Sawt Falasteen - Man-in-demand Woodkid composes for Death Stranding sequel

The author of hit 2013 debut album "The Golden Age", who has previously worked with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, has produced dozens of hours of music for the Japanese-made action-adventure title.

"The main challenge is creating procedural music -- music that evolves with the player, depending on their actions. And yet, still writing pop songs with vocals," Woodkid, whose real name is Yoann Lemoine, told AFP.

"You have to unfold the songs almost like origami, turn them into versions that last several hours, which are then condensed and reprogrammed by developers," he explained.

A longtime video game enthusiast, Lemoine calls it a "completely different approach" from scoring a film or writing a conventional album.

An album of 16 tracks taken from the game is set to be released on Friday, titled "Woodkid for Death Stranding 2".

They include a collaboration with American actress Elle Fanning, who appears in the game, and another with Bryce Dessner, guitarist of indie rock band The National.

- Impressionistic -

Woodkid -- who said playing video games was "an escape" during his youth -- said he jumped at the chance of working with legendary "Death Stranding" creator Hideo Kojima.

Kojima's work in the 1990s, particularly the original "Metal Gear Solid", left a mark on Woodkid.

The pair met in 2020 through a mutual friend.

Kojima had already used one of Woodkid's tracks in the first "Death Stranding", a celebrity-packed adventure game that sees players act as couriers in a post-apocalyptic world.

The first one was set in the United States, while the second takes place in disaster-struck Mexico and Australia.

As well as a debut from Fanning, the sequel again includes actors Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead") and Lea Seydoux ("No Time to Die") who play the main characters.

"We connected quickly, I think because we share common fantasies," Woodkid said of his collaboration with Kojima, which involved several months of immersion in Tokyo.

"There’s a darkness in us — dreamlike, fanciful, sometimes deeply melancholic — that bonds us."

- Man in demand -

Their work was "very impressionistic," Woodkid explained.

"We start with fragments: percussion, beats, textures, vocal sketches I might try. He brings scenes and characters he describes to me, and we build everything together like a ping-pong exchange," he added.

"Unlike a film, I didn’t actually compose much to picture — it’s more like thematic background music."

His skills as a composer and director have seen him called on by Taylor Swift for her video for "Back to December", Lana Del Rey for "Blue Jeans" and "Born to Die", and Katy Perry for "Teenage Dream".

Woodkid also directed French classical musician Mylene Farmer's most recent album, "L'Emprise" (2022), co-writing seven tracks.

For "Death Stranding 2", he worked with pianist Yvan Cassar, a long-time collaborator of the singer.

"I like staying in the shadows. I'm not a star. I believe in the works more than the artists, so I prefer focusing on the things I create," he said.

Asked whether he appears in Kojima's game himself, he lets the question hang, but can’t help smiling.

"Death Stranding 2" will be available from June 26.

J.Saleh--SF-PST