Having officially wrapped up their Kickstarter with 6.3 million dollars in funding, it is now assured that Shenmue 3 is going to happen. When and in what form it’s released will be closely watched and reported on over the next two years. But for today I’d like to take this time to celebrate the crowdfunding success, and the history of the series, with some great and peculiar tribute music.
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…)
I mentioned in our review of Now is the point at which I touch eternity that freesscape had released “Lost Petals” as a separate single back in February. It’s been a little while since we took a look at the album, so I thought it was time to take a look back at the single, which is actually a whole lot more than your typical single.
More along the lines of an EP, Lost Petals features four tracks, and several of them offer up quite a surprise. See what I mean in our review after the jump. (more…)
Yes, freesscape is back! We first covered freesscape shortly after becoming aware of vocalist Emi Evans through her work on NieR. We took a look at their second album release, The Next Confusion, and mentioned that the duo’s third studio album, Now is the point at which I touch eternity, was on the way, and here it is!
Has the long, three-year wait been worth it? Will Evans’s newfound success in the videogame industry launch the electronic duo’s efforts to new heights? Find out in our review after the jump! (more…)
In case you couldn’t tell, most of us here are completely in love with the NieR soundtrack. A big part of that soundtrack’s draw is the voice of Emi Evans, a London-born singer who is making a name for herself in Japan. While she’s been involved with the Etrian Odyssey Super Arrange Version series and NieR as far as the videogame industry is concerned, you may recall from our interview with her last month that her number one focus right now is on her trip-hop group, freesscape.
The group is comprised of Emi Evans on vocals, cello, piano, and Rhodes and Japanese composer, arranger and performer Hiroyki Muneta handling the music programming and a number of live instruments. While they are currently working on their third album, entitled “Now is the point at which I touch eternity,” we wanted to take a look back at the duo’s most recent album, Next Confusion, which was released in 2007.
This album in particular solidified the duo’s standing in the trip-hop genre, treading on territory familiar to fans of Bjork, Massive Attack, and even Radiohead at times. This contrasts greatly with their more stylistically diverse but equally interesting debut album, fragile perfection, which was released in 2004 (check out “Stretch” and “Little Miss Emily” on iTunes if you’re interested).
So, does Next Confusion stand up to Emi Evans’s recent achievements with the NieR soundtrack? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
