We return to the dunes and the shadows in Assassin's Creed Mirage.

Going back 20 years before the events of Valhalla, we play as Basim Ibn Ishaq (performed by Lee Majdoub), whose lurking grounds are the narrow alleyways and rooftops in the bustling streets of ninth century Baghdad. He's a street thief, and he's good at what he does, but after a night of larceny gone wrong, Basim sees his entire world shift as he joins the Hidden Ones in a fight for peace and liberty against the Order of the Ancients.

Bandwagon caught up with Assassin's Creed Mirage composer Brendan Angelides to talk about his work on Mirage, the lessons he learned from the artists he collaborated with, and advice he'd like to share with aspiring music composers.

Hi, Brendan! It's been a couple weeks since Assassin's Creed Mirage dropped. How does it feel to have a video game you scored out there in the world?

It has been a great experience to step into this new universe. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive of the OST, I have to say it’s a nice feeling.

What has been the most exciting thing you've heard from Assassin's Creed fans about the music?

That it elevates the gaming experience and has been hitting people emotionally in the right ways. Those were a couple of the main goals for me, so it’s a relief to see those goals connect.

Assassin's Creed Mirage is the first video game you ever scored and it certainly has a different vibe from the films and series you previously worked on. What did you do differently with Mirage compared to your work on Billions, 13 Reasons Why, and Echoes?

For each project, I like to start with a limited sonic palette to give myself some boundaries. With Mirage, I originally stuck to a small handful of instruments that would make sense for the time: Nay, Oud, Percussion, Joza, and Qanun. From there I found some of the best musicians I could who are representative of Arab culture and could tap into the authenticity that was needed. From there I resampled their playing and integrated those textures into an electronic framework. Strings were then brought in to help flush out the sense of drama and story building.

How did you get into the mindset to create the soundscapes of Mirage? Tell us about your creative process with this game.

Ubisoft first sent me mood boards and drawings. From there I came up with the demo and then the first deadline was the announcement trailer 'Into The Light.' The goal was to find the sound of the game through that trailer.

After this I began diving into learning about the very basics of Maqams and the Middle Eastern musical language. From there I contacted Layth Sidiq who is a wonderful violinist/vocalist and the artistic director for the New York Arabic Orchestra. I started to sketch out ideas and send to him and we would trade back and forth. I then connected with the rest of the musicians and began to do more remote recordings. Sometimes it was asking for particular phrases to be played and sometimes it was improvising over things I had written.

I tackled the various objectives piece by piece for the game working like this, finding which bits I was writing that felt the most inspirational and followed those ideas where they wanted to bring me. Towards the end of the process, I conned with Akram Haddad to help orchestra the strings for the recording session that would then happen with the New York Arabic Orchestra in NYC. From there it was refining touches and making sure everything cohesively fit together.

What was it like working with Emel Mathlouthi, Layth Sidiq, and Akram Haddad? As an artist, what kind of lessons did you learn from them?

Emel and I had been staying in touch off and on for a number of years and this was the perfect project to work on together. Having her on 'Daughter of No One' is such an important statement to have it as part of the score. It’s one of my favourite pieces on the score. Working with Layth and Akram was a blessing as they helped guide me at certain times and were always open to my questions and perspective. The goal was to create a blend of western and middle eastern and both of them helped in countless ways.

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Which medium would you say is the most challenging to create music for—film, TV, or video games? How did you overcome those trials?

They are just different is all, one not harder than the others. Logistically, TV is very fast though so that has its challenges. But in some ways that allows you to get out of the way and just write and not overthink things. Film allows you to create a most distinct musical arch in a way that TV doesn’t always let you. With the game, it feels like a combo of both because of the amount of music that needs to be written but also you have the time to let themes build and progress. All games work differently though and my only experience has been with this open world one.

Scoring a video game can't be easy, but you managed to do that while working on your album, OXYGEN. Can you tell us about your process and how you found the balance to do both (and most certainly the other things going on in your life)?

Actually, my album was already written by the time I was working on AC. It was being mixed and mastered by other people so I luckily didn’t have that on my shoulders. It was inspired by becoming a first-time father in January 2020 to twins. One of our twins was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and her permanent condition of brain damage is due to a lack of Oxygen in the womb. The music is an encapsulation of that experience as a first-time dad through the lens of hope. It’s a love letter to them and my wife. It features the London Contemporary Orchestra and is a blend of electronic and orchestral. It was a very different emotional journey working on something like that compared to Mirage. Both rewarding in their own ways.

What advice would you share with an aspiring composer and musician who wants to get into the gaming world?

The gaming world specifically I have no idea. But I would say follow your musical instincts and what excites you. Lean into the feeling of creating something that feels unique and distinct to you. Be mindful to be inspired by other music out there but not to compare yourself to those pieces of music or composers. One is beneficial and helpful, while the other can freeze you.

Stream the Assassin's Creed Mirage soundtrack below.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is now available to play on PlayStation, XBOX, and PC.