The Legend of Zelda

Doujin, Game Music

Experience the Zelda Mythology Through Music with Sins of Hyrule

December 4, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Experience the Zelda Mythology Through Music with Sins of Hyrule Share this

How many times can you said you’ve listened to the music of The Legend of Zelda in epic ballad format? Artist Rozen and Materia Collective decided to make such a thing a reality with Sins of Hyrule.

A retelling of the eternal conflict between the Goddess Hylia and the Evil of evils, Demise, through 15 tracks of arrangements, Sins of Hyrule delivers a sonic experience that embraces music with electronic flavors. Featuring music from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess alongside original works by composer/arranger Rozen, Sins of Hyrule challenges the usual take on video game arrangement albums.

More than a straightforward orchestral remix album, this album goes deeper into retelling the mythos of Hyrule, scoring the key moments where humanity is the audience to the colossal battles between light and shadow. Through the use of live instruments, huge percussion, choir, hybrid elements, and dreamy vocals, experience the dark nature and the never-ending cycle of the curse trapped inside the divine-given Triforce.” – Rozen, Album Producer

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

Sins of Hyrule is licensed and available now in digital format’s via Bandcamp, iTunes and Google Play and limited physical CD formats.
Doujin, Game Music

Rock Out to Legend of Zelda With Octorock: The Zelda Metal EP

November 21, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Rock Out to Legend of Zelda With Octorock: The Zelda Metal EP Share this

Metalhead fans of The Legend of Zelda can get a taste of their two favorite things with the release of Octorok: The Zelda Metal EP that’s recently released by Materia Collective. Featuring arrangements from Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword by arranger and guitarist Joel Kent, Octorock brings shreddage to several classic tunes across the series musical library.

“I’ve been a huge Zelda nerd for as long as I’ve been able to hold a controller. And I still remember my first experience with the series: watching the full moon rise over Hyrule Field during the opening cinematic of Ocarina of Time. When I start up the game and hear those opening chords it still gives me chills and probably always will. Journeying through the various titles in the series to Koji Kondo’s melodies had as much an impression on me growing up as listening to my Dad’s classic rock albums.” – Joel Kent, Producer & Arranger

<a href="http://joelkentguitar.bandcamp.com/album/octorock-the-zelda-metal-ep">Octorock: The Zelda Metal EP by Joel Kent</a>

You can learn more about the Octorock: The Zelda Metal EP on the Materia Collective website, or purchase the album for yourself on Bandcamp, iTunes or streaming on Spotify.
Experimental, Indie Music

Switched on SNES: A Link to the Past Cassettes & New Album Announced

August 30, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Switched on SNES: A Link to the Past Cassettes & New Album Announced Share this

Back in late Spring the initial run of Switched on SNES: A Link to the Past on cassette sold out pretty quickly. The selection of classic Zelda themes rearranged for analog synthesizers is still available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube but for those who missed the physical offering there is once again hope.

Pre-orders are up now for the second, limited edition run of 300 cassette tapes to be shipped out this Fall. The $10 purchase gets you the gold label cassette with a uniquely colored liner as well as a digital copy of the next Switched on SNES release featuring Secret of Mana.

Surprise, the next Switched on SNES release is Secret of Mana! We’ll be sure to let you know when that new release is out.
Experimental, Indie Music

A Link to the Past gets the Analog Synth Treatment

April 24, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | 2 Comments Share this

If Luminist’s Metroid: Resynthesized has left you wanting more Nintendo music on analog synthesizers, let me point you to Switched on SNES. It’s the first in a series from producer Will Patterson that aims to bring gaming’s musical masterpieces to new listeners by way of analog synths and drum machines.

The style fits quite well for A Link to the Past, smoothing out the instrumentation of the SNES original without sounding like a near-unrecognizable remix. Unfortunately, and just like Resynthesized, the album is painfully short and runs for just under 15 minutes. In its defense, the album doesn’t promise to rearrange the entire soundtrack and the themes that Patterson has chosen fit his minimal and subdued style in unison. I just wish there could be more of it!

<a href="http://switchedonsnes.bandcamp.com/album/switched-on-a-link-to-the-past">Switched On: A Link to The Past by Switched On SNES</a>

While he may never expand on A Link to the Past, Patterson does have plans to visit more SNES franchises. The album’s Bandcamp page mentions Secret of Mana, Earthbound and Donkey Kong Country as potential upcoming entries. Switched on SNES is available now for $5 on Bandcamp.

What SNES soundtrack would you love to hear given the analog synth treatment? Let us know in the comments below.
Game Music

The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary Concert Album Now Available

February 15, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

If you were waiting for the release of the Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary Concert to come out to CD, wait no longer. Both the regular and limited edition of the tribute to 30 years of The Legend of Zelda releases today.

Recorded live this past October at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Theater by The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Taizo Takemoto (Press Start – Symphony of Games-), the 14-track album captures the musical essence of the Zelda games, featuring several classic tracks performed along with music from Wind Waker, Ocarina, Link Between Worlds, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess, with an encore of the Breath of the Wild theme.

The audio import of the album can now be purchased by several retailers in both the regular and limited edition (shown above), including Amazon and CDJapan.
Game Music

The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary Album Available Now

September 30, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | 4 Comments Share this

Just like they did last year for Mario’s 30th anniversary, Nintendo has just released a massive 2-disc album chronicling the history of the Legend of Zelda series. The 30th Anniversary: The Legend of Zelda Game Music Collection contains 93 tracks and hits every major release in the series including the Game Boy Color editions and the most recent installment of Tri Force Heroes. The first pressing also comes in a deluxe package with sixteen interchangeable covers, one representing each entry in the series. Play-Asia still has copies available for $38.99 as of this writing.

And if you’re in the mood to reminisce about the Zelda’s of yore while listening you can pick up the dazzling Legend of Zelda Hyrule Graphics 30th Anniversary Book for $54.99. It’s filled with over 2,000 character images and illustrations from the same landmark entries in the series as the music album.

Check out some more details on the album from vgmdb and some images from the art book inside.

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Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Then The Healing Came

March 4, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Then The Healing Came Share this

The Legend of Zelda series has always incorporated music into it’s lore in one way or another. From use as a teleportation item in the original Legend of Zelda, to more specific plot devices like Ocarina of Time, instruments and music are a consistent element in the series.

One of the notable mechanics of the N64 Zelda games is the use of the ocarina tunes to interact with the game world. By necessity they are short pieces, but that hasn’t stopped people from producing entire covers and arrangements around them. In today’s case, we have an orchestral arrangement of the “Song of Healing” from Majora’s Mask by George R. Powell titled “Then The Healing Came.”

The arrangement is ultimately a cinematic reimagining of the original track. Powell begins with an original introduction. The instruments set a solemn but mystic tone, that evokes a very cinematic experience. When the melody enters, at the 0’58,” it’s done so with a solo on the flute. Accompanied by a celeste and sustained chords in the violins, this first presentation of the theme has a haunting and magical tone that ends up being a perfect fit for the melancholic source material.

The piece later builds up with vocals, brass, and drums, giving the repeated theme a grander sound. However, this soon quiets back down to just the celeste and bells. I particularly like how the arrangement captures the spirit of the song’s use in the game, which is primarily to bring peace to tormented souls that you encounter. The calm tone, low key atmosphere, and light orchestration make this an arrangement that shows respect for the source piece while also showcasing this artist’s music chops.

Heard any good orchestral arrangements of game music this week? Fell free to share them with us in the comments below. You can check out George R. Powell’s “Then The Healing Came” on OC ReMix and you can check out more of Powell’s music work on his Soundcloud page.