Christopher Larkin (composer)

Australian composer of soundtracks

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Christopher Larkin

Born| Adelaide, Australia
Genres| Video game music
Occupation(s)| Composer, musician
Instrument(s)| Piano
Years active| 2012–present
Website| composerlarkin.com

Musical artist

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[edit]

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][2]

## Career[edit]

Larkin began composing music at a young age and collaborated with filmmaking students while he attended the Elder Conservatory of Music. He now works as a professional composer and sound designer for visual media such as Film, TV, and Video games. Larkin had known Ari Gibson, the director of Team Cherry, before starting work on their game, Hollow Knight. Larkin found out about the project when it was still a Kickstarter and decided to send in a demo for the project.[3][2] Larkin worked with Team Cherry to produce a full soundtrack to the game, and it was released in 2017 to critical acclaim. He is continuing his collaboration with Team Cherry on Hollow Knight's upcoming sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong.[4]

Larkin was asked to speak at the High Score 2023 conference hosted by APRA AMCOS alongside Yoko Shimomura, in which he closed out the conference.[5]

## Compositional style[edit]

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.[6]

Larkin's most notable work, the Hollow Knight soundtrack, is characterized as conveying "dark elegance and melancholy."[6] 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 into the score, such as using guitar harmonics to represent the glistening environment of the in-game location "Crystal Peak".[7]

For the adventure game TOHU, produced by Fireart Games,[8] 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.[9]

## List of works[edit]

Larkin has composed music for the following productions:

Year  | Title  | Genre

|
|

2012  | The Adventures of Figaro Pho[10][11] | TV series
2012  | Wastelander Panda: Exile[12][13] | Movie
2013  | University of Adelaide: "Seek Light"[14] | Commercial
2015  | Pac-Man 256[15] | Video game
2015  | Expand[16][17] | Video game
2015  | The New Adventures of Figaro Pho[18][19] | TV series
2015  | Hacknet | Video game
2016  | Outfolded[20] | Video game
2017  | Barbecue[21][22] | Documentary
2017  | Hollow Knight[23][24] | Video game
2021  | TOHU[8][9] | Video game
TBA  | Hollow Knight: Silksong[25][26] | Video game

## Awards[edit]

* Best Composition at the South Australian Screen Awards 2015[27]
* Best Sound Design at the South Australian Screen Awards 2016[28]
* ASSG Awards Best Sound for Interactive Media 2017[29]
* Best Score at the South Australian Screen Awards 2021[30]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "About". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
2. ^ a b Larkin, Christopher (23 October 2019). "How Hollow Knight composer Christopher Larkin got the gig". Pocket Gamer (Interview). Interviewed by Matthew Forde. Steel Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
3. ^ Larkin, Christopher; Valdiva, Angelo (7 February 2017). "Hollow Knight Soundtrack Interview". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
4. ^ "Hollow Knight: Silksong". Hollow Knight: Silksong. Team Cherry. n.d. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024. "Hollow Knight's award-winning composer, Christopher Larkin, brings melancholy melodies, symphonic strings and heart-thumping, soul strumming boss themes to Hornet's adventure."
5. ^ "High Score 2023". APRA AMCOS. n.d. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
6. ^ a b Goldner, Sam (2 November 2018). "Inside Christopher Larkin's Darkly Elegant "Hollow Knight" Score". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
7. ^ THE SOUND TEST 2 - #05 - Hollow Knight (w/Christopher Larkin) [COMPOSER INTERVIEW / PODCAST], retrieved 6 February 2022
8. ^ a b "TOHU on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
9. ^ a b TOHU Music Behind The Scenes Chat, retrieved 6 February 2022
10. ^ The Adventures of Figaro Pho (Animation, Fantasy, Sci-Fi), Ambience Entertainment, Chocolate Liberation Front, 31 October 2012, retrieved 13 February 2022
11. ^ "Figaro Pho". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
12. ^ Wastelander Panda (Adventure, Drama, Fantasy), Epic Films, 23 January 2012, retrieved 13 February 2022
13. ^ "Wastelander Panda". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
14. ^ The University of Adelaide - Seek Light 60s TV Ad, retrieved 6 February 2022
15. ^ "PacMan 256". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
16. ^ "Expand". Expand. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
17. ^ "Expand". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
18. ^ The New Adventures of Figaro Pho (Animation), Chocolate Liberation Front, 31 August 2015, retrieved 13 February 2022
19. ^ "The New Adventures of Figaro Pho". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
20. ^ "Outfolded". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
21. ^ Salleh, Matthew (11 July 2017), Barbecue (Documentary), Urtext Film Productions, Projector Films, retrieved 13 February 2022
22. ^ "Barbecue". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
23. ^ "Hollow Knight". Hollow Knight. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
24. ^ "Hollow Knight". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
25. ^ "Hollow Knight: Silksong". Hollow Knight: Silksong. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
26. ^ "Hollow Knight: Silksong". Christopher Larkin. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
27. ^ "Best Composition" (PDF). SASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2016.
28. ^ "Best Sound Design" (PDF). SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AWARDS WINNERS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2017.
29. ^ "The 2017 ASSG Award Winners". Australian Screen Sound Guild. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
30. ^ "SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCREEN AWARDS 2021 WINNERS NAMED AT MERCURY CX GALA | Mercury CX". Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2022.