Biography
Valve Corporation, the Bellevue, Washington-based video game firm, serves as the base for Valve Studio Orchestra, an ensemble of composer/musicians responsible for scores in titles including Half-Life 2, Left4Dead, and Dota 2. Emerging in the mid-2000s, the group blends orchestral, choral, and electronic elements, incorporating folk, jazz, and additional idioms when they suit a given game's atmosphere. Issued in late 2004, The Soundtrack of Half-Life 2 carried composer credit to Kelly Bailey. The 2007 compilation The Orange Box gathered material from Half-Life 2: Episodes One and Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal, among them the track "Still Alive," penned by Jonathan Coulton and sung by Ellen McLain. Fight Songs: The Music of Team Fortress 2, credited to Valve Studio Orchestra, appeared on Ipecac Recordings during spring 2017. That summer brought the follow-up release The Dota 2 Official Soundtrack, again under the Valve Studio Orchestra name and spotlighting composers Jason Hayes and Tim Larkin.
Albums
Singles
