Absolver by Austin Wintory

"The first time Austin and I talked about Absolver, what was supposed to be a quick introduction call ended up being a discussion of almost three hours covering all aspects of Absolver, from the lore and fantasy to the minute details of gameplay. One thing I said to Austin that day was "Absolver is a combat game that's about making friends"; I think it was the first time I had said it that way, and it stuck with us, because it really encapsulated the duality of the game, where combat is not always antagonistic, but can also be a friendly dance between two sparring partners who want to teach each other new attacks and techniques.

We also discussed the fact that the music needed to feel "out of this world", and "out of time", sending players to a foreign land, with it's own magical and human rules, to be discovered progressively. All this drove the creation of the music for Absolver, as we iterated and experimented for over a year, finding the tones and colors that would define the soundtrack. It has been an amazing journey, and I am very happy with the final result. I hope you enjoy this soundtrack as much as I do!"

- Pierre Tarno
Creative Director, Sloclap

I can’t much improve on Pierre’s comments above; working on this game was a great joy and rewarding challenge. The directive was to always try and approach the Martial Arts genre with some kind of twist, and free experimentation was always encouraged. As usual, I am very grateful to my core of musicians who facilitated this mad science, in this case Tom Strahle for the many guitar and guitar-like plucky things he endlessly shredded, and Kristin Naigus for her seemingly bottomless pit of flutes, reeds and other windy noisemakers.

It’s also worth mentioning the wonderful, surprise collaboration with RZA. A true hip hop legend, most probably don’t know about his many forays into other media and genres, including both film and video game music! He’s also a huge fan and expert on Martial Arts films and so he was drawn to this game like a moth to a flame. Co-creating the finale, “Risryn, Rogue Absolver” was a wild 11th hour twist and I can’t thank him enough for his great ideas and collaborative spirit.

-Austin Wintory

Tracklist

1.	Path of the Prospects	2:12

2.	Shards of an Empire	2:02

3.	The Guidance Bridge	4:09

4.	Folding	1:31

5.	A Harbor of Splinters	1:38

6.	Hands Outstretched	3:54

7.	The Hunting Path	4:17

8.	Raslan Coliseum	2:17

9.	The Madness of Kuretz	5:24

10.	Oratian Quarter	2:08

11.	Reflections	2:37

12.	Dancing on Cenotaphs	5:22

13.	The Tower of Adal	5:48

14.	Adalian Columbary	4:19

15.	Cargal and Kilnor, Children of Warlords	5:37

16.	Imperial Library	2:10

17.	The Bird Callers Outpost	2:40

18.	A Forgotten Temple	3:40

19.	Risryn, Rogue Absolver (co-produced with RZA)	5:17

20.	We Will Call on You	1:37

Credits

released August 29, 2017

Music by Austin Wintory

Tom Strahle: Various guitars, mandolin, banjo, dobro, electric bass
Kristin Naigus: bansuri and English horn

Produced, mixed and programmed by Austin Wintory
Album mastered by Steve Kempster

Album art direction and cover painting by Angela Bermudez
www.facebook.com/AngelaBermudezA/

Special thanks: Pierre Tarno and SloClap, Nigel Lowrie and Devolver Digital, John Watson, Aymeric Schwartz and Arnold Noble, Danny Kelleher and Laced Records, Sarah Kovacs and the gang at KEM, Angela Bermúdez, and RZA.

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