Behind the new soundtrack for Until Dawn
The opportunity to rescore Until Dawn was as exciting as it was terrifying. The musical legacy of Until Dawn is highly regarded and we set out to both respect and honor the high watermark of the original score through musical innovation and elevation. We wanted to move Until Dawn on to its own path, bringing new composers and songs into the story to help distinguish it from other narrative horror titles. Between a new score and carefully chosen licensed music, every aspect of the soundtrack has been handcrafted to further immerse the player while creating a defining identity for Until Dawn in 2024. Here are some key aspects of the music to lookout for as you survive the night on Blackwood Mountain…
When revisiting the title sequence the development team knew they needed a song to do justice to the beautiful, eerie visuals. We were fortunate enough to discover a then unsigned artist called Mae Stephens who had the unique quality we were looking for. She relished the opportunity to explore a darker, cinematic sound than the upbeat pop songs of hers blowing up on TikTok. Her first demo sent shivers down our collective spines…. A few months later we had ‘Out of the Shadows’, a bespoke song alluding to themes of trust, key iconography from the game and the ultimate fate which befalls us all. The song is built around the new theme motif, which bursts through as grandiose strings towards the end of the song.
“Out of the Shadows” releases digitally on Friday October 18. Check out the teaser for the Until Dawn inspired music video below – full video out tomorrow!
We conducted an extensive demo process which looked at composers with unique contributions to the horror genre. From here we found Mark Korven, a Canadian composer with well-established roots in the horror genre with films such as The Witch and The Lighthouse. Mark created the Apprehension Engine, a custom instrument that has become a key sound for contemporary horror scores.
This was Mark’s debut score for
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