Brave Wave Productions

Events, Game Music

DRAGOON TUNES: Saori Kobayashi Performs at Japan Expo 2016

August 4, 2016 | Ryan Paquet | 1 Comment Share this

Japan Expo 2016 was held in Paris from July 7 to 10, 2016, and one of the highlights of the event was that Saori Kobayashi performed music from AZEL:Panzer Dragoon RPG (Panzer Dragoon Saga), Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Crimson Dragon.

She also performed music from her most recent album Terra Magica. Although the full performances are not available online, I was able to track down one video from the main performance of “Mother” from Terra Magica with the Japan Game Music Orchestra (JAGMO), and vocalist Eri Ito. The sound quality isn’t the best but it does offer a glimpse of what you would have seen if you had been in attendance.

I also noticed that Saori Kobayashi performed at the Paris Special Showcase (also part of Japan Expo 2016) on piano accompanied by solo soprano saxophonist, Jordi Asensio. In the above three videos you can listen to lovely renditions of “Sona mi areru ec sancitu” from Panzer Dragoon Saga, “Anu Orta Veniya” from Panzer Dragoon Orta, and the “Crimson Dragon Waltz” from Crimson Dragon.

As a Saori Kobayashi fan who couldn’t attend Japan Expo 2016 in Paris, I’m happy that these videos are available for the world to enjoy. Take some time to listen to these wonderful Dragoon tunes. Terra Magica, Saori Kobayashi’s latest album, is available now digitally for $13 and on CD for $16 plus shipping from Brave Wave Productions.

Did you attend Japan Expo 2016 and see Saori Kobayashi live? Let us know what you thought of the event!
Game Music

FLAT KINGDOM ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: AVAILABLE NOW

October 22, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on FLAT KINGDOM ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: AVAILABLE NOW Share this

Brave Wave Productions released the soundtrack to Flat Kingdom earlier this month on October 2, 2015. Manami Matsumae’s latest work is a refreshing take on music for an adventure platformer. Brave Wave describes the game briefly:

Flat Kingdom is a 2D platformer for Steam. In this magical place, everything is Flat as paper. But the evil masked thief recently kidnapped the princess and stole the magic jewels from the king! Now everything is turning into 3D, animals became evil, and chaos threatens to engulf the whole world. The only one capable of withstanding this madness is Flat, a little hero who can transform into a circle, triangle, or square at will. With his abilities, he must face great dangers in order to save the world!

Manami Matsumae is famously known as the composer and sound designer of the original Mega Man, making both the addictive music and the memorable sound effects back then.

BRAVE WAVE PRODUCTIONS

According to the Steam web site for the game Manami Matsumae describes how she approached the music for the game:

“I saw that the game was a very fun-looking puzzle action title with a protagonist similar to Kirby. So I thought of a theme that symbolized the cuteness of the characters while having plenty of motion. I hope everyone enjoys this game”.

Manami Matsumae

I just finished listening to the album and it’s a solid effort and at times did remind me of some Kirby game moments. The album is available at Brave Wave Productions as a digital download for $9. The game has not been released on Steam yet but it looks great, you can read more about it on the Flat Kingdom website.
Game Music

Exile’s End Original Soundtrack Available Now from Brave Wave

September 2, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 89 Comments Share this

Brave Wave Productions just released the soundtrack to Exile’s End by composer Keiji Yamagishi known for Ninja Gaiden. The game was developed by Magnetic realms and published by Marvelous Inc.

Exile’s End is an homage to early 90’s action-adventure PC games like Flashback and Another World, but with a Japanese flair. The core of the game is from Australian game maker Magnetic Realms with art, cutscenes, and music provided by legends of the 8 and 16-bit eras from Japan. It draws its thematic influence from the science-fiction films and anime of the 80’s and its gameplay from classic Amiga and Commodore 64 action-adventures.

When tasked with composing the game, Keiji Yamagishi delved into uncharted territory by experimenting with moody, ambient electronica — a welcome departure from his signature style.

Brave Wave Productions

The album is available as a digital download from Brave Wave for $7.00, or as a bonus DLC if you buy the game on Steam during the first week for $9.34 (15% Off until September 7!) From what I’ve heard so far it is a fantastic release. Let us know what you think!
Game Music, Indie Music

Heart Beat Circuit by Smoke Thief Available for Pre-order at Brave Wave

August 2, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Heart Beat Circuit by Smoke Thief Available for Pre-order at Brave Wave Share this

Brave Wave is now accepting pre-orders for their latest album titled Heart Beat Circut by Smoke Thief (George Arthur Baker). The album will be released on August 20, 2015. According to Brave Wave, the album has been a five year journey:

Heart Beat Circuit is an album five years in the making. After completing his Master’s degree in music performance in 2010, George “Smoke Thief” Baker began to conceptualize what would take shape into his first album. An image came to him of a futuristic female android who achieves sentience, which opens up a world of new experiences to her and the opportunity to forge a new life. This android, later named Krystal, serves as the main inspiration for the album, as well as appearing on the album cover.

Smoke Thief experiments with a variety of musical styles to explore Krystal’s world and experiences. He strives to contrast the mathematical, logical aspect of music with its more human qualities by mixing genres from ambient to jazz, and fusing electronic elements with instruments such as saxophone.

With contributions from renowned video game composers Manami Matsumae (Mega Man), Saori Kobayashi (Panzer Dragoon Saga), and Takahiro Izutani (Bayonetta), Heart Beat Circuit takes the listener on a futuristic journey through the mind of this groundbreaking composer and that of Krystal, his muse.

Brave Wave Productions

When you pre-order the album you’ll automatically receive a digital copy of the above audibly stunning track “Dusktone (ft. Manami Matsumae). The track reminds me of music composed by the electronic artist BT (Brian Transeau), but with a unique digital sound. The album is available for pre-order digitally for $10, or $16 for a gorgeous digi-pak which also includes the digital download.

Let me know what you think of the preview track, does it remind you of anything you’ve heard before?
Miscellaneous

International “IN FLUX” Collaboration Album Released!

March 6, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

The team behind the fantastic World 1-2 and World 1-2: Encore collaboration albums, has just announced the release date for their next compilation album, IN FLUX, set to debut on March 4, 2014. The album, overseen by Mega Man and upcoming Might no.9 composer Manami Matsumae, will feature a diverse selection of music genres from chip music to electronica to metal from a menagerie of notable composers and artists such as Saori Kobayashi (of Panzer Dragoon Saga), Keiji Yamagishi (of Ninja Gaiden) and Akira Yamaoka (of Silent Hill) from Japan; Stemage (of Metroid Metal), Tim McCord (of Evanescence) and several more!

Brave Wave Productions president and IN FLUX director Mohammed Taher comments,

“Instead of replicating what we did with World 1-2, we went in a new and inventive direction: having the Japanese and Western composers collaborate. The album isn’t exclusive to this idea, but we have a number of tracks where it’s this eccentric mix of more than one composer contributing significantly to a track, leaping over the language gap and creating music that matters.”

The album will retail for $10 on Bandcamp with a limited edition digipak for $15, and $12 on iTunes. The physical copies have been pressed in limited quantities and will be available to purchase in person at Bit Summit MMXIV in Kyoto, Japan in March 7-9, as well as online at: http://store.bravewave.net