Austin Wintory's Newest Theme is Also Simple, but Sophisticated (feat.

Check out Austin's behind-the-scenes process here: • How to Write One Minut...
After my last video dissecting some of Austin Wintory's main themes, he was kind enough reach out and agree collaborate on a video with me. I take a look at the main theme from his newest game, The Pathless, and see how it fits into my previous analysis of Austin's writing style, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get Austin's thoughts on my last video. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
Austin Wintory's channel: / awintory
PATREON: / 8bitmusictheory
TWITTER: / 8bitmusictheory
NOTEBOOK: www.themusiciansnotebook.com/...
DISCORD: / discord
#ThePathless #videogamemusic #musictheory

[@FamilyJules7X]

I absolutely love this timeline of being able to have discussions like these with the composers. It was awesome to hear Austin's direct responses to these questions!

[@michaelclements5793]

Whoa it's like all my fav people in one place. Idea: Austin Wintory writes a theme for a game, Jules plays it, 8BM analyzes it... it's like youtube game music heaven

[@victorycoffee92]

@@michaelclements5793 lol true

[@Adshercott]

Honestly you interacting with a composer you've analyzed is the coolest possible next step for the channel.

[@nintendude794]

Disasterpeace next!!!

[@KentStJohn-vn6bq]

@@nintendude794 oh hell yeah.

[@WiresDawson]

@@nintendude794 sign me up, that would be stellar.

[@nintendude794]

@@WiresDawson it would even go so far as to be... Rise Of The Obsidian... Inter-........ Stellar............. I’ll see myself out! :p

[@WiresDawson]

@@nintendude794 that pun was pure brilliancy 😆

[@chordalharmony]

It’s really cool. Wintory seems to want the music scene to explode, and I’m all for that

[@RichardBatchelorComposer]

They say you shouldn't meet your idols. But Austin just seems like the loveliest and most chill of dudes, another terrific video as always. Bravo guys :)

[@animamachinae8658]

ONLY. BRASS.

[@DallasCrane]

BRASS

[@tarkelprice6875]

*plays crunchiest brass chords from banner saga*

[@elcazador3349]

*Hoenn noises*

[@the_supern0va238]

No tears, ONLY BRASS!

[@markenangel1813]

*the T U B A F A C T I O N has arrived*

[@kodykozak1326]

I’ve been trying to write my own music now for a while, and my process is: - has melodic idea - writes it down - idea took up 20 seconds of ear time - existential crisis, “NOW WHAT DO I DO?” - frantically writes rest of the wrong, questions every decision In summary, for me it’s like jumping into a bottomless dark hole without a parachute, surviving, finding the bottom, then fighting my way back out. Anyone else?

[@anabsurdkitten623]

I think a lot of composers go through that. (myself included)

[@matthewbrown995]

For me I generally have a harmonic idea that I want to express. I write down a chord progression or maybe a melody and I'm just stuck after that :/

[@LagAttacktoSlay]

Same, but I just get disabled and reset xD

[@Svvicu]

Started making it, had a mental breakdown, bon apetite.

[@benji272]

just keep on practicing, you'll get it eventually.

[@GlydeBorealis]

Every time Austin talks, he's always very humble and grateful for everything, and I'm absolutely convinced that you cannot make music this great without having this kind of gratitude, humility, and drive for improvement.

[@MarkSamaniComposer]

"I know you made some very *deliberate* choices in instrumentation..." Looks to the bass kazoo

[@gamingdragon2361]

Wow this is really cool how he reached out to you to do this collab. Shouts out to both you and Austin Wintory

[@pallios]

Alternative title "When senpai notices you"

[@JGHFunRun]

But who is the senpai?!

[@westeray]

This is really inspiring as a composer for video games; I often watch your stuff, and when i see you go into detail and break down the structure of other's pieces, i go "Wow, that's so complex, I'm not sure I'll ever be on the level of putting that kind of stuff into every piece." Then i see something like this and how much Austin's structure is often based on the drive of feeling, mixing whats seen with how it'd sound, and its really driving as I've tried not to overcomplicate things myself and merely work with what's placed in front of me. Thanks to both of you guys for working together to make this video! It was awesome hearing you both talk about the overall development of music and the process behind such wonderful pieces

[@davinci7897]

This was incredibly wholesome. Thank you. Appreciated the in depth analysis as usual and chuckled a bit when most of the answers were, "Yeah, I just kinda made it up and it worked." Wintory himself was a great person to have share his thoughts and loved the introspection on the video, his work in the industry, and of course the music.

[@chody_]

I love this. Hearing the creative process of other musicians and realizing that it can be as simply as “I don’t know,” I just did, or felt.

[@MinorCirrus]

Austin is so grounded and accessible on social networks that it makes sense there would be a response from him. I'm really glad this discussion happened, you rarely see these kinds of interviews, especially with VGM composers. Great, wholesome stuff.

[@MelvaCross]

Not only his composition carry that mature, genuine tone. What a guy!

[@miragetheshadow]

OK 1: this is all amazing! I love it! And 2: I love how connected Giant Squid's games are, even through the music if you look deep enough, there are small hints of the themes from ABZÛ hidden in The Pathless.

[@aelic7]

Love Austin's work! He's a brilliant composer and his insights on Play Watch Listen are fantastic as well

[@YingwuUsagiri]

What I truly admire of a lot of great (orchestral focused) artists is that they almost all follow Stephen Sondheim's philosophy of The maximum development of the minimum of material.

[@InvincibleWereWeasel]

Tooth and Tail has my favorite Austin Wintory soundtrack. It’s so bombastic! I smiled when he brought it up

[@DallasCrane]

Kristin Naigus’ arrangement of the tarantella is my favorite

[@Vonias]

YES! I was so happy he mentioned it

[@The_Musical_Cartograph]

The toughest thing when analyzing Austin Wintory's music is to stay focused on analyzing, or else you just start buying a horse and learning mongolian throat singing !

[@PeterSchmidt]

Love this comment.

[@flemingbock]

Austin Wintory is undoubtedly a really talented and thoughtful composer. For me, personally, he is filling the void in the inspirations I look up to that Jeremy Soule used to occupy before that Kickstarter debacle. Loving these videos! I hope you manage to have this kind of dialog with more composers along side the analysis of their work in the future. Just imagine getting an interview such as this with the likes of Nobuo Uematsu or Koji Kondo!

[@geoffreyprecht2410]

Personally, I think that Wintory's music is even more universally understandable than Uematsu or Kondo. Sure, Koji Kondo created some of the most recognizable melodies of the past century, but they don't tell a story the same way Wintory's music does. Plenty of composers have tried to recreate the Hero's Journey in orchestral form, but Austin Wintory did it perfectly in Journey's OST. Even the chaotic melodies of Monaco or Tooth And Tail perfectly go with the action of those games' atmosphere and pacing. Wintory's songs have not just accompanied the games they go with, but completely enriched them in ways few other games have accomplished.

[@flemingbock]

@@geoffreyprecht2410 Absolutely! Wintory is tapping into something that is quite his own that is particularly suited to conveying the essence of a story and world within which it develops. I eagerly anticipate many more groundbreaking scores from him! My mention of those composers specifically was because of how much 8-Bit Music Theory admires their work and how amazing it would be for him to be able to have an opportunity to interview them. (Amazing for some of us as well, I assume!)

[@dgd216]

@@geoffreyprecht2410 I don't know about all that... Wintory missed the boat of achievements that Koji and Nobuo enjoyed by the time they were both 35 years of age.. the score to Final Fantasy 7 alone was written when Nobuo was Austin's age now, and the reception to that music was unprecedented in comparison to anything Austin's written.. Koji wrote Link to the past when he was 31.. Wintory still has ways to go before reaching that level. Dark World is a masterpiece, and there are no pieces that Austin has written that can match it. I have actually begun to lose interest in video game music because so much attention is placed lately on composers like Austin. He is an average and good composer, but he brings little in terms of setting a new bar meaning, he is not very ambitious, takes very few risks, and takes a "safe space" approach to writing. It's nothing special, and really doesn't think to bring much attention to himself or what he does. He writes what he feels will work best and cares little for what other people think. He even alludes to this in what he says, which is interesting. He does his job, fulfills his schedules and honors his commitments. He's a businessman composer, a craftsman, and a good teacher... Like a college professor who understands music deeply, but isn't a Beetle level talent. Legendary status can come eventually and he has potential, but he's not diverse enough in his approach. It's not high activity music that raises the bar in any way like say, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masashi Hamauzu.. those guys are the real deal and teach way more through their music by setting a new bar with each score they write, and they always talk about giving their audiences something to enjoy, which is more audience focused than self focused like Austin's approach is all about. This is why I appreciate and always have appreciated these composers more than anyone: they write for the people, not for some introspective and self absorbed reason. They want to raise the bar with each new project instead of taking each project and making it all about those projects alone.. no.. these composers take a project and don't worry all about how to make it work, but also, what transcends yet compliments the project and takes risks in stretching the boundaries of project friendiness vs musical experimentation. Final Fantasy 12 is still a masterpiece to behold and again, Sakimoto was Austin's age when he wrote that score.. Younger even. Sakimoto was criticized in that some of the pieces didn't always fit the narrative, but that is because Sakimoto was brave enough to experiment and go against the grain, which is very interesting because today, it is only growing in recognition as not just a video game score, but something one can enjoy as stand alone concert music.. Giza Plains, Dalmasca eastersand.. absolute masterpieces that have sold out concerts. Austin focuses too much on how well something will fit, and that's a habit that comes from the film scoring approach. Video games are not films. They try to be, but those don't make for the best games, let alone the best approach to choose when scoring. Video games are storybooks and storybooks are more open ended than films.. Films have a script to follow, storybooks can be freeform and dynamic such that a medium like a video game would be so good a compliment to it that you can afford to take liberties musically moreso than in films. Ultimately, There are better composers out there which would do musical knowledge better justice... I'm a bit disappointed where all the attention is going to by the VGM community. It's missing the real pioneers and geniuses that would be hard to dispute as the best representatives for how far video game music has come and what can be learned from it on a technical musical level and it's ability to generate goosebumps and other intense emotive experiences from listeners, which is something Austin mysteriously never talks about. I would liken Wintory to a Mozart.. a fast writer.. where I would say there are the John Williamses in the others... more crafty and ambitious.. And I have learned more from Williams than I ever have from Mozart... Prodigies like Mozart are algorithmic... this might make for prolific output, but it would only make the music a bigger pile of shit to sift through just to find the gems. I'm still waiting for a thorough 8 bit analysis of Sakimoto's or Hamauzu's music. It's so high level and hard to analyze, so I'm not surprised, but that is precisely why it should be given analysis. It's like a tough boss in a video game. Do you have what it takes to play with the big boys?

[@LordMangudai]

@@dgd216 "they write for the people, not for some introspective and self absorbed reason", but also Austin is "a businessman composer, a craftsman, and a good teacher..."? Which is he, a hack cashing in a paycheck or a pretentious navel-gazer? He isn't ambitious and takes a "safe space" approach but at the same time you think he should write more "audience focused" music? You can't argue it both ways. This is an extremely muddled and incoherent diatribe, honestly. Also, the "enter" key is your friend.

[@dgd216]

@@LordMangudai you're an idiot. Being a self absorbed composer doesn't make you a hack. I'm not here to be grammatically correct either, I'm on the toilet half the time I type anyways, so you can take your time worrying about those things if you like: it's your time that gets vampired, not mine. Austin clearly gets credit where credit is due. If you can't see the point to my post, grow a brain. It is a fair critique because I'm not here to piss all over Austin's parade, just point out that he isn't perfect and that there are better out there. If he wants to take the criticism seriously, that's on him. If not, then let him wallow with acolytes like you who clearly have little talent and dumb attitudes to boot.

[@pikadevil7518]

I've had the pleasure of meeting Austin Wintory during one of the Journey Live concerts. A kind, wonderful soul. Being absorbed in playing a portion of Journey while a live orchestra (Fifth House Ensemble) managed to follow his cues at the drop of a hat was truly a remarkable experience. I have to second a thought that Wintory mentioned. You have such a unique style of analysis and presentation that is amazing to watch. I find myself geeking out to your videos quite often, and have inspired me to try new things in my personal composition.. Mega props to you!

[@mintsonata3003]

I feel special for finding this! Really great content!

[@emberwickart6856]

Maaaan this is absolutely just what this channel has been converging to, and its so perfect

[@SerperiorSnivy]

oh wow! yeah the last time you did the Austin Wintory video I thought about letting you know he's active on youtube

[@ThatOneTallNerd126]

I watched this video just after playing through Stray Gods twice, another of Wintory's works covered on the channel. The theme of "Adrift" has been looping in my head for nearly 72 straight hours. I randomly find myself humming it, singing it, listening to it on repeat for 20 minutes. I only have a pretty base level music theory education, but the inherent emotional and musical impact of Wintory's themes are unmatched in my experience. They are truly just "hummable," and you can feel that they mean something, even if you don't know why. Also, I truly love your videos; wonderfully thought out, scripted, and put together :) (I made a KZbin account just to post this comment two years after the video came out, I just really wanted to say it lol)

[@dylanthemusicnerd8280]

I was really hoping you would do a video on The Pathless, but I did not expect Austin to show up! Really great video!

[@petarus625]

A couple years ago, I got to see Austin Wintory conduct the music of Journey live while someone played the game. He took questions at the end, and he's really down to earth! Happy to see this interview :)

[@mr.cook5]

this might be my favorite video of yours, absolutely fascinating interview, and Austin seems like a tremendously nice and thoughtful person, what a pleasure to watch.

[@auxchar]

Wow, the animation for his series of metaphors was really amazing.

[@LouieTaylorMusic]

This is an incredible resource, I'm so amazed that we get to hear from such great people, and at the same time too! Thank you

[@EruRoraito040]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!

[@13GManhan]

8-bit and Austin, Thanks for sharing your insights on the creative process and how things end up coming together! Amazing content! Thanks!!

[@jamesburvant3376]

amazing vid. you can feel the thought and care put into it, as with all your videos

[@anthonygimino3531]

I love this channel and I think this is my favourite video so far ! Thanks for all you do help keep us imager composers and musicians Inform the recent development in game music to Inspire us in our own creative processes ! Great work!

[@fearitselfpinball8912]

I love these types of interviews. I think there's often a distinction that emerges between "retroactive analysis" and "creative process". Sometimes creativity is very intuitive or emotionally driven but as it creates what isn't yet there it often leaves in its wake a surprisingly structured trail. Retroactively, the creative process (to an analytical mind) looks like it must be something akin to very attentive and intentional structural engineering--yet perhaps that's not how it came together. I think the Beato interview with Sting makes this point too. Rick can't quite believe that these highly structured melodic and harmonic ideas emerged intuitively... I think it's smart for composition students to keep that distinction (analysis/creative process) quite clear.

[@Spectaer]

This is great, such a nice person and such an awesome video. I mean, I love your work and this kind of collaboration/interview is incredibile

[@Merrygate_]

Just listening to these two amazing musicians talk about the thing they both love made me really, actually emotional and I'm truly thankful to 8-bit Music Theory and Austin for doing this

[@kroebird92]

This video was Awesome! Loved hearing a composer talk about their process!

[@sebastianbuciu6619]

Wow, this is why i love both you and Austin. Im happy you got to do this. But as ive always praised Austin for, it's awesome that he is so social media forward. We get to see inside his brain and learn more about the scores which only makes me appreciate his craft even more - rather then just seeing a name attached to the piece i liked without knowing more context (altho his work is stand alone without needed this, which is why i like him for blessing us this way)

[@Twisted_Logic]

I didn't realize he also did Tooth and Tail. I love that soundtrack!

[@virtua_t4695]

One of your best videos yet. Loved it :D

[@Shannonnr]

This was amazing! I know I appreciates getting to hear from the composer himself.

[@chazzer5968]

I found that having the composer in the video pretty interesting. It was nice to have the composer's perspective on your analysis.

[@andrewdottext8026]

Austin Wintory is a legit nice person for reaching out to you. Thank you for the video and thank both for what it's basically a mini lecture on videogame music composition. This is the content I want to see more!

[@Kennykazey]

You're doing a better job selling people on The Pathless than Annapurna's marketing department!

[@anthonynelson1699]

I’ve been waiting for The Pathless to hit PC for a long time now so I can play through it. The music has just been so engaging to listen to in isolation, I cannot imagine how nuts it is in game. I’ve even been trying to do a cover of Cernos from that soundtrack! Let me tell you, it goes hard. Lol

[@rafaelita6366]

This video just opened up my mind. Thanks for posting it. I'm studying a lot of music for a OST I'm composing for a friend, my first one, and I tried to apply every single thing I studied before. Well, this video proofs me wrong. Thanks again for opening up my mind. Really appreciate! (Sorry about the english, I'm brazilian hehehe)

[@Sebasu_tan]

Austin Wintory has been one of my favourite composers ever since Journey. I have really loved these two videos!

[@shurikenmiasma]

It's really interesting to hear the emotional aspects of the musical decisions Austin makes. A lot of this is validating information to get from another composer.

[@mrmangoberry8394]

After your former video, I have delved into Austin’s music and I think I found my favourite composer. I feel like Austin’s music has now affected mine as a novice composer and will continue to do so, so thank you.

[@aloysiuskurnia7643]

Everytime you upload, it makes me feel want to do some musicking

[@RajyMcgee]

This was so interesting, thinking about the contrast between compositional process and analysis.

[@ThisIsOnesto]

I felt like I learned tons too. So interesting.

[@TheIskender101]

It’s so interesting hearing a composer respond to an analysis of their music! We don’t often get to hear this kind of direct response from composers, so thanks for putting this together. It’s so fascinating to get this insight into how the composer approaches their music vs. the analyst.

[@erzloh]

Amazing video, again! :D

[@thatcokestuff]

Austin is amazing! Great vid!

[@kyokoandiemacht]

I think and hope this video is really a gamechanger. Maybe more composer will now reach out. I love the analytic perspective and the composer kinda reacting to that analysis and sharing their perspective on writing that piece. Also it is really interessting to see the music from both sides and i am sure both parties will get some knowledge out of this. 🙂

[@opposumness3107]

Holy shit, I love this channel!

[@ggstarwizzrd]

Just bought The Pathless, cant wait to find a nice quiet evening to jump into it!

[@A..lie..sha3]

It would be lovely if you looked at some more of Martin o'Donnell's work

[@DavidSchiess]

This is just fantastic!

[@nedfo72]

This is amazing

[@EngrossingEnigma]

This is the best channel on youtube imbo

[@tomwoolsey1089]

Ahh! I love this!!!

[@VGMFan20XX]

Hot damn do I love this channel.

[@kpdelaney6460]

My favorite theme from him is to know water from Abzu. I have been listening to it often after watching your last video

[@parliament-of-owls]

i had no idea austin wintory scored tooth and tail and monaco!! i frickin' LOVED those soundtracks; monaco's is still in my top three after all of these years

[@KentaKurodani]

"A little addendum" Video is longer than the original Austin Wintory vid

[@a52productions]

I wish I could Like this video multiple times. This is such a good interview and I'm learning so much! Also, Austin Wintory seems like just such a kind and knowledgeable guy

[@alvarostockle]

I want to deviate a little of the main topic to say: Great work with the edition of this video!!

[@whatdothlife4660]

I listen to The Pathless and Journey OST once a day or more lately. They are so addictive.

[@SteffenThole]

I love how you can just directly talk to a composer, it's wild. But I gotta ask how you got the audio to sound so clean, despite most probably not being able to see each other. Did both of you record the dry audio in and then he sent his take to you? It doesn't sound like a live audio call at all.

[@LagAttacktoSlay]

I literally almost shat my pants when I saw this in my recommended feed.

[@kayanel7982]

Awesome 👍 stuff

[@loganwaffle]

6:55 BRASS AND ONLY BRASS

[@glaslackjxe3447]

Amazing graphics

[@MrFrumen]

I just want to say that I noticed in 15:41 when Austin says "flip it upside down" and the diver does the same :)

[@KentStJohn-vn6bq]

Dude congrats on getting this interview! Time to start a series of these?

[@dreamscapepilgrim]

Would love to hear you do more of these with other composers - Darren Korb would be awesome. Of course the dream would be Koji Kondo or Nobuo Uematsu... could happen....

[@zestoh_coffee_892]

I feel like a lot of the answers to the question "Why did you make *insert sth. here* the way it is? Is there some secret you have to making these things?" is just "it sounded nice so I just went with it"

[@RenZeffie]

Wintory did the OST for Tooth and Tail? I love that game!!

[@Vonias]

boos awmal vyawlilyetoo, hyawl KSR!

[@Xeroskia]

That Deformers game looks pretty fun lol. I'm a little surprised I've never seen or heard of it.

[@yulovery6398]

Oh god I love this

[@loganwaffle]

The biggest takeaway here is that literary and musical analysis tell us more about why we like things more than it says why the artist made certain choices. Wintory’s music in Journey, Abzu, Banner, and Pathless have similar patterns: perhaps if only because they are his minor scale epic tracks-but more importantly, because he can translate art to music. It’s no surprise that four somber and mystical works of art share some musical identity.

[@jazzedupsax8592]

I just picked up Journey from Steam to try out and listen

[@captainbritain7379]

0:52 Nice rhyme ;)

[@dylanlapointe6145]

BRASS. Literally ONLY BRASS

[@ivyssauro123]

I like how Austin is just Jude Law with glasses with an alias so he can compose in peace without being associated with his acting career.

[@DallasCrane]

Jude Law method acts as Austin Wintory

[@insanecamo]

Abzu has my favorite soundtrack of any game

[@isaiahdavis9486]

Neat!

[@JGHFunRun]

The unconscious stuff is probably what causes the hard to analyze, ultra interesting music.

[@JazzyFuriousDestroyer]

Anybody else sing his intro every single video? Just me?

[@miragetheshadow]

Haha yep I do too!

[@danielacunachavez4699]

Austin Wintory'ception

[@enricofoa8804]

In my opinion some of K.K. Slider's songs are really interesting, for example K.K. Jazz or K.K. Cruisin', so I'd really like to see a video about them!

[@airazure2050]

I think music analysis is like reading comprehension where you try to make sense of everything the authors presented while they may just being unconscious about the whole creation process but with a sole purpose of presenting the content properly.

[@the_supern0va238]

We definetely need more of these videos where you talk about a composer's music. I just want one of Christopher Larkin and my life will be complete.

[@Vonias]

The holy trinity of video game composers: Austin Wintory Gareth Coker Christopher Larkin

[@the_supern0va238]

@@Vonias what about Mick Gordon and Toby Fox?

[@Vonias]

@@the_supern0va238 Yeah honestly there are a ton of great game composers, way too many for a trinity. But when I think of my favorites off the top of my head it's always those 3 that come to mind first.

[@the_supern0va238]

@@Vonias there's no single objectively bad vg composer I an think of. The way video game music has to be incredibly dynamic to be able to tell a story is way different from mainstream music which forces them to get creative with their writing, which results in some of the best music ever written imo.

[@Vonias]

@@the_supern0va238 Yes, exactly. I'm pursuing making video game soundtracks as a career. They're so interesting, motifs, stems, attaching meaning to instrumentation, the list of stuff you can do with a soundtrack just goes on and on. So much fun.

[@benliechti3864]

Alpine Incline from Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze when

[@MelodiCat753]

Amazing, amazing video! As a composer myself who's greatly inspired by emotional game scores that tell stories, it was so valuable to get a little bit of insight on Wintory's creative process. I have a somewhat question that I know is somewhat silly, but I want some reassurance: I love these slow-paced minor themes. But can a game's theme be faster paced, be in major, or do both, as long as the melody itself is still memorable and has potential for development?

[@awintory]

A theme can be anything :) So yes, and yes!

[@MelodiCat753]

@@awintory Thank you for the response! Love your work, and I'm happy to know that my more upbeat theme ideas are a valid option. :)

[@nevets0910]

Check out Scruffy’s Abzu video because Austin Wintory comments there like he does here too, the man’s music is amazing!!

[@DallasCrane]

The Scruffy video is so good!!!!

[@komi___]

Could you make a video about why Lumiose City sounds like it was made for Mario Galaxy?