I was planning to write an entry about the top 10 songs I’m currently loving, but honestly, this Ensemble has taken over my brain—so here’s me gushing about it instead.
EPIC: The Musical Ensemble by Jorge Rivera-Herrans and his insanely talented collaborators—co-stars, animators, producers, mixers. Shoutout to everyone who helped bring it to life.
So what is EPIC, you ask?
Well, allow me to tell you a tale.
A Little Background
I’ve been a fan of Greek mythology for a long time—before I even really knew what it was. I remember watching The Odyssey (the movie) as a kid and being completely intrigued. Disney’s Hercules and Clash/Wrath of the Titans also left an impression.
Later, on the family computer, I discovered Encarta—a digital encyclopedia. But really, I was there for Encarta Kids and the mythology games. I kept going back to Greek myths, asking questions about gods and goddesses, ignoring everything else.
Years later, Percy Jackson & The Olympians (movies first, then books) sent me deeper into the rabbit hole. While waiting for the next movie, I started reading the series and learned more about the original myths—not just Riordan’s takes.
Long story short: The Odyssey—the original by Homer, not the movie—is important here.
How It Started
Fast forward to 2024. Around mid-year, something called EPIC started flooding my FYP.
Turns out EPIC was created by Jorge Rivera-Herrans—his name was either tagged in the posts or in the hashtags.
The Thunder Saga had just been released, with two earlier sagas re-released. I didn’t fully get it yet—I just knew it was music-related.
I kinda stalked his page. I scrolled all the way back to 2021 where he said, “I’m making a musical based on the Odyssey.” I thought, okay—this sounds promising. His videos felt like a progress log—demos, cast auditions, updates. He’s funny too. And honestly? The music wasn’t bad. I was intrigued because he seemed like a fun guy.
Side Note: I had stumbled across the Circe Saga earlier and streamed it, but I didn’t realize at the time that it was part of a connected musical universe.
Eventually, I learned that the full EPIC ensemble includes 9 sagas, 40 songs total—divided evenly into Acts 1 and 2. Thunder Saga kicks off Act 2, so I had 25 songs to binge. Challenge accepted.
The Sagas, in Order:
- The TROY Saga
- The CYCLOPS Saga
- The OCEAN Saga
- The CIRCE Saga
- The UNDERWORLD Saga
- The THUNDER Saga
- The WISDOM Saga
- The VENGEANCE Saga
- The ITHACA Saga
I made a playlist with the 25 songs in order and waited for the perfect moment to dive in—no distractions.
FYI: Jorge took creative liberties. It’s not a one-to-one adaptation. He also uses recurring instruments and musical motifs tied to specific characters or scenes.
Listening to new music is hard enough—but six albums? Blind? Terrifying. But I promised myself I’d go in open-minded.
The first listen was a vibe check. And oh—it passed with flying colors.
My memory of the Odyssey movie was vague, so I kept Googling references mid-listen. The only names I remembered were Polyphemus and Circe.
After that? It was on repeat. Finish the last track, loop back to the beginning. I started learning lyrics and finally grasping concepts Jorge had mentioned in his videos.
Even the small, random details clicked into place like callbacks from earlier songs or scenes. It felt like hunting for Easter eggs—each discovery was thrilling.
Naturally, some voices stood out to me right away—I’ll get to those soon. Funny enough, I didn’t even realize at first that Jorge voices Odysseus himself. They sound so different!
New Releases & Live Streams
Just as I was getting familiar with the six released sagas, the next one—The Wisdom Saga—was announced for release at the end of August. Perfect timing, since school had started to ease up.
Jorge posted that the release livestream would stay up on his YouTube channel. I was like—wait, livestream?
Turns out, Jorge commissions animators to create visuals for each song, so we can watch instead of just listen. I’d seen clips from these on my FYP, so I figured—why not? The visuals helped make certain scenes clearer.
The livestream was scheduled for 9 p.m. EST—3 a.m. my time. I was so committed to watching it live that it didn’t even cross my mind to just sleep and wake up for it.
I got distracted helping my roommate move some stuff, so I had to catch up. Turns out, there was an issue with the first stream, so Jorge opened a new live and we carried on from there.
It was an emotional rollercoaster—we were introduced to Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, and Antinous, the suitor’s head honcho. Calypso made her entrance too, along with more gods.
After it ended, I felt this weird FOMO—even though I’m not someone who usually posts. I also didn’t feel ready to replay the songs right away, which was strange since they’d been on loop all month.
I figured my brain was just adjusting to the new content, so I gave myself space. Before long, I was back to blasting EPIC everywhere, disturbing the peace as usual.
Fast-forward to October—I was back home from school, and the next saga, The Vengeance Saga, was set to drop on Halloween. That meant I’d get it on November 1st. This time, I didn’t pressure myself. I just relaxed and enjoyed it—even dozed off during the beginning.
Jorge split the livestream into two parts to avoid the issues from before. I was fully awake by Act 2—and let’s just say, it didn’t disappoint. Poseidon returned, as mesmerizing as ever. If he told me to get in the water… well, I can’t swim, but I’d drown happily.
In early December, I was casually scrolling Instagram and saw an update from Jorge. At first I was confused, but then realized it was the Ithaca Saga release announcement. I couldn’t scream—nighttime—but I was so excited. It was dropping on Christmas. As hyped as I was, it hit me: this was the end. But who knows what Jorge might surprise us with next?
Favorite Voices
I can’t dive into everything or I’ll never stop writing—but I can share some of my favorite voices.
I wouldn’t say I love them all equally. I don’t rank voices or songs, but some definitely make me want to sing along more than others—so I’ll go with that.
Besides our main guy Odysseus—obviously.
Poseidon is on the list too. Not surprising—the rasp—yes.
And of course, sky daddy himself—Zeus. Because, duh.
Aeolus, my booboo.
Calypso—love Barbara’s vocals (her voice actress).
Antinous (this pick aged well after Ithaca, trust me).
Apollo.
Telemachus and Penelope.
Athena.
How could I forget the great Hermes? Both of his songs just make you want to break into a dancey-dance.
A Question
A question popped into my head as I was thinking all this through:
Q: Are there any songs you only listen to just to get to the next one—or skip when they show up in shuffle?
A: Just like I don’t call all the voices my favorites but still love them, the same goes for the songs. I wouldn’t skip any outright—but if I don’t have time for the full 35 (soon 40!), I hand-pick. There’s at least 2 from each saga that gives me that feeling.
So there you have it—my totally random, chaotic, and out-of-place word vomit about EPIC. Well, maybe not so random as this all started because Jorge announced the final saga’s release date: December 25th. Which means I’ll watch it on the 26th, tissues in hand for the inevitable emotional damage.
To you all, I send peace and love.
Stay EPIC.