Dale North

Game Music

Rogue-Like Dungeon Crawler Wizards of Legend Soundtrack Now Available

May 16, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Rogue-Like Dungeon Crawler Wizards of Legend Soundtrack Now Available Share this

Yesterday saw the release of the indie rogue-like action game Wizard of Legend on Steam and consoles. The game is receiving positive reviews for its fun challenges and flashy gameplay, and its soundtrack is something to note of as well. Composed by Dale North (Dragon Fantasy Book II, TORICKY), the game’s music features dynamic instrumentation featuring a array of string and piano work to create a high-paced fantasy backdrop to compliment the fast action of the game.

“Wizard of Legend’s fast play style and design calls back to my favorite era of gaming, which was during the Sega Saturn’s heyday. I channeled my love of the sound of those games by building a soundscape based around my collection of synthesizers from the 1990s and recording them the old way: manually analog, and layer by layer. And then in line with Wizard of Legend’s dazzling spells and chain attacks, I wrote high-tempo, soaring orchestral backings to support the synthesizers, aiming for a blend that would be both exciting and memorable.”- Dale North, Composer

<a href="http://scarletmoonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wizard-of-legend-original-game-soundtrack">WIZARD OF LEGEND (Original Game Soundtrack) by Dale North</a>

The soundtrack features 14 tracks that showcase North’s funky electronic/orchestral hybrid style. The Wizards of Legend Original Game Soundtrack is currently available for purchase and download on Bandcamp through Scarlet Moon Records. It can also be nabbed as an add-on through Steam along with the game itself.
Game Music, Indie Music

Dale North’s Gunducky Industries OST Now Available

September 1, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Dale North’s Gunducky Industries OST Now Available Share this

Composer Dale North (Dragon Fantasy Book II, TORICKY) has released his most recently composed game soundtrack for the goofy flight simulator game, Gunducky Industries by The Voices Games.

Gunducky Industries is a relatively short and simple game for those who want to have a bit of fun killing some time. North’s soundtrack for the game, which features four tracks, covers a surprising amount of genres from rock to orchestral styles.

<a href="http://scarletmoonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/gunducky-industries-original-soundtrack">GUNDUCKY INDUSTRIES Original Soundtrack by Dale North</a>

It’s a fun little soundtrack that’s currently available on North’s Bandcamp page at the Name-Your-Price level, so you’re free to enjoy it for, well, free if you choose! I’d say that’s worth checking out.
Game Music

Hiroki Kikuta and Dale North Team Up on Toricky Soundtrack

January 25, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Hiroki Kikuta and Dale North Team Up on Toricky Soundtrack Share this

San Diego, California – January 18, 2016 – Scarlet Moon Records is pleased to present the TORICKY Original Soundtrack featuring music by Hiroki Kikuta and Dale North. Toricky is a 2D action-platformer created by Japanese developer Atelier Melon-Kissa that follows the high-flying adventures of a lovable bird as he attempts to recover the magical crystars and save the princess. The soundtrack includes an uplifting and majestic main theme by Hiroki Kikuta–best known for his work on Secret of Mana –and a riveting orchestral score with heavy Japanese influences by Dale North.

The TORICKY Original Soundtrack is available now from Bandcamp and other digital retailers:

TORICKY Original Soundtrack on Bandcamp
TORICKY Original Soundtrack on iTunes
TORICKY Original Soundtrack on Spotify

“My first impression of Toricky was seeing this docile bird decked out with military gear,” reflects Hiroki Kikuta. “This image brings together themes of peace and nature with military adventure. With that in mind, I wanted to compose Toricky’s main theme as an air force march. Please play and enjoy while basking in the feelings of soaring through the air!”

“The order for Toricky’s score was for magical flying fantasy music with a Japanese instrument influence, and it was to be composed alongside one of my heroes, Hiroki Kikuta. Talk about a dream project!,” notes Dale North. “To support the feeling of speed and flight I wrote Toricky’s themes around free flowing melodies that are built to sound like they’re gliding over the supporting musical framework. Energetic strings, shamisen, and other wind instruments give the feeling of motion and speed, but I tried to fly shy of heavy percussion and bass instruments to give the songs a sense of weightlessness. My goal was for Toricky’s score to be fast and light, but also memorable.”

For more information about Toricky please read the official launch announcement for the game here.

Source: Scarlet Moon Productions
Doujin, Game Music

Get Your Holidays Started with a Composer-Collaborative Album!

December 1, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 2 Comments Share this

It is now officially the holiday season, and we can no longer deny the onslaught of questionably festive music that started well before December graced 2016. The good news is that there tend to be a good handful of arrangement albums and collaborative efforts each year towards building fun and interesting holiday music albums, both video game related and not, to keep us all mostly sane. The fine people of Scarlet Moon Records have kicked off the season with one of our first offerings of such sanity-saving musical projects with their Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016.

Featuring joint contributions from both video game and film composers, including Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana), Dale North (Silent Horror), Vince DiCola (Transformers, Rocky IV), Robyn Miller (Myst, Riven) and more over nine tracks, Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016 is a charming and subtle way of easing yourself into more festive feelings.

“Dale North and I are both massive fans of Christmas music. After releasing the Scarlet Moon Christmas EP in 2014, we wanted to rekindle that passion by creating even more Christmas-themed tracks to get music fans of all ages and genres in the spirit of the season. And as it would turn out, most of the artists on the roster love Christmas music just as much as we do!” – Jayson Napolitano, Producer

The track listing gives you an idea of what to expect to hear, including both video game music arrangements and arrangements of classic Christmas tunes.

01. “Jingle Bells” by Vince DiCola
02. “Christmas Garden (Yoshi’s Island)” by Mustin
03. “Peaceful Christmas (Chrono Trigger)” by Dale North
04. “Some Small Hope (Cherubic Hymn by A. Kastorsky)” by Osamu Kubota
05. “Angels We Have Heard on High” by Hiroki Kikuta
06. “Christmas Comes to Myst (Myst)” by Robyn Miller
07. “Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 64)” by Justin Lassen
08. “Melodies of Life (Final Fantasy IX)” by Goomin “Nauts” Nam
09. “Aspertia City – Winter (Pokémon Black & White 2)” by Materia

“Jingle Bells” (sample) – Vince DiCola

Even if you’re not a huge Christmas person, the album is worth checking out. I myself have a hard time getting into any festive mood around the holidays, but when Vince DiCola’s rendition of “Jingle Bells” makes me envision a Transformers Christmas Special (Complete with transforming reindeer, because why not?), it’s hard not to get a little into the holiday spirit.

Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016 is available now for purchase on LOUDr, and soon on iTunes and Spotify.
Game Music, Indie Music

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST is Out Now!

September 19, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST is Out Now! Share this

Coinciding with the release of the Plague of Shadows DLC for Shovel Knight, Jake “Virt” Kaufman has released the expansion’s soundtrack on his Bandcamp page. While much of the Plague of Shadows expansion has you exploring previous stages from the main game, there are a few extra areas, characters, and of course new pieces of music.

Many of the new music tracks written for Plague of Shadows are based on the Plague Knight theme, which was composed by Manami Matsumae for the original Shovel Knight soundtrack. This fourteen track album includes music written for the expansion and some extra goodies, including the expansion’s orchestral trailer music, a duet with Jeff Ball and Kaufman, and a song “ALCHEMY” that Kaufman wrote with Dale North.

As with the original Shovel Knight OST, the Plague of Shadows OST is pay-what-you-want. You can grab the Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST on Jake Kaufman’s Bandcamp page, and be sure to pick up the original Shovel Knight OST, if you haven’t already.
Game Music

“Unraveled” Indie RPG Back on Kickstarter with Kikuta & North

May 5, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on “Unraveled” Indie RPG Back on Kickstarter with Kikuta & North Share this

The indie game by RosePortal Games, Unraveled: Tale of the Shipbreaker’s Daughter has returned to Kickstarter after not meeting its initial campaign goal in its first round of crowdfunding.

So how is this new campaign different from the first failed attempt? Well, now there is a playable demo that is available for download to get first-hand experience with how the game will play if funded and completed. The game has been Greenlit for Steam, so you know that if funded, it will appear there for purchase/download. A big change is that composer Dale North (Dragon Fantasy Book II) and veteran legend Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana) will now be a partial of the initial funding for the game, where in the previous incarnation of the campaign they would only be a part of the game if stretch goals were met. Kikuta-san himself is creating the game’s main theme

The game is currently seeking $15,000 to fund the base game, with over $3K of that having already been met, and might be worth a second look to any fans of North’s and Kikuta’s music who might have been hesitant to throw money at the first time around. If nothing else, the game is sure to hit some emotional notes for sure. (Pun sort of intended!)

Unraveled: Tale of the Shipbreaker’s Daughter – Kickstarter
Game Music, Miscellaneous

Last 24 hours of Unraveled Kickstarter Project

March 20, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Last 24 hours of Unraveled Kickstarter Project Share this

The last day of the Unraveled: Tale of the Shipbreaker’s Daughter Kickstarter is about to start, and with only about half their goal made, they’re looking to attract any RPG fans into taking a look at what they’re all about.

The game sports a $15,000 goal with musicians Tarissa Tavelier, Brian Coffi, and Mattias Verbinnen providing for the basic game’s soundtrack. Stretch goals feature more musical talent entering in to provide their expertise. At $40,000, Dale North (Silent Horror, Dragon Fanatasy Book II) will provide composing for the game and at $50,000, Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta will throw his talent into the game’s soundtrack as well.

Kikuta-san has his own thoughts on the game project and the opportunity to compose for Unraveled:

The project has many tiers for donation rewards, but for those looking to bust through the stretch barriers and get legends like Kikuta-san onboard with the project, you’ll want to give the project a good look-through.

Unraveled: Tale of the Shipbreaker’s Daughter – Kickstarter Page