River's End Times - Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye (The Lost Reels) 

I had been hiking the Pacific Crest trail for 4 months, I was in the mountains of Washington state, it was sunrise, there was mist, my playlist was on automatic suggestion , and then this song appeared. What happened from 3:30 onwards as the first rays of the sun began to pierce the mist will remain forever engraved in my memory as one of the most intense moments of my entire life. Thanks Andrew.

River's End is one of my favorites from Echoes of the Eye, so seeing it get the spotlight here is incredible.

This sounds like the echoes of a fading memory. Like the last breaths of the Stranger before it dies along with the universe.

*From a journal found inside the sealed vault...* "Can you tell me another story, mister?" The little girl's glowing green eyes looked up at me, expectantly and excitedly. She tilted her head and gave me a smile I couldn't resist, and the moon and stars above us set the scene for an excellent story-telling session. "I'll tell you one, darling," I smile down at her as she climbs up onto my lap, "but then it's time to go home and head to bed." I clear my throat, and then begin. "Once upon a time, there was a little boy in a far off solar system who loved to watch the stars and learn about the universe. He spent every moment dreaming of venturing across the galaxy, from planet to planet, seeing everything there was to see and discovering everything that had never been seen. He wanted to be the first to witness something great. Eventually, after coming of age, he was given the opportunity to own his own spaceship. He trained and trained and trained, making sure to master everything he needed to. He understood how to fly in a zero gravity environment, he learned the basics of how the planets had a gravitational pull, he went through training regimens to improve his physicality... he was fully prepared, and off he went! He saw incredible things. He found a planet made entirely of water with tornadoes that would fling him back up into space. He discovered the ruins of a long-gone species, and read the notes they left behind. He witnessed first-hand a massive black hole, and even fell inside of it a couple times... but he ended up okay. His journey took him everywhere, and he was able to see everything, and the dream he had since he was a child was fulfilled." The girl smiles and yawns, letting out a contented sigh. "That was awesome! I wanna be just like him someday." "We'll see, darling," I say to her. "We'll see."

I think this piece just captures that river, the very one that circles the Stranger in it's entirety, and its journey from being a vessel of hope, to a cemetery left watching a dying solar system, yet still kept alive even after it vanishes, all until the end of the universe - performed in a manner that could not have been done without the River's existence - slowly collapses in on itself, freeing the spirits trapped within. The Spirit of Water

5:38 Press this to immediately start crying

The build that starts at around 3:00 is fucking beautiful. I can't stop listening to it.

We love you Andrew, never stop releasing masterpieces

Wait... You can see the eye of the universe in the campfire thats's so cool Amazing job on these. Your soundtrack is amazing. This one has all the feels, with the piano like the nomai but in the theme of rivers end. Very cool

I absolutely love how end times and river's end are layered on top of each other. They're very similar in feeling and in theme, though with their own subtleties. I would never have thought they'd match up so well. It really accentuates the feelings that both of them evoke.

Loving the bit starting around 3:50, reminds me of the quantum signal/escape pod signal

Im feeling this

The part at 5:30 to the end is just magnificent.

I don't think I will ever forget the day The Lost Reels came out. Laying in my bed, earbuds in, and ready to go on another Outer Wilds journey. I already held the game and it's soundtrack very close to my heart, as it had a genuine positive impact on my life. But hearing the progression of Last Dream of Home, to Lost Signal, to River's End Times, to The Spirit of Water...it was just overwhelming. No other piece of media had ever prompted such a strong reaction from me, leaving me genuinely and painfully sobbing as I was hit with every emotion the music conveyed. Several times I thought I had recovered. I thought I could catch my breath, wipe my nose, and just enjoy the rest of the music. But nope, just around the corner was another familiar motif or powerful transition into another song that I'd just go right back to being a crying mess. I know internet comments are rife with hyperbole, especially regarding crying, but I want to emphasize how genuinely, deeply emotional The Lost Reels made me. ESPECIALLY 3:02 to 5:00 . That slow buildup into a powerful sustained roar was unlike anything I had ever experienced up until that point. Around 4:35 was the peak of my emotional state throughout the whole event, making it hard to breathe because of how hard I was crying(in the best way possible, everyone needs a really good cry from time to time.) I truly don't think I will ever have a reaction like that to any other piece of music ever again. The entirety of Outer Wilds' soundtrack is a once in a lifetime musical experience, but something about Lost Reels made it feel more like once in several lifetimes. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your music, Andrew.

Hi Andrew Reading the description, i just imagined you like a modern emotional enstein "these characters felt like friends that I’d never see again" It must have been hard for you doing that deep emotionnal thought experiment I hope you're good man ! Your work really changes the way i think and i feel when i'm listenning to it Cheers from France Love

oh my god this is beautiful

wow i genuinely started crying at around 4:00 this is absolutely beautiful :) thank you

I LOVE IT

I heard you were making more Outer Wilds music and I got so excited for it. You definitely did not disappoint.

Dude, this is absolutely fantastic. Any chance of a vinyl release?

i approve of the new outer wilds music

New Outer Wilds music LETS GOOO

Great stuff as always, Andrew. Thank you for your art!

Thank you for everything

Very cool music project/addition, I appreciate that

Thank you. Really enjoy hearing the different instruments play the River's end theme. The fading at the end is very haunting as well! Good job!

Thank you for all this genuinely beautiful music! It soothes my soul on even the roughest of days.

Holy shit i just realized this is the first part of "the spirit of water"

Would you consider releasing tablature? Your stuff has been helping me be motivated to learn guitar for two years now :)

MY ROOMMATE CAME IN TO CHECK ON ME CUZ I WAS CRYING SO HARD OH MY GOODNESS THIS SONG 😭😭😭😭😭

Interstellar vibe is strong with this one

I need you to know that this ruined me, I am sobbing as I listen to this. Well done

Beautiful

YES give me MORE outerwilds music!!!! Andrew pharlow is one of my favorite musician

not going to lie this tickles in me an itch i'd almost forgotten about from since I listened to Vangelis' bladerunner.

If there was an eddy on the river in the Stranger that just let you sit there and watch the water pass by just beyond the calm this is what would play Edit: get this to play in the little lake/eddy near the Cinder Isles

Was hoping that the deluxe soundtrack, especially considering this song’s title lol, would include the soundtrack’s missing songs (dream world end times and matrix mode), but these are still beautiful as always.

"At some point, will there be a time where none of us wake up again?" you wonder to yourself idly, subconsciously trying to not realise the significance of the thought. After finishing the dam maintenance work, it's time to head back to the others. You glance around at the river, and let the distant hum of machinery mix with the rush of water in a wave of noise that vibrates your bones. The Ship is a living thing. It was a beautiful monument to technological progress in the name of discovery. Now, like a coma victim who will never wake, it lives to sustain life that will never return. Still it remains though, monolithic. There is nothing more to do. You carefully place the lanterns back on the shelf to leave it locked from the outside. "I'll wake up again soon, just to check on things" you think. But you cannot escape the fact that every minute since you left the dream, the heaviness of reality is harder to bear. The gravity feels stronger somehow, weighing down your bones like a stone pulling something under a current. Back to the fire for now. Back to... home.

wow

5:37

I peed white when I first heard this

@5:15 yea.... yea...

This gives me vibes somewhat similar to Minecraft at times

minecraft?