Machinae Supremacy

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MAGFest 13 Officially Opens Registration w/ Machinae Supremacy

August 8, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 2 Comments Share this

MAGFest 13officially opened to the public for event registration and hotel reservations as of yesterday afternoon. The music & gaming festival, being held this year at a slightly different time a bit later in January and on a Friday to Monday stretch instead of the usual Thursday to Sunday, announced the start of their pre-event hype with the return of Machinae Supremacy, who debuted at the event last year as one of the headliners. Supremacy released 6 minutes of music from their upcoming album “Phantom Shadow” just last month, and is sure to have some of this new material primed and ready for MAG 13.

As usual, MAGFest will release more guest and band announcements within the coming months, so keep an eye here and on our Facebook page for updates. Pre-Registration for MAGFest 13 starts at $40 for full event admission with various supporter and group options. Rooms at the Gaylord National Harbor are currently open for reservation as well. (though are experiencing some difficulties through the website, so be sure to check with MAGFest about any booking issues) With Machinae being announced first, who knows what other big names could grace the halls and stages of the Gaylord this year.
Chip Music, Game Music, Indie Music

MAGFest 12: Recap

January 15, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this MAGFest 12: Recap

A new year has begun and with it another MAGFest down in National Harbor, Maryland. This was my second year attending the annual Music and Game Festival. There’s always a ton of things to do, from attending panels to rocking out at the concerts. Now that I’ve had a chance to recover from the trip and gather my thoughts, it’s time for a recap of some of what I experienced at MAGFest 12.

Most of the panels I attended were focused on music. The first of these was the “Write Your Own Nintendo Music,” hosted by Brendan “Inverse Phase” Becker. His talk focused on the tools that he uses for creating 8-bit/chiptune tracks for his music projects. He explained the methods in which music on the Gameboy and Nintendo Entertainment System was generated and what the musical and technological limitations for each were. Since this year’s MAGFest was Zelda themed, he included a demonstration of 8-bit music writing by reconstructing the “Dungeon Theme” from The Legend of Zelda.

Brenden “Inverse Phase” Becker

Two of the other music panels that I attended were hosted by game composer Tommy Tallarico. He’s probably best known for his soundtracks for Earthworm Jim and his work as the head of Video Games Live. The first panel “Video Games Live: Behind the Scenes” focused on his work with the orchestra program that he tours with around the world. Tallarico spent a majority of the time telling the audience stories about his experiences performing videogame music and revealed some of his upcoming arrangements for the orchestra. (more…)
Featured, Game Music

MAGFest 12: Mini-Musical Review

January 9, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 3 Comments Share this MAGFest 12: Mini-Musical Review

MAGfest has once again come and gone from our lives for another year. For the 12th year in a row, the music and gaming festival has managed to bring a variety of people, bands, and cultures all together in one place and blown the roof off the Gaylord National Harbor. New faces graced the stages, huge surprises were unveiled, and an excited energy permeated the halls of the convention center and hotel alike. Now that it’s over and things like PMD (post-MAG depression) and MAGPlague have settled into the hearts (and lungs) of many ‘fest-goers, it’s time to remember some of that excitement and good feelings that MAGFest always seems to create.

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Game Music

MAGFest 12 Main Stage Concert Line-Up Announced

December 4, 2013 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this

MAGFest 12 has revealed its performance roster for the Main Stage concerts taking place at the upcoming festival in National Harbor, Maryland. The line-up this year will include the North American concert debuts of Machinae Supremacy and MegaDriver. These concerts are in addition to the previously announced MAG Prom and Stage 2 concerts, as well as the Chiptune Showcase and EDM Battle concerts. The Main Stage concerts for this upcoming MAGFest will feature a wide range of genres, including classical guitar, hip-hop, and metal.

The Main Stage performance roster is as follows:

Thursday Night Main Stage (6 PM – 12 AM)

– Knights of the Round
– Urizen
– Random
– Bit Brigade

Friday Night Main Stage (6 PM – 12 AM)

– Super Guitar Bros
– The Megas
– This Place is Haunted
– MegaDriver

Saturday Night Main Stage (6PM – 12AM)

– On Being Human
– The X-Hunters
– Those Who Fight
– Machinae Supremacy

The times of performances are subject to change. Information and updates on MAGFest events, tickets, hotels, guests, and performers can be found on the official MAGFest website at http://www.magfest.org/. Be sure to check out all of the concerts happening at MAGFest including the Stage 2, EDM Battle, MAGProm, and the Chiptune Showcase. A handful of us from Original Sound Version will be attending MAGFest to cover events and the concerts as well. It’s looking like an exciting set of concerts for MAGFest 12. Hope to see you there.