| 01 | Breaking the Captain | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 5.14 MB | 2'40" | |
| I've gone long periods of time just listening to chiptunes. NES, SNES, GB, and GBA are my favorite "artists". The soundtrack to Startropics always puts me in a jaunty mood. However, the treatment of Captain Bell's Memorial heard in Breaking the Captain is something I can only attribute to something that kept reoccurring in my head every time I listened to it. The spaces between each drawn out note just sounded like it needed crazy animal drum fills. And there you have it. | |||
| 02 | Five Square Feet of Area | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 5.73 MB | 3'05" | |
| The NESkimos do a bang-up job of covering Bionic Commando's "Area 5" theme in a more predictable manner, and so I figured I would try something different. Instead of your typical guitar/bass/drums combo, I threw in some piano/horn stabs, some acoustic standup bass, and a toe-tapping big band rhythm to, uh, jazz it up some. | |||
| 03 | Dave is the Man | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 5.36 MB | 2'50" | |
| A straight-ahead rocker from Maniac Mansion. Dave's Theme has some truly bitching solos that I did not have the patience/skill to emulate, so I improvised. Otherwise, it's pretty faithful to the source material. | |||
| 04 | Undereke | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 10.63 MB | 6'00" | |
| Until recently, when Nintendo blessed the Virtual Console on Wii with this hidden Sunsoft gem, I'm pretty sure no one knew much about Ufouria(E)/Hebereke(J). Hell, I didn't, either. When I was searching for NES chiptunes to download one day, this game stood out because of its developer's notoriety of making badass game music (Blaster Master, for example). Thankfully, I snagged it and found a new favorite. The "underground" theme that plays in the game was just enough riffage to extrapolate into the MASSIVE riffage that Undereke brings to the table. | |||
| 05 | Jasperlilly | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 7.77 MB | 4'02" | |
| Shuffling good time with some old-school synths that might actually make you want to dance. The original tune from a oft-neglected bit o' awesomeness that is "Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom" was short and sweet, and I had fun expanding it in weird ways. | |||
| 06 | It's Dark at 3am | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 7.34 MB | 4'00" | |
| Shadowrun is a cherished RPG from the SNES era. It's the kind of game you can just play and over and over every few years, always as if it were the first time. The melody should be familiar to anyone who played the game, but it's stuck in there and it's taken out of its natural context, wrapped up in a pseudo-Middle Eastern vibe. The tambura groove is very enveloping. | |||
| 07 | Matoya's Cafe | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 6.09 MB | 3'22" | |
| This is the kind of video game theme cover that is predictable. Matoya's theme has been covered by a lot of people and it's almost always done up in the Big Rock Fashion. This is no different, but it starts and ends in a new way that you might not predict. | |||
| 08 | Second First Gear | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 5.77 MB | 2'51" | |
| Metal Gear 2: Snake's Revenge has been maligned a bit over the years, as it was not worked on by the same team as the first, and even Hideo Kojima has slighted it in interviews. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun, or that the music didn't have some choice tracks. The "Building" theme, while not nearly as awesome as Metal Gear 1's, is still pretty slick, and I took it to a more orchestrally-electronic pitch. | |||
| 09 | Dargonia | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 6.40 MB | 3'33" | |
| All of the Dragon Quest/Warrior games have epic Sugiyama music, with a classical feel reminiscent of Middle Ages music. The themes themselves are just as indelible as their unofficial rivals, the Final Fantasies. The "Castle" theme from DW4 carries some good memories for me. | |||
| 10 | Super Mega Eagle Scout | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 7.57 MB | 4'06" | |
| I asked a friend to suggest a video game theme to cover to add to this collection, and they suggested Mega Man X. Furthermore, both the Boss Select screen and Storm Eagle theme. Two great themes that go together quite well, with the rawk ratcheted up a few notches. | |||
| 11 | Reggae Robble | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 5.24 MB | 2'41" | |
| Another idea contributed by a friend, quite a long time ago. They wanted to hear a reggae rendition of the main Bubble Bobble theme. Well, that's not my usual style, and I'm not sure this actually qualifies as "reggae" proper. It's got a lazy, island vibe, though, and the jangly guitar's emphasis is on the upbeat, so it's close. | |||
| 12 | Light of Shadow | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 8.66 MB | 4'38" | |
| How does one make the haunting melodies of Shadowgate even more haunting? Change those square waves to choirs and add breakbeats! Right? | |||
| 13 | From the Depths of the Sky | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 9.49 MB | 4'53" | |
| A little known game from the NES era called "Magician" exists. It is tough. I've never gotten very far in it. But I've listened to the chiptunes from it many times, and this theme is just epic. I basically run it into the ground as best I can, leaving you winded and exhausted at the end. | |||
| 14 | A Day in the Strife | ||
| 2010-09-10 | 21.59 MB | 12'07" | |
| The last project I did that was this ambitious was for M.U.S.I.K. 2006, when I did a five-part, interwoven orchestral opus. It was sprawling and touched a few musical genres during its lengthy stay in your consciousness. Choosing to cover the ENTIRE "Sword of Hope" soundtrack for the Game Boy was difficult and my sequencer crashed several times while creating it. Your love for the music of SoH must be strong like it is for me to tune in for the whole thing, but I promise you it's good. | |||
Music a.k.a. Audio a.k.a. Lifeblood
Gamey Mixture (2010)
14 tracks / 60'48"
Covers and remixes of various video game themes, ranging in style from rocking guitar to pulsing electronic. Most are a bit obscure, but I figure it increases the chances of standing out from the rest of the remixing community. Cover art by Mewkat.All content © 2012 Muzwick, Inc.