Tomb Raider's 2014 GDC audio presentation surfaces online

Following a live orchestra performance conducted by Jason Graves, Crystal Dynamics audio designers Jack Grillo & Alex Wilmer presented at the Game Developers Conference in 2014. GDC has only just published this video today, May 25th, 2018, and it's a long but fascinating watch.

Grillo opens by talking sound effects, and from timestamp 24:18, Wilmer demonstrates the implementation of music in the franchise video game reboot of Tomb Raider (2013). He elaborates in-depth on the Tomb Raider overture as created by composer Jason Graves, and how referencing this influenced the creation of in-game music suites and the dynamic micro-scoring of action scenes.

Wilmer continues by breaking down the traversal of scoring the game - from Lara Croft opening a door, to fighting in combat with triggered layers of music, even when combat is instead avoided altogether. Percussion, sparse notes and stingers accentuate every player experience, with every piece of music in the game serving a purpose. Wilmer also talks about Graves' custom-made "The Instrument".

Tom Holkenborg commences work on Tomb Raider (2018)

New: Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider (2018) via Empire

It was revealed in June that composer Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL was helming the score to the upcoming Tomb Raider film reboot starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, due out March 16th, 2018. The film is heavily inspired by the 2013 video game reboot of the same name, and with filming wrapping up in Cape Town and London earlier this year, the visual tie-in is unmistakable. The question now on the tip of every Tomb Raider fan's tongue - will the film soundtrack utilise the thematic motif from the games?

Circumstantially it appears that Jason Graves, the composer tasked with crafting a new Tomb Raider theme for the rebooted game series in 2013, has already asked Holkenborg the very question via Twitter:

Really? Nice! Can you do your own main theme or are they asking you to use mine? Can't wait to hear!

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) 8 September 2017

The Tomb Raider franchise's last silver screen adaptions, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) & Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) were accompanied by music composed by Graeme Revell and Alan Silvestri respectively. Revell had a very short time to finish the job, and legacy video game composer Nathan McCree's original Tomb Raider motif did not make it into the soundtrack. Silvestri, on the other hand, implemented McCree's motif with significant variation.

Holkenborg may not yet be able to disclose plans for the music of Tomb Raider (2018). A trailer for the upcoming film by director Roar Uthaug is surely imminent, but as goes the film advertising industry, it's unlikely to incorporate any work from Holkenborg and instead be accompanied by third party trailer score.

Full BEEP interview webisodes with Tomb Raider composers

The BEEP documentary project has interviewed countless video game music composers and industry members. While footage from each of these interviews is set to appear in the final documentary film, releasing September 30th, 2016, the BEEP team has allowed public access to the full interviews as "webisodes" when sponsored. Among the project's interviewees were four involved with the music of the Tomb Raider franchise - Nathan McCree (Tomb Raider I, II & III), Alex Wilmer (sound designer/music supervisor/audio director on Tomb Raider: Legend through Rise of the Tomb Raider), Jason Graves (Tomb Raider, 2013) and Wilbert Roget, II (Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris).

BEEP explains that "interviews for documentaries often take an hour or more, and yet only a few minutes is ever used in the film". They've made the content available for the benefit of research and fandom, but the project is requesting financial support for this to be possible. The full interviews with Nathan McCree and Jason Graves are available from the selection. BEEP: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF GAME SOUND is an unprecedented transcript effort by Karen Collins and Chris Greening and is available for preorder now.

The Tomb Raider Suite announced - classic soundtracks by Nathan McCree to be re-recorded and released, concert too

At PAX East today the "Lara Croft: The Undisputed Queen of Gaming" panel was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tomb Raider franchise. Legacy classics composer Nathan McCree (Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II & III: Adventures of Lara Croft) was present to make a very special announcement.

The Tomb Raider Suite is a project that wil see the first three Tomb Raider soundtracks re-recorded with an orchestra at Abbey Road Studios (à la Peter Connelly's The Angel of Darkness). The resulting material is to be released commercially on CD and in digital download formats. This marks the first purchasable release of the music to the original Core Design Tomb Raider trilogy in 20 years of the franchise.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the fans, as well as me, to hear the music as I had always intended it.” - Nathan McCree

Following his work on Tomb Raider, McCree has always reflected upon the constraints placed upon him by the limited technology of 1996-1998. This collection aims to rectify the sound of the classic compositions and will also include "extensions and variations of original tracks from the first three Tomb Raider titles".

To further celebrate this release and the 20th anniversary of Tomb Raider, a live concert of the material is being organised in London for later this year. The production of the album(s) and live concert event will be covered in an upcoming documentary, Tomb Raider: Remastered, directed by Matthew Longfellow.

Jason Graves & Peter Connelly are also featured in the recently announced "20 Years of Tomb Raider" hardback by Crystal Dynamics' Meagan Marie. The book is set to include exclusive interviews with Tomb Raider composers amongst extensive coverage of other aspects of the Tomb Raider universe.

Full Tomb Raider Suite Announcement via the official Tomb Raider Blog.

Jason Graves not returning as composer for Rise of the Tomb Raider, but new Lara theme is. New composer to be revealed and a Rise of the Tomb Raider soundtrack CD release likely.

Farewell Jason! While Graves' theme will continue to accompany Lara, sadly the composer will not

MoTR has received word from our E3 2015 ambassadors on the show floor after an interview with Rise of the Tomb Raider Creative Director Noah Hughes and senior community manager Meagan Marie of Redwood City studio Crystal Dynamics. We asked, "will Jason Graves be returning as composer?":

Meagan Marie: "Jason [...] is not involved. But we don’t have any announcement for who the new composer is. I’m sure we’ll blow it out when we do."

We also asked Marie if there'd be a CD soundtrack release for Rise like its predecessor Tomb Raider:

Meagan Marie: "I think that the answer to that is we know how much fans love music, and that you guys loved the CD last time, so I would expect we’ll do something very similar. That’s not a formal announcement, but we’re definitely looking into options and we’ll let you know as soon as we have details."

Noah Hughes: "I should clarify then in that context that I really enjoyed working with Jason and I think we’d enjoy working together again, so it was something where we very much respected each other’s work. This was more a decision about this game being an evolution of the last game, and really trying to capture a new personality, so part of it was saying from the ground up that if we want to score this experience, how can we best show this transition in Lara’s character?"

Our Tomb Raider community ambassadors in Los Angeles also queried if Jason’s theme would come back, having just made a triumphant reappearance in the E3 2015 game-play trailer:

Noah Hughes: "Yeah that is fair to say that we really loved the theme work that Jason helped us establish with the reboot, and so we like themes as a style of scoring the game. We try to make sure those themes take on the tone and emotion of the moment so they are very portable but we do work with common themes to help get that sense of identity."

Thus Graves leaves his mark on the franchise with the continuity of his wonderfully crafted thematic motif for the reboot. Much like the original Tomb Raider composer Nathan McCree, his legacy may hold fast in the sequential franchise instalments to come. We wish the composer the best in his future endeavours.

Lara's new thematic motif by composer Jason Graves makes triumphant return in Rise of the Tomb Raider gameplay reveal

Microsoft held its annual conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles today, where Lara Croft took centre stage for a second time after showing Tomb Raider, the 2013 reboot of the franchise, at E3 2012. Rise of the Tomb Raider gameplay premièred on stage, featuring the first in-game musical cues. The ominous, danger-carving percussion-based score is closely related to the title's predecessor - only strengthening rumours of the reattachment of composer Jason Graves to the franchise. We've tweeted the BAFTA-winning composer for an indicating response, and have community ambassadors on the show floor bearing the very question of his return for developer Crystal Dynamics.

The demo ends with the gameplay teaser below, featuring Graves' bold new thematic motif for Lara Croft as intentionally constructed for the 2013 reboot. Despite the triumphant reappearance of the rebooted theme as well as the in-game signature percussion signalling involvement, Graves is yet to be officially attached to the project. Rise of the Tomb Raider hits Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10th, 2015.

The sound of Rise of the Tomb Raider expected at E3 2015:New trailer features "Xenocide" track from Brand X Music

Today Redwood City studio Crystal Dynamics, helming development on Rise of the Tomb Raider, gears up for E3 2015 with a second trailer featuring Croft backed by a dramatic theatrical soundtrack. The music from the new trailer has been identified as a custom version of the licensed trailer score "Xenocide" from Brand X Music, original excerpted below. Listen to the advertising audio company's entire original track via SoundCloud! "Xenocide" is placed on the industry-only, theatrical album Epyllion and is not publicly available for personal purchase. Composer John Sponsler is accredited for writing the piece.

Rise of the Tomb Raider's previous announcement trailer which made its début in June last year featured James Horner's "The Car Chase" from the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, similarly externally sourced as the music from today's footage. Tomb Raider (2013)'s "Crossroads" trailer also featured "Thermal Shock" from RipTide Music, which is available for sale in composer Cliff Lin's digital compilation album This Is War.

It remains likely that the in-game score is the work of Jason Graves - the BAFTA award winning composer is expected to return for the sequel to 2013's Tomb Raider having crafted a new musical framework for the rebooted franchise and its iconic heroine. Thematic motifs by Graves can be heard in recent musical interludes on Crystal Compass Radio, suspected to be from Rise and signalling his rumoured attachment.

Gameplay footage with in-game music is expected to be shown at the E3 2015 Microsoft conference (June 15th). Yet to comment, MoTR will touch base with Jason Graves again then. Watch the new trailer, "Discover the Legend Within", after the jump below. The teaser premiered via French website Melty in conjunction with Coca-Cola. Rise of the Tomb Raider hits Xbox One and Xbox 360 later this year.

New Rise of the Tomb Raider music featured in "Crystal Compass Radio" debut (new monthly in-show musical breaks)

Crystal Dynamics, the Redwood City studio behind the upcoming tenth franchise pillar instalment Rise of the Tomb Raider, today re-launches their Crystal Compass Podcast (previously titled "The Crystal Habit"). Not only does the podcast borrow brand new Rise of the Tomb Raider cues for use as musical interludes, but the monthly show now also boasts a dedicated musical section titled Crystal Compass Radio featuring "musical breaks with classic Crystal Dynamics tracks", hosted by Meagan Marie:

"We're excited to be back and bring in new features... something different... enjoy a little musical interlude with Crystal Compass Radio: We're going to take a quick break before the final segment of our podcast[s] and let you listen to two tracks, one classic and one current, from our titles. This episode we're going to listen to the main theme from Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, composed by Peter Connelly, followed by the "Lara Croft Overture" composed by Wilbert Roget for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. These two pieces have been specially chosen to lead into our Classic Crystal feature which takes a retrospective look at Tomb Raider and the allure of Ancient Egypt." - Meagan Marie, Senior Community Manager

Tomb Raider (2013) composer Jason Graves has yet to be officially attached to the AAA title Rise but is likely to return having crafted a fresh musical framework for the reboot of the series. It can be safely assumed the podcast interlude tracks have been composed for the the game - Crystal did the same for Tomb Raider pre-release. The Crystal Compass Podcast can be listened to and subscribed to at iTunes. MoTR will be covering the monthly Crystal Compass Radio features with great interest as this is the first time Crystal Dynamics have officially acknowledged their back catalogue of musical assets (acquired when the series was transferred from original Tomb Raider developer Core Design). Take a listen to the new Rise of the Tomb Raider music - suspected to the work of Graves - after the jump below:

Crystal Dynamics announces Rise of the Tomb Raider & Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris at E3 2014- awaiting word from Jason Graves: no comment at this time

Rise of the Tomb Raider conceptual artwork

Redwood City studio Crystal Dynamics today announced not one but two upcoming Tomb Raider franchise entries with trailers at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (June 9-13). Rise of the Tomb Raider as the 10th pillar instalment of the series is slated for a 2015 release and is to continue a new Lara Croft continuity from 2013's Tomb Raider. While Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will rebirth classic tomb raiding experiences with multiplayer as the sequel to 2010's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

We have reached out to Tomb Raider (2013) composer Jason Graves for confirmation of his involvement with either or both of Rise and/or Osiris. While MoTR has received a response, the talented BAFTA-winner has no comment to make at this time. Graves received critical acclaim for his work on Tomb Raider and released the first commercially available soundtrack publication in the history of the video game franchise. The composer is expected to return for the continuation of the franchise's reboot as the series' fourth musical mainstay. A short piece of music appears in the announcement trailer for Rise (after the jump) below, but this is a piece by James Horner and not new material from an attached composer.

Rumour: Jason Graves & Al Wilmer prep Tomb Raider sequel?

It may not be news that a globe-trotting sequel to 2013's Tomb Raider is in the works, but E3 2014 is just around the corner and developer Crystal Dynamics is set to announce new game(s). Both new-continuity composer Jason Graves and long time in-house sound designer (music supervisor on Tomb Raider) Alex Wilmer have recently hinted on Twitter about working on what is hopefully an upcoming trailer:

Trailer music + mixing = brain + explode

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) June 5, 2014

Just finished work at 1:30am on an incredible surprise for E3. Hope you love it like we do!

— Alex Wilmer (@alwilmer) June 7, 2014

While his score to Tomb Raider (2013) saw critical acclaim and marked the first commercially available soundtrack publication in the history of the Tomb Raider videogame franchise, Jason Graves is yet to be publicly attached to a sequel. The BAFTA-winner (Dead Space) created a new thematic motif for the pop-culturally iconic Lara Croft; the composer is expected to return for the continuation of the franchise's reboot as the series' fourth musical mainstay.

Update: It appears Graves is actually referring to "Final mixes/cut downs for multiple pieces on a trailer album". Thus the above scenario seems less likely. Regardless, we'll find out soon enough if Wilmer's "surprise" is Tomb Raider 2 related (i.e. the 10th iteration of the TR video game franchise) or regarding an entirely new intellectual property at E3 2014, from June 9th. Interestingly, Square Enix have just registered the currently blank domains "Rise of the Tomb Raider" & "Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris".

Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack sees physical retail release

The critically acclaimed soundtrack to Tomb Raider, composed by Jason Graves, launches at retail today, according to Electronic Theatre. The physical Audio CD of the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack has been available to order since launch, March 5th, 2013, from major retailer Amazon.com. However, this marks the first Tomb Raider video game soundtrack album to be stocked on location in music stores.

This could be attributed to the re-release of a technically upgraded Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition later this month, strong digital sales of Graves' Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack over the last year, or both. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition launches January 28th, 2014, on next gen systems: Xbox One & PS4.

Jason Graves shares previously unreleased Tomb Raider trailer scores & additional music via SoundCloud [Updated]

Update: Jason Graves has added 5 additional suite variations (almost 19 minutes more) to the collection, and the composer sounds set to release more material soon:

Editing and exporting more unreleased music from Tomb Raider. This time it's the remaining combat suites - lots... http://t.co/7fbA7ttvdF

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) October 29, 2013

[Originally Posted 9th July 2013:]

Update: Graves has added 10 more tracks to the Tomb Raider: Additional Music collection on SoundCloud, a total of 77 pieces now spanning over 3 hours. This release includes musical rarities from the "Vertical Slice" of Tomb Raider - a point where the game's stylistic progress was solidified in-studio - some of which were included in the Final Hours of Tomb Raider.

15 new minutes of Tomb Raider music from "Suite 01" posted on my SoundCloud page. Suites 2 and 3 coming up next! http://t.co/1RlEtw44XR

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) July 8, 2013

By request, posted all the music from the first Tomb Raider Vertical Slice - 13 minutes total, all unused. http://t.co/y5zC5Wl7LP

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) July 8, 2013

Musical rarities from the conceptual "Tomb Raider: Ascension"

On March 8th, 2013, "Tomb Raider - The Final Hours" - a digital compendium by journalist Geoff Keighley - launched via Steam & iTunes. The elaborative booklet chronicles the pre-production phase of Tomb Raider (2013); the infamous and confidential working-titled Tomb Raider: Ascension.

As well as an interactive "Instrument" by Jason Graves, the app features several embedded videos showcasing beta and "vertical-slice" game-play footage of both Tomb Raider and its unreleased predecessor, Ascension. The music to the vertical-slice segments was released by Graves in July, 2013:



However, the explicit Tomb Raider: Ascension footage of a horse-riding Lara escaping horrific monsters (viewable within the app) was accompanied by additional music. While suspected to be original score, the piece is actually "Glasgow Mega Snake" by Scottish post-rock band, Mogwai. The track is available on their 2006 album, Mr. Beast (iTunes | Amazon).

In 2010, shortly after the announcement of the development of the Tomb Raider reboot, musical talent was acknowledged by Crystal Dynamics as attached to the then unknown conceptual Ascension - trailer score composer Aleksandar Dimitrijevic:

"...we've worked with some early concept work with a great guy called Alex Dimitrijevic... he was phenomenal and helpful to us in our early stage stuff" - Karl Stewart, Global Brand Director @ Crystal Dynamics

Following the release of the Final Hours app, the piece heard on Game Informer in December 2010 has since been attributed to Ascension's unreleased bank of conceptual material, destined to remain Tomb Raider musical rarities. Various artworks by Brenoch Adams (pictured) have also since been released, and are available within the Final Hours purchase.

Next generation sequel to Tomb Raider reboot confirmed

Developer Crystal Dynamics today confirms that a sequel to 2013's reboot of Tomb Raider is currently in development for next generation systems:

"...you may have read today that a next-generation sequel to Tomb Raider is in the works. We’re very excited to confirm that the team has started working on telling the next chapter in Lara’s tale. It’s still early days, so I’m afraid I can’t provide any further details for now save my assurance that we’re not resting on our laurels and acclaim from Tomb Raider’s recent successes, but working hard to raise the bar even higher and re-affirm the faith you’ve shown.” - Darrell Gallagher, Head of Product Development and Studios

MoTR will be keeping an ear out for the return of composer Jason Graves, who has constructed a fresh musical motif for renowned heroine Lara Croft, likely to be further developed in a follow up soundtrack.

Via the official Tomb Raider blog.

Tomb Raider composer to perform live at Joystick [Updated]

Update: Today Jason Graves has published the live orchestral recording of the 10 minute "A Survivor Is Born" suite, via his SoundCloud collection Tomb Raider - Additional Music. The composer conducted the piece in Sweden on the 15th of June.

World Premiere live recording of "A Survivor Is Born" - new 10 min suite from Tomb Raider I conducted in Sweden... http://t.co/1OjgwHkI3W
— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) July 12, 2013

[Originally posted 3rd May 2013:]

The newest composer attached to the Tomb Raider franchise is set to conduct performances of his score to the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider (as well as Dead Space 3) during concerts on May 31st and June 1st. The two-time BAFTA winning Jason Graves will guest conduct the Malmö Symphony Orchestra over two nights in Sweden for the fifth annual "Joystick" concert:

“Jason Graves is one of the most talented and interesting composers in game music today. We are immensely happy to welcome him to our concert, and even more excited that he will conduct the Malmö Symphony Orchestra himself.” - Joystick producer Orvar Säfström

"A brand new heroic suite from the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider soundtrack" will be performed. Tickets can be purchased @ www.mso.se. Full press release via Top Dollar PR.

New poll: Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack favourites

Poll: What's your favourite track from the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack?

Here at MoTR we love to hear from our readers; this poll will remain live in our sidebar for voting! You may even choose multiple tracks if you can't decide between them. The results will later be published.

If you haven't already got your copy, the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider (2013) soundtrack by BAFTA-winning composer Jason Graves is available from the following vendors:

• Amazon - Audio CD
• Amazon MP3
• iTunes (US; search in-program worldwide)
• Sumthing Digital

Track-by-track Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack commentary

Composer Jason Graves has taken the time to discuss the entire Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack with Europe's GameReactor magazine, providing a track-by-track commentary for the album. Graves details the musical construction of each track and alludes to their relative locations in the score by breaking down time-stamps. The critically acclaimed 20-track Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack is available for purchase via:

• Amazon - Audio CD
• Amazon MP3
• iTunes (US; search in-program worldwide)
• Sumthing Digital

Follow the jump to read the entire commentary! SPOILER WARNING.

Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack by Jason Graves launches, sold out, to a veritable triumph of critical acclaim

The Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack CD is sold out on Amazon!

Get your copy of the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack today! Now available:

• Amazon - Audio CD
• Amazon MP3
• iTunes (US; search in-program worldwide)
• Sumthing Digital

Via Sumthing Else Music Works and in conjunction with Square Enix, BAFTA-winning composer Jason Graves accomplishes the first Tomb Raider video game soundtrack release in 17 years of the franchise with the publication of the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack. To much anticipation from fans, old and new, the official release of this body of music marks a triumph in the growing video game music industry. The demand as a collectible is maximally quenched as the first batch of the physical Audio CD sells out on major retailer Amazon.com:

Two exclusive Tomb Raider tracks released by composer

As teased earlier in the year, two exclusive musical pieces by Tomb Raider (2013) composer Jason Graves have been released at the 1 million fan mark for the Official Tomb Raider Facebook Page:

We've crossed the million mark on Facebook.com/TombRaider! Claim your tracks by @jgmusic for supporting: sqex.to/7q6

— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) March 5, 2013

Download the tracks via the links below! These two do not feature on the 20-track Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack, released in physical and digital music stores today. Graves details each new piece:

Hunted
“There’s a lot of exploring and sneaking to do around the island. I wanted ‘The Island’ itself to have a voice, speaking through the music when Lara was exploring. Even more so when she’s being stealthily, like in this cue. Listen for the textures from The Instrument and my own percussion sounds. They represent The Island as one of the game’s main characters.”

MP3 & Wav Files: Download

Scaling The Mountainside
“This piece is a great example of the dynamic music system in Tomb Raider. A great deal of the game was scored one event at a time, so as Lara progresses through a level the music moves with her. This is a lot more seamless than just using a standard two minutes loop and repeating it for ten minutes. Listen for the music to change as Lara explores the mountainside and encounters enemies.”

MP3 & Wav Files: Download

First impressions of the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack

Lara Croft & her mentor Conrad Roth
This article will serve as a review of the upcoming Tomb Raider (2013) soundtrack release, since we are able to listen to the entire album at music.aol.com. But I warn you; it is my opinion and not everybody will agree with it.