Stephanie Economou talks Grammy win and the way forward for game music

In 2023, the Grammy Awards introduced a fresh award category, the ‘Best Score Soundtrack for Game titles along with other Interactive Media’. 

Finalists for the inaugural award included composers like Austin Wintory, Bear McCreary, Richard Jaques, and Christopher Tin, for his or her work on games like Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Call of Duty: Vanguard, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Old World. Stephanie Economou ended up taking out the award for her Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok score.

It's not the very first time that the gaming score or game-related music had been recognised by the Grammy Awards – composer Christopher Tin had previously won ‘Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)’ for Civilization IV's 'Baba Yetu'. But the formal introduction from the category speaks to a shift, and a newfound respect for composers of video game scores, from the music business. 

In an interview with GamesHub, Stephanie Economou shared similar enthusiasm about the category's introduction: 'It absolutely validates game composers and their work,' she said.

'There's nothing more immersive than interactive media. It provides the gamer a chance not just to be close to art, but to embody it, to live in it, to become it, and also the music offers quite a bit to do with that.'

'That's why gamers like to listen to these soundtracks by themselves. It elicits this ineffable emotional response; a memory, a visceral thrill. We're meaningfully connecting with audiences everywhere, and i believe this category endorses that.'

Economou spoke to the fact that several orchestras and groups all over the world, large and small, have begun bringing video game scores to concert halls, opera houses, and stages for enthusiastic audiences.

The new Grammy Award category is 'an excellent catalyst to continue highlighting and celebrating game composers,' Economou said. She also hopes the award will help those who aren't acquainted with game titles to 'experience how powerful this music can be.'

Composing to have an interactive medium

The introduction of the award also rightly recognises that composing music for game titles and other interactive mediums requires its very own set of techniques, which require unique skills, talent, and acuity, far above linear musical composition.

'Because game music is non-linear, loopable, and layered, I find the biggest challenge can be as simple as deciding on the best tempo for a piece of music,' Economou explained. 'When you've many of these puzzle pieces that require to work together in a large number of ways, sometimes there is a right answer for pacing, which will make the intertwining layers best together (perhaps in a half-time/double-time relationship, or perhaps a duplet against triplet feel).’

'It all could possibly get very technical in that way, however i find it's a fun ground for maximizing and exploring musical rudiments.'

Further to her sentiment around getting the audience meaningfully interact with something, Economou said she loves that her jobs are in a position to 'get into people's heads and influence their interactions,' with regards to exactly what the player does on the watch's screen, and in relation to the narrative unfolding in front of them. 

'I love curating sound worlds that are ever-evolving for that player. The score includes a big hand in shaping environments,' she said.

'I also love how collaborative the entire process of working on games is. I may be writing the background music, however the music supervisors and directors are integrating and arranging it to operate within many of these gameplay permutations. It's highly creative for those parties involved, and I like that the score will become alive by doing so.'

On her winning score for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok 

GamesHub previously spoke to Economou about her creative process on the score of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok in some depth, covering the fascinating influence of black metal and primitive instruments in her Nordic-style score. In the wake of her win, we asked Economou about her personal favourite flourishes, and in continuing the spirit of collaboration, she chose to spotlight the work from the musicians she caused.

'There's a dark, descending black metal riff used for our nemesis, Surtr, which appears on distorted guitars and vocals through the game. It's done by this guitar rock band Wilderun, and that i love each iteration of this motif because I think it encapsulates how commanding and terrifying he is.'

'There's additionally a vocal signature for Sinmara, done by singer, Ari Mason, which consists of layers of the badass, warrior-esque shrieking. I can not think of Sinmara without hearing that sound.'

With the Best Score Soundtrack for Game titles along with other Interactive Media category now established at the Grammy Awards, there's hopefully a thrilling and productive future to come for the composers who have recently been creating iconic game titles scores for several years – numerous whom were represented as finalists, alongside Economou – in addition to fresh talents.

We can only hope this formal show of respect for the music side of the games industry will have wider ramifications for that recognition from the medium as a whole. The level of creative aptitude which goes into the making of game titles should be respected and celebrated, in the end, and definitely in the same breath as other screen media.

'I have enormous respect its the other nominees and also have researched to them my entire career,' Economou said of her win. 'I honestly think that, no matter who won, this season was going to become a massive victory for the industry.'

'We collectively made history using the introduction of this category.'

Stephanie Economou’s Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok score is open to stream and buy on most major music services.