Electronica

Game Music, Reviews

Zirconian Darwinism: Fittest OST (Review)

June 8, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

I’ve listened to a few tunes from zircon (real name Andrew Aversa, husband of vocalist Jillian Aversa) in my time. He’s done some cool arrangements for OverClocked ReMix in his time, he’s released some original albums, and he’s worked on a number of games as well (most recently, on Soul Calibur V, which is a pretty big deal!).

As part of the Indie Game Music Bundle 3, zircon offered up his soundtrack to the 2009 XBLA release Fittest. Real talk: I hadn’t even heard this soundtrack until the bundle’s release. So it’s safe to say that I don’t have my finger on the pulse of the VGM scene, at least not as thoroughly or as often as I tell myself I do. Shame, shame, Mr. Gann!

But enough about me. What about zircon’s soundtrack for Fittest? You’ll find out by joining us after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

A Momentum Like This: inMomentum Soundtrack (Review)

June 6, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

Some people wait a lifetime for a soundtrack like this. Others wait until it’s included in a sweet bundle.

The soundtrack for inMomentum has been weaved together by the illustrious Gareth Coker. This guy clearly had a sense of what the game was about and wrote the music in a way that really fits the game’s style. The digital booklet, featuring awesome concept art from the game, serves as a reminder as to the consistency of vision and style between the game and its score.

More after the jump. Apologies to Kelly Clarkson for the riff on her classic hit (except, not really; I never want to do piano accompaniment to that song for a wedding ever again). (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Dark Chills – Analogue: A Hate Story OST (Review)

May 10, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Dark Chills – Analogue: A Hate Story OST (Review) Share this

Visual novels may be a thriving genre in Japan, but it’s something of an underground phenomenon for us Anglos. Sure, visual novels are made by English-speaking denizens, but we’ve not made a lot of progress in getting these games to reach a larger audience.

One game that might help break new ground (in terms of sales, and in terms of unique content) is Christine Love‘s new game Analogue: A Hate Story (now available on Steam for $10). I played it, and I love it. There’s so much to love, I cannot tell you. Please, play it.

Even more exciting, for all my fellow game audiophiles, the soundtrack is both *good* and *available*. As far as I can tell, this is composer Isaac Schankler’s first foray into VGM, but he definitely has a handle on electronic music. Exhibit A: the soundtrack for Analogue (available on bandcamp for $5). After the jump, my take on this full-length soundtrack. (more…)
Miscellaneous

Has (s)He Passed You By? Stereo Alchemy’s “God Of Love”

March 9, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

After Christopher Tin’s success as a Grammy winner for a new version of “Baba Yetu” (part of his fantastic album Calling All Dawns), one might expect Mr. Tin to continue his path of fit-for-mass-consumption videogame-friendly “world” music. But, of course, a true ethnomusicologist isn’t just interested in the remote, tribal reaches of the world. In his next project, Tin teams up with a who’s-who list of New York trendsetters to bring an underground urban jungle to life.

Tin’s new project, alongside percussionist Kametron, is called Stereo Alchemy. They consider themselves an “electronic duo,” and describe their sound as “decadent electronica.” Considering the subject of their debut album, decadent — alongside descriptors such as “bold” and even “pretentious” — fits the bill. The album, God of Love, was released on Valentine’s Day 2012, and it features some amazing singers and production/post-production personnel.

The names of those people, plus the names of the songs, what I think of the music, and how Lindsay Lohan fits into this whole ordeal, after the jump. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

One Big Glob of Sound: Osmos (Review)

December 16, 2011 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on One Big Glob of Sound: Osmos (Review) Share this One Big Glob of Sound: Osmos (Review)

One of the games that came with Humble Indie Bundle #2, Osmos is an action-based puzzler where you play as a blob of stuff trying to consume smaller blobs before bigger blobs get you. It’s like a katamari ball that needs to avoid larger katamari balls until it’s large enough to grab those katamaris.

Ooh, competitive katamari. That could be fun if you had like 32-player matches.

Anyway, one thing I really loved about this game was its beautiful ambiance. Space is so empty and so full at the same time, and the game’s audio-visual presentation to the player helped express this concept so well.

Keeping in line with the game’s theme of singular large blobs, the studio behind the game released a 50 minute soundtrack as one single audio file available for free. Though the artist and track titles are listed individually while playing the game, you’ll get them all lumped together in your listening experience. So go grab that music file and follow along 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…)
Chip Music, Game Music, Reviews

Shatter: Official Videogame Soundtrack (Review)

July 31, 2009 | Patrick Gann | 7 Comments Share this

Sidhe’s newest title, Shatter, is a downloadable PS3-exclusive brick-breaking game in the style of Arkanoid. It’s the coolest thing to come out of New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings films.

But the game, fun as it is, may not be as good as its soundtrack (at least, a price comparison might suggest this to be the case). Composed by Jeramiah Ross, whose musical moniker is “Module,” this retro-inspired blend of electronica and space-age rock is guaranteed to grab your attention.

So this is what you’ll want to do. Head to Bandcamp’s free-to-listen stream of the soundtrack, and while you’re listening, you can read my thoughts on the album: after the jump. (more…)