Biography

Mikko Tarmia (b. 1978) is a Finnish composer, best known for his contribution in critically acclaimed Penumbra game series developed by Frictional Games.

Mikko had his first touch in composing at the beginning of 90s with Amiga MOD trackers and techno music, but later on he received more and more influences from orchestral music and so he learned to play several instruments and finally joined conservatory to get some formal music education (his primary instrument is bassoon). He also holds a bachelor's degree from Pirkanmaa University of Applied Sciences where he studied music production.

At 2002 Mikko composed music for his first computer game project, Codeblender Software's submarine action game DeepTrouble. In the following years he also composed music for other Codeblender titles such as Epsilon Tahari: Reign of the Machines, Rally Shift and Deep Trouble 2. At 2006 Mikko was asked to make some music for Penumbra, a technical demo for survival horror game developed by Frictional Games. Penumbra gained massive popularity in internet and Frictional Games decided to make Penumbra a commercial game. Penumbra was going to be released in episodes and Tarmia was commissioned to compose all the music for them. A cult classic was born. The Penumbra series has received numerous awards, critical acclaim as well as recognition for its fresh approach to the survival horror genre.

Mikko also runs an independent music label called The Sound of Fiction, which specialises in bringing film and video game music to its fans. At 2008 the label released its first production, AIKA, an atmospheric orchestral soundtrack wrapped around a philosophically inspired science fiction story written by Tom Jubert. For more info visit AIKA website. The label's latest release is Penumbra OST, with an hour of remastered music from all three Penumbra games.

Currently Mikko is working on several game projects, including Frictional Games' new survival horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent and a long-awaited action-adventure game Overgrowth, developed by Wolfire Games.

More info:
Mikko Tarmia @ MySpace
Mikko Tarmia @ Mobygames
An interview at Square Enix Music Online
Rise of the Virtual Orchestra

Contacting

You can contact Mikko Tarmia via e-mail below: