Basic Bio
Axel Haig belongs to a new generation of audiodesigners. With a background as an artist and with a degree in computer games design, he has taken the concept of videogame sound design one step further. Axel Haig is now creating works which not only shows great craftsmanship but also has a clear-cut artistic aspect.

Axel Haig was born in Lund, Sweden, in 1971. Early in his life he developed an interest for art, music and gaming. During his university years at the University of Lund he studied drama and film theory and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Over the following years he was employed as a lecturer by Lund municipality, giving lectures on youth culture and various aspects of gaming culture.

After a brief career as an artist he decided to study computer game design in Skövde, Sweden. Graduated in 2006 he thus held two bachelor degrees. The first a more universal ONE with a major in film theory and the second one more specialized towards computer games and multimedia with a firm focus on sound theory.

Axel has worked as a freelance sound designer for 242 Paradigm, Online Telemarketing (development and editing sound for the company’s telephone exchange) among others, and as producer and lead sound designer at Colossai Studios.

The Sound of Axel Haig
Axel has an unusual talent for bringing a certain “clearness” to his music, each individual sound being distinctively audible, yet part of an integral composition. As a listener you gradually perceive more and more details in his pieces. Compositions which at first seems to be mere ambient humming steadily grow into complex sonic textures.

With each new listening you discover something new within it. The music in itself is seldom follows conventional dramatic dynamics yet it still manages to create suspense and evoke feelings though its subtle and careful composition. This “stable” landscape continuously creates an atmosphere which only grows stronger as the music progresses and draws the listener further and further into it almost in a meditative way.

Although “the core” of Axels sound often has a certain gloomy or ominous feel to it his works ranges over a large spectrum of different styles. Over the years Axel has been working with almost every conceivable type of sound there is. This clearly shows in his ability to work with sounds ranging from telephone exchange sounds to full length compositions. His versatility is unmistakably obvious.

The Game Connection
In the 90:s Axel was involved in several game conventions and events all over Sweden. During this time his attention and interest towards music and the scoring of various game events became more and more apparent. “Music can function as a remarkable shortcut to evoke a certain mood or feeling that is otherwise hard to get to but with the right sound you can get there in no time” he once claimed. Apart from the two original soundtracks for games he did during this time, Axel also spent innumerable hours on editing, re-working and customizing a considerable number of other soundtracks for different game events.

His wide experience with games and gaming culture makes Axel a top line videogame audiodesigner. Not only has he got the theoretical knowledge of his craft, but he also has an in depth understanding of creating moods for games – being able to draw from well over a decade of game involvement in this area.

Musician and Audiodesigner
Rumour has it that Axel started his musical career with the piano. However he soon replaced it with an electric guitar. For a few years he was active in the local jamming-scene playing rock and hard rock with several bands, usually as a lead guitarist. He eventually grew tired of regular rock and left the circuit to focus on jazzrock and pure blues (he actually still plays one of the meanest blues I’ve ever heard!).

At some point he got hold of some old recording equipment and started recording his music. Eventually his recordings were so filled with exotic effects to the point that his guitar play was not recognisable as such anymore. The album “Bloodlands” in ‘98 represents the ultimate peak of that development. It was recorded with guitar as the main instrument apart from some synthesizers. The sound was eerie, trancelike and otherworldly - only an expert could detect the Stratocaster behind that dark and mysterious music.

After that Album, Axel gradually switched focus to digital sound. The new media gave Axel much better possibilities to evolve his music and sounds yet further. In the compositions he makes today, some of that ominous feel of the early days remains but his advances in skill and artistry are apparent.

Setting the context
Most of the stuff in the demos here are composed and designed with video games in mind. Some of it may be more suited for in-game cinematic styled cut-scenes and yet other pieces as ever ongoing loops or ambiences designed to connect smoothly with other loops or ambiences. Because of this, the demos often has a “steady flow” or “crescendo free” style of arrangement and this is very consciously so.

The exception to this rule is the last demo (nr4) which was composed as pure listening piece that one might consider as a journey in sound. Enjoy!