Inon Sur (www.inonzur.com) is an Emmy-winning, BAFTA-nominated composer who's known for his dynamic musical scores for popular video game franchises such as Fallout,
Starfield,
Dragon Age,
Prince of Persia,
Rise of the Ronin and
The Elder Scrolls. His themes for Fallout in particular have become synonymous with the franchise, earning him BAFTA and The Game Awards nominations for
Fallout 3 and
Fallout 4. Zur’s original score for Fallout 76 also received considerable praise, labeled by some as the best soundtrack for the series yet. His
Fallout theme is also featured in Amazon’s TV series adaptation.
Here, he shares insight into his career and work on the franchise.
Tell us about your long history working on Fallout projects.
“My history with Fallout goes all the way back to 1999, scoring Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (2001). But back then, the publisher was not Bethesda, it was Interplay. In 2004, I believe, Bethesda secured the rights to develop Fallout 3, and around 2007 they acquired the full rights for the brand. I remember they actually approached me quite late during the development of
Fallout 3, unlike all the projects I've been scoring for Bethesda since then. I've composed all their
Fallout titles, as well as the spin-off title,
Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian. So, when it came time to do
Fallout 76, the relationship continued, but in a different way, because
Fallout 76 is a different type of experience than previous entries, as it’s an online multiplayer game, which was a first for Bethesda.”
Can you tell us how you approach main themes as far as instrumentation and tempo, for example?
“The initial approach for Fallout 76 was different in tone instrumentation than the previous titles. Inspired by the beauty of West Virginia, the game’s themes of hope for the future and rebuilding your world are the primary narrative for what the music is portraying. We looked at it not in terms of darkness and destruction, but rather, what are the opportunities that we have to create a new world out of the ashes. The instrumentation takes some inspiration from the music of The Commonwealth – the main setting for Fallout 4 - but the orchestra is more dominant and expresses the beauty of the outside world. It is less about the destruction and more about hope for the future, so overall it started out as more orchestral and less gritty.
“But, as the story develops, we started to manipulate and twist the sounds of the orchestra. The orchestra is still playing, but many times it's bending the notes, even to the extent of going a little bit out of tune. We employ the orchestra in an unorthodox way, especially the solos. The violin solo is iconic and prominent during the main theme and other parts of the score. It’s not played in a traditional classical way, but with a more old American sound that’s not quite a fiddle sound but, again, quite out of tune and deliberately rough. The main score also utilizes the strings of the orchestra in a very different way - more dissonant, foreboding and shadowing - rather than the beautiful string sounds.”
What is your recording process?
“I'm often creating temp samples that I’ll either play myself or have another musician perform, just as a placeholder. Then I'll bring in professional musicians to perform and record the music. I’ll have separate sessions for soloists and the orchestra. The soloists are usually recorded at my studio, and the orchestra in many cases is recorded live.”
You received lots of praise for Fallout 76. Do you recall how it came together?
“In the early stages of composing for Fallout 76, it was an interesting and fun challenge to approach the sound of
Fallout’s atmosphere in a more upbeat, cheerful way. We found it amusing to take the whole
Fallout musical language and make it more uplifting to reflect the vault dwellers’ chirpy sense of hope for the future. Then we start dialing in other elements as the story progresses, such as the cynical and grotesque, which are a big part of
Fallout’s DNA.
“Composing this music is like being a human processor modulating the different elements at different times, selecting a lighter or darker, more twisted sound as the situation requires. For example, with the next story content, Wastelanders, we built on and evolved the
Fallout 76 sound to reflect the natural environment. But while
Wastelanders was engraved in the sound world of Appalachia, the next big update,
Steel Dawn, brought the Brotherhood of Steel back to Appalachia, so it is more militaristic in tone and symphonic in its musical direction, with a new main theme incorporating a motif from
Fallout 4. We’re continuing to explore and develop the universe sonically with each new update.”