Latest news with #Woodkid
The Star
30 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Man-in-demand Woodkid composes for Death Stranding sequel
Woodkid – who said playing video games was 'an escape' during his youth – said he jumped at the chance of working with legendary Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima. — AFP PARIS: French singer and director Woodkid has composed the music for the hotly awaited Death Stranding 2 video game, with the 42-year-old telling AFP that the songs unfold "almost like origami". The author of hit 2013 debut album The Golden Age , who has previously worked with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, has produced dozens of hours of music for the Japanese-made action-adventure title. "The main challenge is creating procedural music – music that evolves with the player, depending on their actions. And yet, still writing pop songs with vocals," Woodkid, whose real name is Yoann Lemoine, told AFP. "You have to unfold the songs almost like origami, turn them into versions that last several hours, which are then condensed and reprogrammed by developers," he explained. A longtime video game enthusiast, Lemoine calls it a "completely different approach" from scoring a film or writing a conventional album. An album of 16 tracks taken from the game is set to be released on Friday, titled Woodkid for Death Stranding 2 . They include a collaboration with American actress Elle Fanning, who appears in the game, and another with Bryce Dessner, guitarist of indie rock band The National. Impressionistic Woodkid – who said playing video games was "an escape" during his youth – said he jumped at the chance of working with legendary Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima. Kojima's work in the 1990s, particularly the original Metal Gear Solid , left a mark on Woodkid. The pair met in 2020 through a mutual friend. Kojima had already used one of Woodkid's tracks in the first Death Stranding , a celebrity-packed adventure game that sees players act as couriers in a post-apocalyptic world. The first one was set in the United States, while the second takes place in disaster-struck Mexico and Australia. As well as a debut from Fanning, the sequel again includes actors Norman Reedus ( The Walking Dead ) and Lea Seydoux ( No Time to Die ) who play the main characters. "We connected quickly, I think because we share common fantasies," Woodkid said of his collaboration with Kojima, which involved several months of immersion in Tokyo. "There's a darkness in us – dreamlike, fanciful, sometimes deeply melancholic – that bonds us." Man in demand Their work was "very impressionistic", Woodkid explained. "We start with fragments: percussion, beats, textures, vocal sketches I might try. He brings scenes and characters he describes to me, and we build everything together like a ping-pong exchange," he added. "Unlike a film, I didn't actually compose much to picture – it's more like thematic background music." His skills as a composer and director have seen him called on by Taylor Swift for her video for Back to December , Lana Del Rey for Blue Jeans and Born To Die , and Katy Perry for Teenage Dream . Woodkid also directed French classical musician Mylene Farmer's most recent album, L'Emprise (2022), co-writing seven tracks. For Death Stranding 2 , he worked with pianist Yvan Cassar, a long-time collaborator of the singer. "I like staying in the shadows. I'm not a star. I believe in the works more than the artists, so I prefer focusing on the things I create," he said. Asked whether he appears in Kojima's game himself, he lets the question hang, but can't help smiling. Death Stranding 2 will be available from June 26. – AFP
Malay Mail
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Woodkid bends sound like origami for Hideo Kojima's ‘Death Stranding 2'
PARIS, June 11 — French singer and director Woodkid has composed the music for the hotly awaited Death Stranding 2 video game, with the 42-year-old telling AFP that the songs unfold 'almost like origami.' The author of hit 2013 debut album The Golden Age, who has previously worked with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, has produced dozens of hours of music for the Japanese-made action-adventure title. 'The main challenge is creating procedural music — music that evolves with the player, depending on their actions. And yet, still writing pop songs with vocals,' Woodkid, whose real name is Yoann Lemoine, told AFP. 'You have to unfold the songs almost like origami, turn them into versions that last several hours, which are then condensed and reprogrammed by developers,' he explained. A longtime video game enthusiast, Lemoine calls it a 'completely different approach' from scoring a film or writing a conventional album. An album of 16 tracks taken from the game is set to be released on Friday, titled Woodkid for Death Stranding 2. They include a collaboration with American actress Elle Fanning, who appears in the game, and another with Bryce Dessner, guitarist of indie rock band The National. Impressionistic Woodkid — who said playing video games was 'an escape' during his youth — said he jumped at the chance of working with legendary Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima. Kojima's work in the 1990s, particularly the original Metal Gear Solid, left a mark on Woodkid. The pair met in 2020 through a mutual friend. Kojima had already used one of Woodkid's tracks in the first Death Stranding, a celebrity-packed adventure game that sees players act as couriers in a post-apocalyptic world. The first one was set in the United States, while the second takes place in disaster-struck Mexico and Australia. As well as a debut from Fanning, the sequel again includes actors Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) and Lea Seydoux (No Time to Die) who play the main characters. 'We connected quickly, I think because we share common fantasies,' Woodkid said of his collaboration with Kojima, which involved several months of immersion in Tokyo. 'There's a darkness in us — dreamlike, fanciful, sometimes deeply melancholic — that bonds us.' Man in demand Their work was 'very impressionistic,' Woodkid explained. 'We start with fragments: percussion, beats, textures, vocal sketches I might try. He brings scenes and characters he describes to me, and we build everything together like a ping-pong exchange,' he added. 'Unlike a film, I didn't actually compose much to picture — it's more like thematic background music.' His skills as a composer and director have seen him called on by Taylor Swift for her video for 'Back to December', Lana Del Rey for 'Blue Jeans' and 'Born to Die', and Katy Perry for 'Teenage Dream'. Woodkid also directed French classical musician Mylene Farmer's most recent album, L'Emprise (2022), co-writing seven tracks. For Death Stranding 2, he worked with pianist Yvan Cassar, a long-time collaborator of the singer. 'I like staying in the shadows. I'm not a star. I believe in the works more than the artists, so I prefer focusing on the things I create,' he said. Asked whether he appears in Kojima's game himself, he lets the question hang, but can't help smiling. Death Stranding 2 will be available from June 26. — AFP
France 24
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Man-in-demand Woodkid composes for Death Stranding sequel
The author of hit 2013 debut album "The Golden Age", who has previously worked with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, has produced dozens of hours of music for the Japanese-made action-adventure title. "The main challenge is creating procedural music -- music that evolves with the player, depending on their actions. And yet, still writing pop songs with vocals," Woodkid, whose real name is Yoann Lemoine, told AFP. "You have to unfold the songs almost like origami, turn them into versions that last several hours, which are then condensed and reprogrammed by developers," he explained. A longtime video game enthusiast, Lemoine calls it a "completely different approach" from scoring a film or writing a conventional album. An album of 16 tracks taken from the game is set to be released on Friday, titled "Woodkid for Death Stranding 2". They include a collaboration with American actress Elle Fanning, who appears in the game, and another with Bryce Dessner, guitarist of indie rock band The National. Impressionistic Woodkid -- who said playing video games was "an escape" during his youth -- said he jumped at the chance of working with legendary "Death Stranding" creator Hideo Kojima. Kojima's work in the 1990s, particularly the original "Metal Gear Solid", left a mark on Woodkid. The pair met in 2020 through a mutual friend. Kojima had already used one of Woodkid's tracks in the first "Death Stranding", a celebrity-packed adventure game that sees players act as couriers in a post-apocalyptic world. The first one was set in the United States, while the second takes place in disaster-struck Mexico and Australia. As well as a debut from Fanning, the sequel again includes actors Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead") and Lea Seydoux ("No Time to Die") who play the main characters. "We connected quickly, I think because we share common fantasies," Woodkid said of his collaboration with Kojima, which involved several months of immersion in Tokyo. "There's a darkness in us — dreamlike, fanciful, sometimes deeply melancholic — that bonds us." Man in demand Their work was "very impressionistic," Woodkid explained. "We start with fragments: percussion, beats, textures, vocal sketches I might try. He brings scenes and characters he describes to me, and we build everything together like a ping-pong exchange," he added. "Unlike a film, I didn't actually compose much to picture — it's more like thematic background music." His skills as a composer and director have seen him called on by Taylor Swift for her video for "Back to December", Lana Del Rey for "Blue Jeans" and "Born to Die", and Katy Perry for "Teenage Dream". Woodkid also directed French classical musician Mylene Farmer's most recent album, "L'Emprise" (2022), co-writing seven tracks. For "Death Stranding 2", he worked with pianist Yvan Cassar, a long-time collaborator of the singer. "I like staying in the shadows. I'm not a star. I believe in the works more than the artists, so I prefer focusing on the things I create," he said. Asked whether he appears in Kojima's game himself, he lets the question hang, but can't help smiling. "Death Stranding 2" will be available from June 26. © 2025 AFP
Geek Culture
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
‘Death Stranding 2' Premiere Teases Game Opening, Innovative Combat Sequence Ahead Of Release
It won't be long until fans of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding return to the touted delivery and walking simulator Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as Sam Porter (Norman Reedus). With nearly two weeks left until the game's release, host Geoff Keighley, Kojima, and its cast have provided a closer look at Death Stranding 2 through a premiere livestream, teasing its opening, innovative combat sequence, and more. Aside from Kojima and Keighly, present in the panel were Troy Baker (returning as Higgs), Shioli Kutsuna (who voices a new character Rainy), and the game's music composer Woodkid. The major highlight of the premiere was a live demo of the game's first five minutes, taking place on the border of Mexico, as Sam traverses a vast mountainous landscape toward his hideout. This sequence functions as a tutorial while giving players a taste of what they can expect as a porter. There, Kojima revealed that the game's story begins 11 months after the events of Death Stranding . He also boasted about how Death Stranding 2's soundtrack would adapt to the player's actions, and that natural disasters like earthquakes, forest fires and avalanches would occur dynamically in the environment. Following the tutorial, the premiere brought the audience to an action sequence against Neil (Luca Marinelli) in a spirit world-like environment, similar to the action sequences in the first game against Cliff Unger (Mads Mikkelson) in the trenches of World War 1. The game showed how combat has been expanded, allowing players to experience fights differently depending on their chosen weapons and tools. Notably, a tar cannon was used to put out fires and eliminate enemies, while other weapons, including a blood boomerang, a grenade pistol and other tactical military items like smoke grenades, were used against Neil and his band of skeleton-like warriors. Surrounding the major highlights were first mentions of the game's mobile central hub: the DHV Magellan, and the former introduction of new characters like Rainy and Tomorrow (Elle Fanning). Fans were also given a closer look at Fanning's contributions to Death Stranding 2's soundtrack, and her debut as Tomorrow during an action-packed sequence, which showed her special abilities to teleport through pools of tar, and age enemies through touch. The event concluded with Kojima reminding the audience that although the game would bring awe to them through gameplay and story, players should keep in mind that the theme of the game is about 'connecting the world.' Death Stranding 2: On the Beach's game premiere has, no doubt, set high expectations for fans. We can all connect the world once again on 26 June 2025, exclusively on the PlayStation 5. Meanwhile, potential porters can stand a chance to win a trip to Taipei and be a part of the DEATH STRANDING WORLD STRAND TOUR 2 TAIPEI to meet Kojima, and the game's art director, Yoji Shinkawa. Crack open a cold one with Joey, because the moment you approach him, he will start talking about film and video games for days. He spends his waking moments during the weekends meditating on how the latest movie he's watched or game he's played has impacted his worldview.
