This video has been SUCH a long time coming.probably ever since I first put together my Ellie cosplay for a MAGFest many years ago Back then I didnt really know how I could make this track my own, it was so far from my usual style, so I decided to let it go. Fast forward to about a year and a half ago when I was visiting my parents and messing around with my moms most unique instrument, the charango - while trying to figure out something to play on it I discovered that the main theme of TLOU was actually performed on the Ronroco, a larger cousin to the charango but with identical tuning (just pitched lower) Since the new game was coming out I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use this instrument and finally cover this theme!
The live instrumentation of this cover is entirely violin and charango (plus sample instruments) - if youre wondering about some of the unique sounds, I utilized a lot of non traditional violin techniques, like chopping, ponticello (playing close to the bridge), playing behind the bridge, tapping on the strings with a wooden dowel, and other string scraping sounds (also lots of pizzicato in the soaring section). I also threw in a cadenza towards the end because...why not
Also FYI, I did change the key because of the charangos tuning - it is pitched a fourth higher than the original ronroco, so that put this in A minor instead of Em...Am is also one of the greatest keys for utilizing the violin range, harmonics, and open strings, so it was actually perfect and allowed me to do all the pyrotechnics in the cadenza that wouldnt have been possible otherwise!
As far as the video - I had SUCH high hopes for this one, since I had been planning it so long - I was gonna film in an abandoned airpark but then the pandemic hit (the irony of this, with this game, is not lost on me)...So I ended up having to film alone in my backyard (hence the not great quality of a lot of those shots) but I was also able to get some great desolate shots of my city during quarantine - everything was still basically closed up (parks were open though) so I didnt see a single person while I was out filming - so not to worry, this was probably the most Ive even been outside of my house since quarantine happened, Ive been very safe and hiding out inside
HUGE THANKS to my Patreon producers for this video: Rian Hunter, Josh Whelchel
