Sound designer and music composer Ari Pulkkinen discusses the soundtrack he composed and performed for the exciting title coming to PlayStation Network.
Ari Pulkkinen is a Finnish musician famous for his outstanding work on many games, including Super Stardust HD and the upcoming game Trine. Ari made his first full composition at the age of 11 and he has been composing music ever since.
Ari is currently putting his finishing touches on Trine for developer Frozenbyte, to be released in the summer of 2009. He is also working on other upcoming major Finnish titles.
What kind of instruments are used on the soundtrack? Are they electronic or real instruments?
Trine’s soundtrack is purely acoustic meaning that there are no synthesizers involved. It’s a mix of virtual instruments and real, played and recorded instruments. Some of the many instruments include celeste, piano, harp, guitar, harpsichord, violin, cello, music box, French horn, pizzicato strings, choir, percussion, contrabass and more.
Have you composed all the songs alone? What software do you use, and do you play all the real instruments yourself?
I have composed and performed all the songs by myself. I'm using Logic Studio for the compositions. All the original instruments were played by myself on a midi keyboard, and some of the real instruments were played by other musicians.
How many songs are in Trine?
There are a total of 19 tracks, including the main theme and the trailer version of it. All in all there’s over an hour of original music in Trine, and each level has its own unique theme!
What have been your influences?
I draw a lot of inspiration from Finnish & Slavic folk music. On the entertainment side, recently I have listened to the Tudors, Conan the Barbarian and Danny Elfman’s Corpse Bride original soundtracks.
How would you describe the Trine soundtrack?
The Trine soundtrack captures the offbeat spirit of the magical fantasy adventure that the characters embark on in their quest to save the kingdom from evil. Each score of the soundtrack is like a chapter from a storybook, a little piece of the fairy tale. The telling is strengthened by combining folk and chamber music with different orchestral instruments. My objective with the Trine soundtrack was to make something different and unique that would really capture the game’s story, with its little twisted and humorous turns.
Is the Trine soundtrack going to be available for purchase?
Yes! The Trine soundtrack is coming on sale on my new site at www.aritunes.com as a downloadable album at the same time as the game is released.
What does the future hold for you?
I’m spreading my wings! I’ve set up my own company AriTunes and I’m working on a couple of very interesting projects. Frozenbyte’s got some exciting stuff coming in 2010 and there’s also a couple of other Finnish companies working on some really great projects. I can’t reveal much yet but stay tuned!
