"[Tomb of the Timekeeper] is the first tomb level in the game. We had an unusual method of producing the tombs’ music – instead of writing faux-ethnic melodies for the soloists, I created low drones (sustained single notes) based on the basic harmonic progressions of the tombs’ respective action music. I decided on one solo instrument per tomb, and sent that tomb’s drone to the performer along with a description of the tomb and some general musical ideas. They would then freely improvise over the drone, using their own idiomatic performance techniques; For Timekeeper we used the kemenche (viol-like fiddle played on the knee), performed by Stelios Varveris. I then took those improvisations and wrote orchestral music “around” them, editing the recordings in various ways to fit rhythmically and harmonically. Ultimately this gave us a much more authentic sound than if I as a composer were to attempt to write Arabic-esque melodies, and it also gave the tombs a mellow, ambient tone appropriate for exploration and puzzle-solving."
- Wilbert Roget, II / Lead Composer, Music Supervisor