David Wise

Game Music

Game Soundtracks For Your Soul: Level 16

December 23, 2017 | Ryan Paquet | 1 Comment Share this

I’ve read before that being stuck on an airplane is a great thing for writing. I recently flew and had time to dwell on the music video games that dealt with flight. In this long overdue edition of Game Soundtracks For Your Soul I take a long back at some of my favorite video game scores from flying games.

Read on as I look back at the music of Captain Skyhawk on the NES, Pilotwings on the SNES, Aero Fighters Assault on the Nintendo 64, and the legendary Eternal Arcadia, also known as Skies of Arcadia which appeared both the Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube.
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Game Music

Scores of Scores! iam8bit to Release Several Vinyl OSTs from Rare for Black Friday!

November 21, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Scores of Scores! iam8bit to Release Several Vinyl OSTs from Rare for Black Friday! Share this

Black Friday will see a slew of soundtracks from games publisher Rare being released to vinyl LP thanks to iam8bit. The original game soundtracks for Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Viva Piñata and David Wise’s soundtrack for Battletoads In Battlemaniacs will all be getting record releases.

Conker’s Bad Fur Day was composed by Robin Beanland (Killer Instinct, Jet Force Gemini) for the 2001 N64 release of the crude and crass game that, while having questionable taste, had a surprisingly good soundtrack. The OST will be release on 2xLP black classic vinyl at $35USD with digital soundtrack included and new artwork by Joey Spiotto. (And yes, “The Great Mighty Poo Song” shall also be included on the release.)

Viva Piñata was composed by Rare veteran Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark) for the 2006 release on the Xbox 360, with all the charm and whimsy you can imagine associated with such a game. The 2xLP will be release in pink and green “sweet & sour” colors for $35USD, with previously unreleased tracks and include the digital soundtrack as well and new artwork by Ashton Dame.

Lastly, the soundtrack Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, composed by fellow Rare master musician David Wise (Donkey Kong Country, Marble Madness), will be released to a single LP in “starburst toad” color for $28USD. The soundtrack to the SNES beat ’em up that features the rad toads duking it out to thrash chiptune jams will include the digital soundtrack and new artwork by Dima Drjuchin

All of the soundtracks have been remastered for their respective vinyl releases, and will all go on sale this Friday, November 24th at 12:01am PST. You can nab these soundtrack and a bunch of others on the iam8bit online store.
Doujin, Game Music

GameLark Releases “Rarities” Tribute to Rare Composers

April 26, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on GameLark Releases “Rarities” Tribute to Rare Composers Share this

The video game music label GameLark has released a brand new album dedicated to the tribute of the music composers of the games released over the years by video game developer Rare.

Rarities is an album dedicated to the iconic composers of Rare that shaped an entire generation of gamers. Featuring tracks from classic games like Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong Country, as well as Yooka-Laylee, Rarities is sure to scratch that nostalgic itch. Rarities is fully licensed and available on iTunes and other digital retailers.

Featuring arrangements of the music from legendary composers Grant Kirkhope and Davis Wise (We’ll say Robin Beanland and Graeme Norgate too, since both composed Killer Instinct and worked with either Wise or Kirkhope on several other Rare titles featured on this album), Rarities is a 14-track dedication to years of game music memories.

“Rarities is an exciting cornucopia of some of the best platforming games, filled with electronic, rock, metal, and jazz interpretations of the goofiest soundtracks. From start to finish, every song will have you humming along and imagining the googly eyes and talking animals that brought these worlds to life.” – Ro Panuganti, album manager

You can check out Rarities on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music and streaming on Spotify.
Events, Game Music, Indie Music

‘An Evening of Videogame Music’ highlights UK Indie Games

March 26, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on ‘An Evening of Videogame Music’ highlights UK Indie Games Share this

Orchestral game music concerts are popping up in ever-increasing numbers these days and to set themselves apart each one seems to be trying something new. One of the latest performances is ‘An Evening of Videogame Music’ from the Leeds International Festival Orchestra that’s happening on April 25th at the University of Leeds in England.

Putting a focus on local and UK developed indie titles, the night will see the first live performances of David Wise’s compositions for Snake Pass and Barrington Pheloung’s music from the classic adventure series, Broken Sword. Revolution Software co-founder, Charles Cecil, will be on hand to introduce the Broken Sword performance.

‘An Evening of Videogame Music’ will also feature a piece from The Chinese Room’s Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture written by Jessica Curry, and exclusive music from the upcoming Yooka-Laylee from renowned games composer Grant Kirkhope. Music from Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls and Fallout will also be performed during the two-hour show. Tickets are available now from Luna Tickets for £22.00 and as always, let us know with a comment if you attend the show.
Game Music

David Wise Announced as Composer for Snake Pass

February 14, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on David Wise Announced as Composer for Snake Pass Share this

Though neoGAF speculators had already guessed the composer’s name based on some livestreams, Sumo Digital has made it official by announcing David Wise as the man behind the music of their physics platformer, Snake Pass. Being inspired by classic Rare titles in design and visuals alike, it was a natural fit for David Wise given his history with the studio and longtime work on the Donkey Kong Country franchise. He even composed Snake, Rattle ‘N’ Roll on the NES which I can’t help draw a little comparison to given Snake Pass’ starring serpent.

“Once I played the game and saw the captivating world Sumo created, it set my mind on fire. I immediately began composing melodies, then worked with the team to develop these and nail down the feel of the soundtrack,” said David Wise. “We’ve ended up with something that not only pays tribute to the game’s classic inspirations, but also brings something new to the table, just as the game’s mechanics do!”

Check out two painfully brief snippets of Wise’s compositions above and then take a look at some of Sumo’s footage from the game. It looks delightfully Rare-ish with a vibrant world, cute critters and a really interesting gameplay mechanic. Snake Pass is due out in “early 2017” and will be hitting every major platform when it does including Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch. A soundtrack release will hopefully not be far behind.
Game Music

Community Question: What Is Your Favorite Remix of Aquatic Ambiance?

June 3, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | 4 Comments Share this

During the past month we’ve asked our readers about the first game soundtrack they ever listened to and about the first game music arrangement that they had heard. This week, I’d like to pose a more specific question to game music remix fans out there. Since starting up the Arrangement of the Week posts on OSV last year, I’ve listened to a tons of game pieces reimagined and remixed into a variety of styles. As a result I began to notice a pattern in favorite tracks among remix artists. One of these trends is the frequent covering of Donkey Kong Country’s “Aquatic Ambiance” by composer David Wise. So the question for this week is: What Is Your Favorite Remix of Aquatic Ambiance?

It’s not hard to understand why this track in particular gets so much attention. The original’s ethereal tone makes it great for chill electronic interpretations like “A Hint of Blue” by artists Gibs and Mordi. At the same time the track’s memorable melodies make it a good candidate for metal covers like ToxicEternity’s “Aquatic Shrediance.”

While I’ve enjoyed a number of great ambient electronic and rock versions of the classic Donkey Kong Country track, I’ve also heard a few great acoustic versions. Gentle Love’s saxophone and piano duet interpretation off their album Perscription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies is one that instantly comes to mind. Part of the appeal to me for this version is the generous amount of time devoted to improvisation with the material, a feature which is present on the entire game arrangement album.

“Aquatic Ambiance” has seen many arrangements and there’s no doubt that I’ve heard only a fraction of what’s out there. Music remix site OC ReMix boasts sixteen different arrangements of the piece alone (as of this writing), and there are tons of other interpretations floating around on YouTube and Soundcloud. So do you have a favorite remix or arrangement of “Aquatic Ambiance” that you’d like to share? Tell us about them in the comments!
Game Music

David Wise Recalls History with Battletoads & Plays Theme

January 29, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

Battletoads is one of those games that lives in infamy for a few things, such as its ridiculous speed bike challenge and it’s simplistically catchy pause music. That last one you can chalk up to composer David Wise, who worked his magic on the 1991 beat ’em up. Recently, the video series “Rare Revealed” goes through recalling the history of game developer Rare, and includes talking with Wise about his time working on composing for games, including Battletoads.

It also includes him treating the viewer to an impromptu piano performance of the Battletoads Theme at 3:32.

Definitely a fun video to watch if your a fan of Battletoads, Wise or just learning about Rare’s history through gaming. You can check out the rest of the Rare Revealed/Replay videos on their Youtube channel.