Gangs of Sherwood (Game Trailer)

There are some projects you're happy with... and others you can be extremely proud of!

This one clearly falls into the latter category. I was lucky enough to compose the music for this completely insane trailer, driven by the vocal performance of Lenny Mark Irons, and underpinned by a magnificent costume tailor-made by the extraordinary Margaux Devin.

The references were numerous, from Disney to The Witcher to Dragon Age, but the idea was there: to allow this multi-faceted character to embody the game on screen. For this project, I worked with ancient instruments such as the lute, dulcimer or viola da gamba to give it a medieval feel. To add contrast, I used modern synthesizers and effects to set the trailer in the game world, which takes place in a kind of alternative, dystopian future. The scale used is mainly in the Dorian mode, to reinforce the medieval atmosphere, but I allowed myself a few deviations so as not to get stuck in this universe.

As for the lyrics, I went back to the lexicon of medieval "chansons de geste", those heroic tales recounting the exploits of heroes and knights, all in a mix of modern and old English, as evidenced by the first sentence "Hark ye listen close", the French equivalent of "Oyez, braves gens". The idea was audacious: to introduce the universe in which the game takes place and to introduce the various characters one by one, all in a format condensed to 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Once the track was approved, actor Lenny Mark Irons, who plays Alan-a-Dale in the game (as well as Robin), came to the studio to lend his voice to the colourful character, in an incredible vocal performance that was almost perfect from the very first take!

In true Disney fashion, the Carburant agency proposed to "bring this character to life on screen so that he could express himself in song to the audience. The result was a real musical and singing sequence, with original composition, lyrics and costumes created just for the occasion!"

Thanks to the Carburant and Nacon teams for their confidence in this project!

Carburant tells you more about this project on their website in this very interesting article.