Weaving the dramatic and tension-stoking soundtrack to one of the most critically acclaimed games of the last year, Petri Alanko built a score for Alan Wake 2 that harnessed an arsenal of plugins with DIY instruments and a huge array of hardware and software synths. We spoke to Petri about his idiosyncratic approach and its exhilarating results
It’s rare for any new video game to receive near-unanimous praise, but in the case of Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment’s followup to 2010’s underrated action/horror thriller, the prevailing giddy response was justified. Centred around the titular Alan, a horror novelist, lost in a Twin Peaks-esque ‘Dark Place’ which reflects both his fears and the wider mechanics of storytelling in general, Alan Wake 2 perfects the original game’s quirky premise. Alarge factor in the game’s emotional depth is the centrality of its soundtrack, scored by the BAFTA-nominated Finnish composer and producer Petri Alanko. From the delicate and emotive Return to the ominous and oppressive The Dark Place, Petri’s score underlines the game’s mind ‐bending narrative.
Alanko, who also scored the original game, was thrilled – but surprised – when Remedy’s creative director Sam Lake informed him that a sequel was finally happening. “I had made my first compositions for the Alan Wake sequel back in 2011. I was so thrilled when I heard we were back. I knew exactly what they were going to do and I knew that they were going to have two protagonists this time. I had made so many plans [for a sequel] and luckily none of my plans had been for nothing – every one of my ideas got used, more or less.”
Petri’s process began with the creation of a unique library of sound resources that he then used to build up the sonic universe of the game, and weave into his scores. “It took me a good while to make the base library for the software instruments,” Petri says. “I always create a special library for let’s say pads or background themes – what people refer to as the ‘sub-score’ or the ‘underscore’. Lots of that material. It was like getting back to an old sandbox that you last played in ages ago.”
The underwater domain
Alanko, who also performs as electronic musician Lowland, was happy to learn that, unlike the first game, he was given free rein to use instruments beyond strings. “The people in charge back then really hated woodwinds and brass instruments,” Petri recalls. “Especially the harp! I was supposed to deal with most of the soundtrack with mostly string orchestra and only the occasional oboe every now and then.”
So what was the guiding mindset behind the vibe Petri was going for? “Well, at the end of the first game – spoiler alert! – the protagonist, Alan, ends up imprisoned in the ‘Dark Place’. In the sequel, 13 years have passed. I immediately thought that the inst
