Web: youtube.com/lenaraine
Most recent: Chicory: A Musical Tale
Composer Lena Raine recently partnered with game music remixing community Resonant Union to release a special arrangement album, Chicory: A Musical Tale, which pays tribute to the indie game and its soundtrack, originally composed by Raine. The album release is noted for how closely its music mirrors the emotional journey of the game’s story with themes of self-doubt, creative block, and rediscovering joy. Raine says these themes tied in with her own personal experiences, allowing her to write emotionally honest music. “I would love to simply have an easy time writing music, but the truth is that it often doesn’t flow naturally at all times. Greg’s story in Chicory feels so resonant to all of those things, and so it was natural for me to try and score those emotions with ones that matched up with what I’ve felt.”
As someone who has worked across a range of projects, Raine says she is most creatively fulfilled by scoring moments in which the gamer is doing something that aligns emotionally with what the game is trying to articulate. “A lot of times this comes from boss battles or dynamic moments in gameplay,” she says. “I’ve always used the metaphor of bosses being something akin to a musical number, where through music we’re able to show the narrative development rather than simply talk about it. A boss battle or narrative sequence that has the chance for a great score is the most exciting stuff I’ve ever written.”
Raine’s advice to aspiring composers is to find collaborators that allow them to write. “I think everyone intrinsically brings something unique to music through their experiences, but it’s project direction that often tamps it down into monotony. But the other thing is to make sure you’re out there discovering more and more music that resonates with you. Find where your favorite music comes from, listen to more and more styles that excite you, and try to incorporate ideas from those into what you write. When you find enough things that inspire you in music, spinning those into your own voice is how you surprise people with something uniquely new and exciting.”
