South Of Midnight’s Music Transforms Trauma Into A Soundtrack

Online game soundtracks typically do not stand out until they’re tied to significant or memorable factors that create an enduring emotional affect, evoking something from pleasure or unhappiness to pure hype or awe. South of Midnight by Compulsion Video games manages to intertwine its narrative with its music and audio design in such a means that these unforgettable moments are quite a few all through its 10-12 hour storyline.

South of Midnight takes place in a fantasy model of the American Deep South, and it is filled with characters and creatures who’ve lived via tragic occasions. You play as Hazel–a Weaver who can see ghosts and study from the previous via reminiscences. Hazel helps deal with and heal others’ emotional wounds via a little bit of magic and loads of understanding. As the main points behind characters’ hardships unfold, their trauma transforms into items of music that reinforce the sport’s themes and dwell on lengthy after the credit roll.

I spoke to steer composer Olivier Derivière and audio director Christopher Fox in two separate interviews to study extra about what went into South of Midnight’s super music and audio design.

Neither Derivière nor Fox is from the American South. I introduced this up when chatting with them, attempting to know how the sport sounds the way in which it does regardless of that reality. Derivière shared an identical confusion when he was first requested to work on the venture.

“At first, I used to be like, ‘Why are you hiring me? I am French.’ I am not from the South. This isn’t my tradition,” Derivière shared. “They usually have been like, ‘We all know that. We all know that, however we do not need you to be correct. We wish you to be genuine.’ And so after they stated this, I used to be like, ‘Oh, I perceive.’ You do not need to create one thing that’s from the South–like, precisely from the South–because it is a fantasy. But it surely’s impressed by the South.”

Derivière and Fox are each European, however artistic director David Sears is from the South, and the identical goes for most of the musicians and vocalists featured in South of Midnight’s music. Derivière explains this level, saying Compulsion did not need him to “mimic” something, however create one thing genuine of their fantasy world.

“We have labored with wonderful musicians from Nashville, some Individuals in Paris, [and] in fact, London, for the orchestra,” Derivière stated. “I’d include my model of the track… And that is the place authenticity got here in, as a result of they’re from there, you already know, both New Orleans, [or] Nashville, wherever. They usually have a look at the charts, they have a look at the melody, and so they’re like, ‘Alright!’ They usually begin enjoying, and increase! It is tradition. It is artwork.”

He spoke a bit extra concerning the tradition concerned, saying, “We’re in a kind of mix of cultures–African cultures, European cultures. And that is the great half [about] this music. It created a cultural background for America, however it comes from in every single place.”

Fox talked about that he even had a playlist of music from the Deep South for Derivière to take heed to, however determined towards sharing it to permit for extra creativity.

“My job is to create an atmosphere the place he will be essentially the most artistic and have essentially the most freedom to make one thing authentic that might stand out. So I did not give him that playlist due to that,” Fox defined. “However should you say, ‘I need one thing like this.’ You are going to get a carbon copy of that factor. So, you already know, Coke turns into like Coke Gentle. It’s a must to be glad to presumably fail within the process–it’s a danger. However I believed, with Olivier, it was positively value taking that danger, and the probabilities of hitting gold have been a lot, a lot increased.”

“I will say one different factor that was essential, I believe, is what lots of people say–especially folks from the Deep South–is that it actually sounds just like the Deep South,” Fox added. “I believe that was actually all the way down to the sound recordings that have been performed/taken within the swamps, and within the totally different mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky. That sound design additionally actually grounded every thing, in order that you may go a bit wild with the music and go someplace totally different.”

That creativity Fox spoke of shines via with using childrens’ voices all through the sport, in each gameplay and the soundtrack. One of the notable items of audio in South of Midnight performs while you use the Guiding Strand–a ghostly line that directs you to your subsequent goal.

You hear a toddler’s voice whisper “Hazel” within the path you might want to go, and it occurs each time you employ that navigational instrument. The sport additionally options singing kids in loads of the music. They really feel like supernatural entities that inform, encourage, information, and struggle alongside you in your journey.

“We did not need to name them spirits. We did not need to name them ghosts. We did not need to name them magic. We wished [them] to be freed from all these, kind of, clichés,” Derivière stated. “It is like an vitality round you, you know–the strands. Utilizing the children was the important thing for the voices–the vocals. The important thing to, unexpectedly, make these strands actual. And that was since you see some ghosts, in fact… There may be this connection. However that is via the strands. And the strands are the children.”

Derivière typically talked about that the children are “the celebs of the present.” Explaining that they are with you from starting to finish, regardless of the place you might be or what you are doing. Fox echoed this assertion, going deeper into how the children–four ladies from a Gospel church in Nashville–are used within the audio design.

The 4 ladies recorded audio for all kinds of gameplay moments, along with their singing for the soundtrack and musical roles. The audio staff sampled guffawing, whispers, yelling, and extra.

“They have been this wonderful group of 5 ladies from the native Gospel church. That is why [Olivier] stated [they’re the] stars of the present, to return to that, as a result of they are surely in every single place,” Fox defined. “That is the genius of Olivier. While you come near an object or area, there is a worth that will get extra intense or much less intense, to offer you that feeling of you are approaching one thing of energy. So it is actually nice. It was an incredible venture to work with Olivier and see what might be performed with voice.”

Music and songs with vocals are such massive elements of South of Midnight, however it virtually did not begin out that means, in keeping with Derivière.

“At first of the venture, we did not have any concept that there could be songs within the game–not in any respect,” Derivière stated. “In some unspecified time in the future, David Sears, the artistic director, stated, ‘I do not need music.’ And that was like, oh, okay, so he is speaking to the composer proper now, and he says, ‘I do not need this.'”

“And so the extra we’re discussing, the extra it was like, ‘Okay, we want songs.’ As a result of, primary, it is conventional from the South. You realize, songs are very embedded into the tradition there. But in addition, we wished the songs to be a part of the general narrative. And so that is the place David and the staff, over there, the narrative staff got here with some lyrics.”

These conversations got here through the year-long planning course of that happened within the very early phases of growth. Fox added a couple of extra particulars concerning the staff’s thought course of throughout these instances as properly. He revealed that the songs have been full lengthy earlier than different facets of the sport.

At first of the venture, we did not have any concept that there could be songs within the game–not in any respect.

“Positively a problem as a result of, for us, we wished to create 2D artwork to tell 3D stage artwork. We have been like, ‘Might we make songs that would inform stage music?’ Which is a little bit of a novel mind-set,” Fox defined. “For a very long time, all we had was the songs, as a result of we have been ready for the sport to be completed sufficient that we may begin integrating. [It] was actually essential to work with the narrative staff. And the narrative staff really contributed to a few of the lyrics, and David Sears additionally contributed to the lyrics.”

The thought of creating songs that knowledgeable stage music was applied efficiently via the distinctive means during which South of Midnight delivers its songs in items as you progress via a stage. As you study extra a couple of creature or character’s trauma, lyrics are added to an incomplete track a couple of strains at a time. Then, on the finish of the extent, you hear the complete track for the primary time, creating an impactful second.

This occurs a number of instances all through the sport to discover totally different themes with a number of creatures or characters who’re central to the plot. We get guilt with Benjy, anger with Two-Toed Tom, and so forth. It is unimaginable when the unfinished tunes construct to ultimately turn out to be the boss’s theme track on the finish of a chapter. But it surely’s equally spectacular that the songs aren’t too on the nostril in terms of remodeling every character’s story into music.

“We did not need the track to be like, ‘The story was that, and it occurred like this,’ you already know? It was not like that,” Derivière stated. “It was extra like, okay, we wish the track to be kind of summary, however related with what was happening.”

“We rearranged the songs so [that] it is the children singing while you’re within the stage, and on the finish, it is the creature [or person],” Derivière defined. “So the children singing is kind of a corrupted version–a bizarre model of the track. You might have an thought, and it feels prefer it’s disturbing, as a result of David is a really, as an instance, darkish particular person [laughs]. You don’t need the track to be lovely in any respect within the ranges, as a result of the degrees themselves are scary in some elements.

Fox provides to this rationalization, saying, “I had this concept of–I do not need to say darkish and light–but corrupted and uncorrupted. And I used to be like, wouldn’t it be actually fascinating, when [starting] the extent, you have been obscured from any understanding of the trauma of this zone or creature? However then, as you undergo, and also you do these narrative occasions, you’d get a little bit of a melody.”

Speaking about these standout junctures in South of Midnight with Christopher Fox led to a dialogue of what makes music memorable in video games. I shared that, oftentimes, I do not actually discover a sport soundtrack until it is hooked up to a notable occasion or evokes emotion.

“I do know what you imply,” Fox stated. “It is like [the] Ashtray Maze in Management. And then you definately’ve bought the stability. [If] it is taking place on a regular basis, is it particular anymore? So you already know there’s [a reason] why these bits come out in these Treatment video games the place they’re actually memorable as a result of it is not on a regular basis. However I believe we in some way managed to make one thing that did not get tiresome, as a result of it was all the time altering.”

South of Midnight’s musical components did not get tiresome, in my eyes (and ears), as a result of every large track is tied to a totally totally different type of hardship that comes from separate backstories. At a sure level, it was the thriller of what occurred to the creature or character, combined with what the music represents, that saved me wanting extra.

“I believe the [music] represented the trauma of every creature,” Fox stated. “So every creature had one thing like ravenous guilt, loss. There have been foremost themes that have been established early for every creature. Hopefully, the [music] represents that.”

A few of my favourite tracks in South of Midnight have been Huggin’ Molly, Rougarou, and Altamaha-Ha due to how they enhanced the tales behind these creatures. That is very true of Altamaha-Ha, whose story is about an enslaved girl who misplaced her little one when escaping from captivity. The vocalist, Stacy Subero, sings it fantastically. Fox echoed comparable sentiments.

“My favourite track is the Altamaha-Ha track as a result of it is simply… I really feel like fairly a couple of folks cry on the finish of that one, which is an incredible feat for somebody who’s concerned with audio,” Fox stated. “After we bought that track specifically that Olivier wrote, after which [it] was carried out by Stacey, the lead singer, and all of the backup vocals… I by no means thought [that] in a online game I’d get a track like that.”

Derivière praises the performances for each Rougarou and Altamaha-Ha. I requested about studio periods, and he shared what it was like listening to Joey Richey for Rougarou and Stacy Subero for Altamaha-Ha.

“For example, you are speaking Rougarou. You realize, that was an incredible efficiency, as a result of sooner or later, you already know, he goes tremendous loud like, ‘I break my bones!’ Oh, my God, and he did not have the orchestra but,” Derivière stated. “He did not know. It was simply the piano. He was alone with the piano. And I used to be like, ‘It’s essential give all of it as a result of that is the second.’

“It was the identical with Altamaha-Ha with Stacey. I imply, my God, how wonderful she was. After which we had the choir–the adults. They have been amazing–super darkish and heat. You possibly can really feel it while you take heed to them, however it’s simply taking place in actual time. And that is while you hope that the engineer did not overlook to press file. You are like, ‘Please, inform me you could have the take!'”

Compulsion Video games developed a soundtrack filled with soulful performances and which means that works completely for South of Midnight, but in addition extends past the confines of a single sport. The music strengthens the sport’s themes of loss, hardship, hope, and extra, together with splendidly artistic audio design, to create a completely implausible listening expertise that did not obtain the popularity it deserved.

I hope that many, many extra gamers get to expertise South of Midnight’s auditory feast in terms of PS5 and Change 2 in Spring 2026.