Three decades have passed since Lara Croft first graced our tv screens and left an indelible mark on gaming history. Today, Crystal Dynamics has partnered with ThatNorskChick to create the Tomb Raider: 30th Anniversary Lo-Fi Collection, a relaxed musical journey through the series. You can listen to the album via YouTube above, and it will also be streaming on other platforms soon.
First revealed during the TR30 Tomb Raider Day celebration in Derby, England, the collection takes listeners through three decades of Tomb Raider, following Lara through her journey in the Survivor series, the Classic games, and through the Legend, Anniversary and Underworld trilogy. The collection reimagines and remixes original music from legendary Tomb Raider composers including Nathan McCree, Peter Connelly, Martin Iveson, Troels B. Folmann, Colin O’Malley, Jason Graves, Bobby Tahouri, Brian D’Oliveira, Wilbert Roget, II, and Paul Houseman.
Alix Wilton Regan, Lara Croft lead actor in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, also recorded iconic lines from the franchise to sample throughout the collection.
“My goal with this album was to capture the soul and the vibe of each game,” explains That Norse Chick. “Stylistically, lo-fi hip hop is the main foundation for this album, but I don’t let that stop me from exploring because this is Tomb Raider. We’re going to explore stuff. “
Norsk aims to take the listener on a journey through Lara’s life, opening with the Survivor trilogy, venturing through the classic Core Design titles, moving on to Tomb Raider: Legend and Tomb Raider: Underworld, followed by a tribute to Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. The album closes with Tomb Raider: Anniversary. “ I feel like it represents Croft Manor. You know, coming back home, it’s like a full circle moment” concludes Norsk.
To bring the collection to life visually, Crystal Dynamics also collaborated with talented community member Tholia on two distinct pieces: the album’s Sun-drenched, picturesque cover art and a separate meticulously crafted animation depicting Lara Croft in her study at Croft Manor.
“This was a dream come true, for sure,” explained Tholia. “I’ve been yearning for Lara’s return, and I cannot tell how excited I was to be invited to join such a cool project! I remember how mesmerized I was by Thailand in Underworld, or Ghana in Legend. I remember staring at the environment and the details, and that’s precisely what I tried to recreate here. A moment where the viewer would just enjoy the view.”
Initially, Tholia wanted to make the landscape the star of the cover but adjusted her approach to ensure that Lara was one with nature. “Because that was the whole point of the work here: enjoying a moment of calm in between Lara’s journeys.”
For the animation Tholia worked in Procreate, starting with a basic sketch to define the composition first. “For the animation itself, I recorded many reference videos of myself using a towel as the curtain, writing in my sketchbook… It was a lot of fun! The trickiest part was to stick to a limited number of images per second, as the goal was to create a Lo-Fi style animation loop.
