Acoustic

Game Music, Indie Music

Soul Searching OST a Quaint Acoustic Journey

February 27, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Soul Searching OST a Quaint Acoustic Journey Share this

Not too long ago, I touched upon the music of charming indie game Burly Men at Sea; a game about brothers stretching their legs on a journey of discovery of both the world and themselves. In my opinion, you can never have too many games that have that general kind of theme of subtle adventure and exploration.

Enter Soul Searching, a similar game by the Turkish duo of Tarık and Talha Kaya that focuses on survival, story and deeper connections between the narrative and gameplay.

Inspired by Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series and movies like Life of Pi, Soul Searching is about growing up, leaving your homeland, standing on your own feet. It deals with themes like isolation, searching for meaning and direction, leading to depression and suicidal thoughts.

Talha Kaya acts as the composer of the game’s music, which is a combination of several different genres. Much like Burly Men at Sea, the music of Soul Searching is a mix of acoustic guitar and progressive rock with dashes of psychedelic tones to keep the tone interesting and captivating.

<a href="http://talhakaya.bandcamp.com/album/soul-searching">Soul Searching by Talha Kaya</a>

The 25-track soundtrack conveys a lot of emotions that go hand-in-hand with the game’s story and what the theme is trying to impress upon the player, from those of adventure and exploring new and strange territories, to themes of isolation and the loneliness of sailing away from your homeland in search of something you’re not quite sure of. The complex emotions that can be brought to the surface with this combination of music and visual gameplay appears to be the main goal of Soul Searching, and does so in a subtle way that doesn’t browbeat the player and can be invoked without even playing the game; a key component of a good soundtrack.

<a href="http://talhakaya.bandcamp.com/album/soul-searching">Soul Searching by Talha Kaya</a>

The Soul Searching OST is currently available for purchase on Bandcamp and streaming on Spotify. The game is current available on Steam for purchase.
Game Music, Reviews

GAME Generation 5 (Review)

February 12, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on GAME Generation 5 (Review) Share this GAME Generation 5 (Review)

If you’re familiar with the world of game music arrangement, you’ve probably seen and heard your fair share of orchestral arrangement albums. Groups like Video Games Live, Distant Worlds, and the Video Game Orchestra have been providing great interpretations of our favorite game tunes for years. Another group has recently emerged to give their own take on acoustic videogame arrangements.

Performed by the Legacy Sessions group and headed by Casey Ormond and Demetri Potiris, Game Generation 5 is a project with a slightly different take on videogame music arrangement. As you may guess from the title, the focus of this album is on soundtracks from the fifth generation of game consoles. Every piece being arranged comes from the Nintendo 64, the Playstation, Game Boy, or PC titles from that era. The group playing is also a relatively small ensemble, rather than a full orchestra or rock orchestra combo. So what pieces get covered and how do these new interpretations compare to those of other groups? Read on to find out. (more…)
Events, Game Music

Know Your MAG – Do A Barrel Roll!

January 19, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Know Your MAG – Do A Barrel Roll! Share this Know Your MAG – Do A Barrel Roll!

Prepare to press Z or R twice for this next group performing at MAGFest 13. Do A Barrel Roll! is a group of seven self described warrior-musicians. Their music style is a playful mixture of funk, metal, and acoustic arrangements of game tunes, and they will often blend these genres on a single track or make surprising switches midway through any given piece. For example, the track “Can’t Let You Groove That, Star Funk!,” off their latest album Boss Rush, features a blend of rock and synth instruments, but also includes trumpet, violin, and acoustic guitar solos. The result is a unique sound to their arrangements that makes them easily distinguishable from other game music cover bands.

Many of the pieces that Do A Barrel Roll! arrange come from well known game series like Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and of course Star Fox. They also perform a handful of less frequently covered tunes from games like Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart. Do A Barrel Roll! also likes to incorporate sound samples from the games that they are covering, adding some extra nostalgic flavor to the arrangements. One of their performance trademarks for live events has included inviting members of the audience to play games while they perform on stage. There’s nothing quite like playing a round of Mario Kart while a live band plays the music.

Do A Barrel Roll’s approach to performing and their eclectic blending of music genres gives the group a sound and style all their own. Definitely check out their albums on Bandcamp, if you haven’t already. This year they will be performing as part of the supporting bands line-up at MAGFest 13 on Sunday at 3:30 on the main stage. Be sure to check them out and the other bands’ performing times on the MAGFest 13 Schedule.
Featured, Indie Music, Reviews

Module: Imagineering: Amazing (Review)

March 21, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this Module: Imagineering: Amazing (Review)

This is the least surprising album review I’ll ever write.

You see, Jeramiah Ross (aka “Module”) composed this amazing game soundtrack 3 years ago. Remember Shatter? Yeah, that was awesome.

In 2012, Module finished his original album “Imagineering.” According to his statements in our most recent podcast, some of these songs have been bouncing around in Module’s mind (and computer) for as many as six years. Given time to mature, they’ve become something absolutely stunning.

We’ll highlight some of our favorite tracks, and why they’re our favorites, after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

More Than Hoarse Narration: Bastion Original Soundtrack (Review)

December 14, 2011 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on More Than Hoarse Narration: Bastion Original Soundtrack (Review) Share this

“Listen: all this takes a lot of gettin’ used to. And you do get used to it, after awhile. There’s three things I’ll always miss though. One: not havin’ to watch my step all the time. Two: …ehh, forget about two. And three: I miss the songs.”

And with those words, the insta-classic narrator of Supergiant Games’ hit title Bastion kicks off Darren Korb’s mighty whirlwind of a soundtrack. It’s gutsy, it’s gritty, it’s hard-down country folk with a touch of capital-W World music and some electronic inspiration to match the mere fact that this is music for a game.

But yes, for the most part, it’s Korb and an acoustic guitar, playin’ the blues so you can sing along. After the jump, my take on this strange and wonderful soundtrack. (more…)