Oftentimes music in video games is supplementary. It can reinforce the emotions on the screen, but it doesn’t look to call particular attention to itself. For Compulsion Games’South of Midnight, the music is almost like an additional character. The melodies and lyrics inSouth of Midnight’s soundtrack bring the narrative to life, heighten the action, and capture the spirit of the game’s Deep South setting. It’s a massive undertaking that developed over years before finally coalescing into what gamers will hear next month.
Game Rant talked toSouth of Midnightcomposer Olivier Deriviere and Audio Director Chris Fox about what it was like to tackle such a substantial project, as well as how the support of Microsoft and Xbox has allowed for their work to expand beyond the game. And best of all, the soundtrack is available on streaming services today.
South of Midnight Brings the South to Life Through Music
In Game Rant’spreview ofSouth of Midnight, we noted how the soundtrack is more than just orchestral music. There are full songs in the game that tell the stories ofkey characters and creatures, which gives the action an additional layer. It was this approach that Deriviere, Fox, and Creative Director David Sears eventually landed on after some discussion:
Chris Fox:“At the beginning, Creative Director David Sears was very influential. He came to me after a trip back from the South, because he spent some of his time down there and was born down there as well. He said to me, “I had this epiphany. I think player action should equal musicality. And as an audio director, you get these challenges, and something to really dig into. So I thought of who was the best, interactive music specialist and a composer that could bring a lot of emotion. And Olivier had been suggested to me by one of my sound designers after seeing his work on Get Even. And then, funnily enough, we had Guillaume (Provost), the head of [Compulsion Games], who was having lunch with my sound designer, and he also brought up Olivier’s work onA Plague Taleand how he would love to work with someone who could bring the emotion in the composition. So, the stars aligned, and then we had a mutual colleague who knew Olivier’s sister and agent. And so it all came together. So that was how it came together at the beginning. We started talking, it was me, Olivier, and David Sears, who started mulling how we could get these songs and the musicality of action together. So that’s how it began.”
Olivier Deriviere:“We didn’t know we had to do songs at the beginning. We were just talking, and evaluating everything based on David’s vision, because he’s the creative director. And so one thing that came out quite quickly was that there’s a tradition over there in the deep south about songs. Of course, we all know this, but the questions were raised about, “Do we want to create something that is accurate? Do we want to create our own songs?” And it took some time for everybody to realize the vision.
“And then we asked if we want to do songs, “Why? Why songs? We understand theconnection with the Deep South, but in the game, how can we expand this? And this is when gameplay enters and you consider how to make the song part of the exploration and reward. At some point early on, we decided to do what Chris called concept songs, like concept art. So we started with one, and then we realized we need one for one creature, and then a second for all creatures. And we need to tell the story through the song, and now throughout the level, as you unveil the story of each creature, the song can be unveiled in a different manner. So all of this was 2 1/2 years of production. So it’s not like the next day we had all of these ideas. It’s a very long process.”
The mixture of songs, melodies, and a full soundtrack was a massive undertaking for Olivier Deriviere, who calls South of Midnight his biggest production to date. Finding melodies was also a challenge, because they needed to match the lyrics. Game Rant was offered an early listen of the soundtrack and songs before the surprising streaming release today and there is no doubt a ton of musical complexity on display in the soundtrack.
Deriviere:“It’s the biggest music production I’ve ever done myself. So it was scary, it was crazy, and this is why we did it. We got lucky because we’ve got the support from Compulsion and Xbox to go live, for instance - to go record in Nashville tons of amazing talent, as well as going to Abbey Road and recording the London Contemporary Orchestra.”
“As a composer, when you get to write for so many different people, because it’s, I think, 53 different musicians plus the orchestra. So I had to be very open to each of them, and to my immense pleasure, all of them were very motivated into putting themselves into the music. You really want the musician to be part of the journey when you’re recording. You don’t want the musician to be like, yeah, it’s a gig. All of them were very much involved. They were giving all of their personality, their musical background, and you can hear each singer - each song is very different in terms of style - but each musician is bringing something that I could not anticipate myself. And this is the beauty of creating with live musicians. They bring something that only they can bring. So, very, very grateful to Compulsion and Xbox, on behalf of the musicians, to have this opportunity.”
Game Rant: Do you have a count of the number of instruments?
Deriviere:“In terms of guitars it’s maybe 10 but I don’t know. The orchestra didn’t have a regular configuration. We wanted to do something completely specific for this project, but in a way that everybody was playing together. [Live recording is] very important for me, but for this project, it’s even more important. Everybody was in the room enjoying the music and giving the energy. And I think you can hear it while listening to the soundtrack. You’re like, wow, the energy that is there. The orchestra is full on for this, we had banjo, clarinet, saxophones, trumpets, trombones, guitars. We have the fiddle, of course, and a church organ. We have the honky tonk piano and the kids choir, because they’re the star of the show through to the end of the game. It was meaningful within the game to have the kids. I don’t want to say more, but there is a purpose. There is a reason. It’s substantial.”
Fox:“It was my first time recording an orchestra, and I didn’t understand that they weren’t used to playing together. This was really out of the ordinary for them, and the smiles on their faces that they could be together while they were recording was just amazing. I got the great experience to sit out in the room while Olivier was hard at work with [Recording Engineer] John Kurlander who, unfortunately, is no longer with us. But having him on the project and just being there was one of the top experiences musically of my life.”
South of Midnight Was a Massive Musical Undertaking
GR: You mention that this is the biggest production you’ve worked on. Can you give a sense of how this compares to your past work?
Deriviere:“It’s the biggest because if you look at the more symphonic work that I’ve been doing for Remember Me orDying Lightyou have the orchestra, which is the main piece of the music. And you focus on the orchestra, and maybe you also have some synth tracks. But for South of Midnight, the orchestra is maybe a third of the soundtrack because you have all the songs, then you have all the, let’s say, deconstructed songs, and then you have the orchestra. So to have to deal with those different styles, with different rooms, different engineers, different singers, you need to bring on so many more people compared to usual. Or you’re in one room with the orchestra and everybody is on the same page.”
The South of Midnight OST features instruments you don’t often hear in a game soundtrack but are typical of the Deep South. They are present throughout the music, and getting a feel for the South was something Deriviere felt was essential to making the soundtrack feel authentic.
Deriviere:“When we got in touch with Compulsion Games, the first reaction was, oh it’s Deep South but I’m French. Even ignoring the fact that Louisiana and New Orleans have ties to French culture, David and Chris were very clear that they didn’t want to go accurate with everything, they wanted to create a new world. They wanted to have the Compulsion Games vibe - it’s a very artistic studio that provides a lot of creativity for me. And I think that I understood the principles, but when the songs come in, we want to have some attachments to the Deep South, to be inspired by the music over there. So nothing is accurate. There is no accurate Blues or accurate Country or accurate Bluegrass. But there is flavor. It’s more like my father, when I was a kid, listening to tons of Deep South American music.”
Fox:“I feel like that was one of the reasons that I remember David saying he wanted to be able to hum themes. And I was like, wow, okay, that kind of leads us into these songs and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t do a soundalike. That was really important to me. I knew I wanted something live, because we had come from a previous production that had less live elements and I thought, “Could we do everything live? Is that possible even?” And to have something original, with original songs that stood on their own, and they weren’t just a carbon copy of this or that. And I think doing that meant that you had to give freedom to the composer and not have them adhere to a list of references, you know. I think that was very important, and by doing that, I think we’ve got something original in a way that could, hopefully be timeless. I think that’s super important, and that was the reason we went with that approach with Olivier.”
There is also an interplay between songs, traditional orchestral music, and what Deriviere calls deconstructed songs. It made for a situation where Deriviere had to work and build off the lead of Compulsion’s Creative Director David Sears.
Deriviere:“I’m a very old school composer. I do melodies. I love that. And so to have the songs was the pinnacle of melody. The melody for me is key. You have to have something that is catchy, but also that follows the wording. Because we started with the words with these songs. So the lyrics were there, and I had to make the music from the lyrics. There was a back and forth with David Sears because sometimes it could fit, and sometimes there were some adjustments needed, but overall it’s as if I didn’t change anything. And so it means that the lyrics were very good, musically speaking.”
“Then I write the music for the songs, but then I’m thinking about the orchestra, of course. And I know which songs will be completely orchestrated and which won’t. On Rougarou, for instance, I love the song but the boss version song, that was the vision I had when I composed the song in terms of old school, Frank Sinatra. This is the feeling I got from the song. It’s very important when you’re a composer, at least for me, to focus on two things: the pace and the melody. And then if you have that, then you may distribute to anything, as long as you can sing it.”
Fox:“Doing this production has been a great learning experience for me for composition in general. But I remember Olivier telling me that two fingers is what should give you a good example of a good melody, you know? So that was something that I learned from Olivier, that you should be able to play the basis of the melody on the piano with two fingers.”
GR: Was there any melody that Compulsion put a priority on?
Deriviere:“No. At some point, we were done with two songs, and then Rougarou was the third song. And I’m playing the song and singing, and I’m not a singer whatsoever. But David is listening to the song very carefully and then he says, “I really like what we were doing, but I can see it coming.” And then he said, “But as for this one, I love it.” And I was like, “Alright!” It depends, as Chris could mention, some people will react to one song better than another. It’s not meant to be a full hit on everybody; it’s very subjective. So we did our best and then it’s up to you to decide what is the best.”
Fox:“We’ve definitely got a bunch of people just in the studio where there doesn’t seem to be any common favorite. Everyone has their own favorite, which to me, is very exciting, because it means that every song has its own feel. And music is so subjective that you want to have different emotions in different people in different songs. So I think that gives me the feeling that maybe we’ve accomplished a great feat over the whole soundtrack, as opposed to just one song in particular.”
South of Midnight’s OST Release is Structured Like a Book
South of Midnight’s soundtrack has a lot of components rarely seen in a game, from the breadth of instruments to the live recording at London’s famous Abbey Road recording studio. Deriviere and Fox were given a special privilege when it came to recording the music, yet another reason why the OST is getting so much attention and releasing on streaming services before the game.
But beyond the unique sound and approach ofSouth of Midnight’s soundtrack, the music is also getting special treatment thanks to a special OST release. In partnership with Cook & Becker, Compulsion Games will release The Art & Music of South of Midnight Box Set, which includes a 160-page art book, double-LP vinyl soundtrack, an exclusive comic book, and some memorabilia inspired by the game. It’s not often that a game’s music gets a release like this, and Olivier and Chris talked a little bit about what that support means to them.
Deriviere:“It feels great to see that, not only Compulsion, butXbox were super supportive, giving us all the means we needed to do this live, fully organic soundtrack. But they also understood that the music could be something that would bring players in. I’m not saying that players will listen to the soundtrack before playing the game, but to have the soundtrack understood as its own thing. Not something released if the game is good. Usually we may do the sound track but for this the music is part of this game. It was a discussion whether to release the soundtrack before or after South of Midnight’s release. And we made a great decision to release it before, because the soundtrack doesn’t reveal anything overall. We can focus on the music and sort of tease the game and be like, “The next thing is going to be the game.” So I think it’s a great move, and I’m very, very grateful for the support, because this is rare and we need to talk about the positive, you know. And this is very positive, and we should be talking about that.”
Trust was a key point stressed during the interview, between all parties involved, but mainly trust in Deriviere. Ultimately, it’s his work that is going to be put out to the world and for him, he wants players to experience a journey that feels like a book. Not every song fromSouth of Midnightmade it into The Art & Music of South of Midnight Box Set, and that was by design.
Deriviere:“They let me do exactly what I felt was right. There is much more music than there is in the soundtrack. A good soundtrack, for me, should be about an hour long, but it depends what type of soundtrack you want to do.For this game, which is like a book, you want to open the book and close the book, so the soundtrack had to be like this journey that you feel. So I had to be very picky when it came to constructing the playlist, because when I’m doing the music for the game, it’s completely scattered. But also in making the journey for the listener interesting, surprising, and in the end, you get the whole feeling. So if you happen to listen to the whole soundtrack, hope that you will understand this sort of arc that is closed by the last track.”
Fox:“Ithink I have a lot of trust in Olivier and his team. And I think sometimes lots of people can get involved with opinions, but music’s very subjective, and that’s one thing that I’m very aware of, right? I just talked about people having different favorites, so I think it was important for everyone to trust Olivier. And I think giving the creative space, without too much fiddling, meant that Olivier had the sandbox to create something that he was proud of and he could own. I think that’s important for creatives to own this thing and not feel that they were pushed in any direction. So I think that was very important to me, and I will hopefully keep that mythology going forward, because I do think it produces the best results.”
South of Midnight’s music and songs match the diversity of its setting. It doesn’t offer just one type of musical experience, but an array of songs and melodies that echo the emotions and themes of each scene. Listening to the music on its own highlights the tremendous work that Olivier Deriviere and Chris Fox put into the soundtrack, but when paired with gameplay, the music becomes something special. Gamers will get to experience that melding of sound and sight for themselves early next month, but they can listen to the soundtrack right now streaming services or pick up the special South of Midnight Box Set in May.
South of Midnightreleases July 10, 2025 for Xbox Series X/S and PC, with an Early Access period starting on April 3. TheSouth of Midnightsoundtrack is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Bandcamp.The Art & Music of South of Midnight Box Setreleases in May.
