Well, oops. We had a lot of coverage of Contra 4: Rocked ‘n’ Loaded on OSV leading up to the album’s release back in March 2010, but it somehow managed to slip through the cracks when it came to a review. Well, after seeing and talking to many of those involved this past week at MAGFest about the status on their Rockman X arrange album and realizing our boo-boo with the Contra 4 album, I was determined to go back and review it.
And here it is! (more…)
Have we ever mentioned that we love Jake Kaufman’s music? It was just months ago that we were rocking out to his excellent soundtrack for BloodRayne: Betrayal, and now he’s back with Mighty Switch Force which I would argue is one of his best works to date. Tons of upbeat pop and electronic tunes are featured along with 8-bit remixes from Kaufman himself, the yogurtbox team, and others. And it’s available for name your own price… which is free, if you’re cheap. Proceeds fund his studio so he can make even more amazing music.
Some of my favorites? I love the theme he’s created for the ‘Mighty‘ series, which is arranged here in “Title,” but the cool jazzy pop vibe in “Level Select,” the cute yet explosive sounds of “Love You Love You Love” and the frantic “Apprehend Them!” are quite impressive. Not to mention the foreboding “Final Level” which would be worthy of a villain as dastardly as Ivan Drago. Not to mention the excellent remixes!
Check it out on Bandcamp and throw in a few bucks for a good cause and some great music!
Schnabubula, Supercomuter, George & Jonathan, Starscream, YMCK, Anamanaguchi, Bud Melvin, virt, minusbaby, Sabrepulse, Rushjet, Bit Shifter, and Nullsleep. Yes, it’s a rather impressive list of artists, and you can now hear these and many others on Noise Channel, a new radio show hosted by Kristi “TrueStar” Kaufman dedicated to chiptunes over on Arecibo Radio on Thursday nights between 10:00 – 11:00 PM EST.
With our own resident chiptune artist, Joshua “ZenAlbatross” Koppstein on staff, I’ve been meaning to get more into the chip music scene, and this provides a pretty easy way to do it. In addition to playing the best music (see what I did there?), Jake Kaufman acts as the show’s producer and also takes questions about chip music and how to make it.
Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think. We’ll be tuning in as well! And feel free to follow the show on Twitter at @NoiseChanRadio.
We checked out BloodRayne: Betrayal at E3 this year where we learned about the then-secret 8-bit chiptune mode and spoiled the surprise for everyone (sorry!). The game was finally released on XBLA and PSN last week, and Jake Kaufman has released the entire score for the game (including his Symphony of the Night-inspired original score and his 8-bit remixes) on the Ubiktune label. I have to say that “Title,” “Dusk Falls,” and “Sanguine Nightmare” are truly fantastic. Some of his best work!
The entire soundtrack can be streamed from Bandcamp or purchased using a “name your own price” scheme and it’s well worth throwing a few bucks his way. Even more, Kaufman provides details regarding the soundtrack and the inclusion of the 8-bit mode on the Ubiktune page. Check it out and let us know what you think!
I suppose this news isn’t really a surprise to anyone, but we’ve confirmed that Jake Kaufman is responsible for the soundtrack to WayForward’s stunningly beautiful reboot of the BloodRayne franchise, BloodRayne: Betrayal. We saw the game in action and were not only impressed with the visuals, but also the side-scrolling action gameplay that we were told is inspired by games like Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden (I confirmed that there are fortunately no falcons).
Regarding the soundtrack, Kaufman was responsible for scoring the game’s 15 stages and boss battles. Even more, we were told that Kaufman has created an alternate 8-bit version of the entire score which can be accessed by pressing a series of buttons. Knowing Jake personally and knowing that WayForward worked on Contra 4, I asked if the button sequence was the Contra code, but was told it’s not.
In any case, the game will be out soon for PSN and XBLA, and deserves some attention not only for its contradictory beauty with blood and gore, but also for its soundtrack. Majesco and WayForward are currently discussing the distribution of the soundtrack as well, so we’ll hopefully have more news on that soon.
We’ve seen Songs for the Cure in the past, but never like this. Three separate discs, 40 artists, and a ton of great music. The artist roster this year is mind-blowing, and organizer Josh Whelchel has made the music easier to digest by arranging the tracks into similarly-styled collections, the first of which we’ll be checking out is Remedy.
So, just who’s on Remedy? As Whelchel puts it, “The game people.” While you won’t get Alexander Brandon here (he’s on the vocal album, Esuna), nearly everyone else we mentioned in our news post a few weeks ago is here.
What do we think of the Remedy collection? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
We’ve covered the Songs for the Cure project in the past, and it’s that time of year again. For those who are unfamiliar, Songs for the Cure unites dozens of artists in the common goal of raising money for the American Cancer Society. This year, 40 artists are joining forces to produce 3 separate physical (and digital) albums in an attempt to raise $10,000 to help combat cancer.
Details have been announced as to who’s involved and how the music will be released. As mentioned, 40 artists are taking part this year, including a slew of indie game composers such as C418 (Minecraft), Danny Baranowsky (Super Meat Boy), and Josh Whelchel (GunGirl 2) to name a few, along with other composers and artists including Alexander Brandon, Jake Kaufman, souleye, A_Rival, Grant “stemage” Henry and many more. The music will be released as 3 separate albums available individually or bundled together. With the release date of March 29, 2011 right around the corner, you can head over and preorder now and check out their preview on YouTube here.
Hit the jump for the official press release with more details. (more…)
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