Videos

Featured, Game Music

OSVchannel: Granado Espada Renaissance Soundtrack Volume 3 Unboxing Video

November 30, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 6 Comments Share this

Continuing our series of unboxing videos, this time we’re looking at the highly anticipated Granado Espada Renaissance Original Soundtrack Volume 3 album that was released back in August. Yeah, it took us that long for us to get our hands on it. Apparently it’s not for sale (just like the original Volume 1 album), and the only way to get it is to purchase in-game items in Korea (and maybe Japan?) to get a copy of the limited edition set.

We have Reinassaince Set A here, but there’s also alternate packaging for purchasing Renaissance Set B in the game. These are limited pressings, with 500-1000 copies produced for each. Not sure if it’s 500 each, or if one of the sets has 1000 and the other 500, but in any case, they didn’t make a whole lot of these. I recommend heading over to VGMdb to check out the differences between Set A and Set B. And watch for our review coming soon!

Anyway, enjoy the video, and let us know what you think of the packaging. The magnet is pretty nifty. Which set would you prefer?
Miscellaneous

Slap Bass to Melt Your Face: Jayen Varma, Indian Funk Musician

November 23, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

It’s a slow Tuesday before the holiday coming up this week, so I thought I’d get around to posting this video that Brandon sent me.

Check this out. Not only does bassist Jayen Varma have incredible technique, but the music that these two guys are making sounds awesome as well. As it turns out, Varma holds the world record for fastest percussive bass playing in the world. I certainly believe it after watching the above video.

What do you think of his playing? Ever seen anything like it?

[Thanks Brandon!]
Doujin, Game Music

Iceon/manpukujinjya Collaboration: Touhou ~The Memories of Phantasm~

November 18, 2010 | Chris Nguyen | 1,361 Comments Share this

Judging by all the music releases from the last few Comikets, the Touhou shmup franchise is still going on strong. That said, it’s been awhile since I’ve found a video release related to the doujin franchise to be as absorbing as the shadow art extravaganza of the popular Bad Apple video that Patrick mentioned awhile back. Thankfully, last September put a stop to that dry spell with manpukujinjya’s video titled Touhou Genso Mangekyo ~The Memories of Phantasm~.

Set to Iceon’s arrangement of “The Gensōkyō the Gods Loved” from Touhou Fūjinroku ~ Mountain of Faith, manpukujinjya’s video is gloriously animated and it’s almost a shame that his work won’t see life beyond being just a music video because he does an excellent job all around. The music is solid too, featuring an artist who calls herself senya singing a short, but sweet ballad that carries with it a tinge of regret. Together, the two components of the video sync up well and it does make you ponder the possibilities if manpukujinjya were to pursue things further.

For those of you more interested in the music used in the video, you could always check out the doujin music circle Yuuhei Satellite. The song, titled “Though the Scent Lingers, the Flower Scattered” can be found in its entirety as the first track on their very first album.
Game Music

Professor Sakamoto Update: Red Wings of Time and Some Mad Writing Skills

November 9, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Professor Sakamoto Update: Red Wings of Time and Some Mad Writing Skills Share this

It’s time for another Professor Sakamoto update. This time, the good professor shows off his writing skills at about the 20:20 mark (I highly recommend checking this out, and this guy is really a wizard at picking things up on the first listen). He bangs out the entire song in writing in a matter of minutes. There’s also a version of “Red Wings” from Final Fantasy IV at the 11:20 mark that you should check out.

In another video titled gamemusic_1 (all of his recent videos have had rather strange titles, with the video above being titled drmario_losstime, for example), he performs an excellent rendition of “Wings of Time” (11-minute mark) and a touching version of “Corridors of Time” from Chrono Trigger at 1:56:00 among numerous other songs.

Has anyone other than me been keeping up with this guy’s broadcasts? Are you as impressed as I am by his level of skill?
Featured, Game Music

OSVchannel: Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together Looks Quite Lovely!

November 2, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

We’re back with another OSVchannel update. This time, we’re taking a look at the soundtrack to the PSP remake of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. The four disc soundtrack is being released by Square Enix on November 10, 2010, so we have quite an advanced preview of what to expect from the album next week.

As I mention in the video, I wasn’t planning on doing a feature on this until I actually opened it. I think you’ll be surprised by what’s exactly inside. I’m very impressed with the packaging, and the music is some classic Sakimoto/Iwata material as well. Also, for those of you out there who want to update VGMdb with the arranger/composer info, I’ve included a scan of the back cover just for you.

Check that after the jump, and let us know what you think of the album’s packaging and interesting bonus disc. Will you be picking this up next week? (more…)
Game Music

Hand me my Retro Goggles: Ninja Gaiden Love on YouTube

October 21, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Hand me my Retro Goggles: Ninja Gaiden Love on YouTube Share this

Our discussion of classic Castlevania soundtracks last week had me yearning for some other classic NES goodness, and what better series to jump into than Ninja Gaiden, which also experienced a drastic change in direction (and an incredibly negative one, in my opinion) a few years back. I absolutely adore the music from the first three Ninja Gaiden titles on the NES, and while there have been arrangements created over the years on big sites like OC Remix and VGMix, I never really connected with them.

After digging into YouTube, however, I found the above piano rendition of the ending theme from the first game. If you hit the jump, I also found a cool Mario Paint version of “The Masked Devil” from Ninja Gaiden 2, and while there are tons of guitar arrangements from every which game out there on YouTube, I actually enjoyed the Ninja Gaiden 2 intro that yakmaniac created, programming his own percussion and bass backing instead of relying on the Nintendo sound source.

Let us know what you think of these videos, the music of Ninja Gaiden, the series’s change in direction, and if you know where to find more quality arrangements!

Hit the jump for more. (more…)
Doujin, Game Music

Mackerel Sky Previews New Album Featuring Famicom Guitar

October 14, 2010 | Audun Sorlie | 2 Comments Share this

We’ve featured this talented man before. The piano playing Famicom lover from Hokkaido is often seen entertaining his fans on Ustream with long sessions of live performances, and on his site you can discover a plethora of earlier works. One year ago he released his first CD works dedicated to Famicom music with Minelvaton Saga Tribute which as the title describes, is an arrangement album dedicated to Taito’s Minelvaton Saga. That particular game was never given a Western release but does feature some great undiscovered Famicom tunes.

Now Sabao is preparing for his next album which will feature many different titles and he has revealed the first track to be included on the CD, another Japanese exclusive named Wing of Madoola. Alongside Sabao, we also got the ever awesome Tendo of Famicom Guitar who sweeps his guitar solos in for great justice. It’s an awesome preview track, and it’s a safe bet that the album will be nothing but great when it is finally released. Expect more details soon.

Check out Sabao at Mackerel Sky and Tendo at Famicom Guitar.