Shota and I loved the Distant Worlds concert we attended last month in San Francisco. We mentioned that they’d be adding some new segments in the near future, and we’ve now received confirmation that on December 12, Distant Worlds will return to the city it debuted in with two new segments: “J-E-N-O-V-A” and the amazing “Dancing Mad.” As an additional bonus, they’ll be performing the Advent Children version of “One Winged Angel” with a rock band on stage.

My feeling is that “Dancing Mad” has been long overdue in the game music concert circuit. It’s an amazing piece of music, and even more epic than “One Winged Angel” any day. Also, Nobuo Uematsu will be attending the show in Chicago, so I highly recommend checking out the VIP meet and greet as it was a blast (plus you get a signed CD and program). I just can’t wait until the show makes its way back to the west coast…

Have you attended a Distant Worlds concert and have any thoughts about the show? Will you be making it out to the Chicago performance?

So, I just happened to be in Tokyo to check out the Press Start 2009 concert that took place earlier this month. I got there about an hour before the show, but the venue, the Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo (Tokyo Art Hall), was already was surrounded by pretty-obvious-looking video game music fans. Going into the building, some fans were digging into the merchandise section already, and others were playing their DS eagerly waiting for the show to start. I knew I was in for a treat.

For those who don’t know about Press Start, it’s an annual orchestral video game music concert organized by some of the big names in the Japanese video game industry including Nobuo Uematsu, Shogo Sakai, Masahiro Sakurai, Kazunari Nojima, and maestro Taizo Takemoto. It started back in 2006, so this year marks it’s 4th year in business.

With introductions aside, our review of the show is waiting after the jump. (more…)

August is finally here, and as always this time of year, cats are mating, teenagers are breaking up, and Comiket is right around the corner! For a doujin nut like me, this usually means I join my cats in their season and saddle up for the exciting releases to come.

Now quickly explained, Comic Market (Comiket) is the world’s largest comic event. Originally created as a way to give smaller publishers and writers a chance to showcase their comics in the 70s, It is today a massive event, selling doujinshi, official products from big labels, and game music doujins, or in other terms, unofficial arrangement CDs.

at C76 we can expect an unhealthy dose of Touhou doujin, as if we didn’t have enough of arrangements from an already mediocre source, and luckily it seems some game music doujins are popping up here and there, and some very interesting. Perhaps most interesting is MUSCLE SPARK, a Kunio-Kun arrangement album from Dangerous Mesashi Cat, which will include arrangements from all over the Kunio-Kun franchise. Our friends at EGG-Music will also be at hand releasing a new CD, this time compiling the music from the PC\Cell phone games Kutar no P-Dance & URA Kutar, and CROW’SCLAW will release a new full original album called Blacker Than The Blackest Black, most likely containing lighthearted love ballads judging by the name.

So looking at the VGMdb C76 Release List, is there any specific release you look forward to, and any doujin circle you want OSV to put more attention on in the future? Let us know!

Now where is my cat…..

It just struck me that CHRONOTORIOUS is technically the third album to come out of OneUp Studios that focuses on the music of Yasunori Mitsuda. His work is certainly deserving of this attention, and Chrono Trigger truly is my favorite Mitsuda soundtrack to date, so I’m not complaining. You won’t be complaining either, as CHRONOTORIOUS hits the spot.

This album is different from Time & Space and Xenogears Light in a lot of ways. This is a Bad Dudes project to the core, with some rough-and-tumble arrangements of some of the best tracks from Chrono Trigger, including my favorites: “Undersea Palace” and “Magus Theme.” And wow, the “Magus Theme” remix here is the first I’ve heard that actually does justice to the original.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Find out what we think in our review of CHRONOTORIOUS after the jump! (more…)

Hammering away at the Earth Defense Force was made so much easier thanks to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of Red Faction Guerrilla. Thankfully, the good folks over at THQ have finally made the score available for download at Amazon and Lala. Clocking in at over three hours in length, this one is sure to be a winner! Get it now!*

*Original Sound Version is not responsible for any sudden urge to hammer and/or drive through people or buildings whilst listening to this soundtrack.

Full story can be found HERE.

Little King’s Story has finally conquered the world, and seen it’s release worldwide. After being released in Europe late April, Japan and the US have been eagerly awaiting this little masterpiece, and with the high praise from European magazines, the wait was almost unbearable for some. One of the definite highlights of the game is the wonderful music, and now that the little king has finally traveled all over the world, we thought it would be a good time to talk to the composer, Yutaka Minobe, about the process of arranging the classic material and how it is to work on the same game as composer Yoko Shimomura

Read the interview after the jump. (more…)

Hot on the heals of the announcement of Wave Master’s Shinobi Complete Works CD, they have now also announced a complete collection of for Alex Kidd series! Alex Kidd was Sega’s mascot during the Master System era, and for many a glorious early memory of their humble gaming beginnings.

While no tracklist has been revealed at this time, the album name would suggest that every game is included. There are a total of 6 Alex Kidd games, and he was also featured in some cameos in different games, the latest being Segagaga on the Dreamcast. You can also expect some arrangements, as our great friend Takenobu Mitusyoshi has been mentioned to be on this album!

What other Sega classics would you like to see getting the collection treatment from Wave Master?

[via Carl Laron’s Twitter feed]