Christopher Larkin
BornAdelaide, Australia
GenresVideo game music
Occupation(s)Composer, musician
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active2012–present
Websitecomposerlarkin.com

Christopher Larkin is a composer for video games, film, and television, best known for his work on Hollow Knight and the upcoming sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong. Some of his other works include Pac-Man 256, Outfolded, TOHU, and Hacknet.

Education

Larkin studied composition at Brighton Secondary School, then at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide. His mentors were Mr. John Polglase, Prof. Charles Bodman Rae, and Prof. Graeme Koehne.[1]

Career

Larkin began composing music at a young age, and collaborated with filmmaking students while he attended Elder Conservatory for music. He now works as a professional composer and sound designer for visual media such as Film, TV and Video games. He often collaborates with visual artists including Ari Gibson of Team Cherry with whom he has collaborated prior to the hit indie title Hollow Knight.[2]

Compositional style

In his music, Larkin integrates elements of his classical training with a diverse range of musical styles. He draws inspiration from classical composers such as Debussy as well as visual-media composers such as James Newton, Joe Hisaishi and Koji Kondo.[3]

Larkin's most notable work, the Hollow Knight soundtrack, is characterized as conveying "dark elegance and melancholy."[3] The soundtrack is largely orchestral and employs recurring leitmotifs throughout different tracks, each often corresponding to a location or character. Larkin also incorporated textural and instrumental themes to the score, such as using guitar harmonics to represent the glistening environment of the in-game location "Crystal Peak."[4] He is continuing his collaboration with Team Cherry on Hollow Knight's upcoming sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.

For the adventure game TOHU, produced by Fireart Games,[5] Larkin used the Digital Audio Workstation Cubase to create a musical score that reflects the game's whimsical story and visuals. His process involved observing the gameplay sent to him by the developers, and sonically interpreting those visual elements.[6]

List of works

Larkin has composed music for the following productions:

Year Title Genre
2012 The Adventures of Figaro Pho[7][8] TV series
2012 Wastelander Panda: Exile[9][10] Movie
2013 University of Adelaide: "Seek Light"[11] Commercial
2015 Pac-Man 256[12] Video game
2015 Expand[13][14] Video game
2015 The New Adventures of Figaro Pho[15][16] TV series
2015 Hacknet Video game
2016 Outfolded[17] Video game
2017 Barbecue[18][19] Documentary
2017 Hollow Knight[20][21] Video game
2021 TOHU[5][6] Video game
TBA Hollow Knight: Silksong[22][23] Video game

Awards

  • Best Sound Design at the South Australian Screen Awards 2016[24]
  • Best Composition at the South Australian Screen Awards 2015[25]
  • ASSG Awards Best Sound for Interactive Media 2017[26]
  • Best Score at the South Australian Screen Awards 2021[27]

References

  1. ↑ "About". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Hollow Knight Soundtrack Interview, retrieved 30 January 2022
  3. 1 2 "Inside Christopher Larkin's Darkly Elegant "Hollow Knight" Score". Bandcamp Daily. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  4. ↑ THE SOUND TEST 2 - #05 - Hollow Knight (w/Christopher Larkin) [COMPOSER INTERVIEW / PODCAST], retrieved 6 February 2022
  5. 1 2 "TOHU on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  6. 1 2 TOHU Music Behind The Scenes Chat, retrieved 6 February 2022
  7. ↑ The Adventures of Figaro Pho (Animation, Fantasy, Sci-Fi), Ambience Entertainment, Chocolate Liberation Front, 31 October 2012, retrieved 13 February 2022
  8. ↑ "Figaro Pho". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Wastelander Panda (Adventure, Drama, Fantasy), Epic Films, 23 January 2012, retrieved 13 February 2022
  10. ↑ "Wastelander Panda". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  11. ↑ The University of Adelaide - Seek Light 60s TV Ad, retrieved 6 February 2022
  12. ↑ "PacMan 256". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Expand". Expand. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Expand". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  15. ↑ The New Adventures of Figaro Pho (Animation), Chocolate Liberation Front, 31 August 2015, retrieved 13 February 2022
  16. ↑ "The New Adventures of Figaro Pho". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Outfolded". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  18. ↑ Salleh, Matthew (11 July 2017), Barbecue (Documentary), Urtext Film Productions, Projector Films, retrieved 13 February 2022
  19. ↑ "Barbecue". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Hollow Knight". Hollow Knight. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Hollow Knight". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "Hollow Knight: Silksong". Hollow Knight: Silksong. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  23. ↑ "Hollow Knight: Silksong". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Best Sound Design" (PDF). SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AWARDS WINNERS. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2017.
  25. ↑ "Best Composition" (PDF). SASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "The 2017 ASSG Award Winners". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  27. ↑ "SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AWARDS 2021 WINNERS NAMED AT MERCURY CX GALA | Mercury CX". Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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