HMMA Nomination - Randi Laubek Interview.

The title song of our debut game Forgotton Anne is nominated for Best Original Song in a Video Game at the 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Below is an interview with Randi Laubek, who wrote the song in collaboration with composer Peter Due.

Randi Laubek is a Danish singer-songwriter.

She grew up by the sea in a small fishing village on the Northern coast of Jutland.

She got her first guitar at the age of 8 and after a couple of years began writing songs.

At 18, she moved to the capitol, Copenhagen, and a year later signed a record deal with legendary Danish record producer Poul Bruun at Medley/EMI music. Her debut album, Ducks And Drakes, won 3 Danish Music Awards (previously known as the Danish Grammy Awards).

Since then she has released 7 solo albums featuring songs written and performed by herself, and an album of Emily Dickinson’s poetry.

Her music can be hard to categorize. It has been described as feminine, experimental, and sometimes quirky. At heart, she is a singer-songwriter with a sultry, soulful voice - a voice that has been compared to both Hans Christian Andersen’s Nightingale and the Sirens who attempted to seduce Odysseus and his crew.

1. Congratulations on the HMMA nomination!

Tell us a bit about your background and how you got involved with Forgotton Anne?

Happy to be nominated! I first met Alfred Nguyen many years ago when he created an animated music video for one of my songs. I absolutely love his work, so when he asked me if I would like to write a song for his new animated game Forgotton Anne, I was thrilled.

2. What was the process of creating the song Forgotten Anne like?

Alfred sent me a storyline and a trailer of Forgotton Anne to give me an idea of the atmosphere - both the story, and the poetic and underlying philosophical ‘frame' with the somewhat ethical choices that the main character, Anne, has to make during the game - and, of course, the beautiful visuals and scenery were very inspiring.

I actually dreamed the main verse of the song after having seen the first trailer. Alfred and the score composer, Peter Due, heard a demo of this first ‘dream’ idea and fortunately it resonated. Alfred sent me his additional musical & lyrical input, and I finished up the song based on those. We decided to keep the recording simple with vocals and guitar, and Peter Due composed a beautiful cello voice, played by the brilliant Henrik Dam Thomsen.

3. What do you think of songs and music in video games?

If the music is right, I think it adds to the experience (not surprisingly). Like in any visual story, music can play a huge - sometimes crucial - part in creating this other world we’re meant to enter.

4. If you were a forgotling, what item would you be?

The obvious choice would be a musical instrument, like an old Spanish guitar or a mandolin, maybe… Or an old desk with many (secret) drawers.