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While most people are still waiting for GTA 6, Ubisoft has managed to further expand the “Assassin’s Creed” saga. Woodkid’s new song for was released on June 6th Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced – and it’s not just the gaming world that is eagerly awaiting this release. Because Woodkid once again contributed a song to the series. We were able to find out why the combination of Woodkid and gaming works so well and what drunk pirates with sea shanties have to do with it in a conversation with the artist.
From illustrator to musician – a chain reaction
Even if you don’t know the name Woodkid, you know his songs. The French artist celebrated one of his greatest successes in 2012 with “Run Boy Run”. If you listen to the song more closely, one thing immediately becomes apparent: it is not a classic pop song. A deep male voice whips through the track alongside epic drums and violins – not a beat from a 707 drum kit, but orchestral sounds that transport the listener straight into a Christopher Nolan opening credits.
The special sound profile is related to Woodkid’s career, which he himself describes as a “chain reaction”:
“First I started as an illustrator – even before that I was drawing. Then I felt my drawings lacked movement, so I studied animation and started making animated films. But then I felt my films lacked human presence, so I started directing. After that I thought my films lacked visual effects, so I brought in my knowledge of CGI. And then I thought they lacked music, so I started making music. Everything was one Snowball effect from trying to create something that is visually completely me – something holistic.”
“Assassin’s Creed” and the art of given ingredients
This origin story also shows what is important when producing a video game song: the music fits into an overall product and supports graphics and storytelling. Woodkid describes the difference between such a commissioned work and his own song as follows:
“There’s a few ingredients on the table that I can play with – I love that. When I did this song for Assassin’s Creed, they came up with the idea of reworking this Sea Shanty.”
It is precisely these given ingredients that create the real appeal. A Sea Shanty is, by its very nature, a power song – bellowing, collective, with a cheerful, rough masculinity that is actually alien to Woodkid. “There’s a certain macho power to them, like men who sound drunk,” he says of an energy that’s “actually the opposite of who I am.” Instead of imitating them, he lets two worlds collide: his own voice, close to the microphone, grounded and intimate – and a choir that sounds as if it were singing against the wind “at the back of the boat”. The original was “very major key,” says Woodkid, with a boisterous pirate vibe; By shifting the song to a minor key, the mood turns mysterious and personal. The fact that he manages this balancing act so effortlessly points to a second constant in his work: the orchestra. Growing up with film music, he listened to soundtracks long before any pop record – an aesthetic in which the cinematic is not imposed, but rather inscribed.
Gaming songs in the charts – a systematic trend
But why are gaming songs becoming more and more popular – and what makes them so successful in the charts? A song in a popular game is inevitably heard thousands of times in a day, which sometimes makes the marketing strategy self-sustaining. The Grammys have long since picked up on this trend and have been honoring video game soundtracks with their own category since 2023.
Orchestra or electronics – a budget question
The question remains how to achieve such a powerful sound: with virtual instruments or with a real orchestra? According to Woodkid, it is primarily a “budget issue.” Although he thinks orchestras are more versatile, he also says:
“My approach is more electronic, so I try to make songs that don’t necessarily imitate a real orchestra, but have that cinematic quality.”
Both are allowed, but one should “assume the sound of real instruments, because in the end it is the mix that counts, what fits together better acoustically.”
The secret of Woodkid’s sound lies in the interplay between choice of instruments and artistic origins. The new song with the Sea Shantys heats up the community – of which Woodkid himself is one – for the new gaming experience and also makes the musicians’ hearts beat faster.