 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
« Previous Entries
Category
Chip Music
-
Chip Music
Sophomore Slump? G&J’s Beautiful Lifestyle (Review)
In 2010, chiptune duo George & Jonathan knocked our socks off with their debut The Best Music. They quickly followed this up with a cute holiday album, The Best Christmas.
But the official follow-up to “The Best Music” was their November 2011 release “Beautiful Lifestyle.” How does it compare to their debut? How does it compare to the rest of the awesome chip music out there?
After the jump, do the finger waggle with us. We’re going in-depth on this sophomore release. (more…)
-
Chip Music
A Disasterpeace 2-for-1: Insterstellar Deorbit (Review)
Rich “Disasterpeace” Vreeland is a powerhouse and a true workhorse of a composer. As revealed on his vgmdb artist page, he manages to release four or more albums a year, an eclectic mix of original works and game soundtracks.
In 2011, two of his original works were “Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar” and “Deorbit.” The former is available on bandcamp for a $1 minimum (suggested price $5, or $10 for the CD version), and the latter is in the same state, though no CD version is offered (perhaps because it is a shorter work). “Deorbit” is something of a follow-up album to “Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar” as it has unreleased tracks originally planned for that album, though it is also a “catch-all” album in that it has other previously-unreleased tunes included.
After the jump, you’ll find the results of my critical ear versus these two albums, both of which were featured in the Indie Game Music Bundle 3. (more…)
-
Chip Music, Game Music
HyperDuck Power! The Blocks Cometh (Review)
There’s this totally awesome three-man sound team from the UK that we at OSV have neglected to talk about as much as we ought. They’ve done a fair beat of music in the last three years, and I suspect they’ll only get better with time.
Of course, I’m talking about HyperDuck SoundWorks. I really appreciate the work they’ve done, especially the ridiculously good soundtrack for A.R.E.S: Extinction Agenda (which was actually featured in the first GMB). Someday I’ll review that album, because I adore it.
But today, we’re here to talk about a much smaller soundtrack they first released in April 2011 and is presently being featured in the Indie Game Music Bundle 3. That soundtrack is for The Blocks Cometh. But now, Chris et al, be forewarned! Judgment upon your music cometh! After the jump, that is. (more…)
-
Chip Music
A Most Welcome BSOD: PROTODOME’S BLUESCREEN (Review)
When Ubiktune published PROTODOME’s album BLUESCREEN (a follow-up to BLUENOISE) on Christmas Day 2011, I nearly peed my pants. Not because I knew or understood the pedigree of the composer, but because it had ridiculously cool artwork and the first few tracks hooked me on first listen.
In fact, I think I intended to write about it around the time of its release. But then, holiday break, family events, and then MAGFest… and hey, after MAGFest, any organization or structure left in your life must fall apart. It’s a law. MAGFest law.
But now, BLUESCREEN is one of the albums released in the Indie Game Music Bundle 3, so that’s all the more reason to talk about it. Without further ado, here we go (post-jump). (more…)
-
Chip Music
Shooting Stars: Shnabubula’s “Starbound” Released
This past week was blessed with the release of an brand new original digital album by Samuel “Shnabubula” Ascher-Weiss with the debut of Starbound. After wowing us with his last game-tribute release NES Jams back in March, it seems Mr. ‘bubula has been busy whipping up some awesome freshness for the rest of us to enjoy in awe. And I do very much mean AWE.
Featuring electronic funk and fun progressive chiptune beats, Starbound is every bit shooting for the stars as it alludes to. Although only boasting 5 tracks, this 42-minute album manages to give you real a sense of piloting a flying spaceship in full 8-bit glory whilst blasting away and brightly-colored obstacles. Intense melody and electronic mastery awaits you with this release that, should you know any of Ascher-Weiss’s previous works, shall not disappoint in the least.
Officially released on Ubiktune and available for download at the beyond-reasonable “Name Your Price” format on Shnabubula’s own Bandcamp page, Starbound is well worth immersing yourself in a spacial world of total musical grandeur.
-
Chip Music, Game Music
Behind-the-Wheel Beats: Retro City Rampage (Review)
Earlier this month, the boys who put together the soundtrack for the open-world, 8-bit adventure that is VBlank Entertainment’s Retro City Rampage were interviewed about their involvement in the project (and maybe a bit more personal information than most readers were prepared for). Regardless, the dynamic trio of Jake “Virt” Kaufman, Matthew “Norrin Radd” Creamer and Leonard “FreakyDNA” Paul expressed just what inspired them to create the funky beats of the parody game.
However, now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of what makes the music of the game as fun and colorful as the artists themselves. Check under the cut for the funky beats and delightful dissection of Retro City Rampage.
-
Chip Music, Experimental, Game Music, Indie Music, Music Production
One Musician To Another: Rich Vreeland Interview
Rich Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace) is well known for creating delicate, joyous dreamscapes allowing the listener to let his disintegrating pulse waves wash over them like a tender storm. He is now thrust into the spotlight once again after providing FEZ with its magnificent, critically acclaimed soundtrack, which can be found at disasterpeace.com. He has also recently appeared in both the Indie Game Music Bundle 2 (podcast interview here) as well as the Indie Royale Lightning Pack bundle (the latter of which sees all proceeds going to charity). Rich was kind enough to answer a few questions about his latest release and give us a glimpse into his creative process.
-
Chip Music, Indie Music
Take a Break From Frozen Synapse with Impeccable Micro (Review)
Frozen Synapse, from Mode 7 Games, is a once-underground hit gone above-ground due to critical mass, much like Minecraft, though for different reasons. But I’m not really here to talk about Frozen Synapse, or even its soundtrack. I am here to talk about the game’s composer, Paul Taylor.
Paul, under the alias “nervous_testpilot,” scored Frozen Synapse and other Mode 7 titles, and has even released original content under that name. And yet, one pseudonym was not enough to contain the power of Paul Taylor. I’ve been listening to a lot of his work in the past few weeks, just taking an interest in his collected works, and the one that stood out to me the most was a dance-friendly chiptunes release called “Impeccable Micro.”
Apparently, the style of Impeccable Micro was different enough to force Taylor to change his name, yet again. Even though it’s still just him releasing it as a solo work, he takes on the stage name _ensnare_ for this project, which was released in the 2nd half of 2011. After the jump, my thoughts on Impeccable Micro, and how to add the album to your own music collection. (more…)
-
Chip Music
Get The Scent: Tracer Releases On May 3
coda, one half of the retro-glorious unit yogurtbox, is ready to take on the world by himself with his new album, Tracer. The album promises over half an hour’s worth of chiptune prog-rock fusion, a familiar sound to those who follow the Ubiktune universe of releases. The artist has had previous success along with surasshu with their yogurtbox label, releasing the highly acclaimed Tree of Knowledge, an imaginary soundtrack based on the PC-98 era of erotic visual novel games. Tracer will however, be coda’s debut album, making it very interesting indeed to hear the results.
The release will be broadcasted on a live listening party over at Noise Channel Radio at 10PM Eastern, May 3rd. Be sure to sign up to their Facebook event and join in on the festivities as coda unveils his debut effort to the world.
-
Chip Music
Let Me Think About It: Iron Curtain’s “The Aftermath” (Review)
Chiptunes, as a category of music, somehow has the capability despite its limitations to evoke a full range of emotions and states of mind. For the most part, though, the most successful chiptune artists make music that allows the listener to clear away all nagging thoughts and enjoy the present state. In other words, “let’s party.”
In stark contrast to this line of music are songs like our own Zen Albatross’ “April 10th,” which nearly demands the listener to pay attention and — to quote Winnie the Pooh — think think think. An artist whose work recently caught my attention for carrying on the tradition of “chiptunes for the analytical” is Samuel Abram, aka Iron Curtain. His first LP, “The Aftermath” dropped at the tail end of 2011.
As always with artists who choose to host their music via bandcamp, I ask that you listen along as I give my impressions. We’ll talk about this album’s heart, mind, and price point after the jump. (more…)
-
Chip Music, Japanese
OSV Exclusive: SOUNDSHOCK 2: FM FUNK Hidden Names
On April 5th, the dead will rise, bringing the funk to town the way only classic game music can provide. The graves tremble in unrest, the electronic screams reaches further and the haunted sound that shall never be forgotten will fill the streets once again.
OSV visited the tomb of the FM Synth, actually because it seemed like a good place to do the dirty lambada without getting caught, but then as the casket cracked open and the fumes of the faded rose into the sky, clues were discovered, a list of names, hidden in code, shrouded in mystery. Can you figure it out?
Too Big Dee Jay
Cool Lord
.— — … …. ..- .-
The King of the Valar
cadence
Mad Stalker
Electrician
Loath Manginess
Each Lir
Boom Guy
Bun ala Bush
oturan feat. Ikustatuf Aya
Mute Boxing
banger & zicter
Mickey HAll will be clear on OSV on April 4th…
-
Chip Music
NES Classics Revived In Style: Shnabubula’s NES Jams (Review)
Many know the name Shnabubula. His virtuosic piano skills coupled with his talent for chip music have been explored in the past in releases such as Free Play and Game Genie, respectively. Now the two come together in NES Jams. This album’s story picks up immediately where Game Genie’s leaves off. A young boy, Tommy, has just defeated his Game Genie, and in its place is a mysterious NES cartridge. Upon placing it in his NES, something wondrous occurs; the message “PREPARE TO JAM” appears and Tommy approaches his brother’s keyboard. Suddenly, the game and his fingers begin to play music together! Now, this is just a brief summation of the album’s story; the real beauty is the album itself.
Join us on an aural tour through the album’s 11 tracks after the jump. (more…)
Categories
|
Videogames Chip Music Doujin |
Anime Japanese Gear |
Got tips? tips@originalsoundversion.com
| Join us: |  |
 |
 |
 |
日本語: |  |
Search |
LoginLog in |
Featured Content
Top Stories
OSV STAFF
Managing EditorPatrick GannAssociate EditorsAudun SorlieGideon Dabi Joshua Kopstein |
ContributorsBrad DyckBrenna Wilkes Carl Larson Chris Ling Connary Fagen Haroon Piracha Justin Pfeiffer Kai Ohler Kunal Majmudar Shota Nakama |
WebKuan-Yen HengGraphicsConnary FagenPhotographyEmi SpicerExecutive EditorJayson NapolitanoCo-FoundersDale NorthJayson Napolitano |
feeds
Copyright © 2011 by Original Sound Version. All rights reserved. |
