I always knew that Dale was talented, but somehow it escaped me that he was such a great singer. Maybe this is due to the fact that I’ve heard Dale at karaoke a couple times, and was never overly impressed. In his defense, though, he did have a few drinks in him on those occasions.
Well, fans of Rhythm Heaven should be pleased that he’s decided to apply his musical talents to the “Love Lab” track from the game, complete with a new arrangement and lyrics written by Dale himself. The original piece was created by Japanese producer, Tsunku, and featured doo’s and wah’s instead of proper lyrics, but after hearing this arrangement, I can’t imagine the piece sounding any other way. The arrangement was originally posted to Destructoid, with visuals created by Dtoid writer Jonathan Holmes, so I highly recommend checking it out.
Were you a fan of the original “Love Lab” game in Rhythm Heaven? Do you think Dale North’s arrangement and vocals add anything to the piece?
Anyone who is an avid VGM collector like myself knows that importing soundtracks can get pretty pricey. Not only is music more expensive overseas, but factor in shipping costs, and you have quite a conundrum if you’re short on cash! Fortunately, Sumthing Else Music has partnered with Capcom to release some recent and upcoming albums both digitally and physically outside of Japan.
Joining the ranks of Devil May Cry 4 and Bionic Commando Rearmed, which were released last year, are a variety of soundtracks for recently released and upcoming games that hadn’t even had soundtrack announcements yet. These include Street Fighter IV Original Soundtrack, Resident Evil 5 Original Soundtrack, Bionic Commando and Dark Void.
As of this posting, the pricing for these albums are not known, but according to Sumthing Distribution, both the Street Fighter IV Original Soundtrack and Resident Evil 5 Original Soundtrack will be released on May 26th of this year.
Are you excited about any of the upcoming soundtracks? Are you happy to see that game soundtracks are finally making their way to the West? I know I am! It’ll definitely help put less strain on my wallet, although I do hope that it becomes more encompassing than just Capcom in the future.
A Sonic vocal album… normally I wouldn’t be thrilled about this one, but after checking out the Sonic and the Black Knight soundtrack, I was willing to give it a shot. While I’ve never been fond of the majority of vocal tracks in Sonic games of the past, as I found them to be way too over-the-top and cheesy for my tastes, this one actually got me.
Why? Well, for starters, I think this album takes itself a lot more seriously than previous efforts. I’ve actually come to like Crush 40, the band who performs Jun Senoue’s vocal compositions here, so I suppose that helps to. So, join Crush 40 and a number of other performers as they take you through the vocal tracks of Sonic and the Black Knight as well as a few unexpected bonuses.
Read our review of Face to Faith: Sonic and the Black Knight Vocal Trax after the jump. (more…)
Yeah, that’s right. Naoto Tanaka apparently ordered rapper Sick-YG to write “pimp-themed” rhymes for the game’s final battle, and it sounds awesome. For those who weren’t aware, MadWorld’s soundtrack was a collaboration between PlatinumGames composer Naoto Tanaka and eight different hip-hop and rap artists, and Tanaka has generously taken time away from his next project to talk with us about his unique score for MadWorld.
Topics include his inspiration for the game’s unique sound (Linkin Park & Jay-Z?), the lack of a soundtrack release in Japan and the United States, and Tanaka’s past works that was credited to his secret alias. Tanaka also reveals that he’s an oldschool game music fan who used to recreate chiptunes in his free time, which definitely makes him a cool dude in my books.
Hit the jump for our exclusive interview with PlatinumGames’ Naoto Tanaka. (more…)
We recently covered Hiroto Saitoh’s POWER DoLLS 1 Soundtrack Resonance album, and we noted that Saitoh appears to be quite fond of jazz and bossa nova. What better way to reinforce his love for these particular styles of music than with his original albums that have been released on LILT Records over the years.
Melodia in particular is a collection of 8 tracks that include many Saitoh originals alongside a couple of arrangements of works by bossa nova maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim and Japanese composer Nagayo Motoori. The music is mainly jazz, and is always laid back and accessible, so kick off your shoes and prepare yourself for a tranquil experience.
Hit the jump for our review of Hiroto Saitoh’s Melodia. (more…)
Alright, here’s the skinny. You want game/anime music, and you want it from Japan. You want to legally own it, but you don’t want to pay absurd shipping fees that are inherent with importing. So your best bet is digital distribution.
We have to sites for you to check out. The first is Japan Files. This company has been in business for awhile, legally distributing soundtracks for anime, as well as plenty of J-Pop. They recently acquired rights to soundtracks from developer NITROPLUS. They are the developers behind the popular graphic adventure games Phantom of Inferno, Deus Machina Demonbane, Song of Saya, and many more. A total of 15 game music soundtracks were recently added to their service. Personally, I’m pumped about it, and I’m going to take the opportunity to check out some of what they’ve recently released.
The other site is EGG MUSIC. You’ve seen their name before, as Jayson has covered a few of their releases in the past. They’ve released an absurd amount of oldschool VGM, but up until recently, it was extremely difficult for English-speaking consumers to get in on the action. Not anymore! Click this link to check out EGG MUSIC’s guide for English-speaking consumers to purchase music from their site.
That’s all the news for now. Check out these sites, you might find something new and fun to add to your collection.
We at OSV have had a lot of exposure to Norihiko Hibino and GEM Impact. But the vast majority of it has been for games and anime. But what about smooth jazz covers of pop/ballad standards in America and China? I bet you didn’t see this one coming.
“Gentle Love” is an album that Hibino-san is trying to promote in East and Southeast Asia to showcase his talents as a performer. The entire album is a jazz trio of piano (Yuichiro Onuki), guitar (Syuji Narikawa), and saxophone (Norihiko Hibino). And you wouldn’t believe the song selection.
Find out what they chose to cover, as well as what I thought of this strange demo album, after the jump! (more…)
