Darren Korb
Korb in 2012
Korb in 2012
Background information
Born (1983-11-05) November 5, 1983
San Jose, California, US
Occupation(s)Songwriter, composer, voice actor
Instrument(s)Bass, keys, drums, guitar, harp, accordion, mandolin
Years active2011–present

Darren Korb (born November 5, 1983) is an American songwriter, composer, and voice actor. Korb is best known for writing the music featured in Bastion, Transistor, Pyre and Hades, all of which were developed by indie developer Supergiant Games.[1] Korb also voice-acted in the latter two games, including providing the voice for Zagreus, the protagonist of Hades.

Early life and career

Korb participated in musical theater from the age of five and continued into and through high school.[2] While attending high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, Korb met his longtime friend and collaborator Logan Cunningham.[3][4] During his childhood, Korb also befriended Ashley Barrett, who would become a frequent collaborator of his on the soundtracks for Supergiant's releases.[2][5]

Korb went to New York University for music production and music business.[6] Prior to his work with Supergiant Games, he worked on minor television and film projects.[6] He has played bass and keyboard for the New York-based power pop and punk band Audio Fiction.[7] Later, Korb co-founded the indie band Control Group; when not working on Supergiant-related works, Korb plays with Control Group.[8]

Work with Supergiant Games

Korb serves as the audio director and composer of Supergiant Games, an indie video game developer.[9] A childhood friend of Supergiant Games co-founder Amir Rao, Korb was selected to write the music for Bastion, the developer's first game.[10] As audio director, Korb records the voice talent, sometimes while accompanied by Greg Kasavin, the creative director of Supergiant's games.[11]

Korb's scoring on the soundtracks for Supergiant's games have received critical acclaim, with many writers having called his soundtracks some of the best, particularly among indie games.[12] Korb's soundtracks have appeared on various all-time and annual listings of best soundtrack albums.[note 1] Kotaku's Ari Notis wrote that "the music is always a character" in Supergiant's games.[5]

Bastion (2011)

After signing on to work on Bastion, Korb was tasked with all of the game's audio, including its music, sound effects, and voiceover recordings.[4] In regards to the latter, Korb asked Cunningham, at this point his roommate, if he would be interested in the lead voice role.[21] Accepting the role, Korb would set up a microphone in a closet, where Cunningham would record his lines.[21] Korb stated that his work on Bastion's sound design was a "trial by fire", as it was the area of the game's audio production he had the least experience with.[4]

Korb described the music on Bastion as "acoustic frontier trip-hop", combining "heavily sampled beats in layers, along with acoustic elements".[6][10] On Bastion, a long-time friend of Korb's, Ashley Barrett, provided the voice of Zia, as well as the vocals on the soundtrack.[22] Budget and expertise played a role in Korb's approach to the game's music.[4] These constraints helped originate the acoustic nature of Bastion's soundtrack; he explained in an interview with Spin that "all of the music that I made had to be stuff that I could make in my apartment. I couldn't really have other musicians, I couldn't record acoustic drums, so I had an acoustic guitar and these samples that I could use."[23] Korb has stated that Supergiant conceived Bastion as a "frontier-sy fantasy thing, like what if Cormac McCarthy made a fantasy video game?"[4] With this concept in mind, Korb went for a "sort of down-tuned open guitar — a bluesy guitar" sound.[4]

The music of Bastion was well received; Matt Cox of Rock Paper Shotgun called Korb a "wizard", writing "the way Bastion marries its music to its story is spellbinding."[24] Tom Phillips of Eurogamer stated, "the game's musical score and innovative narration are stand-out elements."[25] In a retrospective discussing Bastion as one of the best games of the 2010s, Malindy Hetfeld of Eurogamer praised Korb's soundtrack as "fantastic".[26]

Additionally, Bastion won the Spike Video Game Awards for Best Original Score and Best Song in a Game for "Build That Wall (Zia's Theme)".[27][28] A physical CD version of the soundtrack was released on September 2, 2011.[25] The soundtrack would go on to sell 30,000 copies by November 2011.[29] Rapper Ab-Soul sampled "The Bottom Feeders" off of the Bastion soundtrack on his song "Terrorist Threats".[30]

Transistor (2014)

After the success of Bastion, Korb composed for Supergiant's second game Transistor.[31] Korb stated that he struggled trying to replicate his approach to aim for a specific genre as he did with Bastion.[2] However, Korb ultimately described the genre of Transistor's soundtrack as "Old-world electronic post-rock".[32] Korb stated that he and his team, "spent a lot of time prototyping the art and audio to make sure that they were 'of a piece' this time. That was one of our goals. Bastion, I thought, turned out really nicely, but a goal on this project was to more seamlessly integrate the look and feel of the art with the feel of the audio."[31] Some of the music on soundtrack was composed to create feelings of tension; Korb stated "one thing I like to do for building tension is to have rhythmic elements that fight a bit. In 'Gateless', for example, the piece is in five but the bass line for the B section is in three, so it ends up feeling really tense. I also tend to use a lot of chords with close intervals for tension building as well."[33] GameSpot noted that Korb used "dissonant chords in the upper range to create unease".[33]

On the instruments used in Transistor, Korb stated that "there is a lot of heavily delayed electric guitar and sampled drums, but I also tried to include a number of 'old-world' instruments: accordion, harp, mandolin, etc.".[33] Korb worked with Barrett once again on Transistor, as she voiced Red, the game's protagonist.[34] On their collaboration, Korb stated, "after working with Ashley on a couple projects now, I feel like I've gotten a better sense of how to write for her voice. For me, that's the main consideration that affects my writing process. Our sessions are pretty laid back. If a melody line doesn't feel quite right in her voice we will change it on the fly."[33]

Like Bastion, Transistor's music received positive reception;[31] Tasos Lazarides of TouchArcade wrote "Darren Korb's music is astounding, rich and evocative as it echoes across the game and perfectly complements the bright yet mysterious world of Transistor".[35] Additionally, the music in Transistor earned several industry awards nominations.[36][37] The soundtrack album was released simultaneously with the game, on May 20, 2014, selling 48,000 copies in its first 10 days of release.[38]

Pyre (2017)

Korb served as the composer for the 2017 Supergiant release Pyre.[9][39][40] Video game critics praised Korb's composition on Pyre, calling it "gorgeous".[9][40] Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku wrote that Pyre "feels organically built around [Korb's] playful, tonally varied soundscapes," and added that the game's visual novel storytelling approach "allows for a much more clear-cut use of the interlocking segments of Korb's music, which gives the listener a better appreciation for all the clever ways he layers additional voices and instruments onto each tune's foundation."[18]

Korb also ventured into voice acting on Pyre, providing the voice for some side characters.[11] Korb set out to "give the soundtrack the feel of a band of troubadours accompanying [the player] on [their] journey."[39] The soundtrack saw Korb use autoharp.[4]

Hades (2020)

Korb served as the composer for Supergiant's Hades, heavily inspired by Greek mythology.[41] Officially released in 2020, the game was made available in early access on PC in 2018.[5] That year, Korb released "Out of Tartarus", a song from the game's soundtrack, as a single.[5] Korb described the genre of the Hades soundtrack as "Mediterranean prog rock Halloween".[4][42] As the game leaned heavily into a Mediterranean sound, the soundtrack of Hades included traditional instruments such as Greek bouzouki, as well as the Turkish lavta and baglama.[4][41] Hades also featured metal guitar, wind, and percussion instrumentation.[41][12] Notis wrote on the Hades soundtrack, calling it a natural progression for Korb's musical career, writing " It's all there: the industrial electric drums, the string instrument harmonies, the delectable crunchy tone that's so baked-in you can practically taste it."[5]

Fellow composer Austin Wintory collaborated with Korb on certain tracks on Hades

Austin Wintory, a contemporary of Korb's, collaborated on the Hades soundtrack, helping with the orchestral arrangements for "On the Coast" and "In the Blood".[4] Some tracks on Hades were recorded at Abbey Road shortly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] Korb once again worked with Barrett on Hades, with her vocals featuring throughout its soundtrack.[5] Tracks featured in the game were released as singles, once the game was released, as Korb and Supergiant "wanted to have the music available outside of the game right away."[4]

The soundtrack received praise from critics, with many mentioning it as a positive in their reviews of the game.[43][44] Including the soundtrack on their list of best video game soundtracks and scores of 2020, IGN wrote that "Korb's masterful movements are finely tuned to meet every moment – from the rocking, frenetic energy of battle scores to the more calm, meditative, and wistful pieces that underscore some of the story's most emotional moments."[15] The game won various industry awards and Korb's work on its audio and music received nominations from The Game Awards, the BAFTA Games Awards, and the Game Audio Network Guild Awards.[45][46][47]

On Hades, Korb delved further into voice acting, providing the voice for the game's main character, Zagreus.[11] When Supergiant first began developing Hades, Korb recorded placeholder dialogue for Zagreus, but received the role as the development team preferred Korb's take on the character when reviewing audition tapes.[11][48] Inspired by the Greek mythological figure of the same name, Korb's interpretation of Zagreus features a "crisp, understated British accent."[11] Elizabeth Ballou of Vice commented that "hints of both sarcasm and warmth keep the protagonist relatable," and added that many fans of the game found the character's voice attractive.[11] Korb additionally voiced Skelly, a minor character,[49] and also provided the singing voice for Orpheus, Hades' court musician.[50]

Other projects

While recording for Hades at Abbey Road, Korb also recorded Songs of Supergiant Games, an orchestral album commemorating the developer's ten-year anniversary.[4] Present at the Abbey Road recording session for Hades, Wintory also helped contribute to the anniversary album.[4] In December 2022, Supergiant announced Hades II, a sequel to Hades, which Korb is composing for.[51]

Artistry

Musical style

Korb is a multi-instrumentalist,[5] though he has described guitar as his main instrument.[2] He has also used bass, drums, ukulele, banjo, and mandolin.[4] Korb has also used "weird circuit bent synthesisers", modified "toy synthesisers from the '80s", as well as the Casio SK-1 keyboard and the theremin on Casio SA-2.[4] Korb has stated that his instrument usage depends on the sonic palette for a game and that he enjoys writing on instruments he's "not great at," saying it helps him ignore "the sort of muscle memory of chords" he likes to play and instead forces him to use his ears to guide his process.[2] Korb's style has been noted by video game and music writers as distinct from project to project.[14] Natalie Clayton of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that Korb "has an extremely playful, unique approach to genre, from Bastion's acoustic trip-hop to Hades' Ancient Greek metal riffs."[52]

When beginning work on a game's composition, Korb mainly focuses on the "vibe" of its sound, stating "if I start with a particular feel in mind, this dictates a lot of things about the piece right away, such as tempo, production aesthetic, tonal palate (happy, sad, major, minor, and so on), and gives me some useful constraints for how to proceed."[32] Representative of Korb's work on video game soundtracks is the usage of song lyrics to let the player "into character's emotions and motivations."[53]

Influences

Korb has cited Weezer, They Might Be Giants, Radiohead, Björk, Ozma, Spiraling, and Led Zeppelin as artists and bands he listened to frequently during his adolescence.[4] Korb has also cited Lena Raine, Vulfpeck, and Louis Cole of Knower as artists he is a fan of.[4][54]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Work Result Ref.
2011Spike Video Game AwardsBest Original ScoreBastionWon[28]
Best Song in a Game"Build That Wall"Won
"Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)"Nominated[55]
2012Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Audio in a Casual/Indie/Social GameBastionWon[56]
Rookie of the Year—Won
2014National Association of Video Game Trade Reviewers AwardsOriginal Light Score Mix, New IPTransistorNominated[37]
Song CollectionNominated
Song, Original or Adapted"We All Become"Nominated
The Game AwardsBest Score/SoundtrackTransistorNominated[57]
2015Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Audio in an Indie GameWon[58]
Best Original Song: Pop"We All Become"Finalist[59]
2018Game Audio Network Guild AwardsBest Interactive ScorePyreNominated[60]
2021The Game AwardsBest Score and MusicHadesNominated[45]
BAFTA Games AwardsAudio AchievementNominated[61]
MusicNominated
Game Audio Network Guild AwardsMusic of the YearNominated[47]
Best Music for an Indie GameNominated
Best Original Soundtrack AlbumNominated
Best Original Song"In The Blood"Nominated
National Association of Video Game Trade Reviewers AwardsOriginal Light Score Mix, New IPHadesWon[62]
Song CollectionNominated
Song, Original or Adapted"Good Riddance"Nominated

Notes

  1. ↑ Such listings include:
    • GameSpot's "Best Video Game Soundtracks" list (Bastion).[13]
    • GamesRadar+'s "25 best video game soundtracks of all time" list (Transistor at 8th).[14]
    • IGN's "Best Video Game Soundtrack / Score of 2020" list (Hades).[15]
    • Kotaku's Best Video Game Music of 2011, 2014, and 2017 lists (Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre, respectively).[16][17][18]
    • The Mary Sue's "Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time" ranking (Transistor and Hades at 8th and 9th, respectively).[19]
    • PCMag's "25 Best Video Game Soundtracks Ever" list (Bastion).[20]

References

  1. ↑ "The Supergiant Team". Supergiant Games. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilbur, Brock (April 4, 2020). "Darren Korb's video game soundtracks get a vinyl release in Supergiant box". The Pitch. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Game Changers: A Musical Journey". The Society of Composers & Lyricists. 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Lane, Gavin (September 11, 2021). "Feature: "Metal Comes From Hell, Everyone Knows This" - Darren Korb Talks Loki, Lavtas, And Led Zeppelin". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Notis, Ari (September 24, 2020). "Hades' Godly Soundtrack Is A Natural Evolution For Supergiant's Darren Korb". Kotaku. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Jeriaska (May 19, 2011). "Composing for Independent Games - 3rd Annual Group Chat". IndieGames.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Baratta, Francesca (January 28, 2009). "Audio Fiction: Stranger Than Fiction". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ Carter, Kent (January 28, 2022). "Composer Darren Korb talks audio middleware and its importance to game developers". Game Developer. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Ho Sang, Narelle (September 4, 2017). "Pyre's Composer On The Challenges Of Creating His Most Diverse Game Soundtrack Yet". Kotaku. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Jeriaska (August 8, 2011). "Interview: Storytelling Through Narration In Bastion". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ballou, Elizabeth (December 2, 2020). "How 'Hades' Actors Made the Internet Horny for Their Voices". Vice. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Blue, Rosario (April 24, 2021). "Score your summer with these video game soundtracks". TechRadar. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  13. ↑ Petite, Steven (January 22, 2021). "Best Video Game Soundtracks: Where To Stream Them". GameSpot. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Bentley, James (June 25, 2022). "The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time". GamesRadar+. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "The Best Video Game Soundtrack / Score of 2020". IGN. December 21, 2020 [December 15, 2020]. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  16. ↑ Hamilton, Kirk (December 28, 2011). "The Best Game Music of 2011: Bastion". Kotaku. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ Hamilton, Kirk (December 16, 2014). "The Best Video Game Music Of 2014". Kotaku. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Hamilton, Kirk (December 22, 2017). "The Best Video Game Music Of 2017". Kotaku. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  19. ↑ Carpou, Madeline (November 28, 2022). "The Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time, Ranked". The Mary Sue. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  20. ↑ Jensen, K. Thor; Cohen, Jason (August 25, 2022). "The 25 Best Video Game Soundtracks Ever". PCMag. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Nouch, James (May 9, 2017). "Why Bastion's narrator is a silver-tongued storyteller and an understated narrative lynchpin". GamesRadar+. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ Danzis, Alan (February 25, 2012). "Interview: Ashley Lynn Barrett On Voicing Zia From "Bastion"". Complex. Complex Networks. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Chelser, Josh (August 11, 2021). "After Winning Dozens of Awards, Hades and Its Killer Soundtrack Come to PlayStation and Xbox". Spin. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ↑ Cox, Matt (January 9, 2020). "Steam to start selling soundtracks independently of games". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  25. 1 2 Phillips, Tom (August 5, 2011). "Bastion soundtrack available now". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  26. ↑ Hetfeld, Malindy (November 27, 2019). "Games of the Decade: Bastion is a labour of love". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  27. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (December 12, 2011). "Bastion Wins Big at the Spike VGAs, Inside Gaming Awards". Supergiant Games. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Spike TV Announced 2011 "Video Game Awards" Winners". Spike. December 10, 2011. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  29. ↑ Winchester, Henry (November 14, 2011). "Bastion developer talks indie publishing". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Ab-Soul's Terrorist Threats sample of Darren Korb's The Bottom Feeders". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  31. 1 2 3 Freeman, Will (July 17, 2014). "Sound in Transit: The beats of Supergiant's Transistor". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  32. 1 2 Pitcher, Jenna (May 26, 2014). "Transistor soundtrack creation saw vocals recorded in wardrobe and the birth of a new genre". Polygon. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 4 VanOrd, Kevin (June 4, 2014). "The Music of Transistor: In The Key of Red". GameSpot. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  34. ↑ Martens, Todd (February 7, 2015). "Grammys soundtrack category has yet to embrace video game scores". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  35. ↑ Lazarides, Tasos (June 19, 2015). "'Transistor' Review - An Action-Packed, Evocative Journey in an Amazing World". TouchArcade. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  36. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (January 8, 2015). "Transistor Earns 100+ Industry Accolades, Sells More Than 600k Copies". Supergiant Games. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  37. 1 2 "NAVGTR Awards (2014)". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  38. ↑ Byrne, John Aidan (June 7, 2014). "Wall Street exec moonlights as manager for indie rockers". New York Post. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  39. 1 2 Remington, Kate (August 31, 2017). "Music Respawn! Darren Korb's Songs Are the Story In Pyre". WSHU. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  40. 1 2 Kollar, Phillip (July 24, 2017). "Pyre review". Polygon. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  41. 1 2 3 Remington, Kate (December 4, 2020). "Darren Korb's Metal-Inspired Soundtrack For 'Hades'". WSHU. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  42. ↑ Hades: The Team from Supergiant Games & Hades Discuss the Game, Reactions & More | Games Masterclass. BAFTA Guru. November 14, 2020. Event occurs at 13:30. Retrieved March 18, 2023 – via YouTube.
  43. ↑ Peppiatt, Dom (August 10, 2021). "'Hades' review: supergiant's latest is, quite literally, a god-tier game". NME. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  44. ↑ Castello, Jay (September 17, 2020). "Hades review". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  45. 1 2 Saavedra, John (December 10, 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Winners & Results". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  46. ↑ Beresford, Trilby; Ritman, Alex (April 25, 2021). "'Hades' Takes Top Honor at BAFTA Games Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  47. 1 2 Ferme, Antonio (April 28, 2021). "G.A.N.G. Awards Winners: 'The Last of Us Part II' Leads With Eight Wins". Variety. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  48. ↑ Savov, Vlad (September 30, 2022). "Small Video Game Studios Can Have a Big Advantage". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  49. ↑ Macgregor, Jody (November 12, 2020). "Meet the voice cast of Hades, including one of the dogs behind Cerberus". PC Gamer. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  50. ↑ Beckhelling, Imogen (October 7, 2020). "Hades composer teaches how to play one of its lovely songs in this video". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  51. ↑ Vorel, Jim (December 9, 2022). "Supergiant Games Reveals First Trailer for Hotly Anticipated Hades 2". Paste. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  52. ↑ Clayton, Natalie (October 17, 2020). "The Game Music Festival Vol. 3 reimagines the sounds of Supergiant and Larian". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  53. ↑ Hetfeld, Malindy (May 16, 2018). "We are living in a new golden age of video game music". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  54. ↑ Composer Darren Korb - What Can You Tell Me, retrieved 2023-12-24
  55. ↑ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (November 16, 2011). "Full list of VGA 2011 nominees posted by Spike, MGS: Rising teaser hits". VG247. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  56. ↑ "10th annual G.A.N.G. award winners". MCV/Develop. Biz Media. March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  57. ↑ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (December 6, 2014). "Here are the winners of The Game Awards 2014". VG247. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  58. ↑ "13th Annual GANG Awards Winners". Game Audio Network Guild Awards. March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  59. ↑ "13th Annual GANG Award Finalists". Game Audio Network Guild Awards. February 6, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  60. ↑ "Awards Archive – 2018 Awards". Game Audio Network Guild Awards. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  61. ↑ "2021 BAFTA Games Awards: The Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  62. ↑ "Ghost of Tsushima wins 14 awards, including Game of the Year from NAVGTR®" (Press release). National Association of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 22, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
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