Earthblade replacemant parts2/27/2023 ![]() ![]() By the end of the project we had a really good vibe going, and so I'm looking forward to possibly working on more things with all of them. I had been relatively familiar with their work, and got to play an early build, and thought it really gelled with the kind of music I love to write, so I said sure! It worked out super well, and I really felt like a core member of the development team. They super loved my work on Singularity, and so Matt reached out to me in a Twitter DM asking if I'd like to write the music for the game that he and the team were about six months into designing. I was friends with a number of folks in the indie scene at the time, but one of my good friends knew the developers on Celeste and she passed along my music to them. So I released four of my most solid tracks as an EP called Singularity. I had started writing a lot of electronic music, really moody deep house sort of stuff. At some point I had the inclination to branch out and do my own solo project as Kuraine. ![]() I had been working as a quest designer and level designer in AAA games, and managing to do music as a part-time thing, when I had the spare time. ![]() How did you come to compose the score for Celeste? As a side note, I'm glad I got to handle one of the trophies in dress rehearsal because I would not have been prepared for how heavy they are! It was mostly just hilarious because I had no idea if we were going to win, but then suddenly (after Ninja and a prawn Muppet hammed it up a bit) the cameras were on us and we headed up. So I was on edge already, mentally preparing to be on stage for hundreds and on camera for millions, and then being jostled around by stage folks. I then got hurriedly re-seated in case we won. But as soon as I got backstage, another stage manager came up and asked if I was part of the Celeste team. So when the Best Independent Game award started coming up, I was suddenly taken backstage by a stage manager to get ready to present the award for Best Direction. I was involved in The Game Awards as a nominee, as a performer, and as a presenter. How surreal was it to join the Celeste team onstage at The Game Awards to accept "Best Independent Game"? They run through the lifeblood of everything I write. It's probably why I'm still so adhered to games as a medium. Then, when I started writing my own music, it pulled from those sounds in a lot of major ways. My first interests in composing came from replicating the music I loved. For me, that spark was the music in games I played. I think it was inevitable that I'd become involved in music in some way. I performed in choirs from childhood up through college. My dad was performing in bars and doing sound design and composition for theater and dance while I was growing up. Music has always been a major part of my life. I love the magic that is writing music that then evokes things for people as they play through a game, enhancing the experience in ways that only an interactive medium can do.ĭo you remember what first sparked your interest in becoming a composer? It's a unique thing usually reserved for installation art that doesn't really get much appreciation. You get to score experiences and craft aural spaces that people can get lost in for hours. What is it about composing game scores that you love? Games offer something for composers that no other medium really allows you to do. Below is our archival interview from December 2018. She is also providing the score for the recently announced Maddy Thorson game, EARTHBLADE. In addition to returning to Celeste mountain by scoring CELESTE: FAREWELL for the game's DLC final chapter, Lena has also released her debut full-length album ONEKNOWING along with providing scores for MINECRAFT, SACKBOY: A BIG ADVENTURE, CHICORY: A COLORFUL TALE, and more. Raine's career has significantly accelerated since the time of the below interview. Her score for CELESTE, recipient of Best Independent Game at The Game Awards and Best Score nominee, beautifully punctuated the game's highs and lows and brought its emotional aspects to their peak. Lena Raine is an award-winning composer and producer who has written several highly acclaimed soundtracks for video games, as well as solo albums and orchestral works. Interview by Jason Anders | Illustration by Kaelin Richardson ![]()
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