It won’t be long until Ghost of Tsushima lands on PS4, and you might be eager to hear more of the soundtrack. In a new PlayStation blog post, information on the soundtrack has been revealed.
The information comes from Rev. Dr. Bradley D. Meyer, the audio director at Sucker Punch Production. He details that while in the early stages of production, the team “would pull temporary music from film, TV, and other games that inspired us and presented the feeling and tone we were after.” Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru “Ume” Umebayashi were the two composers whos music stood out the most.
Eshkeri has been a composer on numerous films such as Layer Cake (2004) Reign of Fire (2002), and even 47 Ronin (2013). Umebayashi has also been involved as a composer for numerous films such as The Grandmaster (2013) 2046 (2004), and Tekken (1990).
With two composers working on Ghost of Tsushima, D. Meyer wanted to explain why Sucker Punch Productions went with having two. “Ghost of Tsushima is BIG. There is a lot of content and we knew we would need a lot of music to fill the world and support the evolution of Jin’s journey from samurai to the Ghost.” he wrote, ” Secondly, when done properly, having multiple voices sculpting the score can weave a more diverse and elaborate musical tapestry for the game’s story and action to sit upon.”
Eshkeri talked about the creative process in the blog post, “From the first moment of the first meeting, I realised that Ghost was about a very powerful emotional journey.” He said, “Jin’s theme, “The Way of the Ghost,” was one of the very first pieces I wrote. […] It’s all about how the people of Tsushima see him. He is their hero: strong, infallible, inspiring and full of hope, but what really fascinated me about Jin is the contrast of what is going on inside him. In order to save his home and the people he loves he must go against everything he was taught to believe in and break the code of the Samurai.”
Eshkeri also explains the instruments he’s used in his tracks, “Shakuhachi, Koto, Shamisen, Taiko Drums and Chants, and my favourite discovery, Biwa. The Biwa is an instrument that Samurai used to play and the art of it was almost lost — there are now only a few players in the world! Luckily, I was able to find one of them to play on Ghost. It’s a really special sound and you can hear it on “The Heart of the Jito.”
As for Umebayashi, he got to work and “developed a suite of themes based on some key words which were representative of the gamut Jin would experience: Serenity, Occupation, Exile, Haunting, and Sanctuary.” he explained how he grew up near the island of Tsushima, but has never visited it. “When I was composing music for the game, I was inspired by Japan’s nature, climate, traditional lifestyle, and classical Japanese music.” He says, “When listeners hear the music for the game, I hope that they feel the hearts of the people of Tsushima”
The production of the music has seen a worldwide effort, with places such as Abbey Road in London, Toyko in Japan, and Los Angeles being used to record different elements. All the recordings come together in the game based on player action, difficulty, and intensity.
There are two examples of the soundtrack posted in this article as you’ve probably noticed. Those wondering when the soundtrack will officially drop will find it becoming available on July 17 digitally. A physical edition will also be available as a two-disc edition on that date, with a vinyl edition featuring “The Way of the Ghost (feat. Clare Uchima).” being available later down the line.
The game itself will be launching on July 17 for PS4 and we’ve already seen a detailed breakdown on gameplay.
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