Song the Village Go Tell the Others That Their Taking Over Again
The origins of Resident Evil vii's haunting 'Go Tell Aunt Rhody' theme song
Michael A. Levine
Michael A. Levine is an American composer, screen writer and music producer who has lent his talents to a number of movies, Goggle box shows and videogames. Prior to RE7, he worked with vocalizer Lorde on her rendition of Everybody Wants to Rule the World in 2014—which later featured in The Hunger Games: Catching Burn, and the E3 cinematic trailer for Assassin'southward Creed Unity.
If y'all've played or are yet playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, you've probably found yourself asking questions. What's the deal with this family unit? How the hell exercise I impale that thing? Why are there then many series-typical, all the same wholly incongruous to the setting, keys and contraptions strewn around this old battered mansion? How far y'all've played will ultimately determine how many of those yous've managed to reply, nonetheless I'd estimate there's ane question still plaguing many of you: who the heck is Aunt Rhody?
I caught up with composer Michael A. Levine to discuss the origins of the sinister-sounding melody that inadvertently became the theme tune for Capcom'due south latest survival horror stalwart.
PC Gamer: Resident Evil seven: Biohazard was announced at E3 in 2016. When did you beginning begin working on the 'Get Tell Aunt Rhody'?
Michael Levine: I've forgotten when they start contacted me, but once we agreed on a direction I did most of the piece of work in Spring of 2016.
What was Capcom's initial directions for the vocal, and did those change equally the creative process began?
They liked the work I had washed (with Lucas Cantor) on Lorde's version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World which was featured in both the Hunger Games Catching Fire soundtrack and the Assassin's Creed Unity trailer. They wanted a similar rethinking of a familiar vocal, turning it from joyous to menacing. But they didn't want to use a pop song, so that meant finding a traditional song that would be known in more than just i state.
I was born in Tokyo and so, almost by accident, knew that the American traditional vocal Get Tell Aunt Rhody had the same tune every bit the Japanese 'Musunde Hiraite'. Plus Rhody had the primal discussion "dead" in its lyric. I changed "the onetime grey goose is expressionless" to "everybody'south dead" and we were off and running!
Go Tell Aunt Rhody is featured on the trailer and has pretty much become the theme for the whole game. Did yous have any thought when you first started working on it, that it was going to exist featured this much?
No, simply I am delighted Capcom had such confidence in information technology.
This song has a very interesting history and origin that not many people know virtually. Can you tell u.s. a footling bit about that?
Nosotros know the chorus melody was used in a French opera in the mid 18th century, although it probably predates that. Information technology traveled from French republic to the UK, to the U.s., and, eventually, to Japan in the 19th century when American schoolteachers were brought to Japan to assistance establish the public school system.
Well-nigh Japanese people call up Musunde Hiraite is Japanese in origin. I added the RE7-specific verse.
I read that the song's vocalist, Jordan Reyne, is located in the UK and you are located in LA. Where did yous all record the song and how did that process work?
We recorded everything but the lead vocal in my studio in LA. Hashemite kingdom of jordan—who is another fabled New Zealander similar Lorde (I take expert luck with those kiwis)—recorded in the UK and we communicated via the internet during the session. Our clients likewise attended via the web.
This was ok for me—10 am in LA, and Jordan, 6pm in London; but I am impressed by the stamina of our clients at 2am in Tokyo!
What surprised you lot the most with Go Tell Aunt Rhody after it was all done?
How well it worked with so fiddling traditional musical framework. Our commencement pass was much more of a straight-ahead song, but the clients kept request for it to get weirder and darker to the signal where it's about an art-business firm sound-blueprint piece.
Commonly, I do something 'out at that place' and the client has to reel me back in. This was one of the rare cases where they kept saying, "Go even farther!" I honey to work for people similar that!
Is information technology easier to come into a project that has a huge fan-base, such every bit Resident Evil, or i that has a clean slate?
I think my relative ignorance was a blessing. Had I truly understood how massive the post-obit of this game was I might accept been intimidated.
If there is anything else you would like readers to know near your procedure creating this song, then please do share.
I am rather fond of puzzles and what I like to call cryptomusic—where there are things embedded that may not be obvious on beginning listen. I am not maxim that is the example in this song.
But I'm as well not denying information technology.
(NB—it seems Redditors were onto this idea of cryptomusic shortly later the first Aunt Rhody trailer was released. This detail thread offers some interesting theories, fifty-fifty if Levine himself remains tight-lipped.)
Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/the-origins-of-resident-evil-7s-haunting-go-tell-aunt-rhody-theme-song/
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