Florence and the Machine create theme song for Final Fantasy XV
Square Enix is pulling out all the stops for Final Fantasy XV ahead of its September 30 worldwide release. It has been announced that British band Florence and the Machine have provided a theme song for the title, specifically a cover of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me”. Blending Florence Welch’s performance with rousing orchestration and hints of the series’ Prelude, it can be heard in conjunction with the game’s latest trailer below:
In the video below, Florence Welch discuss how they became involved in the project. She notes “in some ways the landscape of Final Fantasy and my own internal landscape seemed to fit quite well, it’s mythical and beautiful and epic.” She explains that listening to a Classic FM broadcast about orchestral video game music made her realize the scope of the music and made her decide to explore the medium:
Florence covers ‘Stand By Me’ for Final Fantasy XVStand By Me is one of the greatest songs probably of all time so I was really glad that the game had chosen this song to do. We really wanted to make it our own, bringing it into the world of Florence + The Machine and the world of Final Fantasy XV.I’ve always seen Final Fantasy as a beautiful and creative game so I don’t think I could have worked with another video game. In some ways the landscape of Final Fantasy and my own internal landscape seemed to fit quite well, it’s mythical and beautiful and epic.I was listening to Classic FM and there was a whole 2 hour programme about classical music in videogames. It was so inspiring and a whole scope of music that I didn’t know about. It was really fascinating, the music was incredibly beautiful and emotional and I took it as a sort of sign, to see what I can do in this medium.
Posted by Florence + The Machine on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Posted on April 1, 2016 by Chris Greening. Last modified on April 1, 2016.
About the Author
Chris Greening I've contributed to websites related to game audio since 2002. In this time, I've reviewed over a thousand albums and interviewed hundreds of musicians across the world. As the founder and webmaster of VGMO -Video Game Music Online-, I hope to create a cutting-edge, journalistic resource for all those soundtrack enthusiasts out there. In the process, I would love to further cultivate my passion for music, writing, and generally building things. Please enjoy the site and don't hesitate to say hello!
Related Posts
Fleeting Symphony →
Final Symphony II – Listener’s Guide →
Final Symphony II – music from Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX and XIII →
