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Boston Globe
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
This album has been on top of the classical music Billboard charts for weeks, and it's from a video game
From "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33." Sandfall Interactive But my mind was made up when the screen brightened after a battle versus one of the mysterious, spindly creatures that populate the world of 'Clair Obscur,' and I heard singing. Several unaccompanied voices braided, separated, weaved back together in a fashion that sounded like it could have come straight from the pen of Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Pretty much the whole world, as it turned out. 'Expedition 33,' developed by the small French studio Sandfall Interactive, had broken containment. Even French President Advertisement Founder, CEO, and creative director of Sandfall Interactive Guillaume Broche works on the newly developed video game "Clair Obscur, Expedition 33" at the Sandfall Interactive headquarters. GABRIEL BOUYS/Getty Advertisement The composer behind most of the music is French guitarist Lorien Testard, a self-professed game music fanatic who had never created music for a major game before, and joined the project after lead writer Guillaume Broche stumbled across his music on an online forum and reached out. Testard didn't respond to an interview request, but in a video featurette the studio released earlier this year, the composer said he'd wanted to create an 'entire sound universe,' and he'd taken much inspiration from art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe's 'evocative and stunning' concept illustrations. Concept art from "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33." Sandfall Interactive But just as important was Testard's collaboration with singer Alice Duport-Percier, former singer of the polished nerdy-classical fusion group Grissini Project as well as a core member of several early music ensembles, including Les Kapsber'girls, a clever allusion to the 15th-century Italian lutenist and composer Kapsberger. (Their 2021 album ' After Testard invited Duport-Percier to sing on the soundtrack, she initially thought she'd just be working off the score. Instead, Testard invited her to compose and improvise her own vocal lines over his instrumentals. The first day they collaborated, they created one of the major themes for the game, which they said made it into the final cut almost unaltered. 'It felt like beginner's luck, like winning a board game the first time you play,' Duport-Percier said in the featurette. Advertisement From "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33." Sandfall Interactive Conductor and arranger Daniel Sicard, who led the sessions for the music that was recorded live, was similarly enchanted. 'This isn't some big production making just another game,' he said. 'There's a genuine emotional connection.' In video games, as in so much popular entertainment, we are living in the age of franchise dominance. Unsurprisingly, this year so far, most of the hype and press have gone to major players in the industry releasing new installments based on existing intellectual properties: for example, 'Sid Meier's Civilization VII,' 'Monster Hunter Wilds,' and 'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered,' each of which has roots going back decades. By contrast, 'Clair Obscur' features a totally original narrative. It feels apt that it released just a few days after the US theatrical debut of Ryan Coogler's ' The same goes for listening to the soundtrack. You'll probably pick up on a theme — perhaps the sweet and sad melody for the ruined city of Advertisement From "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33." Sandfall Interactive Which is to say, there are classical pieces on the 'Clair Obscur' soundtrack, but the eight-hour album also contains jazz, symphonic rock, ambient, dance, chanson-esque chamber pop, and more classifications than this article can hold. I'm not sure if I'd personally label the entire eight-hour soundtrack as 'classical,' but there is certainly a critical mass of pieces that I'm dying to hear from live musicians, whether that's a solo cellist or guitarist, a chamber choir, or a full orchestra. And if the powers that be at Billboard deem it's classical, I won't complain. Andrea Bocelli will probably be back up there soon enough. A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
The Irish Sun
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Can you spot the real cakes from an everyday item? Take our quiz to see if you're a master baker or faker
BEN CULLEN is a man on a mission – to bring 'illusion cakes' to the world. Described by Bake Off judges Advertisement 13 Ben Cullen is a man on a mission – to bring 'illusion cakes' to the world Credit: instagram/the_bakeking 13 Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood described an illusion cake is 'a cake that looks anything but a cake' Credit: PA Ben's new book, Cake Or Fake, is a step-by-step guide showing you how to make your own hyper-real illusion cakes at home. Guessing what's real and what's cake has become a popular pasttime after the Netflix TV show Is it Cake? Ben said: 'For me, it has never been about showcasing skills but about inspiring others while also trying to entertain them. "Illusion cakes have a special magic; they transcend traditional cake-making while combining it with good-natured trickery. It's like a game that everyone can play.' Advertisement Read More on Food But can you tell which of these are Ben's creations or normal objects? Answers at the bottom. Cake Or Fake by Ben Cullen is available now (Welbeck, £25). I DIY-ed a 'professional' level kids' birthday cake for less than £25 using Amazon & eBay buys - I didn't bake a thing A. 13 Will these lemons taste sweet or sour? Credit: David Cummings B. 13 These trainers look pretty real but are they edible? Credit: supplied Advertisement C. 13 Are these oranges real in their red mesh bag or one of Ben's creations? Credit: supplied D. 13 Would you be able to play a tune on this recorder? Credit: Getty E. 13 This bowl of cereal looks inviting regardless of whether it's a cake Credit: David Cummings F. 13 What's this can of pop really made of? Credit: Getty Advertisement G. 13 This hot dog looks perfect in its bun, complete with ketchup and mustard Credit: David Cummings H. 13 Would you be able to squeeze into these skinny jeans? Credit: David Cummings I. 13 Are you being played like a fiddle or will you bow out? Credit: David Cummings J. 13 This American Football looks real enough, or have the goalposts moved? Credit: Getty Advertisement K. 13 How do you like them apples? Credit: supplied ANSWERS A cake; B cake; C cake; D real; E, cake; F real; G cake; H, cake; I cake; J real; K cake
