#2XKO Vulnerability/radical candor time: I'm going to share how much making music for 2XKO for more than 3 years now has changed my life. And how grateful I am for every dev I've become friends w/ who work(ed) for Riot. Especially for the opportunity to make the most creatively fulfilling music I've made in my 24 year career. Here's the scoop: TBH, I didn't know much about Riot, let alone LoL. That's what made being asked to work on the soundtrack so exciting for me. Leading up to that moment in 2023, I spent most of my life writing/recording/performing/touring in a metal band I started Junior year of high school in 2004. Until later on in 2018 when I randomly got asked to make music for Marvel and switched focus to being a composer. This path developed a character profiling obsession that made the Runeterra Universe a much needed challenge in my life. The lore of every character and their regions was fresh and new to my imagination. You have no idea what value that is to a lifelong perpetually obsessive music nerd who treats music as seriously as a heart attack. I would love to pretend like I made the music for anyone other than myself. I'd be lying. It's incredibly rare that people who make music for a living get to say that, whilst a client & fanbase has massive expectations of you. And that running the risk of creative self-fulfillment met approval from the chain of command. I just wanted the music to be fun outside of the game too. 2XKO's soundtrack was a chance to make music that showcased my enormous love for countless genres I've never been known for. It was a chance to make music I had never really even spent time with before, developing respect for new genres and their makers. I am truly grateful to have made music for: Teemo, Ahri, Noxus, Lux, Zaun, Jinx, Darius, Akali, Pool Party Day, Blood Moon Ionia, Ekko, Piltover Streets, the Main Theme w/ the Polyphia boyz, and some more to come 👀 Thank you to every 2XKO dev at Riot, the folks RGM, and every person who made the soundtrack come to life. But biggest thanks & world's most satisfying hugs to Michael Pitman, @wonsangandbass, @zatransis I truly cannot wait to make more music/noise for future games/productions by the best community of creatives I've met (#gamedevs abroad), and the players alike. Stick around, I'll be unloading a ton of content about 2XKO: a behind-the-scenes orchestra tracking documentary, music performances, vids sharing the process of each track, and much more. I'll also be sharing the same for future games/studios I am fortunate to work with.