Introducing Jongnic Bontemps – Composer for Redfall

With Redfall’s release quickly approaching, having great music to slay vampires to is important.

This is where Redfall’s composer Jongnic Bontemps comes in to save the day! We got a few minutes to chat with Jongnic about how he got started in the industry and what inspires his music. We also dive into what makes Redfall’s OST so special.

Enjoy!

Q: How did you get your start in the music industry?
A: I’ve been playing, writing and producing music for most of life, starting with keyboard lessons at the age of 4. It was never the plan to actually make any money with music, it was something that brought me joy. While working in the tech industry in Silicon Valley, a friend of mine told me that one of my “for fun” compositions sounded like film music, and I was like “there is music in film, there is music in games?”. Before that moment it never occurred to me that people did this for a living. I was instantly intrigued, and the journey began. That journey brought me to USC’s Screen Scoring Masters program where I met music, film and game collaborators, some of whom I still work with to this day. Like most careers, it started with humble student films and slowly grew over a 10-year period to feature length fiction and non-fiction films, and eventually Redfall.

Q: What genres and composers do you take inspiration from?
A: I am a huge fan of hip hop, jazz and film music. I especially love projects where I get to cross pollinate these genres. Bernard Hermann, Chris Beck, Ludwig Goransson, Alan Silvestri continue to inspire me.

Q: What was the first thing you saw of Redfall that made you want to take on this project? What drew you to the project (if it wasn't one specific thing)?
A: The musical brief for Redfall, the desire to create music that was a mash up of hip-hop meets Goonies meets fun spooky! That had me when I first read it. I was like “game on”!

Q: Are the different locations and themes in the game reflected differently in your music?
A: We wanted to bring the sound of New England into the soundtrack. For me that meant bells and chimes. Who doesn’t love a good New England clock tower (I studied music at Yale, so the Harkness Tower Caroline was part of my daily life). So, throughout the score you will hear the sound of bells and chimes. New England also conjured up the sound of small string ensembles, so all of the strings have a small, tight sound, like you are in a wood paneled room with that humid radiator heat on a cold day enjoying a string quintet (I know super specific). We also created a few musical rules for the score. Hip-Hop is for Heroes, so much of the hero character centric music pulls from that genre. Cultists focused on the New England chamber sound, Bellwether was military percussion, and the vampires pull from electronic dance music. So, a real musical genre milieu. I was in heaven mixing up all these genres.

Q: What’s one of the unique things about the Redfall soundtrack that you’ve fallen in love with since wrapping production on it?
A: Even though we journey through so many musical genres and moods, each piece of music has the Redfall DNA. The use of the octatonic scale and signature themes throughout the score unifies the music. It creates an instantly recognizable sonic texture that is uniquely Redfall. This sonic fingerprint is not only present in the game, but in many of the trailers and the marketing material.

Q: Is there one track on the Redfall soundtrack that you think perfectly sums up the game's overall mood, or is the soundtrack best experienced like a complete story? Follow up, do you have a favorite track?
A: Vampire Gods is one of my favorite tracks. It has so much energy and pulls together so many of the sounds and themes from the score into one track. It's an adrenaline rush that must be experienced and its FUN. However, the score covers so much ground from Hip-Hop to Horror I really believe the journey through the entire score is worth taking.

Q: Do you have any advice for any aspiring composers who may be reading this?
A: Start making music with the people around you. Start scoring films with people at your level. Find the hungry aspiring director and start making stuff. Make music with your friends in your neighborhood and perform that music every time you can, even if its in your back yard. Strive to have a musical life, where you make music because you enjoy it and be open to the journey on which that musical life takes you. You may end up scoring, orchestrating, mixing, editing, or implementing. The beauty is that music is at the center of all those jobs, so with any outcome you have won.

That wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed this interview with Jongnic and are excited to take back Redfall on May 2! If you’re looking to join other Arkane fans, make sure you join us in our Discord server. Otherwise, follow us on our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook or join the community subreddit to remain up-to-date on all Redfall news.