Riot reveal the future of LoL music after K/DA album success
Riot GamesWith K/DA’s five-track EP ‘ALL OUT’ dropping on November 6, Head of Riot Music Group Toa Dunn and Creative Lead on Seraphine and K/DA Patrick Morales discuss the creative processes behind K/DA and the future of LoL music.
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K/DA have become a global sensation throughout their short time in the League of Legends universe. The virtual K-Pop band have become dominant forces not only on Runeterra, but also in real-life, with their recent track ‘THE BADDEST’ topping the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.
The hype around the band has been amplified with the introduction of Seraphine into the mix. The starry-eyed pop star has become an integral part of the Riot Games music scene, with her Twitter boasting over three thousand followers as well as being verified.
However, how did Riot Games come to generate all of this hype around a virtual band? Toa Dunn and Patrick Morales explained the secrets to K/DA’s success, as well as the future of LoL music, at an exclusive press conference that Dexerto were invited to.
Riot Games2020’s K/DA comeback with Seraphine
Dunn and Morales discussed the key to K/DA’s 2020 success by transporting us all the way back to their creation in 2008. The inspiration behind pushing the band into the public sphere came from Dunn and Morales’ desire to discover “what else music could look like”, especially due to the popularity of champion themes, other bands such as Pentakill, and the Worlds anthems.
They both explained that since K/DA took the rift fans have been wanting more, and therefore their comeback had to be given the hype it deserved. To do this, Riot launched a month-long music release which included the creation of social media accounts for the band to integrate them into the real world.
In addition to this though, they added Seraphine. They actively chose to release her social media on the lowdown in order to let her rise like a real-life star would, in turn inspiring people to actively search for her and find her. Riot attributes Seraphine’s success to the decision to treat her as a real artist. Doing so made her likable, relatable, and made her journey one fans wanted to follow along. The collab on ‘MORE’ with K/DA was her peak, making K/DA’s ‘ALL OUT’ release even more exciting.
Riot GamesWhat does K/DA’s success mean for the future?
With the EP released, Seraphine dancing her way onto the rift and Worlds wrapped up, what does the future look like for Riot Music group?
Looking forwards Dunn explained that they plan on ‘moving into various genres’ instead of taking steps backwards to Pentakill or True Damage. What’s essential is tailoring any new band to fit the personality of the champions, so whatever LoL personalities are involved will determine the direction of any new musical endeavors.
Both Dunn and Morales also emphasized their desire to take LoL’s in-game bands on live tours, something that the current global situation stifled this year. Seeking to show how a ‘broad musical catalogue’ can exist within a video game, a live tour is something we may have to look forward to.
With Dunn and Morales disclosing that labels are reaching out to Riot Music Group in hoards, it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt in the future. Will we see a boy band featuring in-game heartthrob Sett? Will the musical scene expand into VALORANT? Who knows, but either way the future of LoL and Riot music is an exciting place – so watch this space.