Jessica Curry is one of the most celebrated composers in video games history — she won a BAFTA for her composition of the Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture score, and she got her video game start on the sweeping, dramatic score for Dear Esther. That’s not to mention the haunting sounds she wrote for Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
For sbjelectronics FM — our weeklong dive into the most interesting music in video games — Curry told us about her first foray into video games, her process and influences, and how fans enjoy her music today.
Was there a game soundtrack or song that inspired you to pursue creating game music? Can you set the scene of what that felt like for you, and why the music was so effective?
I had never played a game when [developer Dan Pinchbeck] asked me to write the music for Dear Esther — games just weren’t in my world. It was strange but liberating to compose a games soundtrack before I’d ever listened to one! The good thing was that it freed me from constraints. The first piece of games music that I heard that I really loved was “Leaving Earth” by Clint Mansell on the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack. Melancholy epic that evokes endless, soaring landscapes — what’s not to love?
Can you break down one of your own songs and its influences? Was it inspired by game soundtracks, other music, or something else?
One of the very favourite pieces of music that I’ve written is “Great Friends” for the game So Let Us Melt.
I wanted to make music that didn’t sound like anything else but there were two tracks that were definitely in the back of my head when I was writing this piece. First one is “Baba O’ Riley” by The Who — I love the electronic arpeggio that pulses so energetically through the track.
The other music is “De Staat” by composer Louis Andriessen. Like “Baba” it also has a beautiful pulse and I love its minimalist repetitions and textures. I also love the purity of the vocal style in the piece and that was hugely inspiring when it came to directing the choir on the sound I wanted for “Great Friends”.
What are the main instruments used to record the soundtrack for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture? How did you choose those instruments?
For Rapture I wanted to conjure a wonderfully English, bucolic sound; reminiscent of the world of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. So strings, woodwind, and choir feature very heavily in the soundtrack. I heard the soloist Elin Manahan Thomas sing in a concert and knew immediately that it was her voice that was going to be the center of that sonic world. Her voice [on] the score gives me chills to this day.
Is there anything else we should know about your approach to composing video game music?
I put my heart and soul into each and every project. I think people can feel the love and care and the best part of my job is reading all the incredible emails about what my music means to people. My music has accompanied people down the aisle, whilst fleeing war zones, and through the funerals of their loved ones and it’s an honour and a privilege to know that.
