There’s a war brewing between Piltover and Zaun: While the utopian city of progress is breaking technological barriers, the people of the Undercity want more than to simply survive under the rule of a criminal empire built by their self-appointed leader. With tensions building between the characters on all sides of the upheaval over two seasons of ARCANE, it’s no surprise that the series features a soundtrack that matches a variety of moods. 

ARCANE follows sisters Jinx (Ella Purnell) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld), who find themselves on opposite sides of this brewing war. But it’s also about the nuances of navigating a complex world and the unlikely bonds the characters form with one another along the way. This League of Legends story is told with beautiful watercolor visuals from the animation studio Fortiche Production and a pulse-pounding soundtrack.

The highly anticipated Season Two original soundtrack, ARCANE League of Legends: Season Two (Soundtrack From The Animated Series), features 22 electrifying singles from a globally diverse lineup of artists across the world, including Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids, Young Miko, Stromae, Marcus King, Ashnikko, d4vd, and more. Many of the artists featured on the soundtrack are League of Legends players, passionate ARCANE fans, and previous Riot Games collaborators.

How does the ARCANE score reflect the characters’ relationships?

Alex Seaver, the series’ executive music producer and co-composer, tells Tudum that creating music for the characters’ high and low moments was a “piece of cake.” He says, “When you look on-screen, you hear these voice-acting performances, and you see the animation, and it is so obvious what you’re supposed to do because they tee it up so incredibly and the emotions are so raw and forward.”

Some of the most moving moments are those shared between Jinx and Vi, as they repeatedly find their way back to each other against all odds. The sisters’ reunions are often bittersweet, as they try to navigate who they are to each other after all the time they’ve been apart. Seaver says that his co-composer Alex Temple was able to create a few thematic motifs — one of which weaves together the sisters’ relationship. “You often hear a voice singing it, and it’s really beautiful, and it happens whenever they’re together,” says Seaver, who is credited as “Mako” on the single “What Have They Done To Us” on the soundtrack. He adds that the music that accompanies Jinx and Vi separately changes over time as they each “go through such violent transformations.”

What should we expect from the music in ARCANE Season Two?

For all its grit and intensity, the series is also about the vulnerable and intimate moments shared between characters — including the unexpected relationships Jinx and Vi build and that form around them in their time apart. Moving between high-velocity action and slow and sweet encounters, ARCANE’s music guides the story, attuned to the characters’ experiences. “ARCANE is the really crushing, quiet and vulnerable stuff that’s paired with these big, loud, epic sequences,” says Seaver, who adds that they were challenged to take some risks with the score and the soundtrack in Season Two. Plus, you might even hear a few Easter eggs — make sure to listen for Djerv’s the familiar tune “Get Jinxed,” which ARCANE showrunner and co-creator Christian Linke wrote back in 2013, during an exciting fight scene with Sevika (Amirah Vann) in Episode 2.

How does the music of ARCANE identify each region? 

Season One was all about Piltover and Zaun, where the composers were able to bring in sounds that matched each city’s identity. In Piltover, the traditional and grandiose orchestral music was used to prop up the innovative City of Progress, which is juxtaposed with the unruly Zaun, where life is rough around the edges. “You get to use trash and found percussion, and rock and hip hop and all these kinds of things that are just distorted and have a lot of aggression, and you get to just hit metal,” says Seaver about creating the sounds of the undercity. Meanwhile, Season Two introduces a new region — the Noxus empire, known for its warrior traditions. The music conceptualization for Noxus also included the use of different types of metal, but Seaver clarifies, “It’s almost like the sounds of swords hitting shields, rather than the metallics of trash and things in Zaun.” 

How does the score help close out the story of ARCANE?

As ARCANE comes to an end with Season Two, there’s a sense of finality to the music. But just as time stretches and is distorted using the magic of the arcane, the music, too, can be cyclical, reminding us of our characters’ stories as they transform throughout the series. In the final moments of Season Two, you’ll hear a nod back to the very first cue in ARCANE. The series begins with a young Powder humming the song “Dear Friend Across the River,” written by Temple, followed by a violin and orchestra cue called “The Bridge” by Ray Chen. Seaver says it felt important for the co-composers to revisit that tune at the very end of the series as a way to close out the story of Jinx and Vi, which is why you’ll hear Vi humming that same song in the final moments. “It was kind of like, instead of writing specifically for this scene, we started writing for the entire story of ARCANE as the last couple notes that you get before you close out the season,” says Seaver.

Where can I watch ARCANE Season Two music videos?

While you wait for the full soundtrack to drop, you can jam out to two new music videos that accompany ARCANE’s second season. If you find yourself connecting with Jinx — the feisty and unpredictable champion from Zaun with a rebellious spirit — you’ll have fun with Ashnikko’s “Paint the Town Blue.” With her signature blue hair, Ashnikko’s blend of electropop, punk, and hip-hop captures Jinx’s essence. 

Watch the Arcane Season 2 “Paint The Town Blue” Music Video

Watch the Arcane Season 2 “Blood, Sweat & Tears” Music Video

Also, get Ambessa’s backstory in this music video for “Blood Sweat & Tears” showcasing the commanding vocals of Sheryl Lee Ralph, as well as the trailer featuring “Come Play” by Stray Kids, Young Miko, and Tom Morello.

The music video for “The Line” featuring vocals from Twenty One Pilots and the video for “Fantastic” featuring vocals by King Princess are available as well.

Additionally, visualizers for every song on the soundtrack can be viewed on the Riot Games Music YouTube channel.

Check back here to learn more about the killer Season Two soundtrack as more of the episodes are revealed, and keep reading for the iconic Season One song list.

What songs were featured on the ARCANE Season One soundtrack?

Episode 101

Bea Miller “Playground”

Episode 102

Curtis Harding, Jazmine Sullivan “Our Love”

Episode 103

Ramsey “Goodbye”

Episode 104

BONES UK “Dirty Little Animals”

Episode 105

Imagine Dragons feat. J.I.D. “Enemy”

ARCANE’s intro song “Enemy” has become beloved by fans of the series, and it’s also a banger that perfectly touches on some of the show’s themes. The band Imagine Dragons also makes an appearance in the show, performing the song in an alleyway in Zaun as Vi tracks down Silco’s (Jason Spisak) right-hand woman, Sevika, looking for a fight. The episode’s title? Naturally, “Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy.” 

Episode 106

Woodkid “Guns for Hire”

Episode 107

Pusha T and Mako “Misfit Toys”
Denzel Curry, Gizzle, and Bren Joy “Dynasties and Dystopia”

Episode 108

PVRIS and MIYAVI “Snakes”
Fantastic Negrito “When Everything Went Wrong”

Episode 109

Sting and Ray Chen “What Could Have Been”

What songs were featured on the ARCANE Season Two soundtrack? 

Episode 201

Freya Ridings “I Can’t Hear it Now”

Season Two opens in the aftermath of Jinx’s shocking attack on the Piltover Council, and the city is reeling. At this point, Caitlyn is at a loss for where to go next, stuck between her duty to Piltover, and her relationship with Vi when “I Can’t Hear it Now” plays. “When we started working with Freya, we wanted someone that has a kind of voice that mirrors Caitlyn’s personality,” ARCANE co-creator and showrunner Christian Linke told Netflix. “There’s just a haunting quality and also a lower voice that also matches this huge weight on Caitlyn’s shoulders. And Freya Ridings is incredible and hits the feeling of that moment.”

Mike Shinoda, Emily Armstrong “Heavy Is the Crown”

Episode 202

Marcus King “Sucker”

The song plays in the second episode, as the Zaunite Chem-barons fight over Silco’s throne. “We wanted something with a bit more attitude from Jinx’s perspective about wanting to finally move past this. And also, being annoyed by the power struggle, and tired of always having these squabbling parties in Zaun that really have not ever believed in Silco’s vision,” says Linke. “A voice like Marcus King’s [is]  just really soulful and super expressive.” Seaver notes the song is “one of my favorite things I’ve ever made,” adding that it features an entire children’s choir. “It’s just like this crazy festivity.”   

Stefflon Don, Raja Kumari feat. Jarina de Marco “Renegade (We Never Run)” 

Episode 203

Fever 333 “Hellfire”

Woodkid “To Ashes and Blood”

In the third episode, “To Ashes and Blood” plays at a pivotal moment: Jayce, Heimerdinger, and Ekko discover the true depths of the Hexcore for the first time, and Jayce finally realizes what he’s done by creating arcane technology. Meanwhile, the conflict between Jinx and Vi comes to a head in another fierce and epic battle between the sisters. As for the music of the scene, Linke wanted to create a sound that would make the tension of this particular moment stand out, says Seaver. “That was Christian being like, ‘Instead of making action music, pretend that this is an ancient song from a people thousands of years before, invent a brand-new language, use weird instruments.’”

Episode 204

Ashnikko “Paint the Town Blue”

Djerv “Rebel Heart”

Misha Mansoor “The Beast”

Meanwhile, the matchup between Jinx and Warwick toward the end of Episode 4 is set to an entirely different genre. With “The Beast,” he says, “That was Christian being like, ‘We’ve done big action music. Let’s make this a straight-up death metal song. Let’s bring in a new color for what this action sequence could be.’ ” 

Episode 205

ZAND “Cocktail Molotov”

Mako, Grey “What Have They Done to Us”

Episode 206

d4vd “Remember Me (Intro / Main)”

Eason Chan “这样很好 (Isha’s Song)”

Episode 207

Mick Wingert “Spin the Wheel”

Another standout song of the season, “Spin the Wheel,” plays as Ekko and Jayce each search for a way back home. “It’s a beautiful little surprise that we tucked in there,” says Seaver. Mick Wingert, who plays Heimerdinger in the series, recorded the song, which his character plays for a group of children in Zaun. “And not only that, we localized the song in every language that the show is localized in,” Seaver continues. “So we did literally 26 translations of the lyrics and produced 26 different versions.” 

Stromae & Pomme “Ma Meilleure Ennemie”

Episode 208

King Princess “Fantastic”

Twenty One Pilots “The Line”

Episode 209

Stray Kids, Young Miko, Tom Morello “Come Play”

Royal & the Serpent “Wasteland”

Saying goodbye to our favorite characters when a series comes to an end is always hard, which is why the producers wanted to get it right with the ending of ARCANE. Seaver describes Royal & the Serpent’s “Wasteland” as a “really beautiful, heartbreaking, and encouraging song from Jinx’s perspective.” He adds, “And we sort of bookend the finale by having it at the very beginning, and then I make a scored version of it near the end that’s really powerful.”

You can watch every episode of Season One and Season Two of ARCANE now, only on Netflix.