Techno Syndrome
| Industry | Music production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Maurice "Praga Khan" Engelen, Olivier Adams |
| Products | Soundtrack albums |
Mortal Kombat: The Album is a 1994 soundtrack produced by The Immortals, the duo Maurice "Praga Khan" Engelen and Olivier Adams, designed to complement the home editions of the video game Mortal Kombat. Promotional television adverts for these home versions briefly highlighted the album. The single titled Mortal Kombat (Techno-Syndrome) was initially released in 1993.
Background and recording
Following their achievements with the techno/industrial/new beat group Lords of Acid, Engelen and Adams were hired by Midway Games. They were provided with the game, character information, and sound effects to incorporate, having a deadline of one month to complete the compositions amidst touring commitments. Each of the seven playable characters is represented by a distinct techno track on the album, alongside one for the boss character Goro, plus two extra pieces. The track "Hypnotic House (Mortal Kombat)" functioned as an introduction on the Mortal Kombat Sega CD edition.
The individual track "Mortal Kombat (Techno Syndrome)" was created solely by Adams while Engelen was at a label meeting, utilizing his Atari ST computer. Its iconic "Mortal Kombat!" shout—sampled from the "Mortal Monday" commercial and performed by actor Kyle Wyatt—became widely recognized as the franchise's anthem, especially after its inclusion in the 1995 movie. Various remixes continue to be linked with the Mortal Kombat franchise. In the United States, the album climbed to number 10 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
Jonathan Oyama from VentureBeat noted that "Techno Syndrome" bears resemblance to "Twilight Zone" by 2 Unlimited, although Adams and Engelen have denied any deliberate copying, and no legal proceedings ensued.
On the Sega CD version of Mortal Kombat, "Techno Syndrome" appears as a hidden track accessible through the "soundtrack" mode or by selecting track 17 on a CD player.
Other renditions
A remix titled "Utah Saints Take on the Theme from Mortal Kombat" by Utah Saints is included on the 1995 soundtrack album.
In 2011, Funk You Bits uploaded "Funk do Mortal Kombat" on YouTube, a funk carioca-style remix of "Techno Syndrome" that gained significant popularity in Brazil.
For the 2021 reboot film, composer Benjamin Wallfisch created "Techno Syndrome 2021," which peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and reached number 15 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs ranking.
The band Anamanaguchi produced a cover of "Techno Syndrome" featured in the 2023 Netflix anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. This version includes new vocals referencing characters from Scott Pilgrim and replaces the classic "Mortal Kombat!" scream with "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!". It was released as a single from the show’s soundtrack on January 19, 2024.