It’s impossible to think of Simogo’s inventive library of games without the works of composer Daniel Olsén coming to mind. From the chilling Annual walkthe hyperpop aesthetic of Sayonara Wild Heartsor the mysterious Lorelei and the Laser EyesThis catalog of indie titles sticks in our minds, in part because of the way their soundtracks thematically tie in with the gameplay and setting.
To find out what Olsén thinks about his projects, we got in touch with him as part of Polygon FM, our theme week celebrating the intersection of music and games.
Polygon: Was there a game soundtrack or song that inspired you to start making game music? Can you paint the scene of what that felt like for you, and why the music was so effective?
Daniel Olsen: There wasn’t one soundtrack that inspired me. I grew up in the era of 8-bit and 16-bit consoles and Commodore 64 – and like many others, I was swept up in the NES classics like Super Mario, ZeldaAnd Mega Man. I think one of the great things about video game music is that when you leave a game, all you have left are the melodies and chords and rhythms. I didn’t have any consoles as a kid, but I would walk around singing my favorite songs and it brought me back to the feeling of the games. I did have a C64 and sometimes I would just start games and listen to the music from the games as The Last Ninja, Deltaand so on. Sometimes you just wanted to move on and hear more of the music. Even today I often try to recreate the feeling I got from many of those soundtracks.
Can you break down one of your own songs and its influences? Was it inspired by game soundtracks, other music, or something else?
In “Interrogation” (from Lorelei), I used the theme of “Woman on the other side”, another song from Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. It was also partly inspired by Angelo Badalamenti’s walking bass lines and slow jazzy drums in “Audrey’s Dance” by Twin Peaks. This scene in the game also resembles the interrogation aspects of our previous game DEVICE 6so it seemed fitting to add some raw surf guitars to create a connection between the two.
Throughout the track, we go from being interrogated at gunpoint to walking around in dreamy, noisy old memories and back again. If the music doesn’t follow, it feels very flat, so we opted for dynamic music in this part of the game. We wanted the layers to be different enough to allow for a varied dramatic expression. From dry vinyl crackling to dreamy piano to a horror atmosphere, even the sound effects are part of the final musical impression. When walking around in the memories, we also changed the footsteps to vinyl noise and crackling to fit the theme.
What are the main instruments used to create the soundtrack for LoreleiHow did you choose those instruments?
The idea was to have two sides: the clearly digital and the clearly human/analog. Since the art style of the game mixes analog photos with broken digital art, we wanted the music to reflect the same. So most of the songs are based on very digital sounding instruments, mixed with cello and vocals performed by Linnea Olsson, or guitar by Jonathan Eng. I spent a lot of time making those sounds that were clearly different, but at the same time in harmony with each other.
Is there anything else I should know about your approach to composing video game music?
The most important thing for me is that the music fits the game, rather than being good on its own. You have to create a kind of universe for the music that can contribute to the lore of the game. It’s like an extension of the video game universe. It gives you the opportunity to tell stories about a larger world, and it gives players the opportunity to imagine parts of it that aren’t depicted in the game. I often hear great music in games, but it doesn’t fit the atmosphere, or the songs aren’t in the same coherent universe. That can make the game feel a bit disjointed.