The Legend of Zelda

Doujin, Game Music

GameChops Releases “Zelda & Chill” Legend of Zelda Hip Hop Album

September 20, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on GameChops Releases “Zelda & Chill” Legend of Zelda Hip Hop Album Share this

The “Netflix and Chill” meme has now permeated VGM culture, ladies and gentlemen. German beat-maker Mikel and mastered by Philadelphia based Dj CUTMAN have released hip-hop album Zelda & Chill, which features 14 Zelda themes from the across the whole Legend of Zelda series history.

Featuring compositions from Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi, Hajime Wakai, Takeshi Hama, Manaka Kataoka, and Yasuaki Iwata, Zelda & Chill contains music from the original Legend of Zelda for NES all the way up to Breath of the Wild, including fan-favorites such as “Gerudo Valley”, “Song of Storms” and “Lost Woods” plus more. These tracks were recreated with classic keyboard sounds, atmospheric synths and laid back beats, the perfect soundtrack to study, have on in your office or, well, just chill to.

<a href="http://music.gamechops.com/album/zelda-chill">Zelda & Chill by Mikel & GameChops</a>

Zelda & Chill is available digitally worldwide, it can be streamed on Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music, and downloaded from iTunes, Play, Amazon and more. http://smarturl.it/zeldachill
Game Music

Pre-Order Video Game Music Box Albums on Bandcamp

July 31, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Pre-Order Video Game Music Box Albums on Bandcamp Share this

So many of us in the video game and VGM scene are avid collectors of our favorite games and game soundtracks. Even the most manly fan would likely fork over a fair sum to own a dainty music box that played familiar tunes from the likes of Super Mario Bros. and Chrono Trigger. Unfortunately, mass-producing custom music boxes is not an industry many have gone into, and maybe some day we’ll see it tapped into like the video game music vinyl craze that’s been ongoing for the past year or two. Until then, Materia Collective and String Player Gamer have made up the difference by creating seven albums of classic video game music that have all been transcribed into charming music box covers.

Video Game Music Box is a series of album that takes classic games such as Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda and turns their most beloved music tracks into renditions you’d hear straight out of a music box from the days of old. Each album grabs from music from either a select game or from several games across a particular franchise, and redubs them into simple music box chimes that seem to speak to the little kid in you, winding up our grandmother’s music boxes and listening to the melodies until it runs out. Thankfully with these albums, not only is winding them up not necessary, but unlike a standalone music box, you get more than just one tune.

<a href="http://videogamemusicbox.bandcamp.com/album/music-box-classics-chrono-trigger">Music Box Classics: Chrono Trigger by Video Game Music Box</a>

<a href="http://videogamemusicbox.bandcamp.com/album/music-box-classics-castlevania">Music Box Classics: Castlevania by Video Game Music Box</a>

Each Video Game Music Box album is currently available for pre-order for $7 apiece and will release on August 14th. With any luck, it inspires some physical releases of video game music boxes sometime in the (hopefully near) future, because having a custom music box of Castlevania or Undertale music at your bedside would be about as delightful as it gets.
Doujin, Game Music

Orchestral Album Ballads of Hyrule Now Available for Pre-order

April 26, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Orchestral Album Ballads of Hyrule Now Available for Pre-order Share this

Late last year, arranger Rozen chronicled the mythology of The Legend of Zelda games through the music of the Sins of Hyrule album. Now almost half a year later, Rozen is following up with an orchestral companion album to further whet your musical whistle.

Ballads of Hyrule is a 15 track album that includes several fan-favorite tracks from across the series, such as “Song of Storms” and “Zelda’s Lullaby” from Ocarina of Time, “Ballad of the Windfish” from Link’s Awakening, “Outset Island” and “Dragon Roost Island” from Wind Waker, and “Kass’s Theme” from Breath of the Wild. Taking these memorable themes and more, the album puts a majestic spin on the music of The Legend of Zelda game series.

“Ballads of Hyrule is the spiritual antithesis to Sins of Hyrule. The goal is to draw you into the more contemplative side of the lands of Hyrule; a nocturnal walk that feeds on the gifts left by the three goddesses: Nayru, Farore and Din, captured in nature.” – Rozen, Album Producer

<a href="http://music.rozen.audio/album/ballads-of-hyrule">Ballads of Hyrule by Rozen</a>

Ballads of Hyrule drops on May 1 in digital, CD and vinyl formats and is currently available for pre-order on Bandcamp. The vinyl release will be limited to 500 copies, so enthusiasts are encouraged to act soon after the album releases.
Doujin, Game Music

Go on a Audio Adventure with Game Music Remix Album Reprisal

January 9, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Go on a Audio Adventure with Game Music Remix Album Reprisal Share this

It might be 2018, but there’s still tons of music from 2017 that needs it’s proper due. Take for instance Materia Collective and artist Harry Lodes who released game arrangement album Reprisal in December. Featuring some of the most iconic pieces of game music from titles such as Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Okami, and many others, Reprisal aims to take listeners into the heroic themes of each piece.

Whether I was defeating Yami, searching for rare pokémon, or journeying to rescue Princess Zelda from the clutches of Ganon, I always felt as if I was living in a single moment, frozen in time: one that permanently and eternally held a spirit of limitless adventure. Every remix is written to depict a single moment frozen in time, one I hope you will choose to live and re-live as I have. – Harry Lodes, Album Producer

<a href="http://harrylodes.bandcamp.com/album/reprisal">Reprisal by Harry Lodes</a>

Reprisal is currently available for purchase on Bandcamp, iTunes and streaming on Spotify. You can also find the album’s full credits and information on Materia Collective‘s website.
Chip Music, Game Music, Reviews

Chiptunes and Chiptars – Marshall Art Timeline EP (Review)

December 20, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Chiptunes and Chiptars – Marshall Art Timeline EP (Review) Share this

The combination of chiptunes and live instruments may not be a new thing these days, but the duo of Jeffrey “jmr” Roberts and Mikhail “streifig” Ivanov that make up the band Marshall Art helped to master the the concept in the past handful of years. Having released albums of both original compositions as well as arrangements of game music and even live performances at MAGFest, the chiprock team has created a synergy that sounds both retro and fresh at the same time.

With the recent release of their newest EP, Timeline, Marshall Art continues that trend while also bringing in the talents of post-rock musician Cory Johnson to craft a small tribute to old and new game music. The four-track album features arrangements of tracks from The Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and Undertale that take a low-key progressive rock flavor interlaced with chip music that does homage to the roots of the track’s origins as 8 and 16-bit soundtracks while also keeping things sounding modern.

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Experimental, Indie Music

Switched on SNES Returns with more Zelda Tapes, Secret of Mana Teaser

December 15, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Switched on SNES Returns with more Zelda Tapes, Secret of Mana Teaser Share this

If you missed grabbing a cassette copy of Switched on SNES’s analog synth rendition of A Link to the Past, they’ve got a little Christmas miracle for you. There are only 100 cassettes up for sale after filling the second round of pre-orders so if Zelda, synths, or cassettes fit the bill for you or someone on your shopping list, hop to it!

Alongside the new cassettes, Switched on SNES has released a preview track from their next album that focuses on another beloved SNES RPG, Secret of Mana. I wasn’t sure how Hiroki Kikuta’s score would sound with the analog synth treatment but “Into the Thick of It” definitely benefits from the extra boost of melancholy that the Switched On SNES style brings. Check it out, grab a tape of Zelda, and look for the Secret of Mana album to hit Bandcamp in January.
Indie Music, Miscellaneous

Legend of Zelda Inspired Band Master Sword Release Album “Shadow and Steel”

December 9, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

If you’ve never heard of the video game-inspired band Master Sword, then let me take a brief moment to educate you. Hailing from Washington, DC and taking their name from The Legend of Zelda and their music subsequently inspired by the series itself, this five-piece American progressive power metal band celebrates both the series and gaming in general with a hard rock edge. Coming into their own in the VGM community music scene and who recently performed at MAGFest Labs and BitGen, Master Sword released two singles earlier this year and and EP Epoch in 2015 and now are revving up to release their first full-length album.

Shadow and Steel was originally conceived as a Kickstarter campaign which made it’s goal, and the band got to work making good on their visions.

Shadow and Steel is Master Sword’s long awaited full-length album, featuring 10 songs inspired by Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series. Hear your favorite game melodies played in a completely new way, with screaming guitars, pounding bass, expressive keyboards, innovative drumming and the siren vocals of Lily Hoy serenading you with the lost stories of Hyrule.

<a href="http://masterswordband.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-and-steel">Shadow and Steel by Master Sword</a>

You can preview the album above for a taste of the band’s style, as well as check out their MAGFest sets for live performances of tracks from the album. Shadow and Steel is currently available for pre-order on the band’s Bandcamp page in both digital and CD formats. You can also stream their other music on Soundcloud.