Game Music 4 All

Control+Fuzz releases w00t from Player Two

2009-11-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

Long time chiptune artist Player Two has returned after a bit of radio silence. This time coming our way via the Control+Fuzz netlabel. w00t is a four track EP of catchy chiptunes and robotic vocals. Stand out favorite for me is the second track Little Robots. A hypnotic robot diatribe against those lowly humans. The album is available free through the Control+Fuzz myspace (left side, under "Band Members" section) or on the w00t page at playertwo.info. No matter what path you take to the album, rest assured it is one catchy robotic rockout that ends just too quickly.

Blip Festival 2009 trailer from 2 Player Productions

2009-11-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

BLIP FESTIVAL 2009 from 2 Player Productions on Vimeo.

The ever craftful folks of 2 Player Productions have unleashed the official promo video for Blipfest 2009, which is taking place December 17-19 in New York. Find the huge list of performing artists on their site, and even check out the new blipfest blog for info and interviews with many of the performing artists!

Trash-bin symphonies and ray-chasing pixel pushers herald the explosive return of Blip Festival New York City. The three-day music and arts festival returns to Brooklyn's Bell House December 17th, 18th, and 19th and is presented by Manhattan arts organization The Tank, in partnership with NYC artist collective 8bitpeoples.

Entering its 4th year of celebrating the best and brightest from the realm of chipmusic and its related disciplines, the festival showcases the use of the former heavyweights of computing such as the Commodore 64 and Amiga, the Atari ST and 2600, and the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy to create arresting music and visual art.

Music: Random - "Sitges Savepoint"

Christopher Tin - Calling All Dawns album review

2009-11-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

I don't often review albums on this here site that are too far removed from the VG Inspired Music culture. Though there have been times in the past I have deviated from such rules (even my first review), but I don't stretch those rules often. There are certainly times to make exceptions for these rules though.

Christopher Tin is an artist for which I am glad to make such an exception. I heard of him for the first time several years ago on a trip to the 2005 Video Games Live at the Hollywood Bowl. I was lucky enough to chat with him and found him approachable, humble, but also quite excited. The reason Tin was at VGL was because his title theme to acclaimed PC title Civilization IV would be performed live for the first time. This was quite the accomplishment as Civilization is Christopher Tin's first time working on a game soundtrack.

After meeting Tin before the VGL performance, I made a note to pay attention to his song Baba Yetu when it came up in the program later that night (having never played Civilization IV this would be my first time hearing his work). Little did I know it wouldn't take much to get my attention as the song was phenomenal and quite unlike a lot of contemporary VGM during that time or since. The song was a culturally rich affair of orchestration alongside Swahili lyrics. The two in tandem created an impactful and refreshing change of pace from the mostly instrumental fair of other video game songs.

Flash forward a few years and we see that Christopher Tin is still working hard on creating great compositions, and has been kind of enough to grace me with a review copy of his debut album Calling All Dawns (which you can listen to and purchase at christophertin.com). The album is twelve globe spanning tracks of Orchestral refinement and worldly flavors.

We lead off with the forementioned and amazing Baba Yetu (feat. Soweto Gospel Choir). The song and lyrics translate from Swahili to mean Our Father and is a moving rendition of The Lord's Prayer. Starting with a somber opening, we quickly hear a strong voice and rhythmic percussion, which then opens up to a full choir of sound. The song travels strong rises and lulls in sound to create an atmospheric idea of running over hills and valleys. Baba Yetu's orchestral fills come in about midway to create an ever stronger and more epic presence. Soft rises and an inviting end create a welcoming tone to the album, and fits very well to start the "day" portion of Calling All Dawns.

Baba Yetu (feat. Soweto Gospel Choir) - Excerpt by ChristopherTin

Mado Kara Mieru (feat. Lia, Aoi Tada, Kaori Omura) continues a trend of soft awakening with the short acapella to introduce the song. Through The Window I See is the english translation of the song, which is adapted from a Japanese haiku by Hattori Ransetsu, Yamaguchi Sodo, Kaga no Chiyo, & Masaoka Shiki. The song takes us on a year long look at life as observed through what one imagines as the large front window of a home. Spanning spring to winter and back into spring, Mado Kara Mieru looks at the transition of life over this span. Both the singing and music follow a fragile path, but as we reach into Autum the orchestral backing helps build the song into an ever growing urgency until we reach a sobering high point in the following line, "yomei/ ikubaku ka aru/ koyoi hakanashi/ inochi mijikashi" or "my remaining days/ how much more is there to live?/ the night is brief/ life is short." From the rising Autum we come into the distant winter, which changes the song up to a male voice, which spirals up to the sharpest build yet in the song to drop us back into the fragility of Spring, and shows us the cyclical nature of life with it's many ups and downs.

This is a good place to mention the brilliant way Christopher Tin set his album to gently and seamlessly lead one song into the other, for since I have been reviewing this album I have several times not even noticed the point where the song prior lead into Dao Zai Fan Ye (feat. Jia Ruhan). From the Dao DeJing and Mandarin for The Path is Returning. The song opens with strings that would automatically conjure up Kow Otani and Shadow of The Colossus on first listen. The lyrics flow in seamlessly and create an austere mood. As if you can look on at the song from a distance, but not draw too close. The chorus of voices seem to lead the instruments through a narrow path as small flourishes of sound float away. The final pieces of music gently saunter off and before we know it we have moved onwards.

Now we arrive at possibly my favorite song of the album, Se É Pra Vir Que Venha (feat. Dulce Pontes), an uplifting Portuguese track based on the poetry of Patricia Magalhães. Whatever Comes, Let It Come as it might be entitled in english draws you in with gentle strings and distant voices. This lifts and falls into a cozy piano alongside the enchanting vocals of Dulce Pontes. Piano gives way to percussion and strings, and the singing becomes ever more fervent and strong. About two and a half minutes in we drop down and are once again met by soft vocals alongside comforting piano, but as if riding the tone of Pontes voice, drums crash in as her singing rises, and strings as she comes back down. The most emotion is felt in the last line of "Se é pra vir, que venha" or "Whatever comes, let it come" as her voice peters out delicately.

Se E Pra Vir Que Venha (feat. Dulce Pontes) - Excerpt by ChristopherTin

Without a pause we are already well into our next song. The French Rassemblons-Nous, or Let Us Gather starts off with some electronic reverberations which are able to make themselves at home alongside the so far very organic and orchestral feel of the album so far. This sound fades off into strong singing alongside equally powerful strings and a simple but catchy percussive track. A lo-fi refrain of voices announce the chorus, and bring back the synthesized feelings from the songs introduction. This moment is fleeting though as we swiftly reenter the verse of the song. Well into that verse we are met with an intertwining of the male and female voices which give way to an ever rising chorus to drive home the idea of the collective strength and goals of humanity. We reach a fevered pitch and at the highest point the voices drop off and we are lulled back down amidst fading horns.

A haunting refrain starts off the Latin sung Lux Aeterna, otherwise known as Eternal Light from the Requiem Mass. With a simple series of strings and notes, the mostly instrumental piece slowly leads into the Night portion of the album. What feels like very quickly our journey continues into Caoineadh (feat. Anonymous 4). Irish for To Cry, and from the Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. The chorus rises and continues on with a lonely unifying tone as we traverse through the somber Irish countryside and learn the story of one brave and noble person. The song closes on the same serious tone it has held since the opening, but along with the final lines we have an unfinished but upbeat end to the song.

Hymn Do Trojcy Swietej (feat. Frederica von Stade) is the final song of the Night. Hymn to The Holy Trinity is a Polish Catholic Hymn, which is of course performed in it's native Polish. As with the other two Night tracks, we set off with a soft, almost dream like state. Hearing soft strings which slide along until we reach the distant sounding vocals which glide ever closer and produce an earnest but sanctified feeling throughout the track. As we reach the last length of the song, we are met with not just a solo voice, but a chorus of voices rising up from what seems like the same distant place from the songs opening, but the voices grow warmer and closer, as if you are slowly finding your way towards them from a thickened fog. When you finally do come face to face with the voices you have been searching for, the song slowly fades out into a misty ending as the night gives way to a slowly brightening sky.

The black night turns to a graying dawn with the song Hayom Kadosh. A Hebrew song from the Book of Nehemiah, which in English means Today is Sacred. The shortest song on the album, clocking in at under two minutes. Much is squeezed in that narrow time though, starting with a rising of voices as if they are riding on the rays of the sun itself. We swiftly move through this evocative beginning to a new day, which leads right into Hamsafar (feat. Sussan Deyhim) seamlessly. Farsi is the tongue of this track, which translates to Journey Together and is from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. I consider this a stand out title track on the same level as the opening Baba Yetu, and is able to evoke many of the same emotions and thoughts throughout. Opening strongly and just as the song finds it's opening we come to a halt. Not for long though, as we are off again this time with the worldly and inviting singing of Sussan Deyhim. An upbeat backing chorus carries us along as the song leads us through an ever brightening dawn that opened in the previous track. As each line continues onward we are met with ever more rays of light breaking through the clouded formerly night sky and rising to an abrupt end.

Another seamless movement leads us right into Sukla-Krsne or Light and Darkness. A Sanskrit song from the Bhagavad Gita. Another short song reaching just over the two minute mark. The sanskrit makes a very interesting song lyrically. The quick pace of the singing with the sometimes sparse music create a very interesting juxtaposition in tones. The song starts off playfully enough but becomes ever strengthened and meaningful as the many voices tell the tale of what it means to be a Yogi and the play of light and darkness. A lyrically intriguing piece which paints the sky with light, and seems to consider the thought and necessity of the cold night in a journey towards renewal and rebirth. The song continues to build up this cacophony of dual ideas which builds to a head and creates possibly the best ending to any song on this collection. With the end of this song it feels as if the final lingering shadows of the night have vanished.

Sukla-Krsne by ChristopherTin

That leads us into what feels like an inspiring reprise in Kia Hora Te Marino. Maori for May Peace Be Widespread, a traditional Maori blessing. The song continues the mood created in Baba Yetu and Hamsafar with the upbeat vocals and worldly traveling like atmosphere of the song. The song also brings together the overarching theme of peace that has pervaded and been weaved throughout the entire album. The ending of the song leads to a powerful build of music and voice. This creates a feeling as if flying over huge sections of the earth and rising up into the very orbit of the planet. With the final refrain of sound showing the earth in it's small place in the solar system and driving home the final line of the album "Gather, gather and go forward!"

That brings the album to a close. Though you may want to have this album on repeat, since just like the album flows from song to song, and from day to night to dawn, the album cycles again into day from the close to the reopening of the track Baba Yetu to incredible effect. If you are anything like me this flowing nature will lead to much repeated listening.

Calling All Dawns is a collection of songs that has to be heard because many different ideas and opinions can be taken away from this work. That may be one of the signs of a creation that is truly compelling and sustaining though. Repeated listens and reads with the liner notes are a must, as new things are gleamed and understood with each new listen.

This was also a very complicated album to review. At times I wondered if I was even qualified to assess this album. with it's complexity in both music and meaning I felt like one would need to have a grand working knowledge of the technical work at play in music. I came to terms with that shortcoming by simply trying to show the meaning I garnered from it and the ideas it seemed to evoke in my own mind.

Christopher Tin said himself, "The message of the album is that we are interconnected as a people; and despite our differences in culture, religion and belief, we all share the same common human experiences." and as I listened I thought over that idea he put into these songs, and found myself finding this shared bond through the repeated musical moods and imagery the music created, alongside the lyrics which were able to stand out distinctly yet show a cohesive whole between so many cultures and texts. Through the twelve languages that traverse the album we gather a sense of seriousness contemplation, but among the brush of reverence we see that there remains growing seeds of hope, playfulness, wishful thoughts that are necessary to an increasingly global culture.

I feel that sometimes I take out from music more than has been put into the effort of creating it, but this album creates so many moods and thoughts that it would seem quite counter to the energy put into this album to not gleam as much thought as possible from this. The energy put into this album is also quite significant, as the liner notes say "Calling All Dawns features over 200 musicians from 5 continents, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 4 choirs, 17 soloists, percussion ensembles, ethnic instrumentalists, and a team of Maori men performing a haka." So your average home recording musician this is not. I strongly urge you to go to the Calling All Dawns album page at christophertin.com where you can listen to lengthy samples of all the songs on the album to get a great feel for yourself. Of course I would also strongly urge a purchase as well!

I will end this article with a video of Baba Yetu I was lucky enough to see myself earlier this year when I saw it performed by the Golden State Pops Orchestra and conducted by Christopher Tin himself.

sandhyas! sandhyas! sandhyas!
calling all downs. calling all downs
to dayne. array! surrection! eireweeker
to the wohld bludyn world.
- James Joyce, Finnegans Wake

VGIM Classics - Shael Riley - Toybox

2009-11-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

A few days ago was the nerdcore VGM rock virtuoso Shael Riley's birthday. As I am a huge fan of Shael Riley I figure this is a good time to take a small look back at an album that was released before this site first started, and give it some much deserved recognition. I, of course, speak of Shael Riley's 2005 release Toybox.

Thirteen tracks of various moods and subjects all told via catchy melodies, synths, great singing, and the worlds worst drum programming. Covering many nerdy topics from sucky jobs, chicks from the internet, to DnD. Also Shael's foray into more esoteric territory with songs like Rock the House and Revenge of the Mullet. Not to mention what should be nerdy anthems like Down With Bane and Arguing on the Internet.

There isn't too much to say about this album except that for me, it stands out as what I feel will be considered a classic nerdcore album. After catching up and hearing it in 2007 it quickly shot to the top of my list of favorite albums ever, VG inspired or not. After four more years that have continued to see the evolution and progression of nerdcore and VGIM there is still nothing quite like this album. Download it for yourself free from the appropriate page on Shael Riley's website.

Also be sure to check out the first song I ever heard from Shael Riley, over on OCReMix, If you have never heard it I think you will find it quite enjoyable. And if you want to wish Shael a late happy birthday catch him on Twitter or dig a few of his tracks on Thesixtyone.

MAGFest VIII announces final bands; all out of gum

2009-11-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

At only a month and a half away, MAGFest 8 is right around the corner, and with that the MAGFest dissemination campaign is a go! If you watched the video above you know about one of the special guests who will be there, but word from Nick at the MAGFest camp has given word about some more guests including famed game developer Sid Meier.

Alongside the new guests, the final four bands have been added to the all star roster of VG influenced performances. Let's just do the list thing here, featuring the 100% full roster of amazing artists. It should be noted that none of the bands will have any gum either, which we hope is indicative of something or other.

Final bands added
The OneUps
Select Start
Entertainment System
The Megas

Previously announced bands
Armcannon
Metroid Metal
Temp Sound Solutions
Rare Candy
A_Rival
The Smash Brothers
Armadillo Tank
This Place is Haunted

So if you are on the East Coast, nay, on Earth, head over to magfest.org and sign up for the fest right now. Unless of course you want The Duke ripping off your head, and..er..just go to MAGFest.

Pizza and Chips - Free chiptune show tomorrow 11/13 in Rosemead, CA

2009-11-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night, from 6-8, test your luck with a special Friday the 13th show with Los Angeles chiptune extraordinaires EvilWezil and VGM Remix DJ BeethovenBoy for an evening of Gameboy fueled rock and delicious pizza. The show is at Rose City Pizza and is free to enjoy, so come right on in, and chat with the artists, bring some friends to have a delicious pixelated dinner and just have a great time!

Hope to see some awesome local chiptune fans there!

November 13th
6-8PM
Rose City Pizza
3588 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

PS. First few folks who come in with a printed (or even a picture of the) flyer from this site will get a free slice of pizza while it lasts! Also the flyer says WizWars is performing but unfortunately can't perform due to illness. Get well soon WizWars!

Gameboy pixelart by MassiveUntilMorning

"Game Over"-Karmageddon

2009-11-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Mr. Xbox Live, Mr. Game Over, Karmageddon. These are names that will be known across the internet and you lovely readers will help with this conquest. I went in downloading knowing of Karmageddon and his skills but this just pushed my expectations to an incredible level. Pride in Nerdcore is fired up on this album with hot tracks like "Doin Me", "Let it Rock", "All Hail the Kings" and "Game Over". Featuring artists Billy the Fridge, Untested Methods, Hairetsu, Ronald Hagen, Deafinition, Dr. Awkward, Pops Ghostly, King Pheenix, Dirty Jenkins and Kabuto the Python, this all equals win.

1.The Story So Far[Intro]
2.Future Sight [Feat.Billy The Fridge]
3.Grew Up A Screw Up [Remix]
4,Doin' Me
5.Error 404 [Remix]
6.9MM [Remix]
7.Amazin' [Remix]
8.Hold My Head Down [Remix Ft.Untested Methods]
9.Let It Rock [Remix Ft. Hairetsu]
10.I Can Transform Ya Verse
11.Like Whoa [Remix Ft.Ronald Hagen]
12.Mr.XBOX LIVE verse
13.LOL WUTCHA SAYS? [Whatcha Say Remix]
14.Talking To Myself [Feat. Deafinition]
15.Some Dissasembly Required
16.Quantum Leaps [Ft. Doc Awkward]
17.For The Swarm [Moby Flower Remix]
18.The Move Meant [Ft.Pops Ghostly]
19.Out Here Grindin Verse
20.All Hail The Kings [Ft.King Pheenix]
21.Killionare
22.Game Over[Ft.Dirty Jerkins and Kabuto The Python]

Nerdcore Artists from Geekamigo and Rhymetorrents plus rockin' remixes how can anyone say no? Download this now and get pumped up like you've never been before!

KK Setlist - An Unfinished Animal Crossing Remix Project release

2009-11-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

I recently spoke of the phenomenal Bound Together album both here and in length on The Start Screen which was originally compiled and overseen by Joe Cam. Well unknown to me Cam had been hard at work on an Animal Crossing tribute that has sadly remained unfinished for well over a year. Joe Cam has decided to make the best of the situation by collecting the finished tracks along with some WIPs and releasing them for all you Animal Crossing fans to enjoy.

The album is an all star collection of VG Remixers and musicians all coming together to pay tribute to the Animal Crossing series and the fictional musician KK Slider. The album is available via torrent or thanks to KyleJCrb and kngi.org you can Download the RAR file for the full album which includes proper id3 tags and artwork by Red Kinikacha from the OCR forums.

Speaking of the forums, be sure to pop in the official thread and toss some thanks to the Joe Cam and the awesome collection of musicians and contributors if you enjoyed the album as much as I do!

The album has lots of high quality stand out songs like Sixto Sounds over the top metal in Rockin' the Crossing or the classy laid back vibes of Mustin and Anthony Lofton's rendition of KK Soul known as I Got Soul. Another stand out is what may be Benedikt Terhechte's final song ever in the very somber stringed sounds of Kristina. Perhaps the biggest highlight and the way to best tell that this was a Joe Cam organized album is the return of the Crazy Crackaz alongside GM4A favorite Chico Ray in 7am (feat. Chico Ray) which catchily blends the very NSFW styles of everyone on this track. That is just a very small sampling of the large collection of tracks.

Below is the tracklist as compiled by KyleJCrb and Joe Cam's thoughts on the release.

"This is what remains of a planned Animal Crossing remix project I set out to organize. One specific remixer was unable to finish his task which would have been a huge chunk of the project. After waiting on him for over a year, I gave up and aborted the project. These are the finished (and unfinished) tracks from what was to release.

Enjoy what could have been." -JoeCam

1. K.K. Cruisin' - Bruce Bonebreak
2. Clock Part 2 V2 MIX - Christian Pacaud
3. Clock V5 MIX - Christian Pacaud
4. bossa00 - Joshua Morse
5. nilli00 - Joshua Morse
6. rainy00 - Joshua Morse
7. K.K. ReMix - Less Ashamed of Self
8. Slidin' & Cruisin' Live - Less Ashamed Of Self
9. 4 A.M. (v6) - Monobrow
10. K.K. Dirge - Nutritious
11. K.K. Western (WIP2) - Sixto Sounds
12. Get Out of Town (rough demo) - Sixto Sounds, The Crakaz
13. Rockin' the Crossing - Sixto Sounds
14. KKmusic Dj - FFmusic Dj
15. Safari - Mazedude
16. Purdie Old Days - Posu Yan
17. Shimmering in the Dark - Level 99
18. T.S. Aria - Tim Sheehy
19. I Got Soul - Mustin, Anthony Lofton
20. 7am (feat. Chico Ray) - Crazy Crakaz
21. Rider's Bewailment - Vampire Hunter Dan
22. Acetone - Sixto Sounds
23. Enjoying the Rain - Salluz
24. Good Old Days - Posu Yan
25. Just a Summer Drizzle - POCKETMAN
26. Only Me - Girlz Melon
27. Kristina - Benedikt Terhechte
28. K.K. Sex-A-Peel - Mustin
29. Letting Go - OA
30. Mr. Soccerball - Theory of Nonexistence
31. Camrade - Diggi Dis
32. 1 AM Smile - Tim Sheehy
33. 7 AM (Instrumental) - DCT
34. KKmusic Dj (alt) - FFmusic Dj

Gaijin Games release Bit.Trip Beat soundtrack and launch date for Bit.Trip Void

2009-11-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

Independent game developers, Gaijin Games, who I was glad to catch on to with their well received launch title Bit.Trip Beat, has announced a release date for the third game in their series of retro inspired chiptune infused titles. Bit.Trip Void will be coming to the US Wii consoles through Wiiware on November 23rd. As with Bit.Trip Beat and follow up title Bit.Trip Core which featured music from Bit Shifter and Bubblyfish respectively, The new Bit.Trip Void will feature music from well known seminal chiptune musician Nullsleep.

What do these incredible chiptune artists have in common besides great musical ability and being featured in the Bit.Trip series? If you said they will be performing at this years Blip Festival in New York you would be correct. In that vein Gaijin Games has decided to support these artists and the chiptune community by helping sponsor Blipfest this year. If you would also like to show your support and get some 8bitpeoples goodies as well by also becoming a sponsor through the Blipfest Kickstarter page.

The second bit of news from the folks at Gaijin is the announcement that Bit.Trip Beat soundtrack is now available for digital download at iTunes, CDBaby, and many other online retailers. The soundtrack not only includes all the in house music for the levels and cutscenes, but also includes amazing theme music from Bitshifter. So for chiptune fans as well as supporters of great independent titles and fans of Bit.Trip specifically, I suggest you grab the album and the game and have quite the retro Thanksgiving.

Jay Tholen - Danny's Incredible 8-Bit Voyage album release

2009-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

A good while back I happened upon a young chiptune artist from Florida, and was promptly blown away by a cleverly made chiptune zombie apocalypse. The great chiptunes, surrounded by effective sounds and great narration (ably done by glomag) filled a niche in chiptunes that I had never even known needed attention.

Well after a few fantastic forays into other musical genres Jay Tholen returns to chiptunes with another high concept album. This time a mixture of landscape painting chiptunes and fantastic audiobook style narration (this time by Andres Williams) combine to create an adventure of selfishness and redemption, of action and amusement. I plan on having a lengthier review of this album soon as well, but I honestly expect every person who reads these words to download this incredible album. Head over to jaytholen.net right now!

Dot.AY releases debut self titled album

2009-11-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Glitched out Australian chiptune artist, and also guest contributor to this site Dot.AY has finally settled down and saw fit to release his first full length album. Going with the self titled Dot.AY, the album drops eleven tracks of glitched up retro'd out tunes. From the dance infected POQO to the punk rock sounds of Education the album covers a fair amount of sonic territory.

My personal favorite of them being the ever building track Physical Time. Starting with a wall of sound before finding a laser filled path through a maze of distortion, chips, and even some samples. The song picks up it's pace into a whirling dance number before breaking down into the glitchy void it came from.

Head over to dot-ay.com and pick up the new release today, for free download. Also don't forget to keep your eye on Game Boy Australia for the latest of chiptune news from the Southern Hemisphere.

Pixelh8 And The Revolution album release

2009-11-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

Incredible and multi-talented chiptune artist Pixelh8, whom I have praised before, has released his latest effort, and it was well worth the wait. And The Revolution is eleven tracks filled with out of this world chiptunery. From the soaring opener The Girl From The Future to the robotic dance rhythms of Out On The Floor the album spans plenty of moods and shows Pixelh8's incredible ability to take his chip knowledge into every genre and explore every landscape.

This is an album I have been anticipating ever since his 2007 release of The Boy With the Digital Heart (which I also recommend). You can find the new album through Pixelh8's music store as well as iTunes in both America and UK and almost all other fine mp3 retailers. Expect a full track by track review and more from me about this album in the near future as well!

Castlevania: Sonata of the Damned - an OverClocked ReMix album arranged by Joshua Morse

2009-11-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Halloween (although my post itself is too late for it) comes Joshua Morse with a brand new Castlevania series tribute, Castlevania: Sonata of the Damned an OverClocked ReMix album arranged by Joshua Morse. The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the album. Brought to us by OCR and Joshua Morse, who also helped bring us that other Castlevania tribute, to pay homage to the amazing composers throughout the Castlevania series.

Morse brings a ton of jazz flare to the monster infested rooms of Castlevania starting off with the requisite cover of Vampire Killer from the original NES title. The funky mood is upheld with plenty of piano theatrics and hip hop style breaks throughout the album. At half an hour the album is on the short side, especially when compared to other all star OCR albums, but there is certainly something to be said for brevity as the tracks are fantastic and will certainly garner repeated listens. Grab the tracks or torrent from sotd.ocremix.org and check out the track listing below. This is another great OCR release and is sure not to disappoint fans of the series.

1. Vampire Snap
Castlevania
Vampire Killer (Breaking Into the Castle BGM)
2. Demonic Conception
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Demon Seed (Dracula's Castle Underground)
3. Madd Forest
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Mad Forest (Forest Stage)
4. Wandering Latinas
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Wandering Ghosts
5. Sparkle
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Emerald Mist
6. Fear of Haze
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
VICTORIAN FEAR
7. The Solace of the Daylight
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
The Silence of the Daylight (Town Stage BGM)

Halloween Hip Hop: In Transylvania by Neally and DJ Dig Dug & Rhyme Torrents Halloween v4

2009-10-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Not content to do just one song, nerdcore duo Neally and DJ Dig Dug saw fit to make an entire Halloween EP. In Transylvania is that EP, containing six songs full of scary samples, awesome raps, and rocking beats. I Now Say kicks things off featuring the requisite tribute to Dracula filled with ridiculous lyrics and classic vampire clips. Warped sounds bring us into Soda Pop Rocks, which, as the title indicates, has to do with the horrors of drinking Soda with Pop Rocks. The winding lo-fi tune works great for this short and clever tune. Definitely a stand out track on this EP.

The third track, Autumn Moon takes another twist, opening with some haunting vocals, setting up the werewolf fueled premise of this song. The song then switches to a rapping style, and does a great job making sure the switch offs between the somber singing and more in your face rapping run together very well. The music side of the song is on the simple side, using mostly drums and synths, but interspercing it with howls and haunting violins to great effect. This brings us to my favorite track on the album, My Zombie Girlfriend (featuring Lakeside). Starting out with a soft rocking guitar, drums, vocals combo, the song then shifts to an electronic chorus which continues to hold in the harder rocking second verse. The song itself is a surprisingly love filled track about a man and his girlfriend. Zombies as a metaphor for whatever else people want to inject in it's place is a well known movie idea. Neally and DJ Dig Dug along with female vocalist Lakeside use this idea to their advantage to create a nerdy romantic song that keeps from easily treading into cliche territory.

The album steps back into the more ridiculous with Nymphomancer. With a chorus of "I'm a level ninety-nine mother fuckin' nymphomancer / Before you ask your questions I can give you all the answers." the song plays up the angle of the necromancing playboy. The album comes to an end with the title track In Transylvania which gives a hard rocking hip hop historical tour of Dracula's home town. The song build and builds, spiraling into a rauckus track, which peters out at the very and brings the EP to a close.

This album has been getting quite a few plays in my iTunes lately and I very much suggest you check it out. You can download the album free at Neally and DJ Dig Dug's website neallydjdigdug.com.

That's not it for the Halloween festivities though, We also have...

For the fourth Halloween in a row the Rhymetorrents community has saw fit to combine their nerdy with all things evil and supernatural and bring us Rhyme Torrents Halloween v4, which is of course free to download. The compilation features some great new tracks from some of the RT communities best, and about everything from zombies and vampires, to horror novels, and yes, survival horror video games.

Once there you might also notice that RT has gone over one big redesign, so why not use this as a great opportunity to sign up and be part of the liveliest nerdcore hip hop community on the web!

Full tracklist, including tons of awesome collaborations below.
01 – Killer Nocturne – Magitek
02 – House o’ Terror – Spandex Moose
03 – Zombie Evolution (feat. Madface) – D20
04 – My Server is Down – Antisoc
05 – Thanks for the Add (Antisoc Industrial Remix) – Brad Sucks
06 – Caught in the Grip of the Silent Hill Madness – Character Battle Excellent All Star Super Team featuring Luigi, Blanka, and Tails
07 – Lavender Town – Fanatical, B-Type & B0wlman
08 – Three Wolves Howling at the Moon – Shamus Oddish, Mister B-Type, MC Wreckshin & Chozo Ninpo
09 – Rhyme Your Own Adventure – jprime & Legendary Wizard
10 – Jigsaw – Billy the Fridge
11 – Sexy Supervillian – Fanatical
12 – The Dead – MERCER
13 – Serial Killer – Sir-Up
14 – The Cauld Lad of Hylton – B-Type
15 – Meowlori – Emperor Pilaf
16 – Haunting You – Thugmasta J & MC Wreckshin
17 – Perfect White Knight – Ultraklystron

"Bleach'd Out"-Maja

2009-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Soul Society has a new member on the rise. He's a lyrical Shinigami and has a Bankai that gives Hollows a new beat. Maja's new album,"Bleach'd Out", will bring Bleach fans out in the open. He covers it all, going through everything that makes up series and uses actual music from the series. He's not your average rapper, he lights up the mic and clearly has a certain passion that's hard to find. Through songs like "Bring It!" and "Shinigami" he puts you in a scenario just as if you were watching an episode of Bleach. Taking down Hollows, being in Soul Society and saving loved ones. This album gives an example of the greatness of Bleach.

If you dig hip-hop and a mix of anime characters with big swords and fighting off corrupted souls, then "Bleach'd Out" is definitely the way to go. You can get his new album here and also check out Maja's MySpace to see his other songs as well (like a personal favorite of course, Final Fantasy). So come to the other side and get "Bleach'd Out".

01. Intro-2:45
02. Bring It!-3:36
03. Never Stop-5:00
04. Bankai(Interlude)-4:10
05. Shinigami-3:20
06. Outro-1:46
07. Hip Hop Daikou-4:22
08. Bring It!(Remix)-3:36

Ballad of the Wind Fish Halloween Special on Arecibo Radio

2009-10-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

As you may be aware by now, I have been broadcasting an internet radio show for the past few weeks. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 12-2 PM PST (3-5 EST) over at areciboradio.org you can tune in to Ballad of the Wind Fish! And today we are having a special Halloween episode filled with plenty of classic fear inducing tunes so listen in.

UPDATE: You can listen to or download the recording here.

DOWNLOAD LINK

If you listen in while we are airing live be sure to join the Arecibo live chat (no password needed, only username required) to request songs and talk music and video games with your host as well as other great like minded people. Today we will even be discussing some of our scariest gaming moments.

Also, the fantastic artwork for BotWF is brought to you by Nyno, so check out her work right now!

8 Bit Operators - Wanna Hld Yr Handheld, Vol. 1 Beatles tribute release

2009-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

As I wrote about last month, 8 Bit Operators have announced their years in the making tribute to the one and only The Beatles. Well at last the album is finally out and available to download! If you head over to 8bitops.com right now you will be taken to the Band Camp page where you can download the full album for $10. The album includes a cavalcade of phenomenal artists bringing their own chipped out interpretations of both famous and more obscure Beatles tunes.

Well worth a download and most definitely worth a listen, this album follows in the steps of other great recent releases like Kind of Bloop and Weezer - The 8-Bit Album. Check out the full collection of tracks and artists below!

01. 8-Bit Operators "Tomorrow Never Knows Megamix" 04:50
02. 8 Bit Weapon with ComputeHer "Eleanor Rigby" 02:13
03. glomag "h3lt3r_sk3lt3r" 03:16
04. Bacalao "Blackbird" 02:39
05. Burnkit2600 "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" 02:56
06. Saskrotch "Paperback Writer" 02:09
07. Psilodump "All You Need Is Love" 02:44
08. minusbaby "Flying [El Barrio Mix]" 07:02
09. Anamanaguchi "I Will" 01:00
10. The Depreciation Guild "Because" 03:43
11. Aonami "Back in the U.S.S.R." 02:16
12. Bubblyfish "Piggies" 02:01
13. poke-1,170 "When I'm 64" 01:54
14. GOTO80 "Come Together" 04:00
15. Sloopygoop "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" 01:54
16. Herbert Weixelbaum "Sie liebt dich" 02:18

New Pterodactyl Squad release from lpower

2009-10-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

lpower (formerly known as Lawrence Power) has just released his latest faux soundtrack with Pterodactyl Squad. This 15 track album is available for free over at the release page.

Emanon is the faux soundtrack to a futuristic RPG racing game that would likely have been played in the 90s in one of those fancy-looking arcade racing booths. Using this concept as a base, lpower took some of his favourite samples from various consoles and synths and used them to craft the music which would play during the racing levels and cut scenes. Typically upbeat, melodic and intelligent, Emanon is a rich exploration of sounds from years gone by.

Blip Festival returns and first artists revealed

2009-10-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Recently the fine folks at 8bitpeoples have launched the brand new 2009 edition of the Blip Festival website. Along with that they have also revealed both the Blip Festival 09 dates of December 17th to the 19th in New York at Brooklyn's Bell House. They have also revealed some of the first confirmed acts for the show, which includes some of the best that chip music has to offer, and spanning all over the globe, including the first Australian chiptunist in little-scale! The full run down is below.

But before that, sadly things aren't all sunshine for the festival. Looks like the grant they used to fund the show in prior years is no more. The good news is that you, the loyal chip loving fan can help part those gray skies by heading over to Kickstarter for the The People's Fund to Support Blip Festival 2009 and donate a few dollars to make sure this mecca of micromusic can continue for another year. Of course 8bitpeoples is more than happy to give a little back by offering plenty of awesome incentives for different donation levels. Head over to see what's still available.

ARTISTS CONFIRMED AS OF THIS POST
Bit Shifter
Chromix
Disasterpeace
failotron
Fighter X
The Hunters
I, Cactus
The J. Arthur Keenes Band
Je Deviens DJ En Trois Jours
Leeni
little-scale
Nullsleep
Rainbowdragoneyes

Announcing the Game Music 4 All 3rd Anniversary Compilation: Third Form

2009-10-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

After a long delay I am happy to announce that the long awaited Game Music 4 All third anniversary album is currently wrapping up! The album is a collection of brand new and exclusive tracks from some of the finest in video game inspired music. From VG Rock to remixes, from nerdcore hip hop to chiptunes and more, we cover all the bases of video game inspired music.

Third Form will feature over an hour of music from the many talented musicians who have supported GM4A over the past three years. Just a small sample of those are Player Two, Super Barrio Bros, Temp Sound Solutions, I Fight Dragons, 8 Bit Weapon and Elfonso! That is simply a handful of tons of talented musicians. More will be revealed soon, but for now, get ready for the upcoming launch, and enjoy some of that preliminary teaser art above from the great Doctor Octoroc. We hope to reveal more soon as the album gets closer to release!

New episode of the Gamewave Podcast

2009-10-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

After almost a year of radio silence, the Gamewave Podcast returns! Episode 46 is guest hosted by Steve Jenkins of Crystal Labs and STFUAJPGM and features some killer music, including chiptunes from Spamtron, Disasterpeace, Little-scale and Virt. If, like Steve, you'd like to host your own episode and become a very minor internet celebrity, please do get in touch at contact at gamewavepodcast dot com.

As usual, you can subscribe to the feed at www.gamewavepodcast.com/rss.xml or download the episodes directly from www.gamewavepodcast.com/episodes.html. And if you don't know what the Gamewave Podcast is, you're missing out, so go now. Now. We'll wait.

Chiptuned Rockman composer interviews

2009-10-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Rockin' In the Bleep World - Musicians on Chiptuning Mega Man from Jeriaska on Vimeo.

Just recently Jeriaska of nobuooo.com uploaded the above video from the recent Tokyo Game Show in where a handful of the remixers from the Chiptuned Rockman album, which was released at TGS, discuss their work on the album. The album is an amazing collection of Megaman (Rockman in japan of course) tracks remixed in classic NES style from both VG composers as well as chiptune musicians like Virt, Saskrotch, and chibi-tech. If you can hunt down the album, it is definitely worth a listen!

Also for more music news that came out of TGS this year, check out Jeriaska's post from earlier this month on GameSetWatch.

OverClocked ReMix releases Humans + Gears: Xenogears ReMixed

2009-10-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

One of the main, and definitely one of the most well known places for video game inspired music, OverClocked ReMix has debuted their newest collective effort, this time in honor of the amazing Yasunori Mitsuda and his amazing soundtrack to the game Xenogears. Humans + Gears: Xenogears ReMixed is an amazing two disc tribute to the classic PSX title from Square-Enix (then known simply as Square). As with all releases, this one includes a wide variety of amazing musicians taking part in this project, including the likes of Skrypnyk, the prophet of mephisto, Avaris, Level 99, E-Bison, and that is just a small sample of the artists contributing. The album, just like everything else from OCReMix, is 100% free to download, and this album is available at xenogears.ocremix.org. You can download the full album there, as well as individual tracks. You can also help out their bandwidth by torrenting the album as well.

To explain more about the compilation, I present Avaris' (who also produced the album) write up from the website.

The album is an arrangement of the soundtrack for the classic RPG Xenogears. Many artists from the video game arrangement community have come together to create this album. The original soundtrack is by legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda. With impeccable work ethic and a sense for melody and texture he created one of the most emotional soundtracks of all time.

Humans and Gears was a lengthy undertaking. The project began in the summer of 2006. Many Xenogears arrangement albums have been released in the past. The albums tries to re-envision the soundtrack in a new yet familiar way. We set out to create two unique albums in one. The first album features songs with a focus on natural elements and a "Human" touch. The second album is dark in tone and electronic in texture, symbolising the fear and destruction of "Gears." Artists were given complete creative freedom to express and reimagine the game in a new sonic format. We hope the listeners relive part of the amazing story and music that is Xenogears through this album. Thank you to all of the artists for your hard work and relentless dedication towards completion of this wonderful project.

Welcome to Humans and Gears, and enjoy the journey... again!

A Chip off the Shizz Block, Volume One compilation release

2009-10-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Netlabel Concatenation Records is back with a new all star compilation of artists from The Shizz Minibosses boards. That album is an indescribably epic 25 track collection of chiptune music brought to you by the dozens of incredible musicians who inhabit The Shizz, and goes by the quite clever name of A Chip off the Shizz Block. As with some prior releases, A Chip Off the Shizz Block is another compilation that is using all donations to contribute toward the MAGFest fund to help many a shizzie make their way to the hallowed halls of MAGFest this January.

The album is available in both digital as well as physical form. The 320kbps MP3 files will run you a minimum $5 donation, whilst the fancy pressed copy will only set you back a meager $8 ($9 Canada, $10 Worldwide). Oh man that's about 32 cents per song! Let's see iTunes beat that price! Not to mention that they are all quality arrangements. From Shnabubula's jazz infused Virtigo to Alex Mauer's fast paced I Guess Your Face Fell Off. Not to mention temp sound solutions' grimey A New Dawn, and even chiptune star Neil Baldwin with his adventurous tune Trapped. That is just a mere handful of the quality tracks on display here. I plan on discussing them in greater length soon as this is an impressive album which I would certainly like to expound on further.

Finally, I hope you are sufficiently prepared to have your own face fall off at the amazing full track list I am including below!

01. MetalBishop - Famiclone Beatdown
02. M-H - Welcome To...
03. Mystic Nova - Fury of the Cyborg
04. bucky - The Exorcist (Final Area BGM)
05. Disasterphase - Ascend
06. temp sound solutions - A New Dawn
07. virt - Turbonugget
08. Wizwars - Fly Away
09. Phlogiston - I Was in the War, Damnit!
10. Zio and TEH LOLZ - Soul Snob
11. Norrin Radd - A Barrage of Hostile Abstractions
12. Alex Mauer - I Guess Your Face Fell Off
13. cacomistle - Blue, Brown, Pink, Grey
14. Alex Atchley - RUFFTRADE
15. Bit_Rat - Sunbeam
16. Prizmatic Spray - Desert Dilemma
17. temp sound solutions - Psionic Blast
18. RushJet1 - Boss9
19. Norrin Radd - Paradoxes Are Unveiled
20. Bit_Rat - Gimmick
21. Mystic Nova - Aerosaga
22. optomon - Hysteria
23. Shnabubula - virtigo
24. Neil Baldwin - Trapped
25. virt - Sorcerors Battle

Xoc Plays III - Xoc recreates full Super Mario Bros 3 soundtrack

2009-10-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, before I started this site, I was treated to the aural quality of what is now one of my favorite albums of all time. That album was by an artist named Xoc and that album was the classic SMW. Xoc has released tons more incredible material since then and I for one have become more and more amazed with him with every new album.

Well a brand new album is on the horizon now! Xoc goes back to the Super Mario well and pulls up a project that may excite some people even more than even SMW. That album is Xoc Plays III and is available now to download for the incredibly low price of only $5. The soundtrack spans 20 memorable tracks, all recreated using live instruments while keeping the same lovable and classic feel that puts you right into the original game.

I have had my copy of the album on repeat since getting a hold of it upon release just a few days ago. It's incredibly tough to choose a stand out track amongst this whole album of stellar music, but I will try and highlight a few. The opening track actually comes from a remake of SMB3 which you might remember if you had an SNES. All-Stars Title Screen is the opener, and kicks off the album with a great lively feel, and makes a fantastic introduction with it's warped intro, as if you have suddenly gone back in time. The drums and warbling guitar work give this oft forgotten song some of the respect it deserves for being just one small song in a collection of classic games. From there we get into SMB3 proper with Overworld Theme #1 / Death Jingle. We get a gruff countdown and we are presented with maybe the most memorable track from the game. Too bad we die before it finishes..possibly by drowning?

Another incredible tune is the incredibly catchy Iced Land / Underground / P-Block (medley) which, as the title states, combines three tracks into one incredible and cohesive tune. Kicking off with the creepy (I even thought so as a kid) theme from world 6. We quickly tumble into the high energy of the underground theme, which just as swiftly moves us into P-Block territory. Suddenly we find ourselves in an even stranger version of Iced Land with wailing guitars and the continuously ominous keys. The song gets progressively wilder in this fashion until we our lead out the same way we came in with the Iced Land theme once again.

The King is a soft reflective track. With it's simple guitar strums it reminds us of defeating that first boss on that epic airship and how it felt returning peace to the land. Another stand out arrangement that isn't in the game proper is Advance Bonus, which as you may guess comes from the GBA re-release of the game. With it's chiming children's piano and heartfelt kazoo playing it is tough to not love this track, even if it is probably the least nostalgic of the tracks on the album, it certainly makes itself known with it's playful nature.

From the lively opening to the lo-fi dream like ending, this album spans a multitude of moods, and is able to reach many of those nostalgic soft spots we have for our gaming youth. I can't recommend this album, nor any of Xoc's other albums enough. His versatility and carefree music making style lets him create songs that are as diverse as they are amazing. Be sure to purchase the album now at xocmusic.com/xocplays3 and grab anything and everything else that catches your eye on his site! 99% of his albums are free to download, including the aforementioned SMW album as well as the amazing What's Pink and Sucks? Xoc's Kirby's Adventure tribute. Finally I leave you with Xoc's own commercial for the newly released XOc Plays III album.