The Alash Ensemble Raw Recording Session Footage - THE PATHLESS

The Tuvan musicians known as the Alash Ensemble are at the core of my music for Giant Squid's THE PATHLESS. Working with them was one of my life's highlights and there's not much I can say that the video doesn't showcase better. So enjoy!
Endless love to these 3 brilliant men and their manager Sean; this score wouldn't exist without them.
Soundtrack album on Bandcamp:
austinwintory.bandcamp.com/al...
More on the Alash Ensemble:
www.alashensemble.com/
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Edited by Dallas Crane
Me!
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www.austinwintory.com/

[@GlydeBorealis]

I love the fact that you didn't try to (for a lack of better words) westernize, or Americanize the score and instead, had the Alash Emsemble be the backbone of the pieces with the Orchestra complimenting them. I can imagine that it can only add a great depth of authenticity, exoticism, and wonder to the pieces. I can't help but appreciate the level of care you put into crafting your scores. It shows such... wisdom.

[@dariosatriani6688]

Tuvan throat singing is astonishing 😍🎶

[@EricMLopez]

"No bad things are ever made in the San Fernando Valley"

[@ifeelverygood]

I have no way of verifying this but I once read that according to some European explorer the holiest sound he ever heard was hundreds of Buddhist monks chanting in unison using throat singing. I think Bobby McFerrin is right, the human voice is one of the most incredible instruments in the world.

[@faderax3862]

This’ll be a Christmas game for me and I can’t wait!

[@herbertgamwell5364]

Even though it was the orchestra that accompanied the folk music and not the vice versa, Austin Wintory’s style is still very strong and that’s what it makes extra extra special, you know! And as much as Austin made osts for Journey and ABZÛ (which are also famous for their culture-mixing visuals), Wintory himself also becomes much more into this obscure folk vibes which is just awesome if you ask me ;)

[@awintory]

[@Voyeurrrr]

Well said

[@DimiKaye]

I really enjoy all the info about the history of the instruments, what they were used for etc. I believe it makes me connect more with the sound and especially the tradition of the players.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

The badass strumming of the Doshpulur added so much to some of the exploration sections and, more importantly, to the Cernos boss fight. That was exhilarating.

[@sjrjr8k]

Very very amazing all. Thank you !!!

[@sethhartman]

I had the privilege of seeing Alash Ensemble live a couple years ago. It was one of the coolest concerts I've ever seen!

[@karenspeciale9283]

I Love you Ayan Shirizhik!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤😘😘😘😍😍

[@jinseigoto1299]

I love seeing these "behind the scenes" videos since it really sheds light on the performers and your thought process behind using these instruments. The descriptions on each instrument are so helpful and informative too!! Do you think you will ever run out of "unique" instruments to incorporate into your music?

[@awintory]

The world is rich with instruments, sounds and colors. Hard to imagine ever running out :)

[@gpeddino]

I love the sound of the Igil. Beautiful instrument.

[@kosanarmax4158]

The Alash Ensemble are awesome, such cool sounds and rhythms

[@johnregehr5748]

Hi Austin! I discovered you through PlayWatchListen quite some time ago. Can’t believe it took me this long to find my way to your KZbin channel. This is AMAZING! What you do is so exciting and fantastic and complicated. I LOVE it! You’re awesome. 🤟🏻😊

[@awintory]

Ahh thank you!! Makes me so happy to see PWL build that bridge :)

[@jacobmcnatt]

3:34 gave me chills. Extraordinary musicians. I really appreciate your collaborative spirit when it comes to creating. It's truly refreshing.

[@ohheybrian1275]

People just jammin' out

[@juliahenriques210]

This whole work is such a gem. It's the kind of music that'll keep coming back to my playlist forever.

[@williammccarthy8487]

Amazing beard here, just beautiful

[@ockofficial7010]

This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing this amazing content with us Austin, I could never express how incredibly educative and fascinating I find these videos to be.

[@alternimousdimension]

Been listening to the Pathless' ost quite a bit for the past few days, kind of mesmerized by the singing and wondering about it. I was shocked when I discovered that the whistling noise was actually them! 😮 I thought maybe it was an Australian instrument, I can't believe a person made that sound. Such a neat idea too. Amazing that they improved the iconic chant! Thanks!

[@andrewgoodwincomposer]

Okay now I have to research Shoor and the horse head fiddle. Loving all these cool sounds and the collaboration!

[@LouieTaylorMusic]

These videos are amazing! I can't believe how lucky I am to receive such incredibly useful and enjoyable content from such an amazing creator! Thank you Austin

[@dacolib]

Loved the game and its soundtrack and am loving learning about how it was made!

[@BadNessie]

Treasure. Finding these amazing artists and loosening the grip on your own art to let it grow in the most organic way... it's just perfect. Also, the sound of the throat song alone, although I'm in no way directly connected to any culture that performs it, always sparks some sort of innate knowledge about something that I actually have no idea about. Which makes it a perfect choice from my personal point of view for the music itself, as well as the "greater purpose" in the game. Thank you for sharing this gold! It is very much appreciated!

[@Gaut201]

Oh it's so great to see you take good use of throat singing

[@too_many_fish]

I thought back to this video while watching Dune. The Harkonnen themes for sure used some of this throat singing, so cool.

[@BillyPalmerMusic]

If it's not already in the pipeline, I would love to see more about how these sessions were incorporated into the compositions please. For example, were the improvisations all recorded to a click? I'd find it interesting to see an example of how you responded to one of these improvisations in the DAW. This youtube channel is amazing.

[@awintory]

I am planning on some various videos, including new "As Noted" videos and one more "Under the hood" that'll break down a bunch of this stuff. And thanks man!! Been really trying to just demystify a lot of the process etc :)

[@BillyPalmerMusic]

@@awintory That's really exciting - thank you!

[@benshirleymusic]

Oh, man....this is awesome. Thanks for posting this video. Wow...

[@rory2179]

absolutely phenomenal to watch. really wonderful to see that this was a big collaboration where they got to be equal parts creator and musician. all the behind the scenes videos for the pathless have been a joy to watch and i'm always excited for a new one to be released! would love to know where you stumbled across the Alash Ensemble and got them on board this project

[@matrixrory]

I'm loving these videos.

[@starflowersea6031]

This is amazing!

[@iceomistar4302]

Those melodic textures and timbres remind me a lot of Jerry Goldsmith, this whole score does especially towards the end, I keep getting flashbacks to textural and ethnic Jerry like, The Challenge, The Mummy, Tora Tora Tora, 100 Rifles maybe a bit of Planet of the Apes in there too, in the quieter moments it definitely goes into Tora Tora Tora or The Challenge territory letting the soloists take charge. What's most like Jerry in the score is the counterpoint between the ethnic instruments and the orchestra. Not sure if you'd agree with me but I really do hear Jerry's influence in your style at times. Melodic texture is how underpins a lot of the action music in this piece and there were some moments in there where I could have sworn I heard a phrase that sounded a bit like Goldsmith's work on 100 Rifles or anyone of his aforementioned works above but it doesn't sound like a copy, it sounds like an Austin Wintory score but also sounds like Goldsmith in the same way John Williams sounds like Stravinsky at times fresh but the influence is there.

[@awintory]

You know how I feel about Goldsmith :)

[@hasanawado6433]

3:07 oh yeahhhh I love that what is the song name ?

[@stewpub]

Recorded at Bias Studios in Springfield VA

[@awintory]

Correct

[@Meada0]

I'm so curious though, what phrases did they end up creating and singing?

[@awintory]

You can actually read it in the lyrics on my bandcamp! :)

[@irisallender6796]

Еки!

[@AarushBothra]

How did you manage to go into this session with the confidence that you would be able to create something that fit the game properly? Did you go in with a lot of planning and a framework of cues, or did you just have confidence in the musicians and your skills as a composer?

[@awintory]

I had the confidence that it would bear fruit, in my own skills to figure it out if we got into trouble and also the awareness that the game still had a couple years of development time, which is plenty to figure out a solution if it'd turned out to be a disaster :) Great question!

[@Scorpio3002]

How did you work around the different tuning system? As I understand it, those ringing overtones in their voices require Just Intonation, which is in tension with standard western Tempered Tuning. Did you adjust your keyboard's tuning at all?

[@Irakli_]

3:12 which track is it?

[@awintory]

All throughout the score. It's not just one track, but listen to the boss fights in particular (Cernos, Sauro, Nimue, Kumo, Path to Salvation)

[@Irakli_]

@@awintory Thanks ❤