{"id":1572,"date":"2025-08-29T17:51:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/sitting-down-with-the-composers-behind-cyberpunk-2077s-soundtrack\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T17:51:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:51:45","slug":"sitting-down-with-the-composers-behind-cyberpunk-2077s-soundtrack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/sitting-down-with-the-composers-behind-cyberpunk-2077s-soundtrack\/","title":{"rendered":"Sitting Down With The Composers Behind Cyberpunk 2077’s Soundtrack"},"content":{"rendered":"

A good soundtrack can make or break a gaming experience. Pairing the right sounds to the perfect scene is imperative<\/a>, and setting the stage for what the player feels is an incredibly powerful \u2014 and sometimes daunting \u2014 task. With Cyberpunk 2077 just around the corner boasting some killer tunes, we sat down with the OST team to learn more about the inspiration behind the sounds of Night City. <\/p>\n

Speaking with Marcin Przyblowics (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt), P.T. Adamczyk (Gwent: The Witcher Card Game), and Paul Leonard-Morgan (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II), we learned a ton about the tracklist for the highly anticipated action-RPG. While \u201ccyberpunk\u201d tropes may instantly bring to mind such scores as Blade Runner or Deus Ex, this talented team of composers drew inspiration from all sorts of sources, including draws from jazz, through downtempo, hip-hop, metal, industrial, to various incarnations of 90\u2019s techno (rave, trance, etc.); putting an unexpected modernized spin to everything while still keeping a cinematic vibe that pushes and informs the narrative and action.<\/p>\n

Ready to learn more about the sounds of Night City? Let’s dive right in! <\/p>\n

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The three of you have an impressive background, can you talk a little bit more about how you knew composition was the right path for you and about where it all started? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T:<\/em> I started out as a drummer although I always wanted to write music. The idea of being a composer felt so surreal, that I put this dream on the shelf and became a session drummer for Poland\u2019s top rap artists. In my early 20\u2019s I started doing music for commercials, shorts, and things of that nature. That gave me a confidence boost and I realized that maybe I can do that. I put my drumming career on hold and followed the composer path. I relocated to LA in 2015. I studied at USC\u2019s SMPTV program, did some ghostwriting, some additional arrangements, small short movies, and things of that caliber, and in mid-2017 I got a job as an in-house composer at CDPR and I moved back to Poland to work on Gwent, Thronebreaker and eventually Cyberpunk 2077<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>I studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Glasgow has a phenomenal music scene, and I started working with a ton of bands back then. I started out by scoring a few films (my first one got me a BAFTA), and then it really just took off from when I scored the film Limitless with Brandley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and then Dredd. <\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>For me, it all started back in music college. I figured out I’m not that great of a musician on instruments, but I was quite OK with writing and arranging music. That eventually pushed me to game music, kind of an obvious thing at the time. I’ve been playing games since I was seven. I worked on several smaller titles for a few years, and in 2011 I joined CD Projekt RED <\/i>and we’ve been working together ever since. <\/p>\n

How has your approach to game composition evolved with each new project? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/em>I think because of the experience you gain with every project you become slightly more confident with the decisions you make even if they might seem unproductive or just stupid to an outsider. For example, I did a lot of research before jumping into CP2077, I figured out my core set of instruments and I spent the first 6-8 months learning how to use them. I would press record and just jam with them, then save the bits I liked and then move to a different instrument. If I haven\u2019t had the experience that would seem counterproductive to me, cause I would be worried about not starting with \u201cthe theme\u201d, but I knew that this could be an equally valid point of entry and \u201cthe theme\u201d will get discovered somewhere into the process.<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>I\u2019ve scored a few games before (Battlefield Hardline and Warhammer: Dawn Of War 3), and with each of those, I\u2019ve been learning about the technical aspects of composing for games. But what I\u2019ve found the most fun part in them all (including Cyberpunk) is coming up with the sound for the game. In Cyberpunk, the three of us were playing with all our synths and experimenting for about 6 months at the start of the process. It\u2019s so important to find a unique sound, and, particularly for a game the size of Cyberpunk, it\u2019s a challenge to create something that hasn\u2019t been done before.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>I think it always evolves \u2014 every project is different, even if it\u2019s a part of a franchise. It brings different artistic and technical challenges. After years spent on The Witcher, I had to rethink my approach before starting doing anything on Cyberpunk 2077. It\u2019s a completely different universe, characters, story, everything. Plus, the music we\u2019ve made is so different from anything I\u2019ve ever done personally.<\/p>\n

With a game like Cyberpunk 2077, there is a grittiness heard in the tracks, and it’s not the obvious sounds people might expect from an experience in this genre. What was the creative process like when nailing down the sounds of Night City, especially when looking at how different the three of your tracks are from one another? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/i>All the inspiration comes from the game. Whether it\u2019s Mike Pondsmith\u2019s lore, or quest design, concept art you cannot complain about a lack of inspiration while working on a game like CP2077. Grittiness and the hard-hitting beats and bases were our response to the world and the stories that were presented to us. This is not a digital, sci-fi cyberpunk, it\u2019s not retro-futuristic cyberpunk. It\u2019s a special, singular take on the genre, that dares to create a new paradigm. So, as a composer, when you\u2019re tasked to create a musical score for a game like that, you have to give it all you got and look for uncharted musical territories.<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>Going back to that whole trying to create a unique sound thing, one of the things we quickly realized was that we wanted to avoid an 80\u2019s synth vibe \u2013 it\u2019s been done before, Blade Runner, etc, but synth\/electronica definitely plays a big role in our process. But we processed and crushed so many of our sounds on this. From drums to electric cello, to all our synths \u2013 distortion can be beautiful. And so many of the sounds that we created was from a process: for example, I would feed my moog into my matrixbrute, then into my vocoder, then finally into this wonderful synth called a Folktek. It was all about creating a hard, edgy sound for Night City. Throbbing Basslines and weird distortion<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>I think that\u2019s one of Night City\u2019s highlights \u2014 musical variety within a very well defined soundscape. Both the story and the city itself are soaking with exciting moments for the composer. It\u2019s not always about the action \u2014 sometimes it\u2019s the color, or what\u2019s being said in dialogue lines. Whatever it is, it makes your mind go places. Once you realize what the story is really about, and how it\u2019s executed, you know where that grit comes from.<\/p>\n

When composing for a game that has this much of hype behind it, what does a typical workday look like for you? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/i>For the past 6 months we\u2019re in playtesting mode (at least Marcin and I) so everything is pretty normal. We just play the game a lot and tweak things according to our music design. Earlier, when I was actually writing and producing the music it was a workday like any other \ud83d\ude42 cause you know, when you\u2019re in the middle of the ocean, it doesn\u2019t matter how deep it is, you just have to make it safely to the shore :). But in all seriousness, more than anything, the hype is a great motivator. It pushes you to give 100% every day and not cut corners and do everything to justify the anticipation. I felt really lucky to work on this game and the support we got from gamers was overwhelming.<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>Hype doesn\u2019t really come into it \u2013 you just keep your head down in the studio and be creative. There\u2019s no point thinking \u201cI wonder if the millions of fans will like this\u201d. You\u2019ve just gotta stay true to your artistry\/what you believe in and hope that people like it! A typical day would be me looking at a new scene which I\u2019ve been sent a rough movie for (CDPR are in Warsaw, and I\u2019m in LA, so the time difference means that we\u2019ve kind of been working on this \u201cround the clock\u201d for 3 years!), then I start coming up with ideas\/sketches, getting into the groove. Then I’ll send some stuff back to PT and Marcin a few days later for feedback before I go and produce the track up properly.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>As PT said, the last couple of months have been pretty standard, more so than I think a lot of people would think. We played the game all of the time, fine-tuning, making sure everything works as it should. The music phase though was interesting for me, because of the hype – for the first time there were so many people talking about the music for the game – be it specific tracks we announced, or the music of Cyberpunk in general. I can\u2019t wait to see how players react to what we\u2019ve created.<\/p>\n

How do you keep yourselves from burning out when ideating for creative musical compositions? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/em>New instruments, new sounds, new process. Sometimes you have to shake up and change a few things. I leaned heavily onto synths with unique interfaces so that I wouldn\u2019t rely on muscle memory or the typical ways of making music. If you check how Folktek Mescaline looks like, or Elektron Digitakt or the L.E.P. Loop you will see that they all require different ways of operating.<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>Ha! Good question. I tend to be working on multiple projects at the same time (a film, a tv series, a game, a classical composition), so I guess that\u2019s what stops me from burning out. If I was just doing the same thing over and over I think it’s very easy to become stale \u2013 you need to challenge yourself as a composer. I also go for walks first thing in the morning to try and clear my head.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>Every once in a while it\u2019s good to have change \u2014 after those few years spent on The Witcher, I went straight into another few years for Cyberpunk. Opportunities like this let you stay alert and try out new things \u2014 and there are so many ways you can make music.<\/p>\n

Was there any particular part of the game that acted as a catalyst for inspiration? A moment where you thought ‘this, this is what this project is about’? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/em>I love Johnny Silverhand. I did most of his material and it was a pleasure to score. You definitely don\u2019t want to skip through his lines (laughs). <\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>I freaking loved working on anything relating to Arasaka \u2014 creating the sounds for that was a blast. Detuning various basses, distorting, adding electric cello, processing Koto\u2019s and a few Eastern instruments so you can\u2019t tell what they are, but it adds a flavor to the score.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>I was blown away when I saw the cyberspace sequence. I\u2019ve spent a good time with Sound Designer Piotr Malinowski, talking about how cyberspace should sound. I really enjoyed working on it.<\/p>\n

Did you ever have a moment where you felt stuck or hit a creative roadblock? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/em>Obviously, when working on a project this big, there are times when things are not clicking. In moments like that, you just have to get into the groove again somehow. For me it usually meant, getting a new piece of gear, or using one that I own already in a way and I haven\u2019t used it before. Something to make things interesting again and to forget about the work that needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Leonard-Morgan: <\/em>Actually, no! Night City is such a huge place, once you immerse yourself in it, as a composer, it\u2019s just fantastic fun to imagine yourself there, composing for all the different parts. And the wonderful thing about having the 3 of us collaborate means we could always bounce ideas off each other if ever we wanted a second opinion.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>It may happen you get short of breath eventually during a marathon, but with a project of this scale, there\u2019s always a different angle you can look at it and find something new to create. You relax, clear your head, and create a new thing. And if you really need a break – you get a new instrument or another piece of gear and play with it. That always helps with finding new perspectives.<\/p>\n

Are there any Polish influences found within the music? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

P.T: <\/em>I wouldn\u2019t say Polish, but while doing research for CP2077 I listened to some electronic music from Poland, Ukraine, Russia and I think there might be a common denominator, but it\u2019s hard to pinpoint a specific thing. Maybe it\u2019s in the harmonies…I\u2019m no musicologist.<\/p>\n

Przyblowics: <\/em>I wouldn\u2019t say it is, at least intentionally. We did research many paths, including music from central Europe, but eventually, I guess it didn\u2019t matter whether or not it had those qualities. Our music draws from many places but tries to do it on its own.<\/p>\n