The futuristic electronic ambient score and rock Original Sound Track (OST) helmed by David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, and Xavier Despas, was met with near-universal acclaim. Full vocal versions of the eight songs by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels are heard only at their secret concerts. Instrumental versions of those songs from the Original Sound Track are heard as background music, along with other tracks, designed as ambient music, by Reeves Gabrels, with David Bowie not credited.
Developer David Cage originally had a composer wish list that included Björk, Massive Attack, Archive, and David Bowie. Contrary to Cage's expectations Bowie responded immediately and also wanted to inhabit the virtual space.[1]
Bowie appeared together with collaborator Reeves Gabrels and band member Gail Ann Dorsey as The Dreamers, a virtual band performing secretly and in defiance of government restrictions, in bars around Omikron City.
Characters in the game could buy a virtual album by The Dreamers that they could listen to in their apartments.[2] Or they could simply walk into an apartment that already has some of the music laid out in plain view or in hidden compartments. The Nomad Soul included eight songs written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, eight instrumental versions of those songs, and 26 other songs written by Gabrels.[3]
Songs from the soundtrack also appeared on Bowie's album Hours, which was released circa 5 weeks earlier than the game. "We All Go Through" was not on the general versions of Hours, but it was released as a Japanese bonus track[4], as a related single b-side[5] and on the 2004 bonus disc[6]. One of the three tracks added to Hours, titled "Brilliant Adventure", was actually considered as incidental music for the game[7]). Some songs on the album were a bit different than the versions used in the game. For example, for the song "New Angels of Promise" (used in the game's intro), Bowie changed the chorus lyric Omikron to Suspicious Minds. The 2004 bonus disc of Hours included three tracks markes as "(Omikron: The Nomad Soul version)".[6]. At least as late as June 1999 David Bowie's upcoming album was thought of as the soundtrack for the game.[2] The original title for the album was The Dreamers.[8]
On an E3 press conference Bowie said about his work on the soundtrack: "I moved right away from the stereotypical industrial game-music sound. [...] My priority in writing music for [The Nomad Soul] was to give it an emotional subtext. It feels to me as though Reeves and I have achieved that. We both worked really close with Quantic Dream".[2]
Some of the "instrumental songs" by Bowie and Gabrels would be further developed and released as b-sides, for instance "Awakened 2" is an instrumental version of "No One Calls" and "Thrust" (as heard during a rooftop fight with a demon) would become "1917".
The game also included sound effects, ambient and additional tracks by Xavier Despas.[3]
| Thursday's Child | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Something in the Air | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Survive | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Seven | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| We All Go Through | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Omikron (New Angels of Promise) | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| The Dreamers | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Akas Bar | Reeves Gabrels |
| Awaken | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Bar Concert | Reeves Gabrels |
| Epilogue | Reeves Gabrels |
| Gandhar | Reeves Gabrels |
| Gandhar Ambient | Reeves Gabrels |
| Jangir | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Jaunpur Casbah Ambient | Reeves Gabrels |
| Jaunpur Casbah | Reeves Gabrels |
| Loge Akas Bar Ambient | Reeves Gabrels |
| Nomad Soul | Reeves Gabrels |
| Palace Ambient | Reeves Gabrels |
| Peep Show | Reeves Gabrels |
| Qualisar | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Save Your Soul | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Gallery | Reeves Gabrels |
| Thrust | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Fight Scene One | Reeves Gabrels |
| Fight Scene Two | Reeves Gabrels |
| Fight Scene Three | Reeves Gabrels |
| Fight Scene Four | Reeves Gabrels |
| Fight Scene Five | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Scene A | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Scene B | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Scene C | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Scene D | Reeves Gabrels |
| Shooting Scene E | Reeves Gabrels |
| Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (Easy Listening Version) | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| We All Go Through (Easy Listening Version) | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| The Dreamers (Easy Listening Version) | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Thursday's Child (Easy Listening Version) | David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels |
| Market Place | Reeves Gabrels |
| Asteroth | Reeves Gabrels |
| Room of the Throne | Reeves Gabrels |
Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Edge Staff, The Making Of: Omikron: The Nomad Soul at .
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Template:Cite news Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "billboard" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eidos Interactive, nomad manual (eng) at .
- ↑ discogs.com - David Bowie – Hours... (Japanese edition) at .
- ↑ discogs.com - David Bowie – Thursday's Child at .
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 discogs.com - David Bowie – Hours... (limited edition) at .
- ↑ Pushing Ahead of the Dame - Brilliant Adventure at ./
- ↑ [ Station to Station] at . Uncut magazine, November 1999, pages 44–64, Chris Roberts