Video games have typically been soundtracked by simple digital synthesiser music or, in recent years, with the likes of Call of Duty, high-octane chart hits.
Yet a hotly anticipated blockbuster game is employing a humble Gaelic ballad popularised by a Barra folk singer born in 1928.
Fath Mo Mhulaid A Bhith Ann (Being Here Has Caused My Sorrow) will feature on the game’s soundtrack after being used for the trailer for Still Wakes The Deep, a mysterious thriller set on a North Sea oil rig.
A haunting song
Maggie MacInnes first learned the haunting song as a child from her mother, celebrated traditional artist Flora MacNeil.
The game is produced by The Chinese Room, a Brighton-based developer whose critically acclaimed and award-winning games include Amnesia, Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture.
The audio director, Daan Hendricks, contacted Maggie on Facebook after hearing the version of the song recorded by her mother Flora, who died in 2015.
“Daan thought the idea of Gaelic singing, like my mother’s, would really suit the game and one song he kept coming back to was her version of Fath Mo Mhulaid A Bhith Ann.
“He realised my mum had passed away in 2015, but saw on her Wikipedia that I was a performer and that I’d performed the song too.”
The mournful ballad, about a woman from Barra who moves to the mainland and yearns for home, fit with the game’s eerie atmosphere.
“She got married and moved to the Moidart area, where she is surrounded by hills; the lyrics say, ‘being here has caused my sorrow, for in the glen I am a stranger’. She misses the sea and misses Barra.
“When he contacted me I thought these people know what they’re talking about. I love the song and it’s a good choice.
“Immediately I was up for doing a special recording for him for their teaser trailer. I didn’t think it was going to be used for the game but they loved it and wanted it for the soundtrack.
“I’ve been so impressed with the creativity of the people involved from what they’ve said to me.
“I’ve got a son who plays games, not me though! If I was to get into gaming, this is the type I’d be interested in. I’ll give this one a go.”
Still Wakes The Deep
Still Wakes The Deep, due for release this Spring, is set on the fictional Beira D rig and is billed as an immersive experience about a Scottish oil rig worker fighting for his life against a storm, as well as supernatural forces.
“Perhaps there’s an eeriness to it, but the longing is overpowering,” added Maggie. “What was lovely was that Daan and the team at The Chinese Room feel the message of the song comes over despite it being in Gaelic.
“That’s a joy to me because that’s the language I sing in and I want to communicate the emotion of the song beyond the obvious language barrier. It’s lovely that it’s being appreciated this way.
“Hopefully, it might bring some people that never otherwise would listen into the world of Gaelic music. There are so many beautiful melodies and songs there.”
The idea of the song being used in the game would have delighted her mum, according to Maggie.
“Mum was all for breaking down barriers and loved travelling with her singing all over the world, and loved that open mindedness from people of other backgrounds,” she added. “It wasn’t about preserving antiquity. To mum, it was a living language and a living tradition.
“Mum was born in 1928 which was a different world, and her family was rich in stories and songs.
“I was born in Glasgow and grew up hearing my mother and my granny singing songs like this. I learned many, many songs from my mother and this was one of many.”
Although she recorded a version of the song several years ago, Maggie decided to create a new version for the game, this time with a closer connection to the lyrics.
“I wanted to keep that intimate feel so recorded it on our family home in Barra,” said Maggie. “I was literally looking at the sea and the sands of Barra as I recorded it, and that’s the version they’re using for the game.
“There’s a nice symmetry that the version they’re using for the game is recorded on the island where the singer longs to return.”
Visit maggiemacinnes.co.uk