Opera Singer Listens to This is What You Are (Warframe OST) 

The fact that he said "You wake up and then you know who you are," without knowing about The Second Dream quest....

As a warframe player, you're missing an essential element of the song: Plurality. The song is a definition of who and what the Tenno are, and that's expressed in the phases of the song. Nothingness. One single solitary note, crying out in the void. Crying children, bent and fractured. Broken children joining together, lifting their voices in a chorus. A chorus of pain growing into strength, working together, becoming more. A strong chorus of warriors crying out not in pain, but in defiance of their lot in life. A war anthem. A single voice, still hurting, but knowing what they are. This is essentially the story of Tenno, your characters in Warframe. In song. Without words. Without lyrics. I'm reminded of an experiment Marvel Comics did years ago. The 'Nuff Said line. For one month, none of their major comic titles like Spider-Man or X-Men had any spoken words printed in them. No speech, no thought bubbles, no text. Just pictures. And they had to convey the entire story, without words. Each one was a masterpiece of storytelling, too. This song does something similar, telling a story that would shame most epic poems, without a single coherent word spoken. Whomever is in charge of the music for Warframe should be tiling their bathroom with Grammy trophies.

Antique instrumentation. Youth choir. Single female lead. Answer and call. Naga drums. Kiai shouts. Ison drone. Fading off as if a lullaby into sleep. This is backstory as music.

The first part is the Lotus a.k.a "Space Mother" calling out to her children. The childlike choir is the children, the Tenno, responding to her call and waking up. The percussion part is the tenno performing their sacred duty to keep the peace and fight. The electronic eastern feel is due to them being literal futuristic space ninjas. Btw, this is one of my top 10 favorite music pieces as well.

THIS track, out of every piece from Warframe's expansive OST, is what defines the game the most IMO. And I know We All Lift Together got way more exposure on the internet, with Sleeping In The Cold Below and For Narmer getting similar response afterwards. But there's just something so very definitive about the motif here that really makes it Warframe's identity. The singular vocals being almost Lotus' call to her "children", the almost childlike chorus being the sound of every Tenno's response to the only parent they've known, the swelling harmony afterwards being the release from our dream. It's everything Warframe was and led up to, and continues being.

Now "We All Lift Together" and "Sleeping in the Cold Below." GO. Warframe has a stellar soundtrack. And I play this game FAR too often anymore. The man in the wall can't hurt you, Tenno.

this was a turning point for warframe the second dream

GOD I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH.

Marco, imagine playing this game already for hundred of hours, you been on this space opera universe for a long time now, you been feed small tibits of lore and information trought the quests and dialogs. You alongside the comunity have theorized, guessed and imagined whats going on in this world. The NPCs have given you little amounts of info, so theres one burning question going all around "who/what you are"...and this song, this quest, this "second dream" its that answer...whe asked..who whe are...and our answer was "this is what you are", and belive me, as a player who has sinked a crazy amount of time on this game i can tell you, the buildup and payback whe got was mindblowing, it changed the landscape of the game completly

The Tenno leitmotif being AMPLIFIED in this song never fails to lift me up. This is who you are.

Usually if it sounds eastern, and it sounds kind of like a violin, then its probably an Erhu, a Chinese instrument that can be played to invoke sadness and the sound of sorrowful wailing

I highly recommend another Warframe OST "To Take Away Its Pain". Made me cry at that time. Really hits hard when you played the story up to that point.

This one was also quite impactfull because of the moment it happened, the second dream, the first proper story quest we had in warframe. Theses days you can Rush far ahead from this quest, but for early players, all the years of slow background building for this moment made the reveals even more impactfull

Well now you’ve opened the gates for warframe reactions May I suggest a double whammy, We All Lift Together and then For Narmer In that order, the latter *really* compliments the former in theme and presentation

There is a theory saying that the first female voice at the begining represents an NPC (the mother) calling out to the main character and the following choir represents the response of all the players (the children).

Now imagine having played the Beta for hundreds of hours before they changed the game up and you go the lore reveal with this music. Still probably my best moment in years of gaming.

The Music of Warframe is truly some underrated VGM. I'm so happy to see ya listen to it. The whole OST evokes so much feeling, especially for any veteran players.

I recommend 2 other songs from warframe "we all lift together" and "for narmer" . I also put a lot of time into this game.

Hey Marco, I'm genuinely surprised that you looked at this one. Waframe's got several good tracks, but yes, This is What You Are is one of the most powerful tracks in the game, right up there next to We All Lift Together and Smiles from Juran. Very, very powerful stuff, even more so with the context of what it means for the player. If you ever want to try Warframe, the whole community is generally very helpful for newcomers but there is a ton of stuff to learn and it's a high barrier to vault. If you want to give it a try I'd love to help out.

This piece is one that makes me cry and tear up, with every listen, no questions asked. What you said about the soul crying out. And the release and freedom, is exactly why this song has been instrumental in helping me heal from trauma of the past year. Thank you for this.

0:23 These first slow, quiet, gentle sounds is when hundreds of hours of gameplay and the memories I've made flash before my eyes.

the one thign warframe didnt disappoint is its art, both visual and sound designs are amazing

I’d love for you to go over “to take away its pain” from the sacrifice quest and“together” at the same time as they play immediately after each other they are both amazing in the raw emotions you get from both, peace and acceptance then the power you now command after you let the shackles of you past go

Hearing this now again... outside the game setting... makes you realize the scale of grandiosity this piece of fine art and brilliant song is... it is actually majestic, awing and breathtaking!

Warframe feels like a fun but shallow looter/shooter action game at first. Then 80-100 hours in, the story quests suddenly hit you with all the feelings.

Being a Warframe player for so many years, this song makes me cry every single time I hear it. It tears me apart and then puts me back together again with such ease... I love this song. I just LOVE it.

I've played Warframe since closed beta and the moment this song happened in the quest it felt like it pierced right through me. Such an incredible track. Happy to see you review it!

I've been playing warframe since about 2015 and this track specifically means SO MUCH to me. This moment in the game made me cry and this song continues to make me cry

I have stopped playing Warframe a LONG time ago, but its music is something I come back to often. They achieved something amazing with it, which is both fitting in context and a delight to listen to out of it. Ghosts of Void is another piece I love from its soundtrack, both primal and enchanting from both the choir and instrumentation. But this piece has to be in my top 3 from Warframe. Cheers!

The part with the grunts and cries, the tribal chant almost feels like a variation of the Haka from the Maori tribes. It holds that fierce energy meant to be a warning to those that would oppose them.

i get chills every time i hear this song especially in the context of the game quest when you listen to it for the first time

I gotta say, the fact that he picked up on the chorus sounding like children in the very context of the game's story is marvellous. Seriously Marco, you're the best feeler I know.

This man hears music as if it were a language all its own. This is who you are Marco. Godspeed.

This brought back so many memories… I used to play Warframe daily, until the start of the pandemic, and I just lost interest in the game. I don’t know if I’ll go back, but it was nice to hear the music again and relive some memories. Thank you, Marco.

One of my Favorite pieces of video game music of ALL TIME. This is one of those pieces that flowed under the radar of video game music, but when you first listen to it it's just one of those musics that sticks with you forever. The only way to describe this piece is that it's Majestical. It completely brings you to a different world when you listen to it. It just has that tug on your emotions for some reason.

"She put us into the dream, brought us peace. I remember we could still hear her voice, raging at the leaders for their mistreatment of us. When they executed her... well... *I could not let that go.*"

Around the 7:40 mark, if I'm not mistaken, there is the use of an erhu, which is an eastern (predominantly Chinese and Japanese) string instrument. Easily one of my favorite instruments due to the emotion it can evoke

Whenever someone reacts to Warframe, ESPECIALLY its music, I am very happy. :D Warframe's music (and it's sound design if you play the game) are hidden gems. This is also one of my favorite tracks, both for the musical quality and what it means in terms of the story and the player. And I will join the chorus of people recommending more music: 1) Smiles from Juran (may be called To Take Away Its Pain) 2) We All Lift Together + For Narmer (in that order) 3) Sleeping in the Cold Below Also these might be more unorthdox requests but they are newer tracks and might be a cool experience to see how WF music has evolved: Archon Combat Theme (Official name Hybrid Abominations) and On Corroded Wings

This track is basically the story of the Tenno (in music) as they are rescued by Margulis, their therapy and placement into the second dream, the re-awakening as the Warframes with the olde-war and then... as the Hakka and Kodo-drums hit? The Overthrow of the Oorokin and going back into the long sleep. Until needed again.

dude the fact you picked up on the call and response of a kind of ethereal singer with a children's choir response was so on point with respect to the games story is insanely impressive, amazing job all around as well

I cant help but to get teary eyed every time I heard this song, and I'll listen to it many times again for sure!

DE did really well with the build up to this track as you go through the mission and the actual track itself. Suddenly you become great, like the one greatest in the entire System.

Genius OST, gets me every time, especially with context of both lore and how game evolved through years

It's great being able to experience your emotional connection to these songs, I suppose that's one of the reasons I come here, it's not really something I can really speak about or enjoy with others in my social circles. For me this song hits home for Warframe, I'm not sure if you've played it but sounds like you have. I joined Warframe just before the second dream was released, and played the part before any of the game footage was released. Before the sequence where this song plays Warframe was very one dimensional, just a place to waste some time, kinda like candy crush or something stupid. The moment this song starts and the way it's presented, to introducing a character creation screen after several hundred hours of gameplay was really captivating. Suddenly Warframe was much more than a shoot and loot game. The song very much fits the second dream and the game. The song feels melancholic and lonely in some parts which fit the tenno children basically being orphans I think. The woman singing is the lotus and she is essentially the mother figure, perhaps singing a kind of lullaby tune, while later the kids sing, basically all the tenno answering to their mother, the lotus.

Dude, watching you having several eargasms in a row is awesome. I feel you man, I feel you. I love this piece.

You made me realize the whole storytelling behind this song, something I never realized before. Now I love this song and the story of Warframe even more. Thank you.

It has been awhile since I heard this theme in full. It is just as great every time.

This was the piece that made me buy the Warframe original soundtrack as soon as it became available. Still one of my all-time favorite songs that gets regular play on multiple playlists. It was also a defining moment in a video game the likes of which I have yet to see equaled or surpassed in another title. It's so sacred among the Warframe community that it became an unspoken rule "You don't spoil The Second Dream for new players," with "The War Within" later being included in that. The most amazing thing is that most players stay true to that, too. You don't see anything like that in most gaming communities.

such a soul cleaning song i don't listen to it i feel it inside my bones and soul

This track holds the deepest part of my heart, i remember being an awkward young preteen discovering warframe for the first time back in late 2013. Finding some of my most meaningful friendships and greatest memories in this game. Listening to this track just brings it all back to me and i remember why i'm still playing today. Thank you for reacting to this and relighting my love for this game and soundtrack even more.

This is one of my favorite games. I have almost 3000 hours in the game and the music never disappoints. From this beautiful song to 'The Cold Below' everything has its place and simply adds to the stories that it surrounds.

I like how you nearly nailed the real meaning of the piece. The actual context is more violent and dark than you think. Two things to note first: 1. The melody first appears at a massive turning point in the game's story. As you mentioned: self discovery. For about 100 hours of game play time you play as a cool space ninja and thought this is who you are, and at THAT moment you find out it's not true. You had a meaning before the twist, it simply changed and cleared out your confusion about who you really are: "This is who you REALLY are" like the in game quote says. The game made you think you are 1 thing, but never confirmed it and at the twist you find out you are actually something else. 2. The choirs are indeed children. The solo soprano represents the Lotus, a character in the game. The Lotus is yours and the rest of the players adoptive mother, "the leader" of your faction. It is a mother (Lotus) calling her children, and they (you) respond. This is what the entire story of Warframe revolves around: the relationship between you and the Lotus. Now the dark part: I already mentioned how it's a change in perspective rather than finding out the truth from zero. This also means that the energetic part is not about motivation and rising up "I can do it", it's about exacting revenge and getting violent. Self discovery is also getting to know your true history, and it's not a pleasant one in Warframe. The "bad guys" used you and lied to you, and Lotus is not here to help you overcome the sudden change in reality because you were never depressed, you were confused and needed answers. Now that you have your answers, Lotus is here to pump you up and ask you: "Are you gonna let it slide? Let the bad guys get away with what they did to you?". The energetic part is there to awaken your inner demon just like the bad guy calls you. There is no need to tell you "you can do it" if for 100 hours you already did it. You already know you can do it and already have a cause. What you need is a place to release some steam, and boy do you have a lot of it. As for why Lotus, your mom, tells you to be violent? This is a story for itself.

This song has always evoked a strange sense of nostalgia in me, from the first time i'd heard it. it really gave a kind of "waking up" feeling, like something long forgotten is coming to me that i'd had no idea i'd even forgotten. Of course, several of the comments and you, Marco, have touched on the rest of the amazing aspects of this track, but i just wanted to comment on the very first thing i'd experienced when i first heard it.

The fact that you can deduce so much of what the Second Dream is about just from its theme song in just a testament to how well put together the theme song is.

My favorite song in all of warframe. The best interpretation of this song that I've heard is that it represents the conversation between the Lotus and the Tenno at the end of the second dream. The soprano, representing the Lotus, starts the dialogue and asks the question (what is it that you want to be? I actually really liked your interpretation of searching for purpose, as that is also what the quest is about). Then, the violins and drums, representing the Tenno, rally their war cries. The Tenno are warriors, but they are also still just children, so the dichotomy between the active, war-like drums and the soft, almost melancholic violin plays into their dual, opposing nature. However, just as the Tenno at the end of the second dream come to terms with both of these realities, so too do the instruments begin to resonate with one another, and the Lotus accepts your new reason, and promptly joins into the warsong.

When I listen to this video, I fall in love with both music and Warframe all over again. ❤

This Song always brings Tears to my eyes, it just hits so gosh dang hard, not just a Theme to enjoy with your ears but with your soul.

When i heard this song after playing during 4 years it got me so emotional. It is clearly one of my favorite videogames OST.

This was absolute game changer for WARFRAME , the feeling when it happened was astonishing , noting beats it till this day , The title for this music is to the point perfect

Amazing, I just started playing Warframe a few days ago and I'm really enjoying it so far, even the grind, lol! Now I wake up to see this upload and this must be the world telling me to definitely keep playing this game!

I've been playing warframe since it first launched on the PS4, and the game still amazes me with the new soundtracks, new gameplay, missions, and frames. Sometimes when I'm driving down the road to work or for errands I put on my headphones and listen to the songs all the way.

I have yet again stumbled upon this video and for once finally see you FEELING the soundtrack, as if you were composing it yourself :D

It's a very profound experience to have someone else describe how a piece of music makes you feel in exactly the same way you would yourself, when for the most of your life, you have tried to explain this to others, and they just give you weird looks. Thank you for this experience!

this song reminded me of the OG halo games, everytime i hear it I cant help but feel the raw emotions. Your explanations and reaction is the same way i feel. Whoever was in the studio cooking this up really took their time with this piece. The music takes the thousands of hours of grinding worth it when you hear pieces like this.

Howdy, Marco!! I've only recently came across your channel and I love the enthusiasm and perspective you bring to your reactions. Warframe has been one of my favorite and most played games for quite a while now and 'This Is What You Are' has a special place in my heart. To see you react to it and describe your feelings made me remember the first time I listened to this track and how I've felt back then; similar emotions to those you described in the video. You, sir, managed to bring a tear to my eye. Love your content, mate! Thank you for brightening up my evening. Much love from Brazil!!

Hey Marco, thank you for your genuine and emotional reaction and professional analysis of this masterpiece! Warframe has a very unique storyline, characters, designs and music. It‘s also very newcomer friendly with one of the nicest communities out there.

even after 5 years in game, it still gives me chills every time i hear it.

"Dream. Not of what you are, but of what you want to be." - Lotus

now that you’ve listened to this is what you are, i HIGHLY recommend listening to sleeping in the cold below, we all lift together, and for narmer!! all of them are so pivotal to the warframe lore and they’re all incredible pieces i think you’d enjoy!!

This quest is so game changing that every player unanimously refuses to spoil what happens

There's another version of this song, after the Mother figure abandons the player, where its an uncoordinated choir of children singing, calling out for their mother, but finding no response, no guidance. Its incredibly beautiful hearing them back to back.

This is one of the only songs I've ever heard of along with Smiles From Juran that always makes me cry everytime I hear it. And I hardly ever cry over things.

I've been playing warframe for almost 4 years now, and I love the game, it's one of the few things in my life that make me feel like I belong somewhere; and I absolutely love the OST's. Warframe's story has also been a wild journey that I've enjoyed, and I can't wait to see it evolve more along with the game itself.

as a bit of an older tenno (in terms of when i started playing) what youre saying about this song sums up exactly what the second dream quest meant for the game, it was so beautiful and that general feeling of meaning given to the players and the lore implications,,, UGH i wish i could feel it all over again

There will never come a day when I listen to This Is What You Are and not get chills down my spine at least once.

very profound in-depth analysis, thank you! and yes, indeed - it is incredible how much impact warframe music but this track especially has. rarely ever do I stumble across music that feels truly relatable, 100% - sure, you can always kind of 'sync' with music and still feel it, create this feeling of complete 'relatableness' but this with this song, I don't know. you just *feel* that this one came straight from the soul and it tells a familiar story that is close to one's heart to begin with as well. raw, firm, honest. I still commonly tear up when I listen and pay full attention to this song, it's unavoidable. it is so stunningly beautiful and powerful. truly a Masterpiece.

One thing about art that I have come to realized is that musicians have their own hidden language that they transmit so much through their art that other musician can listen to and decode the meaning from the music. Every musicians reaction I see, they seem to accurately grasp entire story or character base on their theme song alone without knowing the source material, and that's quite magical.

For me this song fits perfect for the start of the game thematically, you wake up stunned for the centuries of the sleeping (the vocals), but then you have to fight for your life immediately (the drum section).

Back at 2017, this song (well of course when I do the quests) literally gave me a goosebumps.

But warframe has an absolutely outstanding OST and that why I like most of the video games I play is because I’m a band nerd and I listen to the OST most of the time in all my games

I have played a ton of Warframe and for sure this song is great, actually the song I have playing in my ship between missions. The game has some bangers like "we all lift together" and "The cold below" but no matter how much I have this one on loop it never feels like I need a break from listening to it, it's one of those songs I can just listen too endlessly and I love how you separated the sounds as some new, some old and also some eastern sounding and some electronic sounds because I feel these things very much encapsulate the feel that Warframe gives so I do feel this is the perfect piece that really showcases that space ninja fantasy that Warframe sells, great game, great song and I couldn't agree more with the breakdown.

Man this game. I remember playing the part of the game where this plays for the first time and it was such a serial special experience. The tension at the start, the 2 parts of vocals and then one of my fav instruments ever the erhu. Then it kicks into faster gear with epicness. So much more I could say about this song. The warframe ost is something so special and amazing. I remember you saw in the discord Marco that I was going to suggest one of the warframe songs but got stuck lol. I love how you talked about this song and how much you enjoyed.

Warframe is my second most played game on steam (824h). Something I always loved about the game was the sense of unity, even when you're playing a mission solo. The biggest driving point for me were clan homes. I remember playing the game hours on end with one of my best friends and us building the clan home from scratch. Sadly we drifted apart since he moved in another city and got busy with life so he couldn't play, eventually I stopped playing as well. That's the reason why "This is what you are" hits hard for me: the sense of power through unity, but also a feeling of longing.

I won't lie. I've been having a rough day at work. But having this video waiting for me on my break helped. I love this piece!

Earned a subscriber with this video, watching your expression helps drives the emotion of the song. Ive listen to this masterpiece several times but watching your motions added an extra layer that gave me super chills.

One of the best soundtrack in the video game I've ever heard.💯👌🏼

This song is one of my all-time favorite gaming pieces. As a fellow music junkie and someone who plays Warframe, to hear everything you hear and actually know the context of it gives it a whole new depth. It’s a beautiful piece.

It feels the same as when your mother holds you when you were crying as a kid, its comfort safety and things like that, unfortunately i cant remember anything like that from my childhood but this song gives me that feeling

Man watching this guy reacting to things you already know or have heard about, makes it feel like you are experiencing the same thing for the first time ever again!!.

I'm very happy you took the time to check out music from Warframe, I absolutely love this game, sitting at about 2670 hours played right now, and it just keeps getting updated, with new lore and more exciting content every year. You should really check out the other music tracks in this game, you won't be disappointed.

warframe has been a part of my life for a while, from music, to gameplay to overall story, its been a wonderful game

Your description of this song is so on point and made me tear up. Incredible video

"I have been suffering so much now finally I am released" with this and everything else he says in the video it almost feels like he has played the second dream, but I suppose the music is just so well written it perfectly conveys the emotions you feel while playing the quest. Also as to your question at the end of the video, any devoted warframe fan gets chills everytime we hear this song and it brings back our memories of this quest.

Love to see someone loving this song so much as I do :)

Awesome video. I always enjoy your breakdown on different music.

4:30 That part always hits, I was curious as to what instrument it was, since it's clearly a bowed instrument but doesn't sound like a violin, cello or viola, so I looked it up, and it's apparently something called an Erhu, which I can confidently say is now my favorite instrument in terms of sound.

i cant stress enough how much i adore warframe and this song specifically, and hearing you break it down is EXACTLY the way i feel about it and what emotions it invokes. this video is like the most validating thing i have ever watched in my life LOL

tbh..i am impressed by how much warframe has grown as a whole, coming from one of its few early founders....being there at the beginning and seeing what it has become in the end is truly inspiring....

oh my god a Warframe track ♥ when this song and The Second Dream came out, my squad and I (tried) to sing this piece for a whole week.. truly was a fantastic time for Warframe. For those who didn't play Warframe, up until that moment we were just playing a ninja action game without much story and lore, no identity for the player within the game. The Second Dream is the quest that defines who you are like Marco said. I wish I could re-experience this time. This music is very nostalgic for me it brings me back when life was very different.

This brought me to tears, this song is so impactful to me, and your words and emotion displayed whilst listening and saying that it will be ok, we will overcome and succeed just broke me down. Increadibly powerful music and I love your take and views of this