Sean Dagher is a Montreal-based early-music vocalist and shantyman who performs and records the sea shanties for Windrose. Rather than writing original songs, his contribution is the live vocal performance and arrangement of traditional Age-of-Sail material such as Drunken Sailor, Leave Her Johnny, and Blow the Man Down. These recordings are what the in-game crew sings while the ship is under way.
Role on Windrose
Kraken Express has publicly confirmed that Dagher recorded the vocals live, describing him as an accomplished artist and shantyman. His performances supply the singing voices for the traditional shanties the NPC Crew raises while sailing, turning long voyages into atmospheric moments that have been widely praised by both press and players. Because the singing is tied to the act of crewing a ship, the shanties surface naturally during travel rather than as a separate music menu.
How Shanties Play While Sailing
In the live build, the Sea Shanties are sung by the NPC Crew during ordinary sailing, layering Dagher's lead vocal over the ambient sound of the ship and the sea. The effect is meant to make the slower stretches of a voyage feel lived-in, and the singing is one of the details the community has singled out when praising the game's audio.
Shanty Catalog
Dagher's performances in Windrose draw on a mix of traditional Age-of-Sail shanties re-recorded or arranged for the game:
The British Tars (also styled Sail the Raging Sea)
Rolling Home (released as a standalone single in August 2025)
Other traditional shanties documented for the game include Bully in the Alley and Maggie May. For the complete list and how the soundtrack is organized, see the Sea Shanties overview.
Single Singer to Multiple Vocalists
Initially Dagher recorded all of the vocal parts and harmonies himself. Kraken Express noted that, for the time being, only one singer had been contracted and he had to sing all of the tones. After community feedback asking for rougher backing vocals, the studio acknowledged plans to bring in additional vocalists for multi-singer recordings in future Early Access updates.
Production Approach
All shanties in Windrose are produced entirely in-house, and Kraken Express has confirmed that no AI vocal or compositional tools are used. The instrumental arrangements are composed and produced at the studio alongside Dagher's vocal recordings, keeping the whole soundtrack under one roof.
Official Soundtrack DLC
Dagher's vocals are featured on the Windrose Original Soundtrack, available as a standalone DLC or bundled with the Windrose Supporter Bundle alongside wallpapers. The soundtrack gives owners a full audio library of the game's shanties and incidental music.
See Also
Sea Shanties : full shanty overview
Kraken Express : studio profile
NPC Crew : crew behavior including shanties