Guild Wars 2

For some reason, the question has been on my mind lately as to what sort of music Charr would be listening to. Every culture has its music, and that music in turn reflects its native culture. (Although it is clear that the Charr do not value art so much as the other races, particularly humans, their artistic side does show itself in the ornate metalworkings of the Iron Legion.) So, Charr music would be expected to express the cultural values of its creators. Charr tend to crave action, excitement, and a kind of grandness. They are also coarse and carry over many primitive qualities in spite of their technological advancement. I was thinking about how Charr value war, so maybe they would appreciate something like this that glorifies battle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JiA0ilqxo
But they do like to drink a lot, so perhaps they would rather like something about a drunken good time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7kJRGPgvRQ
Thinking about it though… Those both sound more “Norn” than “Charr” (particularly that last one). Perhaps Charr would prefer something with marching militaristic influences? Like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-x_uBB-KIE
Or perhaps not like that.
So what do you think Charr music would sound like? Do you think Charr would listen to music at all?
Just to be clear, I don’t think the official GW2 soundtrack would give us any idea. I think it serves more to establish tone and atmosphere for the game than anything else.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that they have drum music and battle songs, like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHAHw7KsNfU
Maybe also bagpipes and trumpets.

Considering that bass guitar in the gem store is clearly Charr-made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtBKz0Moedo

When I heard this song, I was only able to think about the charr race. The result was this video I made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghA_efMiWkg

I am a classical music listener. And I still found that video superb, Maria. Thank you for linking it! It’s pure charr goodness and you cut it perfectly to the music.

Strangely enough, just running aroud Charr settlements and Ascalon at night, for some reason I’ve always been connecting these with Geldern Night music from Gothic 3, one of best ambience soundtracks ever made:

I just like how Charr behave. No shouting, no unecessary speaking, low tones. If there’s a war, we act like on war. If it’s midnight at farm or in city, we chill. And this music pictures that feeling easily.

Rednik.3809:

I can say with almost 100% certainty that they have drum music and battle songs, like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHAHw7KsNfU
Maybe also bagpipes and trumpets.

Considering They can make a working gas-powered bass guitar (and hopefully an electric guitar in the future) This can only be what their battle songs sound like!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EPydRKuhuEk#t=25

(Note: Flamethrower optional.)

I came across a Charr soldier in Sparkfly Fen who was humming a marching tune yesterday, so I would assume they like that sort of thing.

they probably have a lot of marching songs with drums and fanfares, simple and easy to remember in melody and lyrics. perhaps also some work songs, since they seem to prefer well-coordinated group actions over individual tasks. And of course warsongs that are there to intimidate their oponents perhaps including roaring and growling.
perhaps something in the style of Einheitsfrontlied (united front song) , des Geyers schwarzer Haufen (Geyer’s/vulture’s black crowd), warmaschine or Sölderschwein (what’s better than being a soldier/mercernary pig). This one also seems to be very charr-like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGi33FIMLI.
when it comes to lyrics it is probably more about being strong warriors and praising the legion and their warband than about drinking or food…the topics drinking and food as well as proclaiming their individual power would probably more norn-like.

Considering that the charr culture is based on a mix of Roman Empire and the Mongol Khanates, it would make sense that some of their music would also be influenced by the music of their IRL sources. They would likely have at least woodwinds, brass and drums for great Roman-style victory parades and for keeping the Legions marching/charging in the rhythm of drum beats. Their deep voices would be perfect for some Mongol throat singing. Jeremy Soule was definitely mirroring Roman tunes/instruments, albeit in a more modernized, movie music style, in his tracks for the charr such as “March of the Legions” and “Charr Triumphant”. Thus in this case I do think the official soundtrack may hint at the potential “war music” charr have.

We hear quite a few musical charr in-game although their songs sound definitely more modern unlike the ancient IRL sources their race is based on. For example, there’s an Iron Legion charr warband which sings a very American-style military cadence, a charr singing what sounds like an American showtune from the 1940s, the (in)famous charr soldier who’s humming a marching tune while bored on watch duty, and a charr cub humming a sweet tune while working on her strawberry patch. These examples show us that the charr value music and the tunes are often related to war, their work, or hobbies.

In game we also learn hints of what the charr consider to be annoying music. There’s an interesting commentary on the Devourer’s Bane track on Anet’s soundcloud page in which the composer Maclaine Diemer explains the following about the music track which is used for one of the devourer-centric events:

“This piece is made up of instruments that are either downright annoying or can be made that way when played poorly: saxophone, bag pipes, harmonium, and harpsichord. It’s also in an odd time signature, 5/4, which is difficult to tap your foot to. To top it all off, the instruments harmonize around diminished chords.”

So from this we might deduce that the above are the musical aspects the charr find annoying since they’ve come up with this particular instrument, melody/chords and tempo mix to lure the devourers to the phonographs.

Iron legion Charr play Heavy Metal.

I have been thinking about itunes playlists for various areas of Tyria lately.

Orr – Pink Floyd (especially The Wall and Final Cut)

Ascalon – Rammstein and various metal bands, maybe some martial stuff

Kyrta – not as harsh as metal but not Don’tWorry Be Happy on a loop either, more of a variety

Maguuma (Sylvari area) – mood music, the type of stuff you would use for meditation, reiki, or massage

Maguuma (Asura region) – Still Alive and anything techno

Maguuma (jungle region) – ???

Shiverpeaks – Sibelius?

[Yes, I have an extremely eclectic music library.]

Menadena.7482:

I have been thinking about itunes playlists for various areas of Tyria lately.

Orr – Pink Floyd (especially The Wall and Final Cut)

Ascalon – Rammstein and various metal bands, maybe some martial stuff

Kyrta – not as harsh as metal but not Don’tWorry Be Happy on a loop either, more of a variety

Maguuma (Sylvari area) – mood music, the type of stuff you would use for meditation, reiki, or massage

Maguuma (Asura region) – Still Alive and anything techno

Maguuma (jungle region) – ???

Shiverpeaks – Sibelius?

[Yes, I have an extremely eclectic music library.]

And somewhere south of Lion’s Arch, this is playing… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZsgNHquM
I love reading all these responses, btw. Kossage has a lot of interesting points that I never considered.