Malukah blev känd över en natt för Skyrim-covern Dragonborn Comes. Helt plötsligt gick alla runt och nynnade på musikstycket och det har lett till åtskilliga versioner på Youtube. Dragonborn Comes har till och med spelats på svenska Grammy-galan 2014, vilket bara det är ett kvitto på hur populär låten har blivit. Malukah fick även spela in musikstycken till Elder Scrolls Online som spelas inne på pubarna i spelet. CDPR firade den nya patchen till Witcher 3 med att låta Malukah göra en nyinspelning av sin The Field of Ard Skellig.

Denna mexikanska tjej har således figurerat rätt mycket inom spelmediet med sin sång och musik. FZ:s Johan Lorentzon har därför tagit kontakt med Malukah för en liten pratstund.

To all the readers on FZ who for some reason don’t know who you are. Who is Malukah? Give us just a short introduction of yourself and what you do.
– Hi! My name is Malukah, I am a composer and singer from Monterrey, México. I love singing on soundtracks, writing original songs, as well as making cover videos for my Youtube channel.

Your songs are made from parts of video game soundtracks. How hard is it to incorporate these pieces into your music and still make it your own? What are your thoughts and strategy when you compose your music? How do you come up with the lyrics?
– Interleaving different musical themes from a soundtrack into one single song is one of my favorite things to do. The difficulty of that depends on the source soundtrack and the way the composer wrote the score.

– Sometimes, all the music is so cohesive, that it seems it almost blends itself together and then it's just a matter of finding which pieces to use and adding lyrics that fit the theme of the game.

– I think the way my brain stitches these themes together is a way to reimagine the score and make it my own. And the lyrics, inspired by the dialog in the game itself, also end up blending with my own life experiences.

Malukas genombrottsvideo, The Dragonborn Comes.

You sing in many languages in your songs, even fantasy ones. What language did you find the hardest so far? Ever considered doing something in Swedish?
– I love singing in other languages, whether made up or real. The hardest once I've tried yet has been Icelandic. I was given recorded spoken phrases by a native speaker, but the challenge was trying to figure out how to sing the words... where to extend them... And they were hard to extend because they had sounds unfamiliar to me. I would love to sing something in Swedish if I ever had the chance!

Your breakthrough (if we can call it that) was The Dragonborn Comes. Did you ever think it would be such a smash hit? What are your thoughts about the song today?
– It was a big surprise! To this day it's something that still makes me smile and shake my head in disbelief. It has led me to meet so many people I wouldn't have crossed paths with otherwise, and also led to some amazing job opportunities that would have been out of my reach if that video hadn't gotten attention.

– I love the song, just as much as the first time I heard it. It's beautiful and hypnotic and it makes me happy that so many people connect with it.

You also made it into Elder Scrolls Online. How did this happen? Did Bethesda just call you up one day and ask you to be in the game?
– Precisely. Because of Dragonborn going viral, Zenimax Online Studios invited me to make a fan song about the game. The initial intention was for it to be a fan tribute for social media. Once it was finished, the team liked it so much they included it as the end credits song of the final game!

Beauty of Dawn rullar till eftertexterna i Elder Scrolls Online.

– After Beauty of Dawn, they invited me to compose music for 10 bard songs in the game, and also record them as well to be performed by in-game bards! It was an honor and a fantastic experience to work with such a great team!

You recently also got recognition from CDPR and got to make another release of your The Field of Ard Skellig to celebrate the new patch. Is there any moment in your career that stands out? Something that holds a special place in your heart?
– It was lovely to hear from CDPR and their invitation to make a cover for their patch celebration stream. I was very honored.

– Another moment that I absolutely love and clearly remember, was when Microsoft and 343 studios invited me to perform my tribute song Frozen Sleep at the Halo 4 Global Championships in Seattle. That performance was such an adrenaline rush and the crowd was lovely. I felt so proud to be part of that community.

Artists usually have a song they’re proud of or they hold close to their heart. A song which might not be one of their hits. Do you have a special piece you’re proud of?
– I recorded a cover of a song called Sinking Ships, by a band called Trees of Eternity. To this day, it may be my most favorite arrangement. Especially the strings at the end. Such a magical song.

Malukahs favoritlåt

You worked with many talented musicians like Peter Holland, Taylor Davis and Tina Guo during the years. Is there anyone you would like to work more with?
– I love all these musicians very much and do hope I get to work with them again! There is a piece of original music that I've always wanted to ask Tina to play on but I've always felt too shy. Hehe! Maybe I will finally ask.

"The biggest dream I can think of is singing in Elder Scrolls VI."

You have done a lot of work in video games. But do you still have a dream game you really would like to work on if you got the chance?
– The biggest dream I can think of is singing in Elder Scrolls VI. Hehe! I'm not sure if this could happen, but I would love it very much.

Besides covers and video game-related stuff you also released solo albums. Your 2nd album, I Follow the Moon, was released in 2019. How hard is it to go from video game covers to make your own music? How has the reception been?
– My original music has always been there, on the side. I've been writing since I was a kid. It felt nice that after focusing on recording other people's music for so long, I had the chance to record my own. The reception has been better than I could have ever hoped for. So, soooo beautiful. Since the songs are very personal, the fact that people can relate to them makes me feel less alone, and motivated to continue writing.

As a co-worker on a video games site I must of course ask you – What is your all time favorite game?
– Ayyyyy what an impossible question! For years, I would have said Skyrim... In a way, I feel I owe Skyrim for all the good fortune it brought me. But approaching from a more objective perspective, I would say Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I feel that game grew on me and impressed me so much. Until now, this is the game that has been the perfect combination of fun combat, story, characters, and side quests.

And as a last question before I let you go - Do you have anything you want to tell the readers and your Swedish fans on FZ?
– Thank you for listening all these years. I really hope I can visit your beautiful country one day, and maybe even perform there!