Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack receives fetching, fully-fledged press release via Top Dollar PR; releases March 5th

Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack

Originally written by Top Dollar PR:

Original Soundtrack Album Available on CD and Digital Download on March 5th

Innovative Video Game Score by BAFTA Award-Winning Composer Jason Graves

"New York, Feb. 26, 2013 - Sumthing Else Music Works, the premier label dedicated to licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, and SQUARE ENIX, one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world, today announced the release of the original music score from the highly anticipated new TOMB RAIDER™ video game developed by Crystal Dynamics. The TOMB RAIDER Original Soundtrack composed by Jason Graves is scheduled for a worldwide physical release on March 5th, 2013 to retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com, and for digital download at Amazon MP3, iTunes and other digital music sites. The TOMB RAIDER Original Soundtrack CD is also available to pre-order from the TOMB RAIDER Official Store www.tombraiderstore.com."

"Crystal Dynamics entrusted BAFTA award-winning composer Jason Graves with their ambitious reboot of the iconic TOMB RAIDER franchise, giving him creative freedom to infuse atmosphere, emotion and authenticity to Lara Croft's origins story through his score. The end result combines found sounds, authentic percussion and a truly unique custom instrument interwoven with orchestral themes and textures. The TOMB RAIDER Original Soundtrack features 20 compositions from the game's original score."

Composer Jason Graves:

"What you hold in your hands is the culmination of more than two years of work and musical exploration. It contains all the musical elements I love, wrapped up neatly together - mysterious textures, evocative percussion and thematic developments to die for. It's been wonderful accompanying Lara through her first adventure. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed composing it."

Track Listing:

1. Adventure Found Me
2. The Scavenger's Den
3. Exploring The Island
4. First Blood
5. Reaching Roth
6. Infiltrating The Bunker
7. A Call For Help
8. Entering Himiko's Tomb
9. The Descent
10. The One
11. The Scavenger's Camp
12. Paying Respects
13. On The Beach
14. Secret of the Island
15. The Oni
16. Whitman's Test
17. Scaling The Ziggurat
18. The Ritual
19. A Survivor Is Born
20. The Tomb Raider

"TOMB RAIDER explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to a hardened survivor. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold. In the all-new TOMB RAIDER, a survivor is born. For more information about TOMB RAIDER visit www.tombraider.com."

"For more information on Sumthing Else Music Works and its complete catalog of video game soundtracks, visit www.sumthing.com, follow Sumthing Else Music Works on Twitter http://Twitter.com/SumthingDigital and become a fan on http://Facebook.com/SumthingElseMusicWorks and Google+."

Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack available to stream online

Join the conversation on Twitter with the hash-tag #Reborn

The highly anticipated 20-track Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack album by composer Jason Graves is free to stream in its entirety via AOL Radio for the week before it is released in stores; March 5th, 2013.

AOL Music is streaming the full Tomb Raider Original Soundtrack all this week! fb.me/2e2dQIizs

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) February 25, 2013

Tomb Raider, a "reboot" of the iconic franchise that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of video game heroine, Lara Croft, is the same day set for multi-platform release worldwide.

Peter Connelly releases complete "Tomb Raider IV - The Last Revelation Soundtrack" [Updated]

Update: Peter Connelly just added the two Paul Oakenfold "Perfecto" Dreamcast remixes of the Title Theme (one version with voice clips) to the collection, now totalling 69 tracks over 44 minutes:

Jason Graves provides thematic analysis of Tomb Raider score

BAFTA winner Jason Graves (courtesy of GameTrailers)

In an interview with GameTrailers on December 15th, 2012, Jason Graves stated there were four major musical motifs that appear in the original Tomb Raider soundtrack:

"There are four major themes in the game that represent the four major characters essential to the story: Lara, Roth, Mathias and The Island. Each of those four themes is peppered throughout the score, many times superimposed on top of each other. Some share key elements such as general shape or chord progressions."

Today the talented Tomb Raider composer provides MoTR with a detailed analysis of these four themes, including comparisons outlining the relationships between them and their thematic progression throughout the game. Graves also highlights any compositional techniques used.

Tomb Raider and the Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack release March 5th, 2013. Pre-order the soundtrack on CD via Amazon.com now thanks to distributor Sumthing Else Music Works!

Follow the jump for the analysis!

Jason Graves to speak at BAFTA industry event & MoTR to submit community questions for the composer in 36 hours!

Crystal Dynamics Community and Communications Manager, Meagan Marie, will be interviewing Tomb Raider (2013) composer Jason Graves on Tuesday the 19th of February for the next episode of the Crystal Habit Podcast. Marie has offered MoTR an exclusive slot in the podcast to feature questions answered by the composer in person. Kindly she has allowed us to extend this invitation to the community*.

Have questions about my score to the new Tomb Raider? I'll be presenting "The Instrument" live and answering... fb.me/2CNdFDl3N

— Jason Graves (@jgmusic) February 18, 2013

As an award winner himself, Graves is set to speak at following BAFTA industry event "Lights, Camera, Action Hero: The Making of a Blockbuster Through the Eyes of Lara Croft". The topic is the convergence of game and film music score, using his latest project, Tomb Raider, as an example. The composer was interviewed at the end of last year by Zachary Levi in the Sound of Survival, where he elaborates on the classical drive behind the Tomb Raider score:

"Yeah I'm kind of going directly back to the source; Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky... even for some of the scarier stuff you've got Penderetsky who's a polish composer... It goes back to ballets, or opera. Which is kind of the precursor to film and video game - they were telling a story. That's what I love about that kind of music; it tells a story. Even if you don't know the plot you can listen to it. And film music's the same way." - Jason Graves

*For the podcast: We will select 2-3 questions only from the comments selection below by 2:00am, Pacific Standard Time, Tuesday 19th February.

Get posting & stay tuned!

Sumthing Digital set as Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack distributor, official album artwork released [Updated]

Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack

Video-game music release powerhouse Sumthing Digital is to set to digitally publish the 20-track Tomb Raider: Original Soundtrack by BAFTA-winning composer Jason Graves. Today the distribution company tweeted the official artwork to grace the cover of the music album:

We're very excited to reveal the official @tombraider Original Soundtrack cover! Music composed by @jgmusic twitter.com/SumthingDigita…

— Sumthing Digital (@SumthingDigital) February 14, 2013

Tomb Raider releases on March 5th, 2013, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It marks the ninth pillar instalment in the franchise; a "reboot" that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of renowned British heroine, Lara Croft. Composer Graves shared the image on his official Facebook page and also expressed plans to release more music from Tomb Raider via his SoundCloud:

"I am planning on releasing plenty of other TR tracks on SoundCloud, such as the unedited, extended versions of many of the pieces on the commercial release. There's more than 60 minutes of cinematics alone!" - Jason Graves

About Sumthing Distribution: "In 1998, Nile Rodgers started Sumthing Distribution as a nationwide record distributor and creative outlet for independent artists and record labels. The company prides itself on it's ability to permeate the marketplace with many innovative independent projects." Sumthing is known for having since published countless video game soundtracks for titles such as the Halo, Fable, Hitman, Age of Empires, Gears of War & Mass Effect franchises. The Sumthing Digital website launches early this year @ http://www.sumthingdigital.com/

Summary: details on a Tomb Raider (2013) official soundtrack release amalgamating via tweets from composer Jason Graves

"First Tomb Raider official soundtrack CD off the press in hand" - Karl Stewart

On the eve of an impending press release, MoTR compiles details known so far about the first commercial Tomb Raider video game soundtrack release in nearly 17 years of the franchise.

The move is pioneered by parent company Square Enix, having acquired previous Tomb Raider publisher Eidos Interactive in 2009. And in no small part collaborates first-time Tomb Raider composer Jason Graves, who regularly sells his work on digital music distributors such as iTunes. The first readily purchasable music from a Tomb Raider game is marked with the release of the original video game score to Tomb Raider, a reboot of the iconic title starring the culturally influential lead character, Lara Croft. Tomb Raider has "gone gold" for a multi-platform release, and is set to launch March 5, 2013.

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics announced on the 30th of November, 2012, that "Jason Graves, an award winning composer with an outstanding pedigree across film, television and gaming is penning the original score for Tomb Raider". Graves' involvement is revealed and detailed in the third episode of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider; The Sound of Survival. Graves has been acknowledged with a BAFTA for his work for Original Score and Use of Audio in Dead Space.

Below are a few key points about the official Tomb Raider (2013) soundtrack release:

Jason Graves to release Tomb Raider album on iTunes consisting of 20 tracks
In reply to an enquiry from fellow Tomb Raider fan Stevo505 in regards to the sale of the Tomb Raider score on iTunes, Graves responded with a "Most definitely...". Recently the composer posted an image of the promotional soundtrack on CD to his official Facebook page - the confirmed indication of a 20 track iTunes release. Jason had to cut down "three hours of album-ready music". An announcement for an equivalent physical release on audio CD is expected, as when asked by Twitter user nEEd_yOuR_bEEt if the Dead Space 3 soundtrack would be available on CD, Graves denied that possibility but mentioned "For TR, yes.".

Separate 10-track "Survivalist cut" music release enclosed in deluxe Tomb Raider retail editions
Graves tweeted in response to AxelLSierra that the "Survivalist cut" "will have completely different music" from the intended iTunes release; the composer offering 100% exclusive material for those who purchase the Collector's or "Survivor" edition(s) of the game. The "Survivalist cut" will be in physical format for North America (pictured, brand director Karl Stewart), but digital around the rest of the world. 10-tracks were confirmed via the Official Tomb Raider Blog.

Any reference to the original Tomb Raider (1996) is non-intentional
As confirmed by Crystal Dynamics community and communications manager, Meagan Marie, in 2011; the original Tomb Raider motif composed by Nathan McCree in 1996 will not appear in this iteration of Tomb Raider. Nor is the new theme an intentional derivation of the old. Graves solidifies this via Twitter in response to MonsieurRik: "Nothing intentional. All new music at the request of Crystal".

Follow the jump for a collection of the tweets cited:

Graves teases promotional Tomb Raider soundtrack on CD

"Promo CD's arrived!" - Jason Graves

Today Tomb Raider (2013) composer Jason Graves shared pictures of promotional soundtrack CDs to his blockbuster titles Dead Space 3 and Tomb Raider via his official Facebook page; Jason Graves Music.

The CD appears to have 20-tracks and includes a profile of "The Instrument" on the back cover; a custom built sculpture designed to produce unique sounds and timbres for use in the score to Tomb Raider. While not established, it is assumed the material from this disc will serve as the body of the imminent digital release on major electronic music stores such as iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Tomb Raider releases worldwide on March 5th, 2013. The Collector's and Survivor Editions include an exclusive "Survivalist" cut of the score in physical format for North America and digital format around the rest of the world. Expect the official soundtrack to land on the same date across digital stores.

Update: Graves himself has let MoTR know that this CD represents the same music as the impending official release.

Two exclusive Tomb Raider tracks by composer Jason Graves to be released at milestone of 1 million Facebook fans

All Tomb Raider social media channels today tease the release of two tracks from the Tomb Raider (2013) original video game score - a reward for reaching 1,000,000 likes on Facebook:

"We’re so close to a million fans on Facebook that we can taste it! To incentivize hitting the milestone before launch on March 5, we’re offering up an extra exciting prize as a reward.

When we hit 1,000,000 fans we’ll make available two exclusive tracks from award-winning composer Jason Graves. How exclusive? So exclusive you won’t hear them on the official soundtrack. So please like and share!

Let’s make it to a million!" - Meagan Marie, Crystal Dynamics

Make sure you sign in to Facebook and like the official Tomb Raider page!

While it is confirmed the tracks will not appear on the official soundtrack release, it is unclear if they will remain unique pieces or also feature in the separate "Survivalist" cut of the soundtrack to be released exclusively in the Collector's Edition(s) of the game.

The music to Tomb Raider is composed by BAFTA winner Jason Graves; the 9th pillar title in the series is set for worldwide release on March 5th, 2013.