#listeneveryday 2 Feb 2021
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is an adventure game for PS4 and PC, first released in 2015. In it, the inhabitants of a small English village have mysteriously disappeared. The player has to explore and work out what might have happened.
Jessica Curry wrote the musical score for this and the game's predecessor, Dear Esther. While the first game's music won her much praise and became very popular, touring the UK's concert halls in a live music and gameplay event, her music for Rapture was - and has remained - some of the best-received videogame music written in recent years. It won Curry a BAFTA, was named soundtrack of the year by MOJO magazine and stayed in the top 10 of both the Official and Classic FM charts for weeks.
I've picked a cue called Liquid Light, which I find both relaxing and enthralling. Curry's music moves slowly, as textures and harmonies and continually change and build. She uses dissonance - where notes from the wordless voice 'clash' with the underlying chords - not to create tension, but colour and beauty. In the game, the fully interactive gameplay and music work hand-in-hand to transport the player on a journey that is different every time.
Jessica Curry has presented shows about videogame music on Classic FM and Radio 3, and continues to be busy writing music for both the concert hall and the world of gaming.
More to listen to
The Light We Cast - an unaccompanied choral piece by Jessica Curry
The trailer for Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Jessica Curry talks about her work
A new #listeneveryday post is published every weekday! Comment below or tweet @SimonRushby with your suggestions for future music.