Given that most videogames do not feature vocal themes, it isn’t often that we interview vocalists on OSV. When games do feature vocal tracks, however, it’s usually done to make an impact, and Susan Calloway has had the opportunity to tackle some of the most popular vocal themes from videogames as a part of the Distant Worlds tour. I first came to know her for her amazing rendition of “Memoro de la Stono” from Final Fantasy XI, but she was also featured on the recent Distant Worlds II album, recording English versions of both “Melodies of Life” and “Suteki da ne.”
In our interview, we discuss not only her work on Distant Worlds, including how she came to be a part of the production and the level of artistic freedom she was given with the pieces she’s worked on, but we also touch on her more pop-oriented solo career. From playing live piano to singing pop, rock, and even some country sounding tunes on her latest Chasin the Sun EP, there’s a lot more to Susan Calloway than just Distant Worlds.
Find out what she’s all about in our interview after the jump. (more…)
With all the political tumultuousness in this country, I am reminded of a kinder, gentler time when the only badguys we needed to worry about were the ol’ “Russkies.” That’s right. I’m referring, of course, to the Cold War where everyone knew who the badguys were, battles were fought discreetly for the most part and, ultimately, the “goodguys” won. But what if that were not the case? What if the building intensity between the two great superpowers completely boiled over to the point of invasion? This is the question posited by IO Interactive’s underrated gem, Freedom Fighters, from 2003. This multiplatform actioner built on the same engine that facilitated the beloved Hitman series flew in under the radar – much like the game’s antagonists – but its soundtrack arrived with fire and gusto thanks to Jesper Kyd.
Join me as we fight off the Soviet invasion of New York City with one of the best soundtracks of the last ten years! (more…)
Trust the Nico Nico Douga (NND) users to come up with something this big, this wild, and this insane. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if someone were to take a bevy of anime opening and ending themes ranging from the catchy Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ending theme, “Hare Hare Yukai,” to the more ethereal “Uninstall” from Bokurano and blend them together with a dab of VGM like the classic Super Mario World and Final Fantasy themes, the original “Nico Nico Douga Medley” is pretty much what you’re looking for.
The song was originally put together by Shimo in June 2007, and since then, the medley has become a series of sorts with other NND users chipping in, taking the original and singing it as a troupe (like the video above), arranging it for other instruments like guitar and orchestra, or drawing inspiration so as to create their own mishmashes. Quality isn’t as big a factor in judging this work; though the singing or arranging might not be top-notch, one cannot deny the pure passion that goes into its creation. An exemplar of passionate fans being passionate fans, I can’t help but feel dazzled every time I listen to it.
Yes, this be old news, but it’s still worth sharing all the same. If you’ve enjoyed (or are able to endure) this work, a handy list of songs and where they came from can be found here.
Since the time he helped form GEM Impact, Norihiko Hibino has explored a lot of different territory. But, a familiar place for him to go is always jazz. As a trained saxophonist, Hibino always does well in this realm.
Last year, Hibino released “Gentle Love,” which featured a jazz group (with Hibino on sax) covering a variety of American, Japanese, and Canto jazz/contemporary standards. This time around, for Gentle Love 2, Hibino comes to the scene with twelve original pieces. Can the Metal Gear Solid composer show his softer side in this original album? Find out after the jump! (more…)
While I hadn’t necessarily planned it, we’ve had quite an eventful Metroid week this week. With our Metroid Prime 3 interview on Tuesday, Pat’s review of Metroid Metal’s Expansion Pack EP on Wednesday, and our Metroid-heavy podcast yesterday, we have even more for you, and this one’s about the game in the series you’re looking forward to the most: Metroid: Other M.
When Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released, I experimented with a feature format that I called an “audio journal,” an exploration of the game’s universe as experienced through sound. I thought I would do the same with Metroid: Other M given the unique atmosphere of the series and the emphasis on music and sound design. While Metroid: Other M isn’t long enough to warrant a three-part series like I wrote for Corruption, I hope you enjoy our audio-inspired journey into Metroid: Other M.
Dive into the aural landscape of Nintendo’s most recent Metroid title after the jump! (more…)
I know, I know. It’s been awhile since we gave you a podcast to listen to. Call it our summer break. Or blame the convention circuit. We’ve been busy, ‘kay?
On today’s podcast, we talk about Metroid: The Other M, the new Metroid Metal album (which, in the recording I claim to know little about, but after the fact I became quite familiar with it), and other Metroidian stuff. Metroidian stuff > Freudian stuff.
I guess we also talk about Ys SEVEN, Scott Pilgrim vs The World (cheers to Anamanaguchi!), Demon’s Souls, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, our ongoing “game musiccontextualization” debate, and how much we love Josh “Zen Albatross” Kopstein. I’m sure I’m leaving stuff out. The podcast runs almost an hour, so there’s a lot of content packed in there.
And because Jayson let me handle the mixing of this one, be sure to enjoy the intro and outro from Falcom Sound Team JDK! It’s all iterations of Ys III music. Hurray for the fair use thingy-mabob they announced last year!
I was having a nice, quiet, peaceful day, when all of a sudden, Metroid Metal decides to drop a 6-track EP on the VGM community. In 0.28 seconds, my face was officially melted. Third degree burns EVERYWHERE. It was a mess of hyperbolic proportions. Because, you know, I tend to dwell in the realm of hyperbole.
We at OSV have talked about Metroid Metal before: album reviews and a concert report, to be specific. We’re kinda sorta into them, because they happen to be amazing performers. You’ve never, ever heard Metroid music quite like this.
The Expansion Pack EP is set for physical and digital release on September 4th, 2010. We got our hands on the full 6-track mayhem ahead of time so we could tell you about it. The details come after the jump. (more…)
I’ve been intentionally holding on to this one for awhile now. For those who don’t remember, “A Blast From The Past” is an interview series that revisits interviews I conducted while at Music4Games. We’re republishing them here on a somewhat monthly basis as they’re not longer available online. This time I thought it would be fun to celebrate the upcoming release of Metroid: Other M next week by posting the interview I conducted with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption composer Kenji Yamamoto and Retro Studios sound supervisor Scott Petersen.
In the interview we discuss the series’s transition from 2D into the 3D realm, the audio technology behind the Wii and the Prime series in particular, the interactions between the Japan-based Kenji Yamamoto and the Texas-based Retro Studios, and Nintendo’s lack of official soundtrack releases. This is the interview that I’m probably the most proud of, and I want to thank Nintendo once again for coordinating it and allowing us to republish it along with both Kenji Yamamoto and Scott Petersen for providing such thorough responses.
Re-reading this, I’m curious to hear how Yamamoto’s collaboration with Retro Studios is going for Donkey Kong Country Returns!
Check out the interview after the jump and let us know your thoughts. (more…)
If you like scrolling shooters (also referred to as “shmups”), you should be well acquainted with the company CAVE. They’ve made some incredible games in the past few years.
Their games also tend to have awesome fusion rock- and dance-inspired soundtracks. One of their first self-published albums, in January of 2006, was the IBARA Original Sound Track (catalog number CVST-0003). The single disc soundtrack, which also includes a few arranged tracks and a voice collection, is a special little gem in my ever-changing collection of VGM. And that’s why I wanted to tell you, dear reader, all about it.
After the jump, check out our review of Shinji Hosoe’s score for IBARA! (more…)
Hey all! Just wanted to let you know who won the Piano Pieces SF2 Version Difference contest/giveaway. If you’re reading this, hoping it’s you; well, sorry, it’s not you.
On Thursday (August 19th) we selected “Mike D” using the awesome powers of MS Excel’s /random function. His “winning comment” was as follows:
OMG THIS ALBUM IS AWESOME
Turns out he knew what he was talking about. When OSV contacted Mike to see which version he wanted, he admitted that he probably shouldn’t have commented, as he didn’t want to inadvertently enter the contest. You see, Mike already owned one version of the album (the original) and, like me, saw no point in owning both prints. So Mike gracefully declined, and we picked another winner.
Said new winner was Kaleb Grace, who left this comment:
SaGa Frontier II was the first OST I ever purchased. Loads of nostalgia for me. However, I never got around to buying this album. It would be nice to have.
So, congratulations to Kaleb, who decided to take the original DigiCube print (pictured above). Thanks also for the recommendations on the doujin albums! The battle medley including “Todfeind” off of Tone Quell is quite good!
To all the rest who left comments: thanks, and sorry we don’t have enough for everyone! We’ll try more giveaways like these in the future, so stop back often!
That’s right. Last minute update: Falcom just announced that their JDK Band summer concert on August 21st, 2010 at Liquid Room in Tokyo will be broadcasted live for everyone around the world via USTREAM. Lucky you! I’ll be there in person for both shows of course.
The first stage is a dramatic performance by the voice actresses from Sora no Kiseki set to BGM played live by JDK Band. [Update: Apparently the first stage will not be streamed, but at least you can catch the second stage from all around the globe. Our apologies!]
The second stage is JDK Band’s live performance. The big one. Expect to hear lots of songs from Falcom’s latest game Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki: Alternative Saga (which is mainly JDK Band remakes of previous Falcom themes anyway), as well as some old favorites from previous performances. Be sure to check that one out at 6:00PM Japan Standard Time.
From webcomic to charity to convention, Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik’s Penny Arcade empire has quickly become one of the most successful properties in the videogaming world. So when the duo approached NYC filmmaking troupe 2 Player Productions (creators of the soon-to-be-released chiptune documentary, Reformat The Planet) and asked them to shoot a web series and document PA’s yearly gaming mega-event, the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, they jumped on a plane, moved to Portland and haven’t looked back. With PAX 2010 just weeks away from arriving at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, the PAX 2009 DVD offers a fond look back at last year’s Expo, ensuring that we’re all sufficiently pumped when PAX’s euphoric typhoon of live music, games and events hits Seattle once more in September.
Read on to see how the 2 Player crew captured one of the most exciting videogaming events on Earth.
