Whether you know Simon Viklund as the composer of the emblematic dubstep/EDM/techno soundtracks of the Payday series or as the voice of Bain in the same series, his name is always associated with hard-hitting action games. He is known for his work on Bandits: Phoenix RisingBionic Command, Dead by daylightand of course Payday: The Robbery And Payday 2.
For Polygon FM – our week-long look at the intertwining of music and gaming – Viklund talks about his early inspirations and why offbeat rhythms make for good video game music.
Polygon: Was there a game soundtrack or song that inspired you to start composing game music? Can you describe how that felt for you and why the music was so impactful?
Simon Viklund: As a kid, I was a bit obsessed with NES music. I even recorded the music from Megaman 1-3 from the TV onto cassette so I could listen to it when I wasn’t playing. The music on the NES was extremely effective because the primitive sound chip forced composers to arrange sparingly and rely on great harmonies and melodies. My impression is that music wasn’t as good in the 16-bit era because the technology sounded more like real instruments, but not quite – it was like the uncanny valley of sampled instruments – and composers started to rely too much on the tools.
Can you describe one of your own songs and its influences? Was it inspired by game soundtracks, other music or something else?
I made a track called “Inject” which was written specifically for the name release trailer Wolf Cavea techno-thriller heist co-op game we’re working on at 10 Chambers. We wanted the trailer to leave the viewer feeling like, “Oh, damn, yeah, this is awesome,” and I was listening to half-tempo bass music for inspiration.
There is this track called “Arbiter” by Draedenwhose beat is what I would call trap-inspired, and I’m not really into trap, but I loved Draeden’s song and drew heavily from that track. “Inject” is basically drums and a synth melody, with the bass coming mostly from an 808 that matches the kick drum. In other words, there’s not much [of] layers, and that’s why every component really has to shine. I spent a lot of time making the kick very punchy, the snare snappy, etc.
Another aspect was my idea to make the music sound kind of “off” and not perfect or quantized (not rhythmically perfect). My idea was that this would make the music a bit more catchy because it would feel kind of “wrong”. I spent a lot of time making the groove sloppy in time and the synths screech and wobble a bit like it wasn’t intentional, even though it was. I had a lot of fun trying out new ideas, getting out of my comfort zone and learning new tricks while making “Inject”!
What were the main instruments used to record the Payday series soundtrack? What criteria did you use to select these instruments?
Payday has a lot of drum loops and distorted synths, but every now and then there is real electric guitar and bass. When we made the album, Payday: The Robbery In 2010-2011, my gut feeling told me that I should either go with the game’s Hollywood movie inspiration with cinematic music or tie in with the “outlaw power fantasy” with a bit more rock’n’roll. I chose the latter.
Is there anything else we should know about your approach to composing video game music?
It doesn’t come easy to me. It’s hard. I don’t use project templates, although I probably should. Every time I sit down to create another track, it’s all a piece of cake and I’m like, “How do you do that again?” There are so many directions a soundtrack or a single track can go that it’s easy to lose agency. I need time, I need to try and fail, and I need other people on the project to help me through the process – with guidance and support through patience. So the process is hard, but I love it!
