Video game musicians’ Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett’s journey to fame

1. MUSIC Videogamemusicians’DarrenKorbandAshleyBarrett’sjourneyto fame BY JOSHUA MANDELL     InearlyMarch2020atthepopularvideogameexposition,PAXEastinBoston,DarrenKorband AshleyBarretttookthestageforanhour-longconcert. KorbisthecomposerforSupergiantGames,avideogamedeveloperbasedoutofSanFrancisco. Barrett, a professional vocalist, works with Korb on his soundtracks and has appeared multiple timesfor live performances alongside Korb. 

2. darrenkorb 2,310followers ViewProfile The group’s 2020 concertposter. It wasn’t their first time performing at the exposition, either. The previous year, in August, the exposition’swesternequivalentinSeattlehostedaconcertforthestudio’stenthanniversary. 

3. Giventhehigh-profilenatureofthisevent,onewouldexpect thatKorbandBarrett,ifnothigh- profilemusiciansthemselves,wereatleastestablishedasprofessionalslongbeforethis. You wouldn’tbewrongtoassumethat. However, they weren’t established enough to have a professional-quality studio when recording thevocaltracksforSupergiant’ssecondgame,Transistor.Thoselyricswereactuallyrecordedina closet,a storythatcan’tbeseparatedfromSupergiant’sreputationamonggamemusicians. Korb’s music is a combination of virtual drums and electronic instruments, with acoustic instruments–especiallyguitars,mandolins,andthelike–recordedfromKorb’sownplaying. The end result is surprisingly coherent. Though the sound is stitched together from synthesized tracks, samples, instrumental recordings, and vocals, it all fits together. In fact, Korb’s soundtracks aredownrightshow-stealingcomparedtootheraspectsofthegamestheyappearin. darrenkorb 2,310followers ViewProfile 

4. “Sounddesigner” Beyondthemusic,KorbisofficiallySupergiant’s“sound designer,”inchargeofthegames’sound effects and the general audiodirection. That means working closely with Supergiant’s professional voice actor, Logan Cunningham. Cunninghamrecordedover3,000voicedlines–again,inKorb’scloset–fortheadaptivenarrator of their first game,Bastion. Theselinestriggerbasedontheplayer’sactionsin-game, andcontributesignificantlyto atmosphere andtone. Forexample,spendaminuteinBastionjustsmashingobjects, andyou’llhearCunningham’sdry commentary: “Kid just rages for awhile.” Takingindietothebigstage Priorto 2019,KorbandBarrett hadperformedtogethera few timesonstage.ButatPAXin 2019, andlaterin2020,theyturnedthingsuptoeleven. They added an orchestra, making their sound fuller and more like what you hear in Korb’s engineered, layered recordings. Acoustic performances are one thing, but having an orchestra to back themup? Thatputthematalevelmostindiestudios(withouttheresourcesorbackingofamajorpublisher) can only dreamof. “SO I SPOKE TO AUSTIN AND HE’S LIKE ‘YEAH, MAN. FIRST OF ALL, I’M IN AND I’M GOING TO CONDUCT IT. SECOND OF ALL, YOU CAN DO IT AND I’LL HELP YOU GET THE GUY TO DO THE ARRANGEMENTS.’ HE WAS REALLY INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING THE WHOLE THING TOHAPPEN.” DarrenKorb The 10th-anniversary concert, Supergiant’s first orchestral show, had more established talent behindittoo.AustinWintory,afriendandcolleagueofKorb,conductedtheconcert. According to Korb, Wintory – the composer for 2012’s Journey – was “really instrumental in gettingthewholethingtohappen.”KorbmayhavebeenusedtoacousticshowsandDAWs(Digital Audio Workstations), but Wintory understood theorchestra. ControlGroupandSupergiant 

5. Beforecomposingsoundtracks,DarrenKorbwaspartofabandcalledControlGroup, whichhestill does recordings withfrom time to time. They’rebasedinNewYork,whereKorblivedbeforemovingbacktoSanFrancisco(andSupergiant Games) in2014. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDmRGNOp4SZ/ WhenKorb’schildhoodfriendAmirRao–a co-founderofSupergiantGames–askedhimifhe wantedtobethenew studio’ssounddesignerandmusician,hejumpedattheopportunity. Thestudioformedin2009,accordingtotheirwebsite, andgottodeveloping–and Korb,still working from his apartment in NYC, begancomposing. It’s unusual in video game soundtracks for a composer to be brought onto a development team thisearly.Muchofthemusicfromthefinishedversionofthegame, andthesoundtrack’salbum, predates most elements of the gameitself. Korb’smusicisn’tjustascore–itinformsthetoneof thegameitself,alongwithJenZee’sart direction, part of what makes the studio’s games cohesive wholes. It’s also why the game designersbuiltcertainpartsof thegameneatlyaroundthemusic. Acoustic FrontierTrip-Hop 

6. BecauseDarrenKorbwasnottrainedasaclassicalcomposer,itdidn’tmakesenseforhim touse techniques typically associated with film and game scores, like leitmotifs for characters and repeatedthemesthatdevelopoverawork’sruntime. SO I TRIED TO GET AROUND THAT BY CREATING A GENRE AND HOPING THAT ALL THE MUSIC WOULD KINDA FITTHERE. DarrenKorb Foreachsoundtrackhehascomposed,insteadoftryingtofitstandardcompositionpracticesKorb attempted to create his own genre. He developed short descriptive phrases to inform his compositions. For the soundtrack to Bastion, that unique style was “Acoustic Frontier Trip-Hop.” The melody instrumentation is mainly acoustic, combined with electronic hip-hop beats. An overall twangy soundevokesthe“frontier”settingofthegameandmesheswiththeold-timestyleoftheart. ForTransistor,hecreated“OldWorldElectronicPost-Rock.”Korb’ssecondsoundtrackisheavyon vocalsandincludesharpsandaccordiansamongitsinstruments. Theguitarsaremainlyambient and electric. The entire game’s tone seems to stem from this music, fitting its retro-futuristic setting. By Supergiant’sthirdgame,Pyre,Korbseemstohavefoundhisfootingincomposition.Yet,hestill referred toPyre’smusicinaninterviewwithas“bardicacousticrock.” Theinstrumentationfocusesonmandolinand lute,alongwithKorb’ssignatureelectronicdrum beats. Itall meshesperfectly withtheoccultthemesof thegameandtheartstyle. Finding aniche Buildingfromthesuccessoftwomajororchestralshows,KorbandBarrettarenow workingona full orchestralalbum. AgainwiththehelpofAustinWintory,they’reseekingtotranslatetheirpopularperformancesinto arecording.ForsongsthatwerecomposedinaDAW,it’sabrandnewformat. ButifthesuccessofthePAXEastandWestconcertsareanythingtogoby,thefinishedalbumwill be a brand newsound. Inlessthanadecade,DarrenKorbwentfromneverhavingcomposedasoundtracktobeingoneof themostrecognizablefiguresinindiegamemusic. 

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