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Creating the Score of Life is Strange: Before the Storm

It’s now almost two months since we announced Life is Strange: Before the Storm on the Xbox stage at E3 2017, and we’re fast approaching Episode One‘s release date on August 31. Thinking back to our announce brings fond memories of the sheer excitement our community and the Xbox conference crowd demonstrated upon hearing the first chords of Daughter’s track “Numbers,” which played alongside our gradual reveal of Before the Storm.

You may have heard yesterday that we announced that the very same English indie-folk band Daughter have composed the entire score for Life is Strange: Before the Storm. The score will form the centrepiece of the musical accompaniment for the game. The full soundtrack for Before the Storm will also feature two tracks from Daughter’s previous albums as well as many licensed tracks from other bands that you may or may not yet have heard of.

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Before the Storm is set three years before the events of the first game and will span three episodes. This time you’ll play as Chloe Price, whose rebellious character has formed much of the game’s tone and soundtrack. Chloe, filled with grief from having lost both her father and feeling abandoned by her best friend Max, is in a very difficult place emotionally and we feel that Daughter’s music will reflect just that.

The music of Life is Strange’s first season excited many fans who heard their favorite artist performing during key scenes in the game (such as Syd Matters “Obstacles” at the end of Season One’s Episode One or José González “Crosses” during Episode Two), but it also helped many discover new musical talent or genres. It was awesome to witness as players previously unfamiliar with the indie music genre found new musical tastes and we often asked our community to suggest “artists who they think fans of Life is Strange would love.” One name that repeatedly popped up during those times was Daughter, so you can imagine how incredibly excited we were when we finally decided to work together with the very same to create the score to Before the Storm.

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Daughter are the kind of indie band whose style and previous work, filled with haunting harmonies and vocals, captures the raw emotions of Life is Strange perfectly and their commitment to the game has been fantastic. They really worked their way into the world of Arcadia Bay to provide a fitting score, both to our protagonist Chloe and the overall story of Before the Storm. The score was created in a way that ensured that each track can stand on its own – and will be released as a standalone album entitled “Music from Before the Storm on September 1, one day after Life is Strange: Before the Storm releases on Xbox One on August 31.