C418 (left) and Lena Raine (right) have been two of the main contributors to the music of Minecraft.

The music of the 2009 video game Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios, primarily consists of two soundtrack albums by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, also known as C418. American composer Lena Raine has also contributed with one album and two extended plays since 2020. Music included in downloadable content (DLC) for legacy console versions of the game was handled by British musician Gareth Coker, who released six soundtrack albums from 2016 to 2020.

Rosenfeld was solely responsible for the soundtrack for the Java Edition of the game until 2020, with Minecraft – Volume Alpha (2011) and its follow-up double album Minecraft – Volume Beta (2013) both released independently. With the launch of various DLC for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition in 2016, Coker issued three soundtrack albums, producing an additional three in the following four years. In 2020, Raine released the Minecraft: Nether Update EP and has since issued one album – Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (2021) featuring contributions by Kumi Tanioka, and an additional EP for the game's Wild Update (2022) with Samuel Åberg. Citing licensing issues with Microsoft, an original third album composed by Rosenfeld, which was first hinted at in 2015, has still not come to fruition. His final contribution to the game was in 2018, releasing three singles for its Aquatic Update.

Sonically, the soundtrack consists largely of ambient music and has been lauded by critics – in 2011, video game blog Kotaku cited it as one of the best video game soundtracks of that year.[1]

Background and artistry

C418

German musician Daniel Rosenfeld had been making music under the moniker C418 since he was 15 years old, and was influenced by the electronic work of Aphex Twin.[2] From 2007, he became active on online indie game community TIGSource where he met Markus Persson, who was still in the early stages of developing Minecraft.[3] Rosenfeld was given creative freedom to create a soundtrack for the tech demo,[4] and opted to make ambient music reminiscent of the works of Brian Eno and Vangelis. He was interested in "games with music that takes you completely by surprise," citing Dwarf Fortress as inspiration. Therefore, Rosenfeld wanted to "make something organic and partly electronic, partly acoustic" for Minecraft.[2] Further, he intended to make the music as unintrusive to the player as possible, as if "they’d only notice it when something interesting happens in the game."[5] However, the soundtrack's minimalistic style was also due to technical constraints, as he admitted the game "has a terrible sound engine."[5]

Persson chose to commission the music from Rosenfeld, meaning the artist still retains ownership of all the music he made for Minecraft.[2] Both the soundtrack albums also contain music not intended for the game, "extending the album into a more cohesive piece that can be played on its own."[2]

Lena Raine

In 2020, American composer Lena Raine was contacted by Mojang Studios to compose music for the Nether Update in Minecraft.[6] She had previously handled the soundtrack for video game Celeste (2018), and had just released her debut studio album Oneknowing (2019).[7] In composing music for Minecraft, she felt "immense pressure" to deliver due to the "very highly acclaimed score" already in the game.[8] After submitting a demo, her goal with the Nether Update soundtrack was to see how far she "could push the sound of the piano until it resembled other things entirely."[9] With her third contributions to the game in 2022, Raine wrote she wanted to "focus the musical style around more of a blend between synths and live instrumentation," while continuing to use "strings, piano, and woodwinds in places."[10]

Albums

Minecraft – Volume Alpha

The first installment of the game's soundtrack, Minecraft – Volume Alpha, was released digitally on 4 March 2011 independently by Daniel Rosenfeld.[11][12] In June 2015, the record received its first pressing to vinyl and CD through American record label Ghostly.[13] In 2022, the album was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Album at the Billboard Music Awards.[14]

The album was met with positive reviews, with Andy Kellman from AllMusic praising its replay value, stating that "none of the recurring elements is pronounced or simple enough to become fatiguing with repeated play".[15]

"Sweden", one of the songs in the album, is one of the most-streamed songs from a video game on Spotify, with over 141 million streams.[16][17]

Minecraft – Volume Beta

On 9 November 2013, Rosenfeld released Minecraft – Volume Beta as his fifth studio album and the game's second soundtrack album.[18] It includes music sonically described as having a darker tone than Volume Alpha, added into the game in various updates following his first record. It also contains audio from 10 of the 13 collectable music discs within the game.[19] In 2013, the album appeared on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, peaking at number 14.[20] It received its first pressing to vinyl and CD through Ghostly in 2020.[21]

Nether Update

Minecraft: Nether Update (Original Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Lena Raine
Released14 June 2020
Genre
Length20:32
LabelMicrosoft Studios Music
ProducerLena Raine
Lena Raine chronology
Celeste: Farewell (Original Soundtrack)
(2019)		 Minecraft: Nether Update (Original Game Soundtrack)
(2020)		 Reknowing
(2020)

On 10 April 2020, it was announced Lena Raine had composed music for the game's Nether Update.[7] On the sequencing of her three new soundtrack songs, Raine claimed she "wanted each piece to feel like a progression of emotions, or a journey from place to place within this other world."[9] The EP also contains a new in-game music disc, "Pigstep", which has two different mixes on the soundtrack version, released 14 June 2020.[23] Unlike Rosenfeld's work, Raine published her music digitally through Microsoft Studios Music.

No.TitleLength
1."Chrysopoeia"5:03
2."Rubedo"5:12
3."So Below"5:19
4."Pigstep" (Mono Mix)2:28
5."Pigstep" (Stereo Mix)2:28
Total length:20:32

Caves & Cliffs

Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Lena Raine and Kumi Tanioka
Released20 October 2021
Genre
Length47:46
LabelMicrosoft Studios Music
Producer
Lena Raine chronology
Chicory: The Sounds of Picnic Province
(2021)		 Minecraft: Caves & Cliffs (Original Game Soundtrack)
(2021)		 Moonglow Bay (Original Soundtrack)
(2021)

On 20 October 2021, the fourth official release of the Minecraft soundtrack was released, with 10 new tracks coinciding with the game's Caves & Cliffs Update. Seven of them were composed by Raine, including "Otherside", a new in-game music disc, and three were handled by Japanese composer Kumi Tanioka, known for her work in the Final Fantasy series.[24][25]

Tracks 1–7 by Lena Raine; 8–10 by Kumi Tanioka
No.TitleLength
1."Stand Tall"5:08
2."Left to Bloom"5:42
3."Ancestry"5:43
4."Wending"5:14
5."Infinite Amethyst"4:31
6."One More Day"4:38
7."Otherside"3:15
8."Floating Dream"3:25
9."Comforting Memories"4:35
10."An Ordinary Day"5:31
Total length:47:46

Wild Update

Minecraft: The Wild Update (Original Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Lena Raine and Samuel Åberg
Released20 April 2022
Genre
Length18:32
LabelMicrosoft Studios Music
Producer
Lena Raine chronology
Moonglow Bay (Original Soundtrack)
(2021)		 Minecraft: The Wild Update (Original Game Soundtrack)
(2022)

The fifth installment of the game's soundtrack, including songs introduced in the Wild Update, was released on 20 April 2022. It contains three new tracks by Raine, and a new music disc, "Five", composed by Mojang audio director Samuel Åberg.[9][26]

Tracks 1–3 by Lena Raine; 4 by Samuel Åberg
No.TitleLength
1."Firebugs"5:12
2."Aerie"4:56
3."Labyrinthine"5:24
4."Five"2:58
Total length:18:32

Trails & Tales

Minecraft: Trails & Tales (Original Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Aaron Cherof
Released26 April 2023
Genre
  • Ambient
  • electronic
Length21:56
LabelMicrosoft Studios Music
ProducerAaron Cherof
Aaron Cherof chronology
Sunshine Heavy Industries (Original Soundtrack)
(2021)		 Minecraft: Trails & Tales (Original Game Soundtrack)
(2023)

On 26 April 2023, Mojang announced American composer Aaron Cherof had contributed five new tracks to the game, to be introduced in the Trails & Tales Update.[27]

No.TitleLength
1."Echo in the Wind"4:56
2."A Familiar Room"4:01
3."Bromeliad"5:12
4."Crescent Dunes"4:08
5."Relic"3:38
Total length:21:56

Further contributions

Singles

On 16 July 2018, three new songs from C418 were added to the game for its Aquatic Update.[28] It marked the first new contributions from Rosenfeld to Minecraft since 2014. The three tracks were released digitally from August – "Dragon Fish" on 9 August, "Shuniji" on 10 November, and "Axolotl" on 12 December 2018.

Potential third C418 album

Rosenfeld first hinted at a potential third soundtrack album in 2015, commenting "I'll still work on Minecraft, so there'll probably be another album."[29] He confirmed the future release in 2017 but claimed it was "still far from done."[30] The musician confirmed on Twitter that the record would be longer than the previous two albums combined, which in total is over three hours and 18 minutes. On 8 January 2021, Rosenfeld was asked in an interview with Anthony Fantano whether or not there was still a third volume of the soundtrack in production. Rosenfeld responded that "I have something—I consider it finished—but things have become complicated, especially as Minecraft is now a big property, so I don't know."[31]

DLC soundtrack

While Rosenfeld once composed holiday themed music in downloadable content (DLC) for console editions of the game in 2014, British composer Gareth Coker has been responsible for the bulk of music for DLC in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.[32][33]

On 21 December 2016, Coker released the albums Battle & Tumble, Chinese Mythology and Greek Mythology to complement three downloadable packs in Bedrock Edition.[34] Two more records of similar themes, Norse Mythology and Egyptian Mythology, were released in December 2017 and May 2018 respectively.[35] Coker's final album for DLC was for the Glide Mini Game, releasing on 22 December 2020. Unlike previous work by Rosenfeld, all of Coker's albums for Minecraft were released under Microsoft's own label.[36]

Reception

The soundtrack's minimalistic and melancholic composition has been praised by critics.[37] Keith Stuart of The Guardian noted that Rosenfeld's "wilting, minimalist tracks, slow-paced and slightly melancholy, recall the ambient works of Satie and Eno", calling it the game's "perfect accompaniment."[5] In 2018, Jamie Hornsey of student newspaper The Boar described the soundtrack's composition as "nostalgia in its purest form," adding: "By encouraging players to associate pieces of music with certain actions, the game becomes capable of conjuring incredibly vivid images in the player’s mind."[38]

Much of the soundtrack's retrospective praise has been directed at Volume Alpha, where Evan Tridone of The Review called the album "arguably the best ambient album to be released this decade."[39] Writing for Kotaku, Luke Plunkett praised it as a "great album" and as "tranquil as a good night's sleep."[40]

In 2022, the Minecraft soundtrack placed at number 54 on Australian radio station ABC Classic's top 100 countdown, as voted by listeners.[41]

Charts

Chart performance for albums in the Minecraft soundtrack
Chart Album Year Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) Minecraft – Volume Alpha 2021–2022 5
Minecraft – Volume Beta 2013 14

References

  1. ↑ Hamilton, Kirk. "All of the Best Video Game Music of 2011". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Pangburn, DJ (30 June 2015). "Minecraft's Composer Explains Why the Music Is 'So Weird'". Motherboard. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Burns, Todd L (21 August 2015). "Interview: Minecraft's Soundtrack Composer C418". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Ramley, Ziad (1 October 2014). "We Spoke to the Minecraft Composer Who Makes A Living Off the Gaming Community". Thump (Vice). Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Stuart, Keith (7 November 2014). "How Daniel Rosenfeld wrote Minecraft's music". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Gray, Kate (29 December 2021). "Minecraft And Celeste Composer On Nintendo Influences And Writing For The Biggest Game In The World". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 Boddy, Zachary (9 April 2020). "Celeste composer Lena Raine has composed custom tracks for 'the Nether Update' on Minecraft". Windows Central. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Ravens, Chal (10 April 2020). "Lena Raine on Video Game Music, Celeste & the Minecraft Nether Update". Composer. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Wilborgh, Thomas (8 April 2020). "The Sound of Scary". Minecraft. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  10. ↑ Coles, Jason (20 April 2022). "New Minecraft snapshot adds more chill music". PCGamesN. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "Minecraft Volume Alpha on Bandcamp". 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "C418 presents Minecraft Volume Alpha". Ghostly International. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Cox, Jamieson (2015-06-23). "One of Minecraft's soundtracks is getting a fancy physical release". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  14. ↑ Atkinson, Katie (2022-05-15). "Here Are the 2022 Billboard Music Awards Winners: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  15. ↑ Kellman, Andy "Minecraft – Volume Alpha Review", AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 21 March 2018
  16. ↑ Gardner, Matt. "Spotify's 25 Most Streamed Game Songs: Smash Hits, Snubs And Surprises". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  17. ↑ Thomson·, Cody Nery (2023-03-31). "Titan Ice Does Science: Most Influential Gaming Soundtracks > NAG". NAG. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  18. ↑ "Minecraft Volume Beta on Bandcamp". 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  19. ↑ Rosenfeld, Daniel. "Minecraft Volume Beta – C418". C418.org. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "C418 Chart History". Billboard Charts. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  21. ↑ C418. "Minecraft – Volume Beta by C418". Ghostly. Retrieved 20 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ Raine, Lena [@kuraine] (June 28, 2020). "Okay let's break apart Pigstep! I don't have any cool insight on the title, it's just dubstep for piglins. I don't think they know what dubstep is, but I'm not writing the lore here I just wanted to write a fun little track that was good to dance to~" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ Esposito, Rachel (17 December 2022). "Lena Raine's 10 Best Tracks". CBR. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  24. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (20 October 2021). "Minecraft just got new music". PCGamesN. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  25. ↑ Leston, Ryan (2021-10-20). "'Minecraft' just added some new music". NME. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  26. ↑ David, Anmol (20 June 2022). "Where does new music play in Minecraft 1.19 The Wild update?". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  27. ↑ Roberts, Zachary (26 April 2023). "Minecraft 1.20 Trails & Tales update to add four new music tracks". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  28. ↑ Östergård, Adrian (16 July 2018). "Minecraft 1.13 Pre-Release 10". Minecraft. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  29. ↑ "Can You Dig It: FACT meets Minecraft composer C418". FACT Magazine. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  30. ↑ Daniel Rosenfeld [@C418] (February 9, 2017). "I'm still far from done, but I tallied up a few numbers, and the third Minecraft soundtrack is gonna be longer than Alpha and Beta combined" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ Rosenfeld, Daniel (8 January 2021). "10 Years of the Minecraft Soundtrack | C418 INTERVIEW". The Needle Drop (Interview). Interviewed by Anthony Fantano. Event occurs at 31:40 – via YouTube.
  32. ↑ Mahardy, Mike (9 December 2014). "Celebrate the Holidays With Minecraft Mash-Up DLC". IGN. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  33. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Composer Gareth Coker Talks Minecraft, Ori and More". Cultured Vultures. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  34. ↑ "Let's Get Ready to Tumble! New Minecraft Mini Game Available Now". Xbox Wire. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  35. ↑ Davies, Marsh (1 May 2018). "Festive Favourites Free Again!". Minecraft.
  36. ↑ Minecraft: Glide Mini Game (Original Soundtrack), 2020-12-22, retrieved 2022-08-05
  37. ↑ "The quiet importance of the Minecraft soundtrack". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  38. ↑ Hornsey, Jamie (31 January 2018). "The lasting power of Minecraft's procedurally-generated music". The Boar. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  39. ↑ Tridone, Evan (12 May 2019). "Five fantastic albums to put on when studying". The Review. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  40. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (9 March 2011). "The Soothing Sounds Of...Minecraft?". Kotaku. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  41. ↑ "Counting down from #71 to #48". ABC Classic. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
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