City Ruins (Nier:Automata) - Spring 2022 Concert

Recording provided by Open Range Video and J-Tech Audio Visual. Audio mixed by Antonino d'Urzo.

Title: City Ruins
Game: Nier:Automata
Composer: Keiichi Okabe
Arranger: Nicole Benner
Featuring: Thomas Chung, Fang Du, Michael Reed, Sara Riso, Ian Wang

NieR:Automata’s soundtrack is known for its minimalistic beauty and features sparse instrumentation and expressive solo vocals. Lead composer Keiichi Okabe was given immense creative freedom during development, to the point where elements of both NieR games were sometimes changed to fit the music, rather than the other way around. All of the lyrics are in the series’ fictional Chaos Language, which uses words and sounds from various world languages to imagine what an amalgamated universal language could sound like 10,000 years in the future.

“City Ruins” is the main overworld theme that plays during exploration of the post- apocalyptic world of Automata. The titular area is populated by the husks of once- towering skyscrapers, overgrown vegetation, and relics from humanity’s past. Even as the dramatic twists and turns of Automata’s story unfold, “City Ruins” grounds the player in the game’s unique and haunting atmosphere.

This arrangement features a lush string backdrop and lilting woodwind passages, culminating with triumphant brass fanfares and dramatic unison vocals sung in Chaos Language.

This piece was performed at our Spring 2022 Concert in Dekelboum Hall. Follow us on our social media platforms or visit our website to stay up-to-date on our latest events and performances!

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The Gamer Symphony Orchestra is a student-run symphonic orchestra consisting of more than 120 musicians, including a full choir. Since our establishment in 2005, we have strived to promote video game music as an art form and to continue bringing video game worlds to life through orchestral arrangements - almost all of which are created by our own members.

For more information, visit http://umd.gamersymphony.org/