Music

Music of League - Volume 1

Released January 27th, 2015^[2]

Genre: Orchestral, Rock

Videos

Demacia Rising
Scarlet vow, One pledge to king and realm, When shadows are found, Arise gilded crown, True justice abound.
04:07	27-Jan-2015

Tidecaller
04:13	27-Jan-2015

Tiny Masterpiece of Evil
04:56	27-Jan-2015

The Curse of the Sad Mummy
Every child in Valoran has heard the tale before, About the cursed mummy boy who felt his heart no more. So sad and lorn, the helpless lad, Amumu was his name, He ventured out to find a friend and learn about his bane. For many years, young Amumu traveled through the lands, Determined to make friends, if only they would understand, But even when Amumu stood upon the ledge of home, His hope would disappoint him, and he would remain alone. But then the curse began to whisper in his ear, And would confirm what was Amumu’s biggest fear, It pledged that never shall someone become his friend, It pledged that he shall be alone until his end. The sorrow and despair, Became too much to bear. The moment when Amumu realized what he had done, Too late it was, for him, for them, the evil curse had won. The anger and the anguish overwhelmed his fragile soul, And caused a wicked tantrum that he never could control.
03:59	26-Jan-2015

Quinn and Valor
03:30	27-Jan-2015

Braum
03:33	12-May-2014

Tales of the Rift
03:34	27-Jan-2015

Lulu and Shaco's Quirky Encounter
02:36	27-Jan-2015

Freljord
03:30	30-Apr-2013

Rise of the Ascended
03:29	16-Sept-2014

Daylight's End
Ask not the sun why she sets Why she shrouds her light away Or why she hides her glowing gaze When night turns crimson gold to grey For silent falls the guilty sun As day to dark does turn One simple truth she dare not speak: Her light can only blind and burn No mercy for the guilty Bring down their lying sun Blood so silver black by night Upon their faces pale white Cruel moon, bring the end The dawn will never rise again
03:46	08-July-2012

Challengers
02:55	27-Jan-2015

Get Jinxed
Blah blah blablah Wanna join me, come and play But I might shoot you, in your face Bombs and bullets will, do the trick What we need here, is a little bit of panic! Do you ever wanna catch me? Right now I'm feeling ignored! So can you try a little harder? I'm really getting bored! Come on, shoot faster Just a little bit of energy! I wanna try something fun right now I guess some people call it anarchy! Let's blow this city to ashes And see what Pow-Pow thinks It's such pathetic neatness But not for long 'cause it'll get jinxed! So much better, so much fun Let's start from scratch and, blow up the sun! Come on, shoot faster Just a little bit of energy! I wanna try something fun right now I guess some people call it anarchy! Let's blow this city to ashes And see what Pow-Pow thinks It's such pathetic neatness But not for long 'cause it'll get jinxed! Come on! Come on! And get jinxed!
02:35	27-Jan-2015

Super Galaxy Rumble
01:58	02-Apr-2014

Reborn
02:44	09-Oct-2014

Warsongs

Released January 12, 2016^[3]

Genre: Dubstep

Piercing Light (Mako Remix)
04:51	21-Jan-2016

Edge of Infinity (Minnesota Remix)
04:01	21-Jan-2016

Welcome to Planet Urf (Jauz Remix)
04:08	21-Jan-2016

PROJECT Yi (Vicetone Remix)
04:19	21-Jan-2016

Flash Funk (Marshmello Remix)
— Pre-Chorus — One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two — Chorus — One-two-three, can we make it bounce? Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Flash funk still, can we make it bounce? Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce — Pre-Chorus — One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two-three, can we make it bounce? One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two One-two, one-two, one-two, one-two — Chorus — One-two-three, can we make it bounce? Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Flash funk still, can we make it bounce? Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce
03:41	21-Jan-2016

Let The Games Begin (Hyper Potions Remix)
03:44	21-Jan-2016

Worlds Collide (Arty Remix)
— Verse 1 — Do we fight to hold out heads up high or beat the drum to what we love? Risk the fall, oh we have felt it all come crashing down from far above — Pre-Chorus — Stars arising, countless worlds colliding only one will take it all Can we bring to fall the giants? Can we make the final call? — Chorus — We are the ones to ignite the darkened skies The champions of a world that we defied A solemn reign of the few who rise up high And we all fight At the last light
04:03	21-Jan-2016

The Glory (James Egbert Remix)
04:36	21-Jan-2016

The Boy Who Shattered Time (MitiS Remix)
04:50	21-Jan-2016

Lucidity (Dan Negovan Remix)
04:05	21-Jan-2016

Silver Scrapes (ProtoShredanoid Remix)
04:17	21-Jan-2016

More than Game Music: Making Warsongs

BY RUMTUMTUMMERS ^[4]

Music has the power to tell incredible stories, and we’ve always been interested in finding new and exciting opportunities that harness this power. Smite and Ignite was a celebration of all things metal. DJ Sona was our way of exploring music that impacts gameplay (and vice-versa). So when we finished work on The Music of League of Legends, Vol 1. and started thinking about our next project, we knew we wanted to go big. Riot Records, our internal name for “the team that does album stuff,” had just the idea: an album that could serve as the soundtrack to the 2016 ranked season.

Playlist origins

Warsongs is meant to be music that amps players up for League and puts them in the ladder-climbing mindset. Riot Records producer Tyler Eltringham explains its origin: “We released a metal album, and a soundtrack. So then everyone started thinking, ‘Okay, what next? What’s the next big idea?’” Those conversations took the the team toward the idea of an album designed to evoke a feeling of competitiveness and forward momentum. “What, we asked, would inspire players to push harder, to queue again?”

...Riot Records actively looks for musicians who love games and can find inspiration in League for these cool collaborations.

Electronic music felt like the natural choice, both because of its popularity in the League community and because of the number of EDM artists with close ties to games and gaming culture. “We’ve seen so many streamers listening to EDM while they stream,” says Eltringham, “and we knew there were tons of artists in EDM who are either huge League fans or huge gamers. It already feels like a natural part of the game.”

Dev manager Toa Dunn adds, “A lot of EDM musicians trace their influences back to hearing music in games—it seemed cool to have it all loop back around on itself this way.”

“Besides, part of what makes Riot Records unique as a team,” says Eltringham, “is that most of the effort is focused on finding people to work with externally. We have amazing in-house composers working on music for the game, but Riot Records actively looks for musicians who love games and can find inspiration in League for these cool collaborations.”

With the genre decided, the Riot Records team was ready to move into production.

For games, but not for a game

The team started by building a list of potential artists for the project. Says Dunn, “It was basically a blue-sky collection of people we’d love to work with.” From there, the team vetted each artist based on their gamer creds, musical style, and understanding of the project. Dunn says that the team asked questions like: “Do they play League, are they part of gaming culture, do they ‘get’ the League community? Will this person be accessible, and does it feel like an authentic fit?”

What would be the point if artists were forced to match some sound the team imagined? It would be an insane waste of talent and probably would limit the album, quality-wise.

Eltringham emphasizes the importance of finding artists with genuine connections to gaming, saying, “It wasn’t about finding big names for the big names. It had to be musicians who really connected to what Warsongs was trying to do, who had a sense of ‘This is how music gets me excited and hyped when I play games I love.’” The team also placed a big emphasis on the idea of variety—with “EDM” being more of an umbrella term than an actual genre, it was important that Warsongs run the stylistic gamut from big room anthems to dirtier dubstep, progressive house, and more. “Good gaming music to one person might be the opposite to another,” says Dunn, “so the team focused on sound diversity within the album.”

The Riot Records team also stresses the importance of letting each artist’s sound shine through in their tracks. “It was tricky,” says Dunn. “A lot of artists are used to working with companies who are like, ‘Take this and make a video game song.’ That wasn’t the goal here.” Artists needed to take the core idea and run with it for Warsongs to hit its full potential.

"What would be the point if artists were forced to match some sound the team imagined?" Eltringham adds. "It would be an insane waste of talent and probably would limit the album, quality-wise.”

Getting hype

Riot Records designed Warsongs from its foundation to be something that exists outside of League while still being inextricably connected to it. “It would be so cool if players take the album and bring it outside of the game, to their workouts or wherever they need to feel amped,” Eltringham says, “and to have this very League thing end up in places far beyond a second monitor or tab.” Riot Records, as a team, is just hopeful that players like the album as much as they do, and that it provides players the extra energy they need to climb the ranked ladder. “If you go to a basketball game, you hear jock jams, right? Those songs say, ‘It’s game time.’ Hopefully, Warsongs can be that for League—fuel for the fire,” says Dunn.