Composing Teemo 2XKO Theme (THEEMO?) for Riot Games 2XKO

When Riot Games asked me to bring Teemo into the sound world of 2XKO, I knew one thing immediately: this was not going to be some safe, middle of the road soundtrack cue. Teemo is chaotic, mischievous, and just a little unhinged, and his music needed to sound like that energy bottled up and dropped into a Mario Kart race while Dirty Loops and Wayne Krantz fight for space in the drivers seat.

The Ingredients: Jazz Fusion Meets Mushroom Mayhem

I built Teemo’s track like a musical prank, full of surprise turns, virtuosic licks, and grooves that feel like they could suddenly swerve into another lane. Influences range from:

  • Dirty Loops’ ridiculous harmonic wizardry (shout out to Henrik Linder from Dirty Loops who played bass on Teemo’s theme!)

  • Wayne Krantz’ twisted, angular guitar phrasing inspired by one of my favorite guitarists

  • Persona 5’s ultra stylish swagger

  • Mario Kart soundtracks (because let’s be real, nothing says chaos like rainbow road energy)

  • Jamiroquai funk grooves that slap as hard as Teemo’s darts

  • Looney Tunes soundtracks, which perfectly capture the “chaotic gremlin” vibe

  • Robert Glasper Jr.’s modern jazz brilliance and massive chord vocabulary that I’m obsessed with

  • Pat Metheny Group’s adventurous storytelling skills and musicianship (because even Teemo deserves some atmosphere)

This stew of influences lets Teemo’s track bounce between comedy, danger, and serious “do not underestimate me” vibes, exactly how he plays in League of Legends and now in 2XKO.

Riot Games’ Mischief Maker Gets His Groove

Writing music for Riot Games’ 2XKO soundtrack has been a dream, but Teemo’s theme was especially fun because it gave me license to be completely unhinged. It is funky, it is jazzy, it is cartoonishly wild, and at the same time, it is performed and produced with the same level of polish I would bring to an A list film score.

Teemo has definitely been a personal milestone character for me to compose music for, because I had finally been given a reason to let a lot of my core influences and music preferences come to fruition to build a musical identity for the DoomShroom rascal. Most people know me for my work in metal, which is fair since I (continue to) put my all into that community for most of my life. But to be able to finally shed some light on my background and personality, it’s been cathartic, and I’m really grateful Riot let me have the chance to do so!

Think of it like this: if Jamiroquai crashed a Mario Kart Grand Prix, invited Robert Glasper to sit in, and let Looney Tunes’ orchestra conduct the chaos, you would get pretty close to Teemo’s track.

Humor, Chaos, and a Wink to the Players

Teemo is already a meme in the Riot community, loved, feared, and cursed in equal measure. My job as a composer was to honor that legend with a soundtrack that makes you laugh, groove, and maybe even rage a little. After all, that is Teemo’s whole deal.

So when you are mashing buttons in 2XKO, and you hear this funky, jazz fusion chaos erupting from the speakers, just know, that is Teemo, and I had the absolute time of my life writing it.

Want more tiny glimpses behind the scenes on the 2XKO soundtrack? Stick around, I have plenty more stories from Runeterra’s wildest roster to share.