In the latest edition of PLAY Magazine #37 March 2024 (UK), catch a brand new interview with the brilliant Petri Alanko as he discusses returning to a darker Alan Wake story and how he got started at Remedy.
With the publication of the issue, the writers have shared the opening page of each of the major features, including Petri's interview. As alt text was not available on the original tweet, we've written up the featured introduction for the piece, "Hitting the Write Notes", for those using text-to-speech.
"Petri Alanko talks to Luke Kemp about music, creativity, and how the Alan Wake games are more than merely titles he's worked on."
The article continues, "You cannot have a serious discussion about Remedy Entertainment without talking about Petri Alanko. His unique, layered music has been an integral part of the studio's output for almost 15 years, and, as we learn, he has connected with the games that he has worked on - the Alan Wake ones in particular - on a deep emotional level. Alanko had already met with success before even considering working within the game industry. By that time, Remedy happened to ask a friend of his if they knew anybody suitable for the developer's composition needs ("Finland is a small country," says Alanko, "and there are only so many people dealing with music. especially people who are able to do both classical and pop music"), he had already toured with bands and spent a while working for Warner Chappell Music. Yet his story only gets more interesting from there. Something immediately strikes us as Alanko begins to explain how he works, "I happen to like Remedy's way of storytelling," he says. "There are lots of people who are able to really elaborate the stories, and the characters, and the environments and so forth. It's... mesmerising, I think that's the right word, to listen to those stories. And when you listen, suddenly all the characters and the places, although they are imaginary, turn into reality. They are real places inside my head. I work with pictures very quickly, and when pictures are born into my mind, they are easy..."
With a cover feature on exclusive access for Dragon's Dogma 2, the latest issue also covers previews and interviews on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Exodus and Parcel Corps. Plus, reviews on Like A Dragon: Infinite Walth, Tekken 8, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. You can buy a physical or digital issue worldwide now from Magazine Direct, from 4,79€. If you're in the UK, it should also be available in newsagents.
Source: PLAY Twitter
