If you don’t play Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), you might not know about Greymoore. It is the latest expansion pack that is set in Skyrim. Whether or not you enjoy ESO, you might be excited to discover that hidden in this latest release is a gem we all will cherish: the one and only River Kanoff, the voice actor of our beloved ranger Bishop! He can be heard as the lovely singing voice of a Nordic bard named Ifmore, whom you can find strumming his lute in Solitude.

I got a chance to have a really interesting conversation with River about his experience! We all know about his mod work, but I was curious to learn about how he landed an official role.

“So December of last year, I got an audition from my last agent for a project codenamed “Elder.” I raised an eyebrow and looked over the sides, which ended up being for a “Nordic bard.” I knew right away and jumped on it. They provided “My Star-Eyed Bride of Alinor” as a reference, which I memorized and recorded at work.”

River was kind enough to let me listen to his audition song and, since it’s no longer under NDA, we can share it with you all!

Next, we discussed the recording process and he told me a funny story about his very first recording session!

“I was booked to record in-studio here in Los Angeles. Funnily enough, because I was looking out for TESVI auditions, I had heard from other actors that Bethesda usually recorded LA actors at a certain studio in particular. Somehow, when it was time to actually go to the session, I got THAT studio mixed up with the studio I was actually booked at, and went to the wrong one first. I quickly corrected my mistake, but was 30 minutes late TO MY FIRST OFFICIAL BETHESDA SESSION because of it. They were cool about it though. I came back the following day to make up for the lost time.”

He explained how they recorded each song stanza-by-stanza to iron out anything that would stand out and be potentially “meme-worthy” after the game dropped, which had me laughing out loud.

“My favorite song to record (and has stuck with me since) was the “Olde Nord Drinking Song,” which I sang in an SR Karaoke event shortly before the game was released. Obviously I was sober for the recording, but they wanted me to try and keep it light and fun for the drunk crowd at the Inn. I pretended I was swinging my mug of ale while singing, and tried to make parts of the song sound like I was about to laugh.

At that story, it was hard not to think of his performance as a drunk Bishop and I couldn’t help but smile. Remembering his unofficial role, I had to ask, “How did it feel to record an official character in the TES universe?” I was curious if he was nervous or starstruck at all, or if he was too excited to be nervous.

“There was definitely some nerves and disbelief at actually having made it into TES in some official capacity, but they went away pretty quickly as we got to work. As a kid, it would have been hard not to be starstruck, but as an adult, I am able to kick it into professional gear pretty easily.”

He explained that his ultimate goal is to get into a TESVI audition and that it’s nice to have his foot in the door with his work on Greymoor. He also talked about how this role prompted him to start playing ESO, so naturally I had to ask if it was weird to hear a character he voiced in-game or if the character sounded different enough that he could dismiss it.

“Someone actually uploaded my entire set to YouTube before the console release, so I was able to hear it and find where I’d be. I finally found myself in an odd corner of Solitude, not where I would busk, personally. You have to get pretty close to hear the character, which is also not entirely realistic, but maybe not a bad thing, play-wise. I’m not sure I really want to hear myself sing throughout all of Solitude.”

(He might not, but I’m sure the rest of us wouldn’t mind that at all!)

“When I first started booking VO, it was a little jarring to actually hear myself in character, and even crazier when I actually started booking things that people would actually hear, but it’s not so weird for me anymore. Honestly, the weirdest part is that I have been playing TES for over 15 years, since before I was interested in VO, and now I’m actually in it, but only singing, which is a skill I’ve really only been investing in over the past 5 years.”

It’s really interesting which of our talents takes us down the paths we walk in life, but River has an amazing singing voice even if he’s only been investing in that skill recently. It’s wonderful to witness his much-deserved success. We’re not allowed to officially talk about it, but gamers and fans should keep a lookout for River’s voice talent in some upcoming games! While Bishop is a staple in many TESV load orders, I know we all share in River’s hope that he will be joining us as a new and official character in TESVI.

Meanwhile, we have his awesome work in Greymoor to tide us over and the exciting SRM DLC expansion to look forward to. If you don’t play ESO or can’t wait to check out River’s performance, you can listen to his set below!

When I asked River if he had anything else he wanted to share about his experience or say to the community, he left me with this:

“Tell them I love them all very much, and I can’t wait to play the new SR update!”

We return the sentiment in its entirety, River! Congratulations on your role in Greymoor and we’ll be cheering you on for TESVI!

Blogger: Red

Editor: Werewolfgirl19

Cover art: Mara