Five years ago, a group of three friends who playedMy Little Ponytunes for convention goers in the larger Russian “geek band” BroniKoni formed a trio and called themselves The Chalkeaters, dedicated entirely to gaming tunes. Even if you don’t know the name, you’ll know their songs.
They shot to fame with the Doom Crossing: Eternal Horizons track at the height of what was essentially gaming’sBarbenheimermoment. They then released Valve Count to Three, hot off the tail ofHalf-Life: Alyx’srelease which was a hit with fans. But more recently, they dropped a Mario song called Bowsette that went viral with over 21 million views and over 12 million Spotify streams. Focusing on video games put The Chalkeaters on the map, but it wasn’t the original goal.
“Our focus on video games happened somewhat randomly,” songwriter and music video director Alios tells me. “We wanted to cover more of modern pop culture, since we’re huge fans of animation, TV shows, and movies. But after the success of [Bethesda parody] It Just Works, we realised that gamers were really craving video game-oriented music, and it was something we were truly passionate about.”
Revisiting Bowsette Half A Decade Later
Bowsette was actually the group’s first release, but it didn’t perform nearly as well as the Todd Howard song. So, The Chalkeaters decided to revisit their beginnings last year and bring it forward to a new audience. “I’ve always loved the lyrics, the melodies, and the vibe of Bowsette. I felt it had bigger potential if it hadn’t been released on an empty channel,” Alios says. “Its chorus is one of those creative pieces I’m most proud of as a songwriter—I still get chills when I hear Meret singing, ‘Your princess may be in another castle… but I’m still here.’
“The fact that we didn’t have the budget or experience to record it properly always bugged me. The release of The Super Mario Movie seemed like the perfect opportunity for a comeback, but our main video teams were busy with [Skyrim song] Must Have Been the Wind and [Genshin Impact track] One More Pull. So, I thought, ‘Why not make an animation collab with our fans?’”
It was a huge hit for the band, not only allowing the song to be rediscovered by their now much larger audience, but also expanding their reach even further as the chorus became a trending sound on TikTok that countless creators made clips with.
“It was breathtaking,” Alios says. “Before this success, we treated Bowsette a bit ironically since it was the first song we made. We were shocked to see the numbers growing so fast; we hadn’t seen a response like this since Doom Crossing. It was both weird and inspiring to see our most underappreciated song becoming our biggest hit!
“The collab team’s animations fit perfectly with the music and Meret Giddy’s beautiful voice. Every animator did a fantastic job on their part, and Lenich mixed all the animations together wonderfully. Some of the animators from the project even became core team members after that.”
Getting Gabe Newell To Sing
In 2021, The Chalkeaters released a song poking fun at Valve over a long-running joke that it can’t count to three. It stopped atHalf-Life 2,Team Fortress 2,Left 4 Dead 2,Dota 2, and only just reachedCounter-Strike 2. The wait for sequels has beenlong,and so The Chalkeaters embraced the meme with open arms by making an entire song about it, mocking Valve for its “soulless card games and hardware releases”. Yet the band managed to get Gabe Newell himself on board for a cameo in spite of all the self-deprecation.
“I wrote an email, not expecting much. To my surprise, Gabe replied and asked for a demo.” Alios recounts. “I was in shock, the team was in shock, and it actually pushed me to finish the lyrics in a week because the song wasn’t completed at that point. Initially, I wanted him to sing the whole thing.”
Alios sent the demo but got no response, and so it felt like gold dust had slipped through the band’s hands. It didn’t help that the Covid pandemic had trapped Gabe in New Zealand, making communication that much harder with such different time zones. But Alios wasn’t dissuaded, so they sent another email asking if he would be okay to record only the opening and ending lines.
“In response, I got these awesome professionally recorded videos with four or five takes of him saying the lines I wrote,” Alios says. “I was in shock once again! He told me he actually tried to sing the original lyrics, but ‘it was… bad.’ It’s amazing how, despite being such a famous figure, he stayed in touch with the fans. I really admire that.”
The team even got Glados actor Ellen McLain involved to reprise her role, who has already proven her singing chops in the android voice with the iconic Still Alive. “It was more straightforward. We contacted her agent, she agreed to participate, though there was a lot of paperwork involved,” Alios tells me. “She turned out to be a really sweet person, passionate about her characters and involvement in the Valve games. She’s very aware of the ‘Valve can’t count to three’ memes and said she’d love to return as Glados if there ever is a third Portal game, although she doesn’t really believe it will happen.”
Initially, I wanted [Gabe Newell]to sing the whole thing. He told me he tried, but “it was… bad.”
The band and McLain clicked immediately, as she showered them with compliments and told them how much she adored the music, even rehearsing ahead of schedule to prepare. “We expected a professional recording session with a serious voice actor, but it felt more like a nice tea party at our grandma’s,” Alios says. “It was so cool how she instantly transformed from an overly nice lady into a cold, heartless robot once we started.”
McLain also told us that they “loved working with the Chalkeaters”, calling them “talented writers and musicians”.
Originally, I was set to speak to The Chalkeaters last year after the release of Must Have Been the Wind. But withRussia’s invasion of Ukrainein full swing, everything was pushed back. Band members were forced to move out of the country as they found themselves caught in the eye of the storm, delaying new songs and even leading to the end of their first band.
“We didn’t have enough time and creative energy to keep both projects active,” Alios explains. “Some of the band members had to leave Russia, and we got scattered around the world. Without live shows, BroniKoni couldn’t continue as a band, so we ended the project officially.
“BroniKoni made us who we are today; we grew so much thanks to that silly horse music project. It’s been an incredible journey, paving the way for many friendships and creative endeavours.”
The Chalkeaters didn’t break up like its sister band, but that experience with Russia can still be felt in its newest music video, a Fallout song all about Vault-Tec dropping the bombs.
“As Russian expatriates, most of the team has been heavily shaken by the recent world events - unnecessary conflicts, the lack of decisive action from governments, and the poor judgment and radicalisation of people on social media. It feels like the world is heading down a path that all post-apocalyptic media has been warning us about for ages. So all we can do to cope is make silly video game-inspired songs about it, and we hope it can bring some light and fun even when the themes are heavy!”
The Chalkeaters remains undeterred, releasing three hit music videos within the last year alone, spurred on by the gargantuan success of Bowsette. Even half a decade later, having braved a pandemic and the dissolving of the band that birthed them, they stayed true to that original passion project; “I finally found something that is both creatively rewarding and financially sustainable. We’re incredibly grateful to our fans for turning this crazy dream into a reality.”
