Behind the Scenes with the Artists[]
Genshin Impact OST — Behind the Scenes with the Artists
Musicians and staff of HOYO-MiX and the London Philharmonic Orchestra discuss creating and understanding the music for Genshin Impact.
How would you sum up the music in Genshin Impact?[]
Zoe, Music Director: Genshin Impact is an open-world game. We wanted to create the sense of different styles in different regions. So we chose traditional orchestral music as the base, then we added in elements of world music, creating the sense of different cultures.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer and Music Producer: We needed a distinct musical language to fit the world of Genshin Impact. After deciding on the main theme, I started working on variations. Basically, I took the orchestral music and added in elements of world music. For example, some Irish tin whistle, some acoustic guitar, and some plucked string instruments — it sounds very Medieval. The music is crucial. When the player enters the game, the first impression of the music should capture the feeling of the game world. One problem I had while composing was how to achieve consistency throughout the music.
Robert Ziegler, Conductor: This is something new for orchestras and for me because in a film there may be a lot of music, but in a video game the music can go on forever because you have the same thing on many different levels. So there's lots of music and Yu-Peng has written a great deal of music for this. But it's very interesting, because with the film you can usually see the film, but with a video game or computer game, you can't see it till you play it.
Nick Wollage, Mix Engineer: The thing that struck me most about this score in particular is Yu-Peng's facility for incorporating some incredibly difficult writing. When you take a step back and de-focus slightly, it sounds incredibly simple but it really isn't. The musicians on this score have really risen to the occasion because it's absolutely phenomenal playing. It's very difficult and we were under a bit of a time pressure. They really pulled out all the stops and it was really quite amazing actually.
Philippe Honoré, Guest Concertmaster: I'm Philippe Honoré. I'm guesting here with the LPO to do these recording sessions for this video game. I think it's really well written, it's really effective. It's like good film music, very atmospheric. All the battle scenes are very exciting. There are also some really really nice tunes, beautiful tunes. It's been a pleasure to work on it.
Graham Wood, Manager, London Philharmonic Orchestra: So we've really enjoyed hearing Yu-Peng's music. It sounds fantastic and covers such a wide variety of different styles. I'm sure it will be very effective in the game.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer and Music Producer: Because I composed a main melody for Genshin Impact, much of the in-game music, background music, music for different scenarios, different places, was all derived from that one tune. Genshin Impact has a time system: it has daytime, nighttime, and dusk. Three different variations of the same theme are set to play at these different times but they share the same tonality, they convey the same mood. Aside from the main theme, I especially like the battle music. My favorite is probably the Stormterror boss-battle music. For this piece, as well as exercising a degree of restraint, I tried adding some new elements into the mix such as female humming to convey the sorrow of the situation: you want to subdue the dragon, to cleanse it. I also like the rest of the Stormterror battle music, I would say it represents a personal style of mine. It's artistic, it makes use of minor keys. It conveys a certain melancholy But it's calm — calm and gentle. It sets the scene, creates the mood. Music is a language that works like a magic spell. It provokes an emotional response in the player, makes them want to stay a little longer in this world — that is what good game music should aspire to achieve.
Songs of Travelers[]
"Songs of Travelers" — Behind the Scenes of the Music of Liyue
The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and special guest Chinese traditional musicians come together at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall to record the soundtrack for the Liyue region in Genshin Impact, full of the uniquely enchanting sounds of the East.
Genshin Impact music for Liyue is composed by Yu-Peng Chen of the HOYO-Mix [sic] Team. Let's go behind the scenes to learn about the creative concept and recording process for the music of the Liuyue [sic] region.
Combining Traditional Chinese Instruments and Western Orchestral Music[]
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer and Music Producer: Liyue is the second region in the game world. It has a unique aesthetic with Chinese and Eastern influences. Liyue's music takes a foundation of Western orchestral music and injects Chinese elements and instruments. I think it represents the collision and combination of Chinese and Western culture.
Huabing Tu, Dizi player: Chinese national musical instruments such as this dizi — its sound is graceful and clear and its melody is distinct due to its unique tone.
Jiajun Ma, Erhu player: As for the erhu, this instrument sounds like it is telling a story. It conveys the emotion within a musical instrument like a small mountain brook flowing through a forest or a gentle breeze grazing past on a vast plain.
Mojia Zhao, Guzheng player: The guzheng is usually tuned to the pentatonic scale. These instruments act like a conversation between two people: one usually assisting the melody by laying down the harmony for it.
Wenqing Shi, Pipa player: The pipa's distinct quality is captured by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's words in "The Song of a Pipa Player": "The bold strings rattled like splatters of sudden rain; The fine strings hummed like lovers' whispers," "Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering; As pearls, large and small, on a jade plate fall."
Professor Dong An, Music Supervisor: Actually, Yu-Peng Chen was already trying for a long time to blend modern Chinese national music and orchestral music. What the audience and players care about is whether or not these two types of music seamlessly blend together. "Combining" doesn't simply mean staggering the two in a piece. I think that this is really a question of how beautiful does the music sound and does the music transmit that spirit of Chinese culture. I believe this original music is produced to a really high standard.
Challenges Encountered in Recording[]
Yu-Peng Chen: This time we invited Professor Xiaoxing Lu 44th GRAMMY Award winner for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Professor Lu has a wealth of experience and a special talent for live surround recording despite the harsh conditions posed by live recording.
Professor Xiaoxing Lu, Recording Director/Consultant: Even headphones present a big challenge since there is often interference. We usually used to record in a recording studio; we had never done this before. Luckily this hall is quiet, with no unwanted noises. The silence is important to make a clear recording.
Professor Dong An: Why do we say that we put in more effort this time? Because when we recorded orchestras before, it was faster to set up and complete. This time, you could say that we moved the entire recording studio in the live orchestral hall. Setting it up took an entire day in itself.
Differences Between the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra[]
Yu-Peng Chen: When we previously recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, we were in a church, giving the whole atmosphere a very solemn feeling. This time, we decided to record at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall where the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra usually performs. The musicians and the conductor were all relaxed and performed exceptionally well in this environment. The Chinese music performed by these Chinese traditional music players felt natural and exquisite. They were able to unleash fiery passion in their performance — I especially like this.
Jiemin Zhang, Conductor: I think Yu-Peng has very high expectations for everyone. When he plays the piano, you also see his high expectations for himself; sometimes playing a piece three or four times is not enough. So I think it's very good that everyone enjoyed working together with Yu-Peng and I hope we have another chance to cooperate in the future.
Songjie Zhang, Associate Concertmaster: I'm delighted to have been a part of the music of Genshin Impact through this recording experience. After rehearsals, some of my colleagues talk about how incredibly immersive the entire game music feels. Not looking at the powerful battle music and the more grand, dramatic pieces, the delicate pieces are really the ones most able to touch our hearts.
Ping Zhou, President, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra: Many people think that symphonic music is elegant, high-class music that is out of touch with ordinary people. But actually I believe it is one of the inclusive forms of art because for centuries it has been able to express what is needed in each generation. Compared with synthetic sounds, live recording produces music that has a kind soul within it. The feeling it gives your heart, the feeling it gives you when playing the game, and the feeling it gives someone else watching you playing the game — these feeling may all be different.
Yu-Peng Chen: Our concept of game music won't change in the future but as we continue to pursue the perfect game music, we will keep working with different music teams around the world to add diverse cultural flavor on top of the foundation of Western orchestral music.
Travelers' Musings[]
"Travelers' Musings" — Behind the Scenes of the Music of Inazuma
Genshin Impact's Inazuma OST is composed by Yu-Peng Chen@HOYO-MiX, recorded by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra with special guest top Japanese folk musicians, and co-produced by the HOYO-MiX team and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. This video tells the story of the Inazuma OST's creative philosophy, and documents the one and a half month of remote collaboration across cultures and languages between the Chinese and Japanese teams.
Zoe Cai, Music Director: HOYO-MiX's specialty is making music that is both suitable for the relevant product and refreshing to listen to — it has been our goal since the beginning. Like the music of Liyue, the music of Inazuma is a harmonious fusion consisting of elements from traditional instruments as well as orchestral music. One significant difference is the influence of traditional Japanese music; many of the melodies are based on historic Japanese melodies. Inazuma's traditional Japanese instruments and orchestral music performed by the traditional Japanese folk musicians and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shakuhachi, the koto, the shamisen, the taiko drum, among others are present throughout all of Inazuma's music. These instruments closely follow the traditions of classic Japanese music while also adding a modern touch. To honor the heritage of these music elements, we also performed variations on some familiar pieces. For example, the battle theme of Inazuma that everyone is familiar with and the theme of the Electro Archon, which pays homage to "Sakura, Sakura." This will make listeners experience familiarity and novelty all at once.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer: Special thanks to Sony Music, we invited Japan's renowned Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra along with the famous conductor, Kurita Hirofumi; Miyano Sachiko, who is in charge of music production; and some of the best folk performers and singers in Japan. On this particular occasion, we liaised with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra remotely through online communication. The recording process took about one and half months — four months in total, if preliminary communication is also accounted for. This is a remote, online collaboration. I believe the most challenging part of the process was the increase in time and energy needed to communicate.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer: I also understand that the active performance of the musicians and the conductor will certainly be affected, but I think it is only during these difficult times that we will truly be able to deepen our trust in each other. For instance, at the end of the collaboration, I try my very best not to meddle with the final product because of the trust I have put in Japanese music producer Miyano-san, for her valuable perspective in the live music scene. She would take the initiative to offer advice on how to improve the music. And then the conductor, Kurita Hirofumi, would conduct according to the content of the score. If there was something that he was not sure about, he would ask Miyano-san. In this case, the efficiency of our collaboration improved a lot. When the orchestra takes a break, I would listen to the recording of what they just played. If there is room for improvement, we would wait until the next day to bring up what needs to be improved. Through this mutual collaboration, I believe I have learned a lot.
Towards the end, there were a few pieces that really moved me. They handled the emotions very well and delicately and it was a huge surprise because there were two pieces, one of which began with marimbas. The way I composed it was so difficult, I did not dare let the marimbas perform so I thought about having two versions. Nevertheless, they insisted on performing anyway. Then I thought to myself, "They practiced very hard for this" and after they practiced many times, I could tell that they really put in the effort. He must have practiced a lot to play it perfectly without a mistake. It is a very difficult marimba part I was very worried about it at first, mainly about how I should go about it. Actually, I should have asked him if we could have asked them not to play and then play the version without those instruments for the time being. Right, I should have said that, instead of just saying that I did not want to include that instrument — that might have hurt their feelings. Right, I'll keep that in mind next time.
Hirofumi Kurita, Conductor: When three days' worth of recording was completed without a hitch, I sighed in relief. This time, we used a lot of traditional Japanese instruments. The score shows how well the instruments were used. The result was in line with the composer's vision — all that we have to do is bring that original vision to life as perfectly as we can and try to put what each of us wants to express into each note. From this point of view, I think the recording result was a resounding success.
Sachiko Miyano, SHANGRI-LA Sound Director: Because Mr. Chen, a Chinese person, composed Japanese-style pieces. I think it's something that most Japanese people would consider out of the ordinary. The Japanese-style melodies sound Japanese, but not entirely Japanese and have a timeless, transcendental beauty to it and that actually provides a great listening experience.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer: Japanese musicians are known to be sticklers for detail. For example, all the musicians handle the notations with great precision. It's very impressive. What impressed me the most was the sheer number of musicians. There was hardly any extra noise during the recording; they took care not to make any sound other than the music from their instruments while recording a very quiet piece. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that everyone was holding their breath just so they could make the music clean and clear.
I learned that battle music from previous regions is a hit with players. For Inazuma's battle music, I spent a long time thinking about how to compose it. This time I composed one more than usual, so I think there are now four different battle themes for the open world in total. Different combinations of instruments play different rhythms. For example, one song only uses traditional Japanese folk instruments like that of the Taiko drum, the Shamisen, and the Shakuhachi. But in terms of musical form, I adopted the rhythmic style of modern electronic music. There's a build up and a drop. Another combat piece is also based on traditional Japanese folk instruments together with orchestral parts and vocal elements. There's also a battle piece that revolves around the passionate rhythm of the Taiko drum. In addition, the long melodical lines of Inazuma's theme song are handled by the strings. Let's try to create a sense of perseverance while simultaneously conveying a feeling of sadness and melancholy.
Kasumi Watanabe, Koto & 25-string Koto player: There are two schools for the koto: Ikuta-ryu and Yamada-ryu. I play in the Ikuta-ryu style, and thus I play the koto with square picks and when playing, you have to lean a little to the left — that is pretty much the difference between Ikuta-ryu and Yamada-ryu. For Yamada-ryu, you are upright in front of the koto and you use rounded picks. This time, there were a lot of pieces that included changes based on varying melodies, but there is still something that ties everything together. The music (in this performance) relied heavily on pentatonic scales that are characteristic of traditional Japanese instruments. It is full of grandeur — it was as if one could feel the (imposing) nature of the music. That 25-string koto in the back will be having its 30th birthday this year. Playing this instrument regularly is my life's work and there are so many pieces in this performance whose expressions only the koto can convey. That really made me feel that my persistence was worth it.
Mamino Yorita, Koden Shakuhachi Performer: I was unsure if I could correctly utilize the unique sound of the classic Japanese shakuhachi. The shakuhachi part gives the impression of mysterious sounds that emerge from nature during an intense fight as well as the notion of the surreal, powerful, earthly, and so on. The piece tells a story that is full of ups and downs. The vibrato from the shakuhachi comes from a special technique called "tremolo" where the player shakes their head while playing. During the performance, I employed a lot of tremolo techniques to adjust the intensity of the vibrato because there is a lot of tremolo parts in this piece, with each tremolo part being different. I hope everyone can try to feel these differences.
Through remote communication, we were able to make the recordings together with the Chinese producers. We play here, and they listen there. The first time we got feedback, we were able to go over the finer details while making the song. I think this way helped me appreciate the joy of creating something together and enjoy the performance more. When I normally play, I always put my hands together at the beginning and at the end: one is to thank the guests for coming to hear me play, the other is to be thankful for everything that happens during the performance.
Yutaka Oyama, Tsugaru Shamisen Player: There are many types of shamisen — the one I play is called the Tsugaru-jamisen, one of the bigger shamisens out there. When I received the score, I was not sure if I could play it. It looked difficult. I thought to myself, "Could I do it?" It was intimidating. Even with the adjustments, I still could not get the intended effect the composer was looking for. He confirmed the rhythm and tone and I was fearful that the intervals could not keep up with the rhythm. It was very difficult, although the prelude was not too bad.
What Mr. Chen is looking for is tone and feeling which, sometimes, is not what the Tsugaru-jamisen's expression of power is suited for. But there are also times when it fits perfectly. This recording was also the most challenging recording in my career. This was an opportunity to introduce traditional Japanese folk music to the world, which put a lot of pressure on me. I hope I can meet the expectations of the composer. Even though we are just getting started, I hope I can fully comprehend the intentions of the composer and through hard work, let my performance become part of his worldview.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer: For Genshin Impact's music, the requirements for the shamisen players were tremendously high. It was incredibly demanding, so all four musicians spent a lot of time practicing. They spent a lot of time during recording going over their parts again and again, so it seems that the shamisen musicians have a lot a patience. Of course, the result was nothing short of amazing.
Yuta Sumiyoshi, Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble Performer: The first piece took about six hours to record. At this rate, I wondered if it was going to take 18 more hours to record the remaining four pieces. But then everyone steadily got into the groove during the recording process after they figured out what Mr. Chen wanted to express from the first piece. Then the second, third, and fourth pieces went by easily because each part is recorded separately. For example, since we could not record together with the symphony orchestra. It became very difficult to get the rhythm of each part right.
Although it's an iconic Japanese instrument, the sound it emits does not sound very Japanese. This made me feel a sense of novelty. How would I put it? In a sense, it feels like going back to one's roots. It's a very meaningful work from this point of view, it really makes us feel like the instruments we're playing came straight from the Silk Road. Mr. Chen's pieces, in this respect, give people a feeling of grandiosity. So when we are playing the Taiko drums, we are very aware of the sound of the beats that will create a feeling of transmission to the end.
Satoshi Chiba, Sony Music Publishing (Japan) Inc. Music Supervisor: The main client of this composition is in China and the project itself involves Japanese-themed music and many Japanese musicians. Final adjustments to the sound were made in the UK. It is, well and truly, a global effort and I am honored to be a part of it. Genshin Impact is an online game that was launched globally. The passion and enthusiasm of creators and producers around the world has reached every part of the world in a way that is profound. Players will be able to feel it in-game whether it's from heartwarming scenes or by exploring the open world — the music will always be an inseparable part of the game. Hopefully, the soundtrack will be an amazing experience for players.
Yu-Peng Chen, Composer: A musical collaboration is also, in equal parts, a cultural exchange especially when it comes to playing musical pieces in the moment. Everyone has their own personality and understanding, and I believe mutual trust and respect is essential. I must say, the result is fantastic. Through this collaboration, I think it can be said that I'm very happy to be able to deepen the cultural exchange between China and Japan with music. I will be very happy if the soundtracks recorded this time can give Genshin Impact fans around the world a great experience.
Hirofumi Kurita, Conductor: Thank you very much.
Zoe Cai, Music Director: It is a cross-cultural exchange of traditions, but it is also not just restricted to tradition. I hope to convey to the players that "This is Genshin Impact."
Developer Insight: Behind the Music of Genshin Impact[]
Developer Insight #3 - Behind the Music of Genshin Impact (1)
Genshin Impact Main Theme - A Clear Direction Down a Bumpy Road[]
The creative direction of the main theme of Genshin Impact was decided very early on, so there weren't many times where we second-guessed ourselves or went back to the drawing board. When creating theme music unique to each city in Teyvat, we chose instruments and musical elements that most fit the distinctive styles of the locations.
After the main theme started to take shape, questions of particular details arose, such as which area's music should have a rapid tempo, which environments should have music that conveys a more leisurely feeling, and other unforeseen questions that required nuanced adjustments. Production was a continuous process of improvement.
Despite all this fine-tuning, however, the overall essence of the main theme has remained largely unchanged. The melodious, elegant tune borrows the voices of instruments to express the spirit of adventure: freedom, sincerity, and purity. These key elements embody how we have understood and recreated the world of Genshin Impact on the musical plane.
Although our direction was clear, we encountered many bumps on the road of production. Even the demo alone had over 10 versions.
Players might be curious: what was the process of creating this music from the very beginning?
The main theme was actually just a demo performed on piano at first.
This early demo underwent countless changes and polishing to grow into the full-fledged theme music we hear now. Below we can see the development across different versions:
Main Theme Demo Versions / by Yu-Peng Chen
Login BGM (Daytime) Versions:
V0: A solo piano (right hand) performs the main theme melody. In this version I was testing to see: (1) how this melody sounds by itself without any accompanying harmony or instruments, and (2) its potential for developing variations later.
V1: After determining the main melody, I added the harmony (left hand). This piano-only version was the login BGM in the first closed beta, and it was quite popular.
V2: I tried adding some basic string arrangements to the piano-only V1. This version was previously used as the dusk login BGM. (The current dusk login BGM is a newer version.)
V3: Here I tried playing the main theme with an Irish whistle myself.
V4: This is where I began formal composition and production, exploring the possibilities of this theme and expanding its musical depth. I strived to give this composition the narrative-like quality of a grand orchestral movement filled with waves of emotion, bringing to life the vast world of Genshin Impact. I hope when players hear this tune, they will be eager to start the game.
V5: This is the final version, the one performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I replaced the piano in the prelude with a harp, changed the violin solo to Irish whistle, and added accompanying female vocals.
Login BGM (Night) Versions:
V1: The Genshin Impact main theme with only a woman singing unaccompanied by any instruments. Here I wanted to convey a graceful, ancient voice from a faraway land.
V2: The female singing remains, but this version utilizes acappella harmonies. (I sang most of said accompanying harmonies myself.)
V3: Here I wondered how I could further develop the "ah" singing of the previous versions, so I came up with lyrics that invoke a feeling of religious chanting. They are just different sounds without any specific meaning.
V4: In the end, I decided to do away with the lyrics, as they didn't sound quite right and contained inconsistencies in detail. I tried instead changing "ah" to a more gentle "ooh" in mezzo-soprano. The deeper, steadier sound added a holy air to the gracefulness of previous versions, fitting perfectly with the night login screen visuals.
We always strove to perfect the login screen BGM, as this element serves as a player's first memory of a game, and is often the most unforgettable. Even years after a game from our childhood has been stored away on the shelves of history, when we are reminded of the game's login screen music we still find ourselves unconsciously humming a few lines. One could argue that music is a more pure language than even pictures and writing — it so easily invokes memories of experiences in the distant past, even feelings of those we no longer consciously remember. We hope that the main theme of Genshin Impact will do the same for you.
Designing the Music of Genshin Impact — Game and Music Working as One[]
Players often ask: which came first, the game or the music? We can at least answer this from the perspective of music.
When we were beginning to design the music of Genshin Impact, we were given a single image to refer to: a young Traveler sitting atop a high cliff, gazing out at Mondstadt in the distance. At that time, we only had a basic visual impression of the game, knowing nothing about the theme, story, or emotional elements, which are the starting points for composing music of any kind. We communicated with the development, IP, and visual teams to establish a clearer view of the world of Teyvat, then began working out the creative direction of the music.
We have realized that the production of game music is a long, meticulous process chain, one in which the most onerous part is not the actual creation itself. Creativity cannot solve all the issues that may arise. Rather, we must employ the precise, shrewd attitude of an architect.
Game development is like constructing a tower, in which music is a special kind of wood. Our job as the music production team is not just to prepare this wood, but to put it in the optimal place in the tower.
After composition comes the recording stage, in which we spared no expense to bring our ideas to reality. We sought out the top musicians and most authentic musical expression. For the Mondstadt main theme, for example, we went all the way to England, where we traveled around to explore folk music and culture. We were also honored to have the London Philharmonic Orchestra record for us at AIR Studios, where they not only displayed their world-class talent, but also the musical character we at HOYO-MiX sought to imbue in Mondstadt. We will continue collaborating with top musicians and orchestras around the world as we strive to create music pulsing with culture and diversity.
We have been moved by the importance the entire Genshin Impact team has placed on the game's music, with their support and teamwork empowering us to continually improve the music. Players can rest assured that the musicians and developers are working hand in hand to provide the best possible experience of Genshin Impact.
Time Changes on the Login Screen[]
The first music everyone should experience when they start up the game is the login screen and its four times of day.
Attentive players already discovered during the beta that the Genshin Impact login screen has four different representations of the time of day: day, dusk, night, and dawn. The music was adapted to match these visual changes.
The music of these four times of day share a segment of the melody, but we changed many of the details to better suit the different times of day. The day music is majestic and grand, while the dawn and dusk music both express a gentle elegance. And once night arrives, so does the mezzo-soprano singing, filling the air with mystery and profundity.
A segment of the main melody embellished with the harp separates the different times of day to further strengthen this sense of change. Yu-Peng Chen personally conducted the performance of the day music to heighten the emotional expression of the piece. We encourage players to take a moment on the login screen to sit back, relax, and appreciate this subtle, exquisite music.
Boss Music: Tunes Led by Emotion[]
Of all the music, the piece for the fight with Stormterror Dvalin is one of the most memorable. Most boss fights are characterized by frenzied background music, but for this music we instead went for a theme led by emotion, one charged with the tone of Stormterror's story. Thus we created this boss battle music quite differently from the norm.
In fact, emotion serves as the overall compass for all of Genshin Impact's music. We hope that players don't just see the music as a supplement to the game, but rather as an integral part to the world, story, history, and battle. Really feel and resonate with the sounds to enjoy a deeper, more personal experience of the game. Stormterror's battle music, for example, is part fiery intensity and part gentle repose; once players understand this dragon's story, they will relate to the music's emotion and feeling of distant longing.
There are easter eggs hidden in the boss music of Stormterror Dvalin and Andrius, Dominator of Wolves. One is that the chanting includes the vocal accompaniment of Yu-Peng Chen himself — sometimes, when the producer wants to help the music reach its emotional pinnacle, they will do it themselves.
All the methods we attempted had one goal in mind: to create music that can serve as a bond between the player and Genshin Impact, allowing everyone to enjoy the game even more.
Final Remarks on the Music of Genshin Impact[]
Lastly, I'd like to return to the Lantern Rite video. The surprising musical experience it provided viewers was really just a coincidence. In fact, the music wasn't created for the video itself; it was originally a tune used for the main environment of Liyue, so the instruments and melodic structure were all selected with a grander scale in mind.
The music production team actually never received any request to make background music specifically for the Lantern Rite video, nor did we have any idea about the divine deer, fireworks, and other visual elements. Even the video production team wasn't sure what style of music they were looking for. Despite this ambiguity at the start, we were able to find music that exquisitely matched the aesthetics and content.
Selecting the right music not only involves finding the right melody but also the right emotion, the latter of which is most stirring — the viewer's emotion rises as the divine deer leaps and the fireworks launch into the sky, with the music also carrying the emotion to a climactic height from where we can look down on all of Liyue. We marvel at the view below: a joyous, lively, firework-filled paradise. Here we also witness the magnanimity of Teyvat, which, by giving birth to such a city as Liyue, manifests the glory of a people and world in harmony.
Even though this video isn't exactly the final product of careful planning, it magically possesses the artistic sense we hoped to convey. Perhaps this kind of beautiful coincidence is where the intrigue of music production lies.
Yu-Peng Chen VGMO Interview[]
Yu-Peng Chen Interview: The Music of Genshin Impact
The first big region of Genshin Impact is Mondstadt. It's where all the adventures begin. The music design in this region is rather simple. The artistic design of Mondstadt has a lot of European elements. The city is a free and uninhibited place where chivalry is greatly advocated. As a result, I tried to make the music more free and relaxed without sacrificing the romance and eloquence of ancient Europe. Mondstadt is also a city that believes in "wind," and the wind element is the first element that the traveler can use, Therefore, I used a lot of woodwind instruments in battle music hoping to imitate the free-flowing character of the wind. I know how to play the clarinet and the Irish tin whistle, and I'm also a quite adequate piano-player. That's why I actually improvised a lot of the music in the open world.
In "Caelestinum Finale Termini," the tension of irregular string rhythm reflects the tension of the overall atmosphere of the battle, and the melody lines are also hidden within the rhythm. The main melody in the woodwind section plays out the uneasiness in the heart of Dvalin, and the humming human voice sublimates the significance of this fight. It shows that the destiny of the Traveler is to purify Dvalin.
In "Symphony of Boreal Wind," I try to learn from Beethoven's orchestration elements. The elements of breath and pauses in the melody make it sound more determined, sonorous and powerful, which fits the image of the wolf. The piano line is like the combination of the ice element and the wind element. The choir makes the wolf seem more deterrent and gives off a more poetic feeling overall. I love this song very much.
The artistic style of Liyue has Chinese Oriental fantasy elements. Therefore, in addition to using Chinese music instruments, the music of Liyue integrates Western harmony from classical music with traditional Chinese music. Occasionally, I also mix in some extended jazz chords in Liyue's music to add color to the simple melodies of Chinese pentatonic scale.
I especially like the song "Another Hopeful Tomorrow." Generally, the more simple and ingenious the music is, the more it can move the audience. I can usually compose music like this in one sitting. It sounds easy, but in fact, you need to accumulate a lot of energy to understand the course of life, and you also need to have a unique understanding of the musical language to be able to do that. For example, I often think about how melodies or motives interact, how I can make them sound more like daily speech, to make them have a more natural expression, pause, breathing, fluency or hesitation that may hide or express emotions. I will deliberately look for such beauty.
Travelers' Musings[]
"Travelers' Reverie" — Behind the Scenes of the Music of Sumeru
Yu-Peng Chen, Music Producer for Genshin Impact and HOYO-MiX: "Sequencing" is a technique commonly used in musical composition to develop melodies. Changing pitch and repeating the cycle creates an increasingly rich, emotional display just like our journey through the world of Genshin Impact. Your footprints from Mondstadt to Liyue, across the sea to Inazuma, then across The Chasm to Sumeru. In the course of these many journeys record many unforgettable stories, Genshin Impact's music accompanies our deep exploration and also drives the plot forward, constantly conveying emotions that ebb and flow.
Jinhai "Zoe" Cai, Music Director, HOYO-MiX Manager: I enjoy likening all members of HOYO-MiX to cultivators of music. We have enough patience and perseverance to keep making music as we reconcile our own musical language with the demands of the market, and we take pleasure in our growth and development during the creative process of Genshin Impact's music for Sumeru. The HOYO-MiX team also takes inspiration from different cultures and regions and seeks innovation in exploring traditional cultures.
Yu-Peng Chen: The presentation of two very different landscapes in one region is also an innovative expression of exploring geocultural aspects. After the theme of "drizzling rain and flying sand" was confirmed, the rainforests of South Asia first came to mind, as well as the vast deserts of the Middle East. For the rainforest scenery corresponding to South Asia, we used instruments such as the Bansuri, Sitar, Tabla, among others and tried to introduce elements of yoga music into our composition, giving our music a feeling of contemporary wisdom and spirituality. The occasional use of the lively asymmetrical compound rhythms adds a touch of "life" to the music. For the scenery of the desert and the Mausoleum of King Deshret corresponding to the Middle East, we used instruments such as the Ney, Duduk, Saz, among others. This music hopes to convey an epic, ancient "wisdom."
Sumeru's landscape is extremely complex. Within the desert and the rainforest, there are treacherous areas affected by "The Withering," waiting for players to explore and cleanse. We've also refined our approach to interactive music design and have unified suspense of the exploration with the tension of battle. The Withering Zones are different from other scenarios and are kind of surreal and oppressive.
Di-Meng Yuan, HOYO-MiX Music Producer: In the design of the music, by combining orchestral and electronic timbres that tend to be atonal with traditional folk instruments, we have created a dreadful, heavy, and even creepy atmosphere.
Yu-Peng Chen: Actually, in the beginning we could only see videos of folk musicians from different cultures playing on the internet. Luckily, on the first trip to London to record the music for Mondstadt, we paid a visit to the British Museum and saw historical relics from Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. We also visited the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, Belgium and took lots of pictures! To create the best possible music for the Sumeru region, we've been painstakingly working on this for three years, in hopes to make sure it's properly ready.
Martin Robertson, Duduk Player: Duduk is probably the most ancient woodwind instrument. I have seen one that was pulled out of a pyramid. They've been around a long time, and it's a very simple design. They're made out of apricot wood with some kind of very cleverly-crossed bamboo, and it basically vibrates so you get the beautiful noise.
Yu-Peng Chen: For the folk musicians, using these traditional folk instruments to play unconventional music is not something they're used to. Thus, this collaboration required a lot of communication and teamwork.
Kuljit Bharma MBE, Folk Music Producer and Tabla Player: If you Google sitar, it would say sitar has 28 strings. One thing maybe is not on Google is that Sitar has 28 strings but the player only plays one string. The other 27 strings, they vibrate naturally underneath the main string. So this research is not fully known worldwide. It's very difficult to play in many passages.
Dursun Can Çakin, Saz Player: It is always nice to be around people that can look at the world from the same point of view as you as we have similar interests, especially where music is involved. The rest of the project becomes just a detail when it involves emotions and getting those emotions across. Music is always nice no matter what form it takes. If we can express those emotions properly, That would make me very happy.
Eliza Marshall, Basuri Player: All these things keep my brain alive. And I love the fact that we can kind of cross-pollinate between exactly what we've been doing today — wonderful music from Chinese composers, Indian styles. I'm British, but I've been brought up with lots and lots of world influences. So to be able to kind of connect all of those, I think it's a really wonderful thing.
Di-Meng Yuan: When you combine these traditional instruments from different cultures together with creative vision, a new composition representing the civilization of Sumeru is born. Perhaps when the player first stepped foot in Sumeru, the first thing that caught their eye was probably the spectacle of the landscape. However, as the player gets deeper into the adventure, characters with very different personalities and backstories gradually emerge. The music of the scenery focuses on visualization and immersion and reflects the unique culture and feel of the game. The music used in the plot emphasizes the tension that accompanies the unfolding of the story.
The music for the Version trailers is more like a mix of content that integrates the best parts of the new Version together. And I think the most important thing about character music is that the melodies and compositions are tailored to each character's personality. We try our best to use music to amplify the intrinsic and extrinsic traits of our characters and present them to players. Within the team, we are responsible for each of these different music sections. Within the team, we are responsible for each of these different music sections. It's only when these sections come together that the musical world of Genshin Impact comes to life.
The characters' themes are closer to pop music and convey a more intense listening experience. In the arrangements, we usually incorporate some elements of EDM, rock, and trap to make the characters' traits more distinctive and impactful. Sometimes, we go outside the box and do something interesting. Such as the case with Kaedehara Kazuha's Character Demo, where we incorporated elements of hip hop music in an attempt to convey the image of a Ronin, together with the visuals of the video. When composing, we also use different instruments to express the characters' personalities. For example, in the first "Stellar Moments" album, the main instrument for Zhongli is the erhu. And in "The Stellar Moments Vol. 2," Eula's main instrument is the acoustic guitar. The theme of the character is consistent with the theme of the music in the game. There must also be an intrinsic connection between the character music and backstory as well as the story's scenery. For example, Dori, who was introduced in the Version 3.0 Trailer, is a merchant who does business in Port Ormos, a place that is far from the reach of the Akademiya, and is therefore more free-spirited. For her character theme, our team used Sumeru's combat theme and made a hardstyle remix of it.
Yu-Peng Chen: Both the rainforest and the desert share the same battle music to ensure uniformity. Hence, during the arrangement, I used both South Asian and Middle Eastern folk instruments and blended them together with western, classical symphony music. The solo instruments are subtly differentiated according to the area. For example, for the same combat piece when it's played in the rainforest, the wind instrument used is the Bansuri flute which originated from India which gives a soft and delicate tone. When played in the desert, while maintaining the same melody, the wind instruments used are the Ney and the Duduk which originated from the Middle East, which give a raspy and wild tone. Also, the themes used in Sumeru's battle music build upon how Mondstadt's battle themes had variations. In one of the pieces, I experimented with the Fibonacci sequence to create rich and varied rhythmic changes, which make it sound very modern.
Robert Ziegler, Conductor and Music Producer: There are several really memorable pieces. One in particular I only know it as x063 ("Gilded Runner"). It's got a lot of changing rhythms, so you have 12 12 123 12345 12 and on and on like that. For this rhythm, it's really thrilling, so everybody sort of comes to grips with that very quickly. And quite often when we have a large piece. What we'll do is record it in very short sections and then we'll assemble it together.
Yu-Peng Chen: The combat piece most closely related to the Dendro element is the custom track created for the new monster, Jadeplume Terrorshroom. I used a very minimalist leitmotif. Every time it repeats, the musical motif would undergo fission when the ornaments are played in different ways. The rhythm is then disrupted, deconstructed and assembled together again. This is particularly difficult when playing the instrument as it's hard to find where the accent is on the beat. However, it is the simplicity of this melody as well as the complexity of the execution and the details that make this combat theme unique.
Di-Meng Yuan: "Sumeru continues to be influenced by the legacy of ancient civilizations, but the prelude to new wisdom is also being composed." As a nation where knowledge is managed as a resource. "Wisdom" is at the core of Sumeru's story.
Yu-Peng Chen: Therefore, in the greater context of "wisdom," we had to cover two very different musical styles for the rainforest and desert, which was by far the most difficult challenge for our music team. Sumeru's music, on the whole, has a characteristic that the development of melody always revolves around the traditional compositional technique of "Sequencing," which remains close to the fundamental core of "wisdom." So what is "Sequencing"? Perhaps you remember in the Version 3.0 Special Program, in the Sumeru Symphony Performance, the opening melody underwent continuous musical fission in the form of sequencing, which causes relationships between the intervals and tones to change. At the same time, I took reference from the symphonic suites of the classical composer Rimsky-Korsakov and some orchestration elements from "Scheherazade." To compose the piece with colorful harmonies and flowing texture of the inner part, the melodic theme of this overture corresponds to a scene in the Interlude Teaser "A Winter Night's Lazzo" where Collei dreamed of an unsettling vision. The use of "Sequencing" as a composition technique is a natural way to set the tone for the development of Sumeru's music.
Jinhan "Zoe" Cai: With the further development of landscapes, gameplay, and stories, HOYO-MiX will face more challenges in the future. To allow the music of HOYO-MiX to resonate with the world, and to create music without boundaries Is an important goal for HOYO-MiX in making a "breakthrough." We want to keep up with the dynamic changes in global aesthetics and integrate the appreciation of Chinese language and aesthetics into the norms of different cultural regions to create world music with the characteristics of Genshin Impact. Just like the Traveler, we too, are constantly on a journey of discovery and growth. As we embark on future musical journeys, we will continue to accompany you and bring more surprises to all of our players.