Violin

• Featured, Game Music, Reviews

  Videri’s “Portals” (Review)

  November 4, 2013 | Richard McDonald | 1 Comment Share this Videri’s “Portals” (Review)

  

  Purchase: iTunes | Loudr

  EDITOR’S NOTE: For the sake of full disclosure … Videri String Quartet’s debut album Portals was promoted by Scarlet Moon Productions, founded by Jayson Napolitano. Below, OSV blogger Richard McDonald gives his own opinion of the album.

  As gamers from the ’80s and early ’90s come into their late 20s /early 30s, some of the more musically minded of them have started looking back to the games of yesteryear for musical inspiration. It seems that now is the time for instrumental albums of old game music. Professional string orchestra Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà brought out a Game Music album lately, that was truly amazing, and I’ve been enjoying The Greatest Video Game Music 2 album as well of late. However, what with the affordability of recording equipment and amazing music distribution sites like Bandcamp and Loudr, smaller groups are getting in on the act. Bands like The OneUps have been covering game music for years and now classical ensembles are putting their 2 cents in.

  So; in comes the Videri String Quartet, a group of professionally trained classical musicians whose debut album comprises of a compilation of popular game music tracks and medleys. Glancing though the track list, I immediately see the classics. Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy VII and Halo. Like many others, this is an album aimed squarely at the 20-30 something gaming audience with a yen for nostalgia and a disposable income. But I also see more modern tracks, like Final Fantasy X, Journey and Kingdom Hearts, and it is here that I think this albums falls a little. (more…)

• Featured, Game Music, Reviews

  Spacial Soundcraft: Astroman OST (Review)

  June 7, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Spacial Soundcraft: Astroman OST (Review) Share this Spacial Soundcraft: Astroman OST (Review)

  

  Back in the hay-day of video gaming, there was a genre of game that was coined the “platformer” — in reality a 2D game where your main objective is traversing over the screen and through levels that consisted of many obstacles; most of which were platforms and the like. It was a popular type of game through the 90s that, within the past few years, has really been making a comeback in grand retro-style. Downloadable games seem to be leading the charge recently, with games like Braid and ‘Splosion Man becoming hits in their own right, enticing players with oldschool finger-twitching gameplay.

  One of the more overlooked games for the Xbox Live Indie Arcade was a release earlier this year titled Astroman: a platform side-scrolling game featuring an adorable little spaceman romping through the solar system trying to repair his ship as he blasts aliens to bits as he goes. It’s a short, cute game that goes for about $3 on XBLA. However, what really shines about the game isn’t it’s nostalgic gameplay, but rather the music, which has gotten some well-deserved attention due to the recent release of the Indie Game Music Bundle 3.

  A short but sweet original soundtrack crafted by composer Jeff Ball, known for his composition and violin work on games such Mass Effect 3 and Monkey Island 2: Special Edition, he has delivered some fantastic work for the little indie title and really makes the game shine. Journey with us into the star-stricken foray of music that is the Astroman Original Soundtrack. (more…)

• Game Music, Reviews

  2 Epic 4 U: GunGirl 2 OST (Review)

  June 5, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on 2 Epic 4 U: GunGirl 2 OST (Review) Share this 2 Epic 4 U: GunGirl 2 OST (Review)

  

  I’ve never played GunGirl 2. In fact, I don’t even know where to go to play it, or its predecessor. I only know of it because the soundtrack is by Josh Whelchel. In fact, around the time this soundtrack came out, we did a lengthy interview with Josh about this soundtrack.

  This, sadly, seems to be the fate of many soundtracks worked on by wunderkind/prodigy Josh Whelchel (though that likely won’t be the case for his upcoming project with Another Soundscape, Mojang’s Scrolls). Josh, a key member of the team who created the Indie Game Music Bundle, decided to toss this album in as a bonus. I’ve owned the CD version for years, but the digital version comes with even more tracks, as it’s not limited by the 80 minute max time allotted to redbook CD audio.

  After the jump, why this ridiculously epic music is probably good enough to be used as a custom soundtrack for all manner of games (that’s a thing on the Xbox 360, I’m told). (more…)

• Game Music

  Hear Last Ranker and More Live at Ayako Ishikawa’s Violin Recital

  October 12, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Hear Last Ranker and More Live at Ayako Ishikawa’s Violin Recital Share this Hear Last Ranker and More Live at Ayako Ishikawa’s Violin Recital

  While Ayako Ishikawa may not be a household name yet, I encourage game music fans to take notice. This incredibly talented violinist, who has performed as a member of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in the past, has credits including the Romeo x Juliet anime series composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the Passion album and concert by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra, and most recently the Last Ranker arrange album composed by Yoko Shimomura. She was also chosen to perform a special arrangement of the Final Fantasy XIV theme at a pre-release festival in September.

  So, when and where can you hear her perform, and what will she be playing? As it turns out, her violin recital is on Sunday, October 17 at 5:00 PM at the Verbrugghen Hall in Sydney, Australia. There will be a number of pieces from videogames performed, including some from the Last Ranker arrange album. While the above video shows her performing a touching piece from Tsubasa Chronicle, the video after the jump shows her talent more prominently as a part of a small ensemble.

  More information and tickets are available here.

  Check her out if you’re in Sydney, and check out the other video after the jump. (more…)

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