Gregs got a fantastic ear.
The story ofManor Lords soundtrack begins, as all inspiring tales do, with hunched-over late-night doom scrolling.
Hed never heard ofManor Lordsbefore.
It looked like a new IP, but already had a huge Reddit following.
Caleb loved what he saw.
Even more so than film, games were the passion.
Manor Lords would be perfect for them.
The textures of the soundtrack need to be unique.
Something that hasnt been done to death, he told them.
The game was becoming popular, but nowhere near the level of attention it would later gather.
“He sent us a bunch of references.
They put together a track namedThe Peasants.
That, and a baroque violin.
That was kind of the magic element that made him say: I want to work with you guys.
Fantasy doesnotwork for Manor Lords, we found that out really early on.
Styczeńs other wishlist item for the soundtrack was period-authentic choral chants.
Sometimes, theyd mix both together to compliment the game.
So they desperately wanted to record and notate these religious songs to preserve them, says Caleb.
Authentic as they come then, although as you might imagine, they werent the easiest to adapt.
Ancient score looks completely different to modern score, says Schutte.
This is completely new to Ben and I by the way.
Were not medieval scholars!
Well, laughs Schutte, we like to think we might be now.
Despite working from these long ago-notated arrangements, Pressure Cooker still had space to improvise.
They didnt have these kinds of rigid structures we have as modern composers.
Gregs got a fantastic ear, says Caleb.
Hes a multi talented guy.
But the interesting thing is, as musicians and recorders, we like hearing pristine things.
We spend thousands on microphones [and equipment].
But with Greg, he liked a rough, dirty sound that we werent used to.
Then, thered be the demos - mock-ups theyd slapped together in a bedroom.
Not micd up properly.
And Greg would say no, I prefer that.
Thats something wed have to get our heads around, because were always looking for perfection, right?
Greg recorded his hometown choir.
Theres little noises and breathing, but theres an authenticity to it.
They werent completely bound by this push for authenticity, though.
Turns out, it wasnt a coincidence.
Its so much about the hardship of the peasant, Schutte says.
Their relationship to music.
Between composing and playing Manor Lords, both Caleb and Schutte say they often felt a sense of otherworldliness.
To those peasants, says Schutte, it was a glimpse of the absolute ultimate state of everything.
We came up with this catchphrase we kept throwing back and forth at each other - the peasants breath.
And death, says Caleb, is around the corner all the time.
In the early renditions of the game, it was a lot more hardcore than it is now.
Before you knew it, your pop was just dwindling.
Before the interview, Id imagined moodboards full of bucolic summer-scapes and winter snows to inspire composition.
Instead, Caleb says, they ended up with screengrabs of random dead peasants.
Its amazing to see it paying off.
Manor Lordsdigital soundtrackis available now fromLaced Records.
