Borislav Slavov shares unheard version of Song of Balduran & his pitch for Down By the River | BAFTA

Borislav Slavov on composing the Baldur's Gate 3 soundtrack, including exclusive footage of his pitch to Larian for Down by The River. He discusses how main themes should be scalable and shares an example of an unreleased epic version of Song of Balduran; as well as taking risks when working on music for games and collaborating with the whole team.

⏬ Stay up to date ⏬

Twitter:

#BAFTA #BaldursGate3

[shimomiaizo]

Applauding BAFTA for doing this piece. Cannot even begin to tell you how much I love every, single, piece, of music, or should I say "blends" of music, uplifted and magicalized the game for me. Borislav Slavov is a legendary composer; he talked about his craft and his way of crafting with such power, humbleness, passion and love. His skill is different from musicians who made their own albums or directed a concert; to me it felt like Larian gave him a rough, rough pencil-on-paper storyboard sketch, and he somehow made a 10-meter tall, 100-meter long oil painting mural out of it. Sir, incredible job. Salutations.

[TheClassyGamesman]

My 4-year-old daughter loves smacking drums, strumming guitars, playing ocarinas... any instrument that happens to be around. Last Fall I was playing BG3 for the first time, maybe half an hour into the character creator, when she suddenly dashed to the piano. She bounced around notes for fun like she usually does, but eventually worked out, "Down, down, down, by the river." It was the first time she'd taught herself a melody. It was a magical moment I'll never forget.

[TBHJR]

Just one of the best scores of all-time in any medium. Just a genius piece of music in general.

[stevejackson]

There is not one single person I have seen in videos who have been in any way involved in Baldurs Gate 3, who have not made me shed a tear of joy listening to them explain their passion for this game.

[marky.]

I was at this event and lucky enough to meet him afterwards. He was as lovely and humble as you would expect.

[BlueCat]

I loved hearing the creative process behind this OST. Borislav is incredible.🌟

[SereglothIV]

Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin 2 are without question my two favourite video game soundtracks. Many other games have amazing and epic main themes, but these two really stand out by having most of the scores be so memorable. It was great to hear some behind the scenes details of how this music came to be and how it was evolving. And Bobby not only is an incredible composer, but such a wholesome person as well. Thank you, sir, for everything you're doing, you're a treasure!

[guardian-X]

Borislav's music has really touched me deep, and creates a multitude of feelings. I think that is the best kind of music, the music that let's you feel. Thank you for all your work!

[jussikoutn]

Yes, emotion. The bare bones guitar version of "Down by the River" hit me right into the feels. No... You're crying!

[adhdd]

I want to hear the circus version of down by the river! 😂

[Doomlike]

Baldurs Gate 3 soundtrack will accompany me for life...This is how a music masterpiece can impact your life and be a constant "food for the soul".. Thank you from the bottom of my heart mister Borislav Slavov for your art

[Elchinodiabolero]

Just chills throughout my whole body, such a powerful masterpiece the OST of this game is

[feloniousbutterfly]

Was so excited he won a BAFTA for this wonderful score. He deserved this. This game has some of the best sound design of any. The music is perfect, the atmospheric sounds immerse you.

[mophead]

Has anyone found a full version of the Orchestral Balduran theme online? I hope it gets released officially one day.

[viscolex]

What an absolute genius. Baldur's Gate 3 is certainly among the best games I have ever played, and the music that invoked the incredible feeling through-out the experience was the Cherry on top.

[yanadnadya]

His singing js so.. raw.. that its just 🥺🥺 hits different ig

[sezkay]

Very educational, I feel like he is a great teacher and communicator. I loved being able to hear that original version of the theme too. What a treat.

[Lindscaldwell]

Yeah, just one of the best game soundtracks I've ever experienced. I've played through the game way too many times and the music still gives me the feels. Probably even more now, as the songs take on deeper meanings to me as time goes on. Thank you Borislav, for this gorgeous music that I will never forget.

[danih.]

I think one of the greastest strengths of the music of bg3 is the use of lietmotifs. In the beginning of the game, i wasnt particularly struck by the music, however the more the themes kept popping up the more i fell in love with them. By the end, during the ending credits i was crying as i played my piano along with it. Beautiful work and it added such a needed aspect of the story to bring it together.

Side note, i love the decision to be able to play along with any of the bards in the game. Being able to pull out a flute while the lyre player is playing and having them join you while playing was one of my favorite things in the game

[gwyndlin]

This soundtrack is a lot of things, but the most important part of the main theme to me is how mysterious it is. He touches on this when he says it needs to be a "hook" and when he talks about "Down by the River" transitioning into the darker orchestral theme. It makes you curious: What's *really* going on here?