Part 15

Explore the inspirations and creation process behind Fez's unique soundtrack, with insights from composer Disasterpeace on each track.

This section delves into the musical compositions of Fez, featuring insights from the game's composer, Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland). It covers the inspiration, creation process, and specific characteristics of various tracks.

PRESSURE

This track is described as a literal musical treatment, evoking a feeling of heat. The composer advises against listening to it in hot environments.

NOCTURNE

Developed over six years, this piece began as the second half of a piano improvisation. It was influenced by the dungeon music from The Legend of Zelda and serves as a tribute to that style.

AGE

Originally created for a game jam about Sarajevo, this song was an early experiment for Fez's sound. It was later refined with improved structure and bitcrushing effects, aiming for a slow, molasses-like feel reminiscent of an old, forgotten place.

MAJESTY

The core motif for this song was conceived five years prior to its creation. The composer aimed to create acoustic-sounding taiko-like percussion using synthesizers. This track is suggested as the inspiration for the memory associated with the song titled "Memory".

CONTINUUM

Initially, the idea was to end the game with Moonlight Sonata, but Chopin's "Prelude in E-Minor (op. 28 no. 4)" was chosen for its superior movement. The arrangement closely mimics the on-screen events.

HOME

Inspired by the demoscene and the game "Jasper's Journeys," this track utilizes tracker software principles. The arpeggio instrument is designed to avoid overlapping notes, allowing only four to play simultaneously for clarity.

REFLECTION

This track continues the theme from "Home" but is stretched to sound more solitary and inward, intended for the moments after Gomez leaves his village. Despite being one of the longest songs, it only plays the first time the player leaves the village, and can often finish before reaching the next area.

LOVE

This piece was created randomly while experimenting with a minimoog. It is noted as potentially the most complete and shortest piece written entirely for a single performance on piano or keyboard.

INTERVIEW WITH DISASTERPEACE

In an interview on April 22nd, 2013, Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland) discussed his work on the Fez soundtrack. He began composing in the fall of 2010 after meeting Renaud and expressing interest in writing all the music.

He described his collaboration with Renaud as fantastic, particularly for the dynamic music tools. His work with Phil Fish was minimal, as they shared similar aesthetic visions. Brandon McCartin handled the sound effects, while Disasterpeace created some ambiances.

The overall Fez sound is characterized by raw waveforms, bitcrushing, reverb, delay, and slow pitch LFOs to simulate a bad cassette tape, aiming to contemporize retro-sounding music.

Regarding night versions of tracks, only