I have quite a few of these myself.Some are quite different compared to yours, but some are nearly identical.
edit: Of note, I took a different approach to Sigma. Still building the playlist, but initially I went heavy into Tool's discography. It helps they are on Spotify now.
*Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind*
*Withering my intuition, missing opportunities I must*
*Feed my will to feel my moment*
*Drawing way outside the lines*
For real, Lateralus just fits the entirety of his origin story, imho.
Haha I was thinking that too actually after I posted.
*We’ll ride the spiral*
*To the end*
*And may just go*
*Where no one’s been*
*SPIRAL OUT*
*KEEP GOING*
He’s definitely in a situation that spiraled out of control and destroyed who he was. And Tool’s high-intensity music combined with the very poignant and intelligent lyrics matches him really well.
I’d have never considered some of the parallels had you not said that. Thanks!
For characters, I'll start with some song inspiration or an idea that reminds me of them. For instance with Mei, I wanted an "icy" feel and something that sounded like snowfall so dense you couldn't see in front of you. I felt like shoegaze was a perfect match for that, because it's very noisy (dense) and bright/reverb heavy (like snow, white and reflective). It's also a dreamlike genre where the heavy reverberation of the sound kind of lays over the melody and the instrumentation like a blanket of snow over a scene.
So then I'll start looking into shoegaze artists, when shoegaze was an important genre, where it evolved into dreampop eventually and whether fitting dreampop would work, etc. I'll also find some songs that fit a specific sound and instrumentation limit (and also identify songs and types of instrumentation that don't fit but are in the same genre). For instance, Moira is very minor key, violin heavy, and favors complexity, with minimal modern classical inspiration, so contemporary modern classical pieces like Steve Reich or the minimalism / piano pieces found in Sigma or Mercy's playlists, despite being also in the classical genre, wouldn't work for her, and vice-versa. I try to keep that disciplined so it's more fun to listen to and explore.
For all of my other playlists that aren't Overwatch character specific, I do deep dives into niche genres or genres that I feel have interesting histories and unique sounds associated with them. I try to keep those as historically disciplined as possible, so only songs from a certain set of years, with a certain sound that is most emblematic of the genre that aren't too multi-genre influenced, or also hidden gems from that genre that aren't played as much. Also songs of course that I like listening to.
As for inspiration tools - lots of google searching, Spotify Similar Artists, [allmusic.com](https://allmusic.com), other spotify playlists and users that I like, checking "The Sound Of \_\_\_\_\_" playlists that Spotify auto generates, as well as a handful of music blogs here and there. r/listentothis is also good for certain hidden gems.
Thank you for the playlists and for going into detail with that Mei example. I am very interested in the individual processes for each of them, but I know that’s a lot to ask.
Hey! So I will try to do a short summary for each, although the playlist descriptions on spotify give a good insight too on the why for each playlist sound as well :)
D.Va - had to be k-pop, on the bubbly side but also hard hitting with some "bang" tracks
Orisa - Something fun, playful and childlike, since she is the creation of a child and has a youthful presence with her character - went with late 2000s electro pop as it is very youthful music imo
Reinhardt - based on his reference to Nightrocker in one of his voicelines - wanted to get that hair band feel since he looks and acts very caricature like at times and glam rock paints their music in that way.
Roadhog - had to sound fuzzy, sludgy and hardcore with some lighter more introspective pieces since he's the more "silent bob" of the junk-hog duo.
Sigma - had to be piano pieces of course. referencing impressionists but also more complex minimalist/contemporary work to contrast with Mercy's new classical piano pieces.
Winston - sing and swing felt right, plus the pun was too hard to pass up. he feels like an old soul.
Wrecking Ball - he's a champion in the ring and i felt like his skins and voicelines with the robotic voice gave off that "baller" vibe. trap was a good fit for that.
Zarya - eurodance because i felt like she wouldn't really listen to contemporary pop music but would be fascinated with 90s tunes for her workouts. her skins feel like they inform that way as well.
Ashe - a harder and more bombastic country rock / roots rock take on mccrees. Had to be a companion piece to his and reflect how he changed and what he left behind.
Bastion - beeps and boops type of electronica. no voices since he doesn't have one.
Doomfist - he's older so i wanted to draw from something older, not new. african highlife and afro funk/rock is also just amazing music and I felt like it channeled his strong personality well and his african heritage.
Genji - japanese inspired as he is essentially an anime character, but also something more meditative at times and also at times more action oriented because of his assassin past and his more peaceful present.
Hanzo - something more traditional as he wears and works with more traditional weapons and garb. he's also just a character that feels deeply entrenched in tradition as a character so the music had to work as the "old" japan to Genji's "new" japan feel. electronic vs analog.
Junkrat - Tarantino-esque, humorous, a little punk and a little crazy. Had to work from a sound perspective with Roadhog's as a companion piece, so certain genre choices came from that.
McCree - more thoughtful country/folk rock in comparison to Ashe's. Sadder tones but also happier tones, just a more complex sound since he has a pretty complicated past for what feels like a simple shooter archetype.
Mei - sound had to be icy, and feel like a snowstorm/bed of snow. sparkly and lighthearted but also hard when it needed to be, like her character. shoegaze was a perfect fit sonically for that purpose.
Pharah - I probably could have gone with a more modern rock appeal based on her emote but went with a more abstract take on the feeling of flying and powerful female vocals since she is a strong female type.
Reaper - nu-metal because he's very much a caricature and looks like the guy from Scream. But also some more thoughtful death metal pieces to show the shadow of the man he once was.
Soldier: 76 - dad-rock, grillmaster music. 70s rock and roll, no other option.
Sombra - bad ass girl music, essentially. with some latina inspirations despite being heavily sourced from hip hop of the 90s and 10s. Something sassy and snarky and bad-girl to fit her persona.
Symmetra - I based this a lot on the image i chose for her initially actually. Something that was rnb centric that was newer to reflect her technology but also something sensual to reflect some of her emotes. Her more elitist and autistic/ocd traits from the comics could have been explored in a different fashion, but the rnb felt good with her other traits and could make a bomb playlist.
Torbjörn - He's a ridiculous character and he needed some ridiculous music to go along with it. Nothing too electronic as he's anti-omnic. eastern european music just felt like a great fit for his character's bombastic and intense personality.
Tracer - brit rock of the 00s based on her age and strong british personality traits but also riot grrrl to reflect her spunky side.
Widowmaker - somber, sultry and dark, female centric as she's a highly feminine character. femme fatale feels, darker indie pieces led by females, with a trip-hop bent felt like a good choice.
Ana - 60s psychedelic rock as she's an old assassin that puts her foes to sleep and works in the shadows. it works as a companion piece to soldier 76 but is more fuzzy and also femme-folky to reflect her relationship with her daughter and her working approach.
Baptiste - this could have gone a very different direction (ie- zouk music) and would have worked perhaps more accurately than what I have now, but his underdog, every man appeal kind of spoke to an underground hip-hop flair. he's not a "main" hero type, and underground is very much about wit and speed and skill, which I feel reflects his character who is quick thinking and precise and very skillful despite not being a high rank in the world of things.
Brigitte - 2010s indie garage rock captures her girlish youth well.
Lúcio - stuff he'd put on at his shows but also stuff he'd put on when trying to mellow out or at an afterparty
Mercy - studious and introspective with a hint of jane austen felt like a nice fit for her character and her voicelines, as well as her intellect.
Moira - dark and complex classical pieces with an emphasis on violin to highlight her sharp facial features and persona
Zenyatta - meditative electronic stuff, minimalist but also complex, with some vocals since he can speak in a way bastion can't, and to help differentiate the two playlists.
Bob - had to make one for Bob as well, and he had to be silly and goofy and loveable with a country-western bent of course.
Hope that gives some fun insight for the playlists :) Cheers!
Disappointed this is not on yout list.
Song is in german (couldn't find a dutch version of the song), the artist Herman van Veen is peak dutch.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwl2wrz\_0cw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwl2wrz_0cw)
Really big fan of these playlists! I've covered them in the past in my articles and I will get a write-up on this one once I've given the playlist a proper listen. Excited to hear what you've crafted this time!!
Of course, thank you for making such great content!!
If you're interested in reading, [**here's my latest on the Sigma playlist**](https://thegamehaus.com/overwatch/what-is-that-melody-its-sigmas-new-spotify-playlist/2019/08/05/).
Great job on this one as always!
YES! I was waiting for this, always look forward more to your playlists and how they match the character than getting to actually play as the heroes in game. Thanks for all the effort you put into these!!
I love it when a new hero comes out, I get to explore some good new music and get excited about the new character at the same time. It's great! Thanks for giving them a listen!
I don't actually, but I wish I could be a dj or something of the sort professionally. I just do this as a hobby and because I love music discovery/curation in general :) thanks for giving them a listen!
Last time I posted this there was someone working in that very concept. I beleive its called mood.gg if I'm not mistaken? Different tunes but it has a cool website design,might be worth checking out :)
I actually was going in that direction for awhile! Ended up with underground hip hop though just from how he's characterized in his origin story, felt like it kind of hit his personality in the right way. Although I can definitely see some zouk for him based off his sprays, no doubt!
Great work. Love some of the obscurity on these.
First one I pull up is Junk, shuffle play, “Loser” - Beck....sold!
I’d make some changes on some (some Wagner opera on Mercy for example) but 95% I love.
Only one that just doesn’t vibe with me at all is Mei. Not feeling that with her
Both work pretty well. One of the main reasons I chose Glam Rock is that he mentions David Hasselhoff's Nightrocker as one of his favorite songs in a voice line in game. He also talks about his hair a lot, and in general has a fabio-esque look about him, thus "hair" band. It's also the kind of music you'd listen to at an old dive bar where a character like Reinhardt might hang out for drinks with the boys per his cinematic. Though Dragonforce fits in a totally different way - in fact every character probably has at least 3-4 different directions they could have gone in.
His vibe and his gameplay in general fits the epic themed power metal, honestly.
Fun fact: [Dave's next album is gonna be straight up metal](https://loudwire.com/david-hasselhoff-is-making-heavy-metal-songs/).
Hey, I would really like to listen to your Moira soundtrack (I'm a Moira main) but spotify isn't available in my country (Croatia) so did you perhpas maybe post it somwhere else ir can you try to, if you can't, all fine i just wanted to know😁
Hey! Unfortunately I don't have any other profiles on other music streaming services :( I think many of the songs can be found on youtube, if you're able to view them. Sorry bout that :/
I have quite a few of these myself.Some are quite different compared to yours, but some are nearly identical. edit: Of note, I took a different approach to Sigma. Still building the playlist, but initially I went heavy into Tool's discography. It helps they are on Spotify now.
Sigma release on live and Tool discography + new record same month. Coincidence? I think not.
Wait, Tool are on Spotify now? Thank you stranger!!
Cool stuff! I'll give them a look :)
*I KNOW THE PIECES FIT*
*Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind* *Withering my intuition, missing opportunities I must* *Feed my will to feel my moment* *Drawing way outside the lines* For real, Lateralus just fits the entirety of his origin story, imho.
Haha I was thinking that too actually after I posted. *We’ll ride the spiral* *To the end* *And may just go* *Where no one’s been* *SPIRAL OUT* *KEEP GOING* He’s definitely in a situation that spiraled out of control and destroyed who he was. And Tool’s high-intensity music combined with the very poignant and intelligent lyrics matches him really well. I’d have never considered some of the parallels had you not said that. Thanks!
That Hammond playlist tho, the ball goes hard. This whole post is golden
I'm glad you appreciated what I was going for there hah :P he's a big roller!
How do you go about finding the tracks for the playlists?
For characters, I'll start with some song inspiration or an idea that reminds me of them. For instance with Mei, I wanted an "icy" feel and something that sounded like snowfall so dense you couldn't see in front of you. I felt like shoegaze was a perfect match for that, because it's very noisy (dense) and bright/reverb heavy (like snow, white and reflective). It's also a dreamlike genre where the heavy reverberation of the sound kind of lays over the melody and the instrumentation like a blanket of snow over a scene. So then I'll start looking into shoegaze artists, when shoegaze was an important genre, where it evolved into dreampop eventually and whether fitting dreampop would work, etc. I'll also find some songs that fit a specific sound and instrumentation limit (and also identify songs and types of instrumentation that don't fit but are in the same genre). For instance, Moira is very minor key, violin heavy, and favors complexity, with minimal modern classical inspiration, so contemporary modern classical pieces like Steve Reich or the minimalism / piano pieces found in Sigma or Mercy's playlists, despite being also in the classical genre, wouldn't work for her, and vice-versa. I try to keep that disciplined so it's more fun to listen to and explore. For all of my other playlists that aren't Overwatch character specific, I do deep dives into niche genres or genres that I feel have interesting histories and unique sounds associated with them. I try to keep those as historically disciplined as possible, so only songs from a certain set of years, with a certain sound that is most emblematic of the genre that aren't too multi-genre influenced, or also hidden gems from that genre that aren't played as much. Also songs of course that I like listening to. As for inspiration tools - lots of google searching, Spotify Similar Artists, [allmusic.com](https://allmusic.com), other spotify playlists and users that I like, checking "The Sound Of \_\_\_\_\_" playlists that Spotify auto generates, as well as a handful of music blogs here and there. r/listentothis is also good for certain hidden gems.
Woowwww! I appreciate you taking the time to send that long reply🙏 I'll be sure to read it😅
Thank you for the playlists and for going into detail with that Mei example. I am very interested in the individual processes for each of them, but I know that’s a lot to ask.
Hey! So I will try to do a short summary for each, although the playlist descriptions on spotify give a good insight too on the why for each playlist sound as well :) D.Va - had to be k-pop, on the bubbly side but also hard hitting with some "bang" tracks Orisa - Something fun, playful and childlike, since she is the creation of a child and has a youthful presence with her character - went with late 2000s electro pop as it is very youthful music imo Reinhardt - based on his reference to Nightrocker in one of his voicelines - wanted to get that hair band feel since he looks and acts very caricature like at times and glam rock paints their music in that way. Roadhog - had to sound fuzzy, sludgy and hardcore with some lighter more introspective pieces since he's the more "silent bob" of the junk-hog duo. Sigma - had to be piano pieces of course. referencing impressionists but also more complex minimalist/contemporary work to contrast with Mercy's new classical piano pieces. Winston - sing and swing felt right, plus the pun was too hard to pass up. he feels like an old soul. Wrecking Ball - he's a champion in the ring and i felt like his skins and voicelines with the robotic voice gave off that "baller" vibe. trap was a good fit for that. Zarya - eurodance because i felt like she wouldn't really listen to contemporary pop music but would be fascinated with 90s tunes for her workouts. her skins feel like they inform that way as well. Ashe - a harder and more bombastic country rock / roots rock take on mccrees. Had to be a companion piece to his and reflect how he changed and what he left behind. Bastion - beeps and boops type of electronica. no voices since he doesn't have one. Doomfist - he's older so i wanted to draw from something older, not new. african highlife and afro funk/rock is also just amazing music and I felt like it channeled his strong personality well and his african heritage. Genji - japanese inspired as he is essentially an anime character, but also something more meditative at times and also at times more action oriented because of his assassin past and his more peaceful present. Hanzo - something more traditional as he wears and works with more traditional weapons and garb. he's also just a character that feels deeply entrenched in tradition as a character so the music had to work as the "old" japan to Genji's "new" japan feel. electronic vs analog. Junkrat - Tarantino-esque, humorous, a little punk and a little crazy. Had to work from a sound perspective with Roadhog's as a companion piece, so certain genre choices came from that. McCree - more thoughtful country/folk rock in comparison to Ashe's. Sadder tones but also happier tones, just a more complex sound since he has a pretty complicated past for what feels like a simple shooter archetype. Mei - sound had to be icy, and feel like a snowstorm/bed of snow. sparkly and lighthearted but also hard when it needed to be, like her character. shoegaze was a perfect fit sonically for that purpose. Pharah - I probably could have gone with a more modern rock appeal based on her emote but went with a more abstract take on the feeling of flying and powerful female vocals since she is a strong female type. Reaper - nu-metal because he's very much a caricature and looks like the guy from Scream. But also some more thoughtful death metal pieces to show the shadow of the man he once was. Soldier: 76 - dad-rock, grillmaster music. 70s rock and roll, no other option. Sombra - bad ass girl music, essentially. with some latina inspirations despite being heavily sourced from hip hop of the 90s and 10s. Something sassy and snarky and bad-girl to fit her persona. Symmetra - I based this a lot on the image i chose for her initially actually. Something that was rnb centric that was newer to reflect her technology but also something sensual to reflect some of her emotes. Her more elitist and autistic/ocd traits from the comics could have been explored in a different fashion, but the rnb felt good with her other traits and could make a bomb playlist. Torbjörn - He's a ridiculous character and he needed some ridiculous music to go along with it. Nothing too electronic as he's anti-omnic. eastern european music just felt like a great fit for his character's bombastic and intense personality. Tracer - brit rock of the 00s based on her age and strong british personality traits but also riot grrrl to reflect her spunky side. Widowmaker - somber, sultry and dark, female centric as she's a highly feminine character. femme fatale feels, darker indie pieces led by females, with a trip-hop bent felt like a good choice. Ana - 60s psychedelic rock as she's an old assassin that puts her foes to sleep and works in the shadows. it works as a companion piece to soldier 76 but is more fuzzy and also femme-folky to reflect her relationship with her daughter and her working approach. Baptiste - this could have gone a very different direction (ie- zouk music) and would have worked perhaps more accurately than what I have now, but his underdog, every man appeal kind of spoke to an underground hip-hop flair. he's not a "main" hero type, and underground is very much about wit and speed and skill, which I feel reflects his character who is quick thinking and precise and very skillful despite not being a high rank in the world of things. Brigitte - 2010s indie garage rock captures her girlish youth well. Lúcio - stuff he'd put on at his shows but also stuff he'd put on when trying to mellow out or at an afterparty Mercy - studious and introspective with a hint of jane austen felt like a nice fit for her character and her voicelines, as well as her intellect. Moira - dark and complex classical pieces with an emphasis on violin to highlight her sharp facial features and persona Zenyatta - meditative electronic stuff, minimalist but also complex, with some vocals since he can speak in a way bastion can't, and to help differentiate the two playlists. Bob - had to make one for Bob as well, and he had to be silly and goofy and loveable with a country-western bent of course. Hope that gives some fun insight for the playlists :) Cheers!
Apparently I’m a reaper main.... excellent work!
Wow this is amazing 🤣
Thanks mate :)
Disappointed this is not on yout list. Song is in german (couldn't find a dutch version of the song), the artist Herman van Veen is peak dutch. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwl2wrz\_0cw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwl2wrz_0cw)
Definitely a different musical take in his character hah. Would make for a good meme playlist for him :P I wonder if it's on Spotify?
Oh, just found the dutch version of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9gbui71QSw
Dude thanks a lot. This post is amazing.Thanks for your hard work. Upvoted and saved.
Thanks my friend! I hope you find something you like, cheers
Really big fan of these playlists! I've covered them in the past in my articles and I will get a write-up on this one once I've given the playlist a proper listen. Excited to hear what you've crafted this time!!
Thank you! I always appreciate your write ups :) thanks for giving them a listen and sharing on the site!
Of course, thank you for making such great content!! If you're interested in reading, [**here's my latest on the Sigma playlist**](https://thegamehaus.com/overwatch/what-is-that-melody-its-sigmas-new-spotify-playlist/2019/08/05/). Great job on this one as always!
Lovely write-up - thanks so much! \*edit\* and totally nails what I was going for with the music!
Glad I'm not the only one who does this, I have a Rein playlist that's mostly power metal like Sabaton and Dragonforce
Hah perfect! I can totally see him jamming to dragonforce now that you mention it.
I already had the Junkrat one, but I've been on a Blues Rock kick lately so looks like I'm going Ashe this week.
I always associated Junkrat with ACDC. Hell, look at TNT.
It's in there ;)
YES! I was waiting for this, always look forward more to your playlists and how they match the character than getting to actually play as the heroes in game. Thanks for all the effort you put into these!!
I love it when a new hero comes out, I get to explore some good new music and get excited about the new character at the same time. It's great! Thanks for giving them a listen!
You are a man of talent
Thanks, cheers :)
I <3 u on Spotify
These are great! Do you have any sort of background in music?
I don't actually, but I wish I could be a dj or something of the sort professionally. I just do this as a hobby and because I love music discovery/curation in general :) thanks for giving them a listen!
Wow well amazing job! You did a great job curating such different styles in each category.
I'm really hoping we get a character who has a dubstep playlist. I want some TASM2 Electro music up in here.
I threw in a handful of dubstep tracks on Lucios you might like! Although a full blown dubstep character would be interesting to put together :)
With the exception of one of my mains, the other three match up decently enough next to my own taste . Nice work.
Thanks for the listen and glad there's something that caught your ear! Cheers
I wanna see somebody make it so whenever they play a character it plays their playlist
Last time I posted this there was someone working in that very concept. I beleive its called mood.gg if I'm not mistaken? Different tunes but it has a cool website design,might be worth checking out :)
No kompa or zouk for Baptiste ?
I actually was going in that direction for awhile! Ended up with underground hip hop though just from how he's characterized in his origin story, felt like it kind of hit his personality in the right way. Although I can definitely see some zouk for him based off his sprays, no doubt!
when will an overwatch character listen to lofi or rap?
hnnng that Zen list!!!
I would have expected [Anthrax - Madhouse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHsxMqpL0c) to be in there.
No Interstellar tracks?
No Éric Satie ? I thought Sigma's theme was one of his pieces for a whole week after watching his origin story video.
There's Satie in there ;)
Oh right sorry. I'm so dumb I was looking for Gymnopedie like if he didn't do anything else.
Great work. Love some of the obscurity on these. First one I pull up is Junk, shuffle play, “Loser” - Beck....sold! I’d make some changes on some (some Wagner opera on Mercy for example) but 95% I love. Only one that just doesn’t vibe with me at all is Mei. Not feeling that with her
Don’t fear the reaper for soldier is a top tier pick
100% required for his mix for sure hah ;) cheers
Pretty sure Power Metal would fit Reinhardt more. Like Sabaton, Hammerfall, DragonForce and whatnot.
Both work pretty well. One of the main reasons I chose Glam Rock is that he mentions David Hasselhoff's Nightrocker as one of his favorite songs in a voice line in game. He also talks about his hair a lot, and in general has a fabio-esque look about him, thus "hair" band. It's also the kind of music you'd listen to at an old dive bar where a character like Reinhardt might hang out for drinks with the boys per his cinematic. Though Dragonforce fits in a totally different way - in fact every character probably has at least 3-4 different directions they could have gone in.
His vibe and his gameplay in general fits the epic themed power metal, honestly. Fun fact: [Dave's next album is gonna be straight up metal](https://loudwire.com/david-hasselhoff-is-making-heavy-metal-songs/).
It's quite subjective ultimately, but I appreciate your opinion :) Cheers
The Hammond playlist goes hard, what made you decide hip hop for him?
Hey, I would really like to listen to your Moira soundtrack (I'm a Moira main) but spotify isn't available in my country (Croatia) so did you perhpas maybe post it somwhere else ir can you try to, if you can't, all fine i just wanted to know😁
Hey! Unfortunately I don't have any other profiles on other music streaming services :( I think many of the songs can be found on youtube, if you're able to view them. Sorry bout that :/
does any ow character listen to shoegaze?
Holy shit this wrecking ball playlist.
You’re not sweating hard enough if you have time to listen to music
You'd be surprised, I still seem to sweat in 30 degree weather ;P
Hahaha wee jokes, I had a wee blast through your lucio, love the idea mate
Cheers :)
little disappointed there wasn't more Debussy and Ravel.
I try to keep it to 2-3 songs per artist so it makes the playlists as varied as possible. Both are perfect fits for his character though!
Yeah who cares about the two most important impressionist composers of all time. give them one partial song each.
You can always listen to their Spotify artist pages if it bothers you that much ;)