But even with all of this in place, Deriviere needed to create music that managed a tricky balance:
“We worked with various established musicians from the South, but we were never willing to copycat – it would have been inauthentic, because I’m not from there, you know? It was not the goal. The goal was to be inspired and to turn the music into something else. So yes, there is of course influences from country, bluegrass, blues, jazz. But the best reaction was from these (musicians) – one of them plays blues, one of them country – and they were playing the songs, and they were like, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t do this, but this is super interesting!’
“They were doing what they were used to, but with the twist that I would do. I thought they would be a little bit lost in the process, but it was completely the opposite. They embraced it so much. For me, that’s the success in this production, working with these people, getting their genuine, authentic vibe from the South, and (bringing them) into the world of Compulsion, the world of this music.”
The result is a soundtrack that Deriviere and Fox believes represents the South, but doesn’t simply copy its homework – this was a true collaboration with the real musicians from the region:
“You can feel, hopefully, when you’re listening to the soundtrack or the songs, that there are people there,” says Deriviere. “It feels like they’re there, and they want to provoke emotions, move you, tell the story, bring you into this world.”
It’s an idea that lends extra weight to the idea that South of Midnight sings with you – it’s not just the game itself singing, but the many, many people who made that music.
South of Midnight will be available on April 8, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox App for Windows PC, Steam and cloud, and arrives on day one with Game Pass. If you want to immerse yourself into the macabre and fantastical world of South of Midnight early, get the Premium Edition to play up to 5 days early, and get access to digital extras.
The South of Midnight soundtrack is available to stream today on all major streaming platforms. You can also pre-order The Art and Music of South of Midnightdeveloped in collaboration with Dutch design house and publisher Cook and Becker. The box set includes a two-LP vinyl with the full soundtrack of the game presented in a beautiful gatefold – alongside a 160-page art book, a comic book inspired by the game, and more.
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