Composing for games: Kristin Burdal

The music industry has always been and still is a very difficult industry. Making it as an artist is not a given, and it is therefore not enough just to have good qualifications. Years and years of education can only get you so far, what really matters is talent and the drive to be a good artist. Today we are going to take a look at one composers which was a topic of this blog a while back.

Norwegian composer Kristin Burdal, behind Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip, has come a long way since last time she was featured on this blog. Kristin has been offered a number of opportunities since then. She has composed the soundtrack for two games.

The first one is called GearCity which is an open beta game where you can simulate owning your own car company. The game is now available on Steam. This is a short review of the music, not the game.

The music in GearCity is lively and comfortable when listened to by itself, but has the ability to just act as background music when players want to concentrate on the game. It creates different dimentions and feelings to the game, it sets the atmosphere. GearCity's programmer, Eric B from Florida, really got his hands on a great musical talent when searching for the perfect composer for his game.

Although a lot of the pieces have a typical "background music sound", which is often the case in simulator games, there are a lot of hidden gems in the different tracks. The piano part in "In Total" is beautiful and can easily send chills down ones spine.

"One Time or Another" is fun and playful. It could be used in so many other types of games. Overall the soundtrack for GearCity is good, almost too good for a game like this, where sometimes simple is often the best. Kristin's creativity shines through each and every track.

Breakage is a free point and click adventrue game. The game consists of different "worlds" which has its own theme song. Together with the game, the music helps tell a story. The introduction theme song captures bits from all the worlds. It is a fun and adventurous song which sets the tone for the whole game. The tranistions between minor and major in "Outside" makes the piece seem somewhat sad, but the melody is picked up by a cheerful piano and light violin strokes.

My personal favourite from the game is "The Witch". It paints a picture of a witch, but not an evil one, as they often are portayed in mainstream television/media. This witch is a bit clumsy and very witty,  like a modern version of Disney's "Madam Mim".

"UFO" is mysterious, just like anything in the outer space. The wavy sounds makes you think of aliens, or what we on this planet have come to believe aliens sound like. The piece is quiet, calm and slow, and it makes me think about the fact that there's no sound in space.

"Dungeon" creates the perfect feeling of being down below. The song sneaks its way around, it has a few jump scares here and there, it stops to listen. Is anyone there?

Just like the intro, the outro captures the feelings of all the tracks you've heard earlier. It is happy, and so should you be. You've just completed the game!

To listen to all of Kristin's tracks, go to www.soundcloud.com/fruluna

Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip

Fru Luna, better known as Kristin Burdal, is a 22-year-old musician/composer from Norway. She composes her music using Mixcraft with plug-ins like East West and Quantum Loop.

Her main project is an electronic project called Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip. All Stegosaurus albums tell individual stories. My impression of the latest album, "Are You AnyWhere?", is that Stegosaurus is on a quest to find/save the Green Goddess. It seems like it (Stegosaurus) has to get through different obstacles to get to where it needs to be. Stegosaurus seems to be coming very close to the Green Goddess a few times, but then something happens and it has to keep on searching for her. However, I have concluded that Stegosaurus does in fact manage to save the Green Goddess in the end, because the title of the second to last song on the album is simply just "The Green Goddess".

One song that in particular caught my attention was "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin". The music itself is well orchestrated. We've entered a completely different part of the world now. Because the contrast between the previous song "Spring the Lamb's Bread" and "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin", is huge. The track starts of quite calm, as if we are getting introduced to a new world. Then it speeds up. It's as if we're running through an adventure. But where/what are we running towards/from? After doing some searching around, it has been brought to my attention that Ba'al Shamin is in fact an ancient Syrian god. I can't figure out what role Ba'al is supposed to play in this matter. Is he supposed to help Stegosaurus find the Green Goddess?

This is what Kristin says about the song: "at one point, Stegosaurus is about to give up. It feels as though it is impossible to find the Green Goddess. For that reason he seeks help from 'the Sky Lord' Ba'al Shamin.This song is connected to the next song, 'The Answer', which is supposed to be Ba'al Shamin's answering to Stegosaurus' prayers. It's important that I mention that this in no way is supposed to be some religious message or anything. Why I chose Ba'al Shamin, is basically because what really happens is that Stegosaurus gets high, and therefore calling upon a 'Sky God' seemed appropriate..."

I could probably analyse all the songs on this album, but this little blog would turn into a book if I did. As for the musical side to it, each individual song tells their own story. They are all very well composed and it seems like nothing is done by random. Kristin has an ear for putting strange notes together, that some people wouldn't necessarily put together. Somehow she makes it work, and that can't be an easy job, not even for the most experienced musician. She is definitely no stranger to the progressive and experimental genre. This album is a work of art, and it certainly is an experience listening through it. This is the future!

Album artwork by Inna Hansen - www.doodlepod.blogspot.no

For your own interpretation of the album, listen to it here - FruLuna-