Today, the highly anticipated release of Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2, published by Epic Games, not only marks the return of a cult-favorite game franchise but also signals a long awaited resurgence of renowned singer-songwriter-producer Poe. In a groundbreaking collaboration, game creator Sam Lake and Poe have joined forces once again to craft the moody, sonic-rich cinematic music that promises to enhance the way players experience video games.
The creative alliance between Sam Lake and Poe traces its roots back to 2010, when the original Alan Wake game featured Poe’s critically acclaimed, twisting and complex masterpiece, ‘Haunted.’ Much like the game itself, Poe’s ethereal track transcended the typical gaming experience, making both ‘Haunted’ and Poe a fan favorite, and a cultural touchstone in their own right. The eerie cadence and unsettling orchestration was the perfect coda for the overall gameplay immersion:
Den of Geek commented, “At the end of every episode a song plays that captures the spirit of what has just occurred. Listening to Poe’s “Haunted” helped make what we had just witnessed feel real, that we were part of it”.
“I’ve spoken to many people who still get chills every time they hear Poe’s ‘Haunted’ due to its use as a musical cue in the game,” notes Ben Kuchera from the influential gaming source Polygon.
The intense creative synergy between Sam and Poe in the original Alan Wake game led to a much deeper collaboration for Alan Wake 2. While concepting the new game, Lake stumbled upon a short song by Poe on YouTube describing a road that “loops forever.” Thematically, it aligned perfectly with where Lake was headed with the new game’s narrative, and the two struck up a renewed dialogue.
Sam thinks back to the game’s creation process: “When we announced Alan Wake 2, many fans online were asking if there would be a Poe track in the game. I was so happy to finally confirm this and announce “Yes! We have a brand new Poe song in the experience.”
As their conversations continued, a host of coincidences between Sam and Poe’s independent creative efforts seemed to converge in a symbiotic meeting of minds. They went back and forth between story and lyrics, lyrics and story, music and mood.
Working in this immersive environment, Poe experienced unprecedented creative freedom:
“I’ve always experienced songs as places. There is a stillness inside songs that you can walk through and live in. Collaborating with Sam brought the world inside ‘This Road’ to life.
I started out by just suggesting some sonic references within the narrative but Sam stopped me. He said ‘Poe, whatever you decide to do will be right because it comes from you.’ I have never experienced that kind of support and encouragement, especially from such an iconic creator. It truly set me on fire.
I was able to venture into places I might not have otherwise gone, because of that encouragement. There is a section in the song where the music slows down, for a long time and almost imperceptibly, until time sort of stops. We recorded that live, as a band and without any kind of metronome, and stayed perfectly in sync with each other. It was surreal, and truly one of the most amazing musical experiences of my life. Sam’s confidence in me gave me that moment, and I am so grateful.”
Sam Lake reflects on their creative journey, saying, “At some points we were so closely in sync that it got a bit scary. She was amazing to work with, a musical genius. A brilliant, brilliant artist. I feel the song perfectly captures all aspects of the world of the Dark Place where Alan Wake is trapped. In the disturbing dream-reality taking the shape of New York City, the song has in part the hazy, smoky, feel of a Film Noir nightclub, the aching longing the novelist Alan Wake feels toward Alice, his wife, as he tries to escape the nightmare and get back to her, the paranoid feel of being lost and having forgotten something vital. It’s all of this and more. It’s beautiful.”
The collaborative composition, “This Road (AW)”, credited to both Poe and Sam Lake, serves as the haunting endnote for each part of Wake’s nightmare journey through the Dark Place in Alan Wake 2, evolving and progressing along the way to enhance, echo and elevate the psychological horror.
The various endnotes of the song have also been crafted into a mind bending 9-minute opus, in itself an integral culmination of the whole Dark Place experience and the end of Wake’s journey there, serving as a perfect aftermath to the nightmare.
Poe, once dubbed the “daughter of the electronic revolution” by Elle Magazine, was one of the first artists to embrace the internet as music moved to the web in the 1990’s. Adopting cutting-edge technology, especially within the realms of gaming and soundtracks during the early stages of her artistic journey, she cultivated a two-way relationship with her fanbase, and amassed a devoted following in the tech and gaming world, in addition to the music world. She connected herself with fans in a way reflective of modern social media that had never truly been seen before. Poe’s “unheard of and pretty phenomenal” presence earned her the title of “web diva” from USA Today while The New York Times listed Poe as among “the defining voices of a female movement in music.”
She first ventured into gaming in 1998, when she was cast as “The Plague” opposite Bruce Willis in “Apocalypse.”She wrote “Control” for the game, and performed it in the game as well.
A new version of “Control” later appeared on her album “Haunted”.
With the release of Alan Wake 2 on October 27, 2023, Poe’s “This Road (AW)” is set to once again push the boundaries of what is possible in the intersection of music and gaming, creating an unforgettable experience for players and fans alike.
For more information on Alan Wake 2 and the remarkable collaboration between Sam Lake and Poe, please visit Www.officialpoe.com.