth of turn-based RPGs made in Japan, from heavy hitters like Final Fantasy and Persona to modern cult classics Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Whether you knew the influences or not, that didn't stop the game from feeling like a breath of fresh air (well, paint) at a time when the industry could've used some good news in between the next rounds of layoffs and cancellation-focused news. It's also a game that did its job too well: between bad faith actors and a general need to deify Sandfall for making a strong debut title, the RPG has become overwhelmed by discussions about what its success could and should mean for the industry—and, more pointedly, the ever-evolving Final Fantasy franchise, whose mainline installments have taken more of a real-time combat focus—that subsequently smothered any real talks about its mechanics or late-game narrative swerves. Sandfall's kept its head down and focused on updating the game (and probably its next project next), so it's hard to know how much of this has gone to their heads, for better and worse. For folks hoping for some originality, KPop Demon Hunters and Expedition 33 couldn't have come at a better time. The 2020s have seen franchises start to buckle under continuous sequels and expanded universe games, prompting many to go back to their old ways, if not reboot entirely. So many headlines have focused on what's being rebooted or remade, what's coming back for another go years or decades after the fact. Original works feel more rare than they have in some time, even despite the odds becoming increasingly stacked against them. It's always been a crap shoot as to what originals will land with audiences and to what degree, as seen with the split between how they took to 2023's Elemental versus Elio this past summer. But when one seems like it's got the juice, there's hope that it can build up the proper momentum and find an audience so it becomes a true great. Or failing that, it can always be a stepping stone towards later projects from its creators and gain more attention down the line. Netflix will get to fulfill several of its KPop-related ambitions, and if Sandfall ever makes an Expedition sequel, players will be all over it. But the most interesting thing about them is seeing the shadow they'll have both cast years after the fact and what new creations come to follow in its footsteps. And if what comes next looks, sounds, and plays as great as what inspired them or finds their own voice, it'll all have been worth it. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘Everyone is feeling it': This book nails millennial alienation
Emily Hunt Kivel's book is unlike any novel you will read this year, a story about millennial angst that is also a bewitching fable. Evie Cavallo, Kivel's protagonist, is a 20-something mid-level graphic designer at a New York ad agency who loses her rented apartment and finds herself cast adrift. Landing in a fictional backwater town in rural Texas called Gulluck, Evie discovers a hidden gift for shoemaking and finds herself welcomed into an eccentric community of fellow cobblers. 'Dwelling' is social commentary wrapped into a delightful allegory about identity, work, ritual and tradecraft. I chatted with Kivel about her debut novel, and how, despite its fantastical elements, 'Dwelling' nails our present cultural moment. (Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to whose fees support independent bookstores.) I started reading your book thinking, 'Ugh, a polemic about the housing crisis,' and by the end of the book I was deeply moved by Evie's journey. That's what I wanted. I wanted readers to think they were reading one thing and to end up at the end thinking, 'Where the f— was I?' I wanted to write a book that changed shape and form while in the reader's hands. Was that the original intention going in? I don't know if I started out with the intention of writing the book I did, but I certainly didn't want to write a maudlin dystopian commentary on the housing crisis. I did want to touch on this feeling of complete instability that millennials in particular are feeling, but also I think everyone is feeling it to some extent — this incredible lack of stability, and alienation. Evie, maybe, kind of wants to be a creative, but instead she blossoms by learning a craft that involves using her hands and her head, not a computer. I think there's a parallel between finding a craft and coming into your own, and in that way, I think it's a fairly earnest description of what it feels like to discover yourself through something that you're passionate about. Evie goes from being an insular character who's living a self-absorbed life, because that's what society wants us to do, to living a life that's actually very generous. The book takes on the contours of a fable. Did you read fables in preparation? I read a lot of fables just to keep myself motivated and interested during the writing process. One of the primary texts that I found very helpful was Italo Calvino's translation of Italian folk tales. It brought me back to this kind of irreverent but weirdly earnest and enchanted quality that I wanted to create in the book. Unmoored from her prior life, Evie finds her identity in Texas. I think this is something a lot of people are struggling with, not just Millennials. We are asking: Who are we? What is our purpose in life? I think we're meant to feel relatively valueless in our society right now. The economy wants us to feel that way, and so I think what Evie is doing is finding value in herself and giving the middle finger to the version of society that she was living in. The key element of Evie's new life is this robust community that welcomes her. I wanted another world to open up to Evie, a world that's oriented towards life rather than the self. The book is really the story of how to find a home, and what makes a home. Community is the only actual way to resist the forces that we have in our society that are alienating us from our work, friends and family. In the acknowledgments, you thank the UCLA Writing Extension program. What was that experience like for you? One of the most formative experiences of my life was the UCLA Extension. I went to UC Santa Barbara and was absolutely miserable. and so I graduated early and moved to L.A. I was finding community and portals into another world at the Extension, which is available to everyone. I was writing alongside such a diverse array of people. I finally started to feel like a writer there. I took classes with Lou Matthews, who I think is the heart of the program in many ways. Nathan Smith thinks 'There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme,' Davd M. Stewart's biography of the late film director Jonathan Demme, contains 'inconsistent, often abridged, treatments of Demme's films and what messages to glean from a long view of the director.' Hamilton Cain weighs in on Ed Park's new collection of stories 'An Oral History of Atlantis,' submitting that 'We're complicit in his fiction … the act of reading a jumble of synapses in our brains, spinning in all directions like a spray of bullets.' Chuck Hogan's 'The Carpool Detectives,' about four moms who solved a murder, is a 'true crime mystery that reads like a novel,' according to Diane Garrett. And finally, Stuart Miller has a chat with 'Jeopardy' host Ken Jennings about his new book, 'The Complete Kennections.' Located just steps away from the ocean, Manhattan Beach literary mainstay Pages, A Bookstore is one of L.A.'s best indie shops. We chatted with general manager Jeff Resnik about what his customers are buying right now. What's flying off the shelves at the moment? Some of our recent top sellers include 'The Ghostwriter' by Julie Clark, 'Run for the Hills' by Kevin Wilson, 'The Names' by Florence Knapp, 'It's Only Drowning' by David Litt and 'Tilt' by Emma Pattee. Do you find that, because you are near the ocean, people tend to look for beach reads during this time of year? Definitely. Being so close to the ocean, we get a steady stream of readers looking for something light and enjoyable to bring to the beach. Whether it's a breezy romance, fast-paced thriller, or witty novel, 'beach reads' are in high demand during the summer, and we make a point to stay well-stocked on them. Given the infinite text we can find on the internet, why are books still important? There's a tactile, immersive experience to reading a physical book — turning pages, marking favorite passages, setting it down on a nightstand. There's a different kind of focus and connection that comes with holding a book. In our fast-paced, distraction-heavy world, reading invites us to slow down. Books aren't just sources of information — they're vessels for reflection, joy, and escape. One of the best parts of my job is helping people reconnect with that experience, or discover it for the first time. Pages, A Bookstore is at 904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, 90266.
