Jake Kaufman

Game Music

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment OST Now Available

April 6, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment OST Now Available Share this

The newest DLC for retro-platformer Shovel Knight, titled Specter of Torment where you take control of the ghoulish Specter Knight to traverse the game and new areas of the original campaign, has been out for Switch for a few weeks now and just dropped for PC/Steam. As such, the DLC’s soundtrack by the game’s composer Jake Kaufman has also released for the low price of whatever you want!

Specter of Torment nearly doubles the OST track list of the game’s previous DLC, Plague of Shadows, boasting 25 tracks featuring both new original tracks as well as macabre-tinged arrangements of previous Shovel Knight tunes. Kaufman worked on the Specter tracks almost exclusively during regular Twitch streaming, giving avid fans a preview of what was in store for the devilish DLC.

“This is the first time I’ve streamed the composition of an entire soundtrack from beginning to end! A whole bunch of people got to watch this music being written, and you can watch in our archives at youtube.com/mintpotion and follow us every day as we do our jobs at twitch.tv/mintpotion — it’s a really fun experience for everyone, and I love having company while I write music!”- Jake Kaufman, Shovel Knight Composer

<a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-specter-of-torment-ost">Shovel Knight – Specter of Torment OST by Jake Kaufman</a>

You can stream the Specter of Torment soundtrack on Kaufman’s Bandcamp or purchase it for yourself at a voluntary rate. You can also follow Kaufman on Twitter to learn about future Twitch streams for upcoming Shovel Knight music and other musical projects.
Game Music, Music Production, Software

Learn About Music Production With Twitch Music Streams

October 28, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Learn About Music Production With Twitch Music Streams Share this

The popular video casting service Twitch TV and its earlier incarnation Justin TV has allowed gamers to show off their skills to audiences for many years. Recently Twitch has been expanding the streaming content to include creative streams. Under the Creative category, casters have been live streaming painting, cooking, and even metal work. One of the other emerging types of creative streams has been music production.

There are a number of music artists, composers, and arrangers who have decided to use their Twitch channel to give their fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the music that they love is made. A lot can be learned by observing how a music producer writes, mixes, and arranges music, so streams like these can be valuable tools for other music creators or for fans who want to see the creative process. Today I’ll be highlighting some of the Twitch streams that you can tune into on a regular basis. (more…)
Chip Music, Game Music

Shantae Games and Soundtracks see Physical Release on October 28th

October 27, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Shantae Games and Soundtracks see Physical Release on October 28th Share this

Limited Run Games has announced their next set of physical releases on PlayStation 4 and it’s all about Shantae. The cult classic platforming adventure series began on the Game Boy Color in 2002 and has seen two new entries in recent years with a fourth installment coming in December.

As part of the lead up to the new game, Half-Genie Hero, developer WayForward and Limited Run are releasing 5,800 physical copies of both Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Director’s Cut ($24.99) and Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse ($29.99) on October 28th at 10am EST.

One of the hallmarks of the series has always been its music, created by Jake “virt” Kaufman, which Limited Run is also commemorating with three new CD releases. Also up for sale on October 28th will be a scant 750 copies of the soundtracks to all three current titles: Shantae, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge and Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. The albums each cost $14.99 and will be made available in two batches at 9:45am and again at 6:00pm EST.

If this news has rekindled your Shantae passion or if you’re new to it’s music you can read much, much more about it in our previous coverage. The Risky’s Revenge and Pirate’s Curse soundtracks are also available on virt’s Bandcamp page and once, long ago, he posted the original Game Boy Color music to his blog.

Are you hype for these new disc-based copies of the games or soundtracks? Just want to reminisce about Shantaes gone by? Let us know in the comments below.
Chip Music, Game Music

Shovel Knight The Definitive Soundtrack Pre-Orders Available Today

October 24, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

For those waiting on Shovel Knight releasing to vinyl and other physical licensed formats, you’re wait is over. Brave Wave Productions have officially announced that pre-orders for the Shovel Knight The Definitive Soundtrack are going live today!

Our latest Generation Series release, GS-002 Shovel Knight The Definitive Soundtrack will be available to pre-order today at our new merch store:
http://bigwax.fr/en/brave-wave/

The album features new illustrations by the legendary Hitoshi Ariga, artist of such series as Mega Man and Pokémon.

We will also have a CD version and two poster designs on our Bandcamp store:
http://store.bravewave.net

The release will be available at the following times:

18:00 BST (London)
19:00 CEST (Paris)
21:00 GST (Dubai)
02:00 JST (Tokyo)
04:00 AEDT (Sydney)
10:00 PDT (San Francisco/Los Angeles)
12:00 CDT (Chicago)
13:00 EDT (New York)

They warn that unlike 2015’s staggered release of Street Fighter II The Definitive Soundtrack, all copies of the initial allocation will be available for pre-order and thus buyers should grab them ASAP. Pre-orders for the vinyl edition can be made at the above listed times at http://bigwax.fr/en/brave-wave/gs-002.
Game Music

Shovel Knight Will Be Getting a Vinyl Release This Fall

June 27, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

It seems vinyl has completely made it’s resurgence into video game music a solid staple. Brave Wave Productions has announced that Shovel Knight fans can expect to see a 2xLP release of its soundtrack later this fall.

Coming this autumn, our release of Shovel Knight The Definitive Soundtrack has been specially mastered for vinyl, under supervision and with final approval from original composers Jake Kaufman and Manami Matsumae. This edition will include the full soundtrack on two discs, with new artwork (not pictured) by Mega Man and Pokémon illustrator Hitoshi Ariga, as well as a composer interview and various series artworks.

A preorder date has yet to be announced for the release, but fans who wish to capitalize on the chance to pick up the fantastic soundtrack on vinyl should subscribe to Brave Wave’s mailing list in order to keep abreast of new news regarding timeframes, and also check back with us here at OSV as we’ll be sure to keep you informed.
Miscellaneous

Gaming Villains Come together to form boy band, Big Bad Bosses

December 23, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Gaming Villains Come together to form boy band, Big Bad Bosses Share this

If you ever wondered what would happen if Eggman (still Robotnik for some of us), Bowser, Ganon and Sephiroth managed to one day meet and combined their evil forces, you now have your answer: they’d form a boy band. Because what’s more nefarious than that?

Big Bad Bosses (or B3) is the collaboration between game composer Jake Kaufman (Shovel Knight, Contra 4) and a slew of faces from across the gaming community, such as Jirard Khalil (Big Bow) of the Completionist and Super Beard Bros, Nathan Smith (Sephy) of Nate Wants to Battle, Alex Faciane (Ronik) of The Dex and Super Beard Bros, Satchell Drakes (G-Ca$h) of Satchbags Goods, and several special guests. Their first album, Power Overhwhelming, features the team parodying some of gaming’s most recognizable baddies as they rap and chatter their laments of being the bad guys. You can get a taste of their antic in their released music video, “I’m the Boss”.

“Big Bad Bosses has been in the works for a long while. I’ve been wanting to work with Jake Kaufman for years, and after hearing the Shovel Knight soundtrack I knew it was time. I always thought it would be funny yet endearing to see into the hearts of the most famous videogame villains and to try to understand how they feel in the form of song, and the album came together better than anyone involved could have imagined.” – Jirard “Big Bow” Khalil

Power Overwhelming features ten tracks with a bunch of guests, including Grant Kirkhope (Banjo Kazooie), Arin “Egoraptor” Hanson (Game Grumps), DJ Cutman and a bunch more. The album can be purchased on iTunes and Bandcamp. For more, check out the official Big Bad Bosses website.
Chip Music, Game Music

Kickstart Jake Kaufman’s Latest Soundtrack with Ghost Police

October 14, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Kickstart Jake Kaufman’s Latest Soundtrack with Ghost Police Share this

Jake “Virt” Kaufman is shaping up to be a very busy boy these days. On top of recent additions to his amazing work on the Shovel Knight OST with the Plague of Shadows DLC, and being slated for work on indie titles [NUREN] and working alongside Michiru Yamane and Ippo Yamada for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, another new indie project has just been announced with him attached to compose. Ghost Police is negative-space shmup title currently in development by independent game developer Steven McCarthy, and will feature an 8-bit chip music soundtrack done up by Kaufman.

“Many people don’t know this, but I actually got my start in videogames working on the Game Boy. As Ghost Police blends styles from the NES and Game Boy, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to come full circle with the NES soundtrack for Shovel Knight by writing this with the Namco 163 sound chip, an expansion that I’m familiar with and am eager to push to its limits!” – Jake Kaufman

Kaufman currently has the trailer score for the soundtrack’s Kickstarter, which is seeking $16,000 USD with various stretch goals for additional work. A copy of the Ghost Police for PC is available for the equivalent of $7.80 USD – with the soundtrack, beta access, and backers’ pixelated likenesses featured in the game at higher support levels.

Source: Scarlet Moon Productions