Uru Music is an album containing music from the computer video game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, part of the popular Myst series, composed by Tim Larkin.

Development

According to an interview included on the enhanced CD, Larkin had worked on creating different sounds for the second Myst game, Riven and was chosen to score Uru after composer Robyn Miller left the Cyan production company.

Larkin notes in the same interview that he chose the instrumentation for each track based upon the different digital environments in the game. When the player is in the game's rendering of a cleft in New Mexico, for example, Larkin uses resonator slide guitar and flutes, creating what he calls something "indigenous to a southwest type of feel that's very contemporary", while in other areas Larkin describes the game's music as being "less typical than what you would find in most games" due to the developers creating "such an exotic landscape."

To create both the "contemporary" and "exotic" types of music in the game, Larkin employed a combination of real and synthesized instruments, sometimes upgrading synthesized performances to those of real musicians, as in "Gallery Theme", where a synthesized vocal part was eventually replaced by the voice of soprano Tasha Koontz. The music was packaged in a jewel case which included a booklet with liner notes and a message from Myst co-creator Rand Miller. An example of the more "exotic" aspects of the score would be Larkin's use of a group of Maasai tribesmen's chanting, who were recorded during their visit to Spokane, Washington, where Cyan Worlds was located at that time.

Reception

The Uru soundtrack received two G.A.N.G. nominations in 2004 - one for "Best Original Vocal Song (Choral)" for the Gallery Theme and another for "Best Original Soundtrack."

Beyond its use in Uru, the "Gallery Theme" was later used in the theatrical trailer for Steven Spielberg's film, Munich.

Enhancements

The Uru Soundtrack comes on an enhanced CD, containing a (nearly) four-minute music video called "Uru: The Makers" and an audio-only interview with Rand Miller and Tim Larkin.

Track listing

1. "Atrus Open" – 1:00
2. "Beyond Gira" – 5:34
3. "Out of the Hive" – 2:59
4. "Badlands" – 2:29
5. "Gallery Theme" – 2:34
6. "Air Stream" – 4:06
7. "Yeesha's Theme" – 3:46
8. "Convergence" – 2:57
9. "The Well" – 3:24
10. "Spore Me" – 2:35
11. "Baron's Theme" – 2:11
12. "The Library" – 1:33
13. "The Vault" – 6:13
14. "Trailer Music" – 2:23
15. "Fall of D'ni" – 3:07
16. "The Bahro" – 1:52
17. "Dirt" – 2:07
18. Note: The track that an About.com review has listed as "Dirt" is not titled on the CD packaging.

See also

• Myst, composed by Robyn Miller
• Riven, composed by Robyn Miller
• Myst III: Exile, composed by Jack Wall
• Myst IV: Revelation, composed by Jack Wall
• Myst V: End of Ages, composed by Tim Larkin

References

• Track titles and times taken from the disc itself, but the titles can be verified through an About.com review of the soundtrack
• Some of the information from this article is taken from an interview included on the Uru Music enhanced CD.

External links

• Official Tim Larkin Web site which contains sound samples of this and other Larkin-composed soundtracks.
• Information about the availability of CD Soundtracks from the MYST series