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Malukah

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Malukah
Background information
Birth nameJudith de los Santos
Also known asMalukah
Born1982 (age 41–42)
OriginMonterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
GenresPop rock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, composer
Instrument(s)Guitar, Piano, Percussion
Years active2005–present
LabelsMateria Collective, independent
Websitewww.malukah.com

Judith de los Santos (born 1982), known professionally as Malukah, is a Mexican composer and singer-songwriter known for her cover versions of music from video games or TV series and movies, which she publishes on YouTube. She became known to an international audience when a video of her cover of the song The Dragonborn Comes from the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim became a viral video in November 2011.[1] Since then she has contributed to several video game soundtracks, composed and produced original music, and performed live.

Career

[edit]

Early career and education

[edit]

Being a gamer since childhood, Judith de los Santos grew up with gaming related music. She started writing songs and singing at the age of 15,[2] took guitar, piano and percussion lessons[3] to later study at the Berklee College of Music. She graduated in 2005 with a dual major in Music Production and Engineering and Film Scoring with her debut album All of the Above.[4]

YouTube and video game soundtracks

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In November 2011, shortly after the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, her cover version of the game's song The Dragonborn Comes went viral. The video was reposted on the IGN YouTube channel as well as gaming-related websites and became quickly popular.[5] The original video on her own channel has over 23 million views, while the version on IGN's channel has over 17 million views by February 2020.[6][7] This and other popular videos, including songs set to music from the Mass Effect, Halo and The Witcher game series[8][9][10] helped her to obtain work in the video game industry.

Malukah
Personal information
NationalityMexican
EducationBerklee College of Music
YouTube information
Also known asmalufenix
Channel
Years active2011–present
Genre(s)Fantasy Folk Rock (covers, medleys, originals)
Subscribers695,000[11]
(18 June 2022)
Total views121,000,000[11]
(18 June 2022)

She was commissioned to provide vocals for songs for the game Call of Duty: Black Ops II in 2012,[12][13] The Banner Saga franchise (collaborating with Austin Wintory, Taylor Davis and Peter Hollens).[14][15] In 2014, she composed and sang the ingame NPC bard songs[16] and the end credits song Beauty of Dawn for the MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online.[17][18] She was invited to be a part of an upcoming symphony project by video game composer Jeremy Soule, The Northerner.[19] She provided vocals for music in the short film The Forge, collaborating with Austin Wintory and Tina Guo.[20] She worked with Peter Hollens on a cover version of the Civilization IV Theme (originally composed by Christopher Tin) Baba Yetu.[21] Together they also worked on a cover of Lullaby of Woe, a song from the Witcher 3 soundtrack. Her vocals were featured in the song Outside the Realm in the 2nd season Stranger Things soundtrack.[22] The song was originally composed by Big Giant Circles for the video game There Came an Echo and was reused as thematic music for this purpose. She also worked with Miracle of Sound on his popular song Legends of the Frost based on the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She is featured on the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 soundtrack. She provided vocal effects for the game Far Cry Primal working with BAFTA award-winning composer Jason Graves.[23] Recently, she contributed to the soundtracks of the video games Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and the PlayStation 4 Virtual reality game Moss.[24][25] She and other musicians were invited by CD Projekt musical director Marcin Przybyłowicz to participate in a music video that recreates The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt main theme to celebrate the game's 5th anniversary in 2020.[26] Lately, she contributed vocals to music to the game The Pathless and worked on vocal editing the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War song Alone.[27][28]

Live performances, streaming and original music

[edit]

She performed the Halo tribute song Frozen Sleep at the Halo Global Championships 2013 at PAX Prime.[1] Furthermore, she performed video game music at SXSW[29] and The Game Awards. She was a guest performer at the Video Games Live E3 concert 2014 in Los Angeles[30][31] and in her hometown Monterrey in 2016. She was invited to sing at The Elder Scrolls Online tavern community event during Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, Germany.[32] She performed at the Argentina Game Show in Buenos Aires in 2019[33][34] and the CES 2020 in Las Vegas.[35]

Malukah streamed as a partnered streamer on Twitch for almost 1,000 hours between 2016 and 2020, having reached 662,000 views and 38,800 followers in the music & performing arts and gaming category. Since 2020, she focused live streaming on YouTube.

In 2019, she released her latest original album I Follow the Moon.

Style and genre

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Her two original albums mostly cover the genres Pop rock or Folk rock. Collaborations with other musicians like Sonic Mayhem or Headhunterz are influenced by electronic music. Her contributions to the Call of Duty: Black Ops games cover the genre of Heavy Metal. The video game contributions, movie related originals, covers and medleys can be classified as fantasy folk rock or fantasy music. Her covers are influenced by music set to games like Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Halo and Destiny, movies like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings or TV series like Game of Thrones. Recent releases mainly consist of cover works and single releases to various original songs (e.g. Hallelujah, Sound of Silence). The most gaming-related soundtracks include [clarification needed]Answers from Final Fantasy XIV, Nostalgia from the 2022 video game Asterigos: Curse of the Stars by Composer WeiFan Chang) and the cover of Living on The Rooftops from Dying Light 2.

Her vocal range can be considered as alto.

Discography

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Original albums

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  • All of the Above (self-published album, 2006)[36]
  • I Follow the Moon (2019)
[edit]
  • Forget the Lines, Secret (both songs from: Acoustic Cafe Series, Vol.1, 2009)
  • Reignite (Headhunterz ft. Malukah, 2012)
  • Legends of the Frost (Miracle of Sound, ft. Malukah, 2012)
  • Bleed Forever (in: Doomsday, Sonic Mayhem ft. Malukah, 2015)
  • World of Warcraft: Malach, Angel Messenger (in: Video Games Level 5, 2016)
  • Al Fin (from: Song Planet, 2016)
  • One More Time (from: Days of Tomorrow, R. Armando Morabito, 2017)
[edit]
  • The Dragonborn Comes (2017)
  • Reignite, a tribute to Mass Effect, single, released by Materia Collective (2020)
  • Lullaby of Woe (from: The Witcher 3, ft. work with Peter Hollens, 2020)
  • Good Riddance (ft. work with Peter Hollens, 2021)
  • Come little children (single, cover, 2021)

Video game soundtrack contributions

[edit]
Year Game Song(s) Contribution References
2012 Call of Duty: Black Ops II Where Are We Going?, Always Running, Archangel vocals [37]
2012 Journey Journey Waltz vocals [38]
2013 The Banner Saga Onward vocals & lyrics [39]
2014 The Elder Scrolls Online End credits: Beauty of Dawn

Bard songs: Battle of Glenumbra Moors, Chim-El Adabal

The Coldharbour Compact, Hymn to Kyne, Ithguleoir,

Ode to Queen Ayrenn, Over the Seas and Far Away,

The Plane Meld, Stagger and Sway, Three Hearts as One

composer, vocals

& lyrics

[16][17][18]
2015 There Came an Echo There Came An Echo Theme, Waiting For Fire vocals [40]
2015 Sunset Esperanza En Duelo, Eres Mi Vela (both Spanish traditional) vocals & lyrics [41]
2015 Monaco What Yours Is Mine vocals [42]
2015 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombie Menu Music, Dead Flowers

Dead Again, Dead Ended, The Gift

vocals

vocal editor

[43]
2016 Far Cry Primal ingame/soundtrack female character voice-acting (shouts) vocals [44]
2016 The Banner Saga 2 Our Steps, To The Night lyrics & vocals [45]
2017 Lone Echo Ready at Dawn vocals [46]
2018 The Banner Saga 3 Only Few Remember It Now vocals [47]
2018 Moss Home To Me vocals [48]
2018 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Where Are We Going? (updated version)

Mystery, Shockwave, Drowning, Stormbound, I Am The Well

vocals

vocal editor

[49]
2020 The Pathless A land, which was not my own (choir) vocals [27]
2020 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Alone vocal editor [50][28]

TV soundtrack contributions

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  • Panic Nation (2010, lyricist, composer)
  • The Forge (short film, 2013, feat. vocals)
  • Outside the Realm (feat. vocals), Stranger Things (Season 2, episodes 02 and 07)

Collaborations

[edit]

Malukah's collaborations usually involve other YouTube musicians like singer Peter Hollens or violinist Taylor Davis. For her video game contributions, she repeatedly worked with the composers Austin Wintory and Jason Graves.[38][48][51] Further collaborations involved musicians like Elena Siegman, Tina Guo and Kevin Sherwood.[43][49] Most noted were her collaborations with ZeniMax Online Studios for the bard songs and end credits song of The Elder Scrolls Online and with Treyarch for the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise, contributing to several of the Zombie easter egg songs.

Awards

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  • Winner of the 10th Unisong International Song Contest 2005 (Everything)[52]
  • Two wins in the Rock category at the 16th LA Music Awards as female singer-songwriter of the year (Everything) and female vocalist of the year (I can't make it rain), and another nomination in Rock category for best album (All of the Above) in 2006.[2]

Trivia

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  • Malukah is known to sing in various real and fantasy languages. For parts of her cover versions from The Elder Scrolls franchise, she sang in dragon language, Dragon-tongue. For her cover version of Priscilla's song from the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, she sang one verse in Polish as a tribute to the country, where The Witcher franchise has originated.[53] For The Banner Saga soundtrack she sang in Icelandic.[54] For the Civilization IV theme Baba Yetu she sang in Swahili.[55] For the cover The Fields of Ard Skellig, a song from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt original soundtrack, she sang in Gaelic.[56]
  • Her bard songs can be listened to in-game performed by several bard NPCs in The Elder Scrolls Online.
  • A NPC with the name of Malukah Lightsong was introduced with the Patch 6.2.0 in the video game World of Warcraft.[57]
  • She wrote a self-published short novel called The Stolen Pendant.[58]
  • The Skyrim modding community has added her Dragonborn cover to various game mods.[59]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "From 'Dragon Age' to 'Skyrim,' singer gives new life to video game music". The Daily Dot. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Summit Songs Presents: Bio | Broadjam.com". Broadjam. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Interview with Malukah – gamers' favorite musician and composer". Gamepressure.com. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  4. ^ "YouTube Skyrim cover phenom Malukah on epic music and playing WoW". Engadget. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Cover Of Skyrim Theme Will Send A Chill Through Your Bones". Kotaku. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ Skyrim: The Dragonborn Comes – Female Cover by Malukah, 3 December 2011, retrieved 10 February 2020
  7. ^ "The Dragonborn Comes – Skyrim Bard Song and Main Theme Female Cover by Malukah". YouTube. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  8. ^ Kenreck, Todd (27 April 2012). "'Mass Effect' gets haunting new tribute song". NBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  9. ^ Co, Alex (16 December 2012). "Halo 4: Cortana Gets "Frozen Sleep" Tribute Song". Gameranx. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. ^ "The Witcher: No puedes perderte esta preciosa cover de la canción de Priscilla". Alfa Beta Juega (in Spanish). 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "About malufenix". YouTube.
  12. ^ Martin, John Llewellyn (3 July 2013). "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Trailer: Get Buried in the Music". ScreenCrush. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 'Vengeance' DLC out now for PC and PS3, time to hit up the haunted Old West". Neoseeker. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Malukah Medley Pays Tribute to The Banner Saga". The Escapist Magazine. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  15. ^ "The Banner Saga Series Soundtrack Gets Discussed in New Video". DualShockers. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Creating ESO: Music". The Elder Scrolls Online. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  17. ^ a b Pitcher, Jenna (24 April 2013). "ZeniMax worked with Malukah to create The Elder Scrolls Online-inspired song". Polygon. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  18. ^ a b "'Skyrim' cover artist writes new song for 'The Elder Scrolls Online'". NBC News. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Update 22: Notation of the Symphony · From the Composer of Skyrim – Soule Symphony No. 1". Kickstarter. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  20. ^ "For Anybody Hurting". Mashable. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  21. ^ "YouTube Musicians Peter Hollens and Malukah Release Cover Version of Civ IV's Baba Yetu | The Escapist". www.escapistmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  22. ^ Wood, Austin (1 November 2017). "Stranger Things season two features a song from this voice-controlled indie strategy game". PC Gamer. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Composing Far Cry Primal: an interview with Jason Graves". GodisaGeek.com. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  24. ^ Vincent, Brittany (6 December 2018). "'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' Official Soundtrack Includes Jazz, Children's Choir". Variety. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  25. ^ Remington, Kate (19 April 2018). "Jason Graves' Mouse-Sized Music For Moss". www.wshu.org. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  26. ^ Sheridan, Connor (19 May 2020). "Celebrate The Witcher 3 fifth anniversary with this new take on the theme". gamesradar. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  27. ^ a b "The Pathless, by Austin Wintory". Austin Wintory. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  28. ^ a b Osorio, Nica (20 November 2020). "'Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War' Die Maschine Hack: How To Unlock Secret Music". International Business Times. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  29. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (11 February 2013). "The Elder Scrolls Online food truck tour to stop at 11 major events and universities this year". Polygon. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  30. ^ "Video Games live". www.videogameslive.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  31. ^ Assassin; scoundrel; Honcho, Head (6 June 2014). "Video Games Live E3 concert to feature Malukah, Peter Hollens and Mystery Guitar Man". Nerd Reactor. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  32. ^ "ESO Tavern: The ESO Team wants to meet you in Cologne". www.elderscrollsonline.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Malukah presentará un show acústico de videojuegos – Novedades – Argentina Game Show Coca-Cola For Me 2019". Malukah presentará un show acústico de videojuegos – Novedades – Argentina Game Show Coca-Cola For Me 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  34. ^ "La Argentina Game Show: la fiesta de los videojuegos que reunió 35 mil personas". VOS (in Spanish). 20 October 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  35. ^ "CES 2020: Logitech apoya a la comunidad de streaming". Tecnología 21: Notas de Prensa (in Spanish). 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  36. ^ "Berklee Today – Berklee College of Music". www.berklee.edu. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  37. ^ "News – Your Next DLC is". Co-Optimus. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  38. ^ a b "In The Bleak Midwinter: How Composer Austin Wintory Brought Stoic Beauty to The Banner Saga". GameSpot. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  39. ^ Evil, Versus. "Award Winning Video Game, The Banner Saga Launches On PlayStation 4 And Xbox One Today". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  40. ^ "[Review] There Came an Echo". ShouraiLive. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  41. ^ Huynh, Christopher (5 June 2015). "Sunset". www.vgmonline.net/. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  42. ^ Reese, Emily. "Austin Wintory and Monaco: What's Yours is Mine". www.thecurrent.org. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  43. ^ a b "Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 DLC 1–3 Review Recap". Broken Joysticks. 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  44. ^ Ferris, Joey (8 March 2016). "Far Cry Primal composer Jason Graves on death whistles and prehistoric drumsets". Nerd Reactor. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  45. ^ "The Best Video Game Music Of 2016". Kotaku. January 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  46. ^ "'Lone Echo' Composer Jason Graves on Scoring VR Games and Exploring the Relationship Between Humans and Technology". Sound & Picture. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  47. ^ "Stoic Releases a New Video About Banner Saga 3's Soundtrack". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  48. ^ a b "Three Songs From Moss Soundtrack Released, Includes 'Home to Me'". PlayStation LifeStyle. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  49. ^ a b "Black Ops 4 Voyage of Despair Music Easter Egg – Medusa Coin Locations". GameRevolution. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  50. ^ "Alone [OFFICIAL] - Clark S. Nova - lyrics - Die Maschine song - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  51. ^ Remington, Kate (17 August 2017). "Music Respawn! Jason Graves: Minimal Music For Lone Echo's Deep Space & Arena Fun In Lawbreakers". www.wshu.org. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  52. ^ Unisong Grand Prize Winner Judith de los Santos trip, 24 June 2008, retrieved 28 October 2019
  53. ^ "Wiedźmin 3: Dziki Gon – Posłuchajcie "Wilczej zamieci" w aranżacji Malukah". Planetagracza.pl (in Polish). 31 December 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  54. ^ "Vocals for The Banner Saga". Malukah. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  55. ^ "So THAT'S What They're Saying In Civ IV's Intro". Kotaku. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  56. ^ "The Fields of Ard Skellig (cover)". YouTube.com. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  57. ^ "Malukah Lightsong". Wowpedia. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  58. ^ "The Stolen Pendant by Malukah". Goodreads. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  59. ^ "The mods you need to play as a bard in Skyrim (and make it look awesome)". Softonic. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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