Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Interview - Capturing the heart and soul of the Expedition through music
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has quickly become one of the standout RPGs of the year, with some discussions of it being a game of the year contender before the game was released to the public. This sentiment has only grown as more and more players have now gotten a chance to explore the Continent and meet Gustave and the rest of Expedition 33 for themselves.
Here at RPG Site, we awarded the game with one of our rare "10/10" scores in our review, with the game sitting at a 9.7 user score and a 9.2 critic score on Metacritic at the time of this writing. It continues to pull in more and more players into its embrace, having now surpassed 2 million copies sold within the game's first two weeks. While its story, character,s and visuals are all remarkable, one of its most talked-about aspects is its masterpiece of a soundtrack, all 150+ songs of it.
RPG Site had a chance to sit down with the game's composer, Lorien Testard, about capturing the soul of this new world through the power of his music.
RPG Site: Well, there’s no better way to start than asking you to introduce yourself, and tell us a bit about what got you into music in the first place, more specifically, composing for games?
Lorien: So I'm Lorien Testard. I’m 30 years old now, so I have three years left before the end *chuckles*. I have a really big passion for video games. I started playing when I was like three years old. My father was working at a video game shop when I was young, so I played, like, Mario Party and Mario Kart when I was really, really young, and really loved the video games for most of my life. I started doing music pretty late - I think I was 16 years old. And I .. I learned by myself for three years, then went to a music school for three years. Then I started doing some stuff on my own, like some music for trailers. I knew from the start I wanted to do music for video games, because it's really what I love and what I wanted to create. So yeah, but it's like a deep love for video games, and I still have a big love for music in video games.
Lorien: So I'm Lorien Testard. I’m 30 years old now, so I have three years left before the end *chuckles*. I have a really big passion for video games. I started playing when I was like three years old. My father was working at a video game shop when I was young, so I played, like, Mario Party and Mario Kart when I was really, really young, and really loved the video games for most of my life. I started doing music pretty late - I think I was 16 years old. And I .. I learned by myself for three years, then went to a music school for three years. Then I started doing some stuff on my own, like some music for trailers. I knew from the start I wanted to do music for video games, because it's really what I love and what I wanted to create. So yeah, but it's like a deep love for video games, and I still have a big love for music in video games.
RPG Site: How did you first become connected with this project and with Sandfall Interactive in general?
Lorien: It was Guillaume [Broche], he found my topic on the forum where I posted my song. So I posted this song, and one day, he came and bought it and then asked me to compose for the game.
Lorien: It was Guillaume [Broche], he found my topic on the forum where I posted my song. So I posted this song, and one day, he came and bought it and then asked me to compose for the game.
RPG Site: About how long ago was that?
Lorien: Five years. Maybe six. No, I think it was early 2020.
Lorien: Five years. Maybe six. No, I think it was early 2020.
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RPG Site: Expedition 33 clearly has a very French-inspired aesthetic, with the Belle Époque period being an inspiration. It’s an environment and aesthetic that isn’t really seen a lot in RPGs. How did you go about capturing not only the French music and sorts of themes but also creating fantastical versions of those sounds and melodies of the period?
Lorien: I was really focused on creating an original soundtrack, so I don’t really think about the French references. I feel that because I am French and have been listening to the music for twenty years, it has become a bit of my music, not on purpose, but like it’s just a part of me. It was very important to me to create something really original and fantastic, like the universe that Nicolas [Maxson-Francombe] created. The very concept is so beautiful and inspiring that I have to give it my all to make music tied to them, and to make the world around the player feel alive.
Lorien: I was really focused on creating an original soundtrack, so I don’t really think about the French references. I feel that because I am French and have been listening to the music for twenty years, it has become a bit of my music, not on purpose, but like it’s just a part of me. It was very important to me to create something really original and fantastic, like the universe that Nicolas [Maxson-Francombe] created. The very concept is so beautiful and inspiring that I have to give it my all to make music tied to them, and to make the world around the player feel alive.
RPG Site: You've created a large soundtrack. Do you remember the first track you made for the game, and did it impact the evolution of the rest of the tracks?
Lorien: Yeah, I remember pretty clearly, like, the Lettre à Maelle and the song is in the soundtrack, and we used it for the character trailer of Maelle. So it's really meaningful and special for me to see the first song I wrote five years ago to, be present and see the song back to that leads the main tone of the story and atmosphere of the soundtrack, like piano, voice, guitar, swing and melancholia and nostalgia for Maelle and the other characters come from this song.
Lorien: Yeah, I remember pretty clearly, like, the Lettre à Maelle and the song is in the soundtrack, and we used it for the character trailer of Maelle. So it's really meaningful and special for me to see the first song I wrote five years ago to, be present and see the song back to that leads the main tone of the story and atmosphere of the soundtrack, like piano, voice, guitar, swing and melancholia and nostalgia for Maelle and the other characters come from this song.
RPG Site: It's a beautiful track and, like so many others, packs so much emotion into this game. What did you find to be the hardest, the most difficult track to nail and get right in your mind?
Lorien: It was the 33-minute track - Nos vies en Lumière. There were some songs in the game that just came to me really fast in one night, and it was all good and what I wanted. So for me, a song like those were a gift. For this track, I put in two months of work on this track every day, ten hours a day. So yeah, it was pretty challenging because there are so many layers on the track, so many songs to be together. And I wanted to put so much stuff into this song. The final verses of the game were really a challenge for me because I put a lot of pressure and a lot of love into it. I put like all the stuff I had in me for like three years into it, I put like all of the melodies of the characters into it, and it took a lot of time to get a foundation I love. So yeah, I think this one was pretty challenging.
Lorien: It was the 33-minute track - Nos vies en Lumière. There were some songs in the game that just came to me really fast in one night, and it was all good and what I wanted. So for me, a song like those were a gift. For this track, I put in two months of work on this track every day, ten hours a day. So yeah, it was pretty challenging because there are so many layers on the track, so many songs to be together. And I wanted to put so much stuff into this song. The final verses of the game were really a challenge for me because I put a lot of pressure and a lot of love into it. I put like all the stuff I had in me for like three years into it, I put like all of the melodies of the characters into it, and it took a lot of time to get a foundation I love. So yeah, I think this one was pretty challenging.
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RPG Site: One of the things, especially with those three tracks and some of the more impactful tracks of the game, incorporates vocals, which I think aren't used much or are far rarer in games and RPG soundtracks. The use of vocals works so well in Expedition 33. What did you feel that adding vocals would bring to the track, as opposed to leaving it strictly instrumental?
Lorien: The human voice is like the most powerful and the most emotional instrument. So not having vocals, for me, is like losing emotion. So yeah. So the voice was really important for the songs of Expedition 33 for the world. Alice Duport-Percier, the vocalist composer of the game, really gave a voice to the world. She's become a part of the story, a part of the world. She stories, she tells love. And she gave me so much emotion when she sings. But I will feel the pain, will feel the same. Yeah. The voice is really powerful and strong instrument.
Lorien: The human voice is like the most powerful and the most emotional instrument. So not having vocals, for me, is like losing emotion. So yeah. So the voice was really important for the songs of Expedition 33 for the world. Alice Duport-Percier, the vocalist composer of the game, really gave a voice to the world. She's become a part of the story, a part of the world. She stories, she tells love. And she gave me so much emotion when she sings. But I will feel the pain, will feel the same. Yeah. The voice is really powerful and strong instrument.
RPG Site: It definitely made me feel things, even though I didn't understand what was being said, you can still tell the feeling in the emotion coming through, like you said, like an instrument. It’s incredibly powerful.
Lorien: Yeah, I really enjoyed writing all the lyrics for the game, because when you don’t speak French, you have some English, but it’s rare - it may be a bit abstract. But, if you want to deep dive, you will find some sense and meaning and some really cool stuff.
Lorien: Yeah, I really enjoyed writing all the lyrics for the game, because when you don’t speak French, you have some English, but it’s rare - it may be a bit abstract. But, if you want to deep dive, you will find some sense and meaning and some really cool stuff.
RPG Site: With the music being such a critical and important part, what were you provided as the composer for a lot of these moments that you're composing for? Do you get just like a story brief? How much information are you provided with before you would compose a new track?
Lorien: I read the script of the game, and then I had some concept art for landscapes and characters, so I had a global vision of the world. And then I was pretty free to do whatever I wanted for each scene and event. Then we would talk if it was good or not. But I wasn’t asked or told any musical ideas or direction, I could really do whatever I wanted, but after we would test it in-game, like “can we use this track here on this cut scene”, for example, to see if the music is in the right place. So, yeah, it was pretty free for me to do whatever I wanted.
Lorien: I read the script of the game, and then I had some concept art for landscapes and characters, so I had a global vision of the world. And then I was pretty free to do whatever I wanted for each scene and event. Then we would talk if it was good or not. But I wasn’t asked or told any musical ideas or direction, I could really do whatever I wanted, but after we would test it in-game, like “can we use this track here on this cut scene”, for example, to see if the music is in the right place. So, yeah, it was pretty free for me to do whatever I wanted.
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RPG Site: It must be rewarding for an artist to have so much creative freedom and liberty in production.
Lorien: Yeah, it was very important for me. Like, I joined really early in the project, before Expedition 33, so I was there from the start, so I got to see all the evolution of the characters since the start, I knew the story, I knew everything, and so I could compose music really early in the process and really in advance before the production. So sometimes we would have the landscape for an environment, and we would already have music before the event tied to that place was made by the dev team. So it really added to the immersive world because, like we would, we would have both the concept art and the music when they would create the event.
Lorien: Yeah, it was very important for me. Like, I joined really early in the project, before Expedition 33, so I was there from the start, so I got to see all the evolution of the characters since the start, I knew the story, I knew everything, and so I could compose music really early in the process and really in advance before the production. So sometimes we would have the landscape for an environment, and we would already have music before the event tied to that place was made by the dev team. So it really added to the immersive world because, like we would, we would have both the concept art and the music when they would create the event.
RPG Site: Did much change during development that caused you to have to go and redo or rework tracks that you had previously done? Situations like you’re told “we're not necessarily going to do this part of the story or this character's changing”?
Lorien: There are a few, but not really. We cut some tiny part of the game, but I didn’t have to redo a song. I have a soundtrack playlist with like 200 songs I wrote for the game. And sometimes Guillaume would say to me, “I really like this one song you did three years ago” and had it added to the game *chuckles*. So it was like stuff like that. To give you an example, for example, the Goblu boss theme, I had its draft in my trash. I will not put it in the game. It was also like a track I did four years ago. And one day he [Guillaume] said to me, “yeah, I really love this one. Let's use it!” So we took the song and worked it a bit and used it for the final game.
Lorien: There are a few, but not really. We cut some tiny part of the game, but I didn’t have to redo a song. I have a soundtrack playlist with like 200 songs I wrote for the game. And sometimes Guillaume would say to me, “I really like this one song you did three years ago” and had it added to the game *chuckles*. So it was like stuff like that. To give you an example, for example, the Goblu boss theme, I had its draft in my trash. I will not put it in the game. It was also like a track I did four years ago. And one day he [Guillaume] said to me, “yeah, I really love this one. Let's use it!” So we took the song and worked it a bit and used it for the final game.
RPG Site: With this being your first project and having grown up playing video games, what aspect of composing for video games surprised you the most?
Lorien: I think it's the scope. I wanted to have a full universe to compose. I really love games where you have character themes, cutscenes, and all the stuff. And so Guillaume gave me the world of Clair Obscur it was like the biggest focus on it because there's so much stuff to d. Like the last song I created for the game was like 1 or 2 months before the release, so it was until the end that I had stuff to compose, because it’s a 60 hours of game so I wanted to have a track for each custom event, each character, and background music. So it was really a lot to compose, to create some of my dreams.
Lorien: I think it's the scope. I wanted to have a full universe to compose. I really love games where you have character themes, cutscenes, and all the stuff. And so Guillaume gave me the world of Clair Obscur it was like the biggest focus on it because there's so much stuff to d. Like the last song I created for the game was like 1 or 2 months before the release, so it was until the end that I had stuff to compose, because it’s a 60 hours of game so I wanted to have a track for each custom event, each character, and background music. So it was really a lot to compose, to create some of my dreams.
RPG Site: What style of tracks did you have the most fun composing?
Lorien: The easiest tracks were the landscapes, and the songs that needed the most work were battle themes, and the songs that I enjoyed the most to create were the character and story themes. I really loved to create songs tied to the story. So for example, Children of Lumière, which is track 143. I really love the lyrics and writing everything in that song. The song is really inspirational and emotive for me. I feel really connected to this song because I have like something to share with the player. I have the soul of Gustav and the soul of Maelle to put in music and connect really closely to the characters in the story. So yeah, it's my comfort zone and what I enjoy the most creating.
Lorien: The easiest tracks were the landscapes, and the songs that needed the most work were battle themes, and the songs that I enjoyed the most to create were the character and story themes. I really loved to create songs tied to the story. So for example, Children of Lumière, which is track 143. I really love the lyrics and writing everything in that song. The song is really inspirational and emotive for me. I feel really connected to this song because I have like something to share with the player. I have the soul of Gustav and the soul of Maelle to put in music and connect really closely to the characters in the story. So yeah, it's my comfort zone and what I enjoy the most creating.
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RPG Site: You mentioned that you're conveying the souls of these characters. What all went into the main theme, your main track of the game, Alicia? What were you hoping to convey with that track specifically? And what's it like developing a main theme?
Lorien: Yeah, honestly, I saw it like a gift. For ‘Alicia’, one day I found a video of a dancer. The dancer moved in slow motion, and it was so beautiful, and the woman looked really much like Alicia. I felt really connected to this video, and then I wrote the song. I would see the movement of the dancer as I wrote the song, and, in one night, my portion of the song was finished. I sent the tracks to Alice, and she finished her part really fast. I think it took maybe two days to create, and when we shared it with the team, everybody knew this was the one. There is something in the mood and in the melody, in the atmosphere of the track. It’s what we want to show and share to the player when they turn on the game. You open the game and hear it. The song tells so many things before you play and start the game.
Lorien: Yeah, honestly, I saw it like a gift. For ‘Alicia’, one day I found a video of a dancer. The dancer moved in slow motion, and it was so beautiful, and the woman looked really much like Alicia. I felt really connected to this video, and then I wrote the song. I would see the movement of the dancer as I wrote the song, and, in one night, my portion of the song was finished. I sent the tracks to Alice, and she finished her part really fast. I think it took maybe two days to create, and when we shared it with the team, everybody knew this was the one. There is something in the mood and in the melody, in the atmosphere of the track. It’s what we want to show and share to the player when they turn on the game. You open the game and hear it. The song tells so many things before you play and start the game.
RPG Site: It is incredibly powerful and beautiful. And like you said, it puts you in a unique mindset going into this game.
Lorien: Yeah, it was a really special song for us.
Lorien: Yeah, it was a really special song for us.
RPG Site: Thank you so much for sitting down, speaking, and sharing your creative process. It's been a lot of fun and eye-opening to see how much care you've put into this. Congratulations again to you and everyone over there at Sandfall Interactive on the impending launch.
Lorien: Thank you very much for the interview. It was a pleasure.
Lorien: Thank you very much for the interview. It was a pleasure.
You can also find our previous interview with Sandfall Interactive producer Francois Meurisse or listen to the entire Expedition 33 soundtrack for free, streaming over on Youtube, Spotify, or Apple Music!
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).