Jazz

Game Music, Indie Music

Piano Jazz duo The Swinging Globes Debut with Cross-Media Medleys

October 26, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Piano Jazz duo The Swinging Globes Debut with Cross-Media Medleys Share this

If Cuphead (or GameChops’ new remix) has you raring for more jazz, then the mellow style of The Swinging Globes’ debut album Universe might be just the thing. The French duo play piano and percussion giving the album a consistent, minimal feel while each track bounces between themes from games and movies with nods to classical and jazz standards.

Their sound won me over right from the start with an unexpected piano jazz rendition of the Avengers movie theme I didn’t know I needed so badly. While “Avenjazz” sticks almost exclusively to Alan Silvestri’s theme there’s also a tiny bit of Zelda hiding in the track. It’s fairly simple in the first two songs but it seems intentional as an introduction for what’s to come.

Each successive track adds more and more cues. “Quick Call” opens with the Spring Yard Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog before swelling into a soulful take on “Megalovania” from Undertale. It suddenly dwindles down to just the piano and builds up once more into Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from The Exorcist with Toccata and Fugue in D minor as an unexpected bridge.

<a href="http://theswingingglobes.bandcamp.com/album/universe">Universe by The Swinging Globes</a>

In “Super Jazz Bross” the pair mix themes from a trio of Super Mario titles with John Coltrane and in “Bond strikes back” they combine the James Bond Theme with a medley of Star Wars tunes in ways I’ve never heard nor expected. Finally, there’s “SIMS” which is the most ambitious mix visiting The Sims, Silent Hill 2, more John Coltrane and “Tubular Bells” along with five themes from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

Six tracks honestly feels like a short album but there’s so much to hear in Universe that you might think you’ve been listening for hours. It also flows really well from one track to another, and back to the start again when you inevitably hit Repeat on your player. Take a listen for yourself over at The Swinging Globes’ Bandcamp page and grab it for 3€ if you like what you hear.
Game Music, Indie Music

Cuphead OST: Nearly 3 Hours of Jazz, Ragtime, and Surprises

October 6, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Cuphead OST: Nearly 3 Hours of Jazz, Ragtime, and Surprises Share this

You might recognize Cuphead as the dazzling looking “playable cartoon” that we’ve been catching glimpses of since late 2013. Yes, it’s been that long, but most of the coverage over those last four years has come from flashy sizzle reels or the raucous halls of E3 and PAX. In those settings it’s easy to see what makes Cuphead so special but now that it’s out we can finally appreciate the breadth of its soundtrack from Kristofer Maddigan.

And oh what a soundtrack it is! Just check out this description: the Cuphead OST features nearly 3 hours of original jazz, early big band, and ragtime music. Each song is played by live musicians, including a 13-piece big band, 10-piece ragtime ensemble, a solo pianist, a vocalist, a tap dancer, and a few surprises.

<a href="http://studiomdhr.bandcamp.com/album/cuphead-original-soundtrack">Cuphead – Original Soundtrack by Kristofer Maddigan</a>

As a fan of ol’ timey styles it’s been a joy to soak in this variety with just a few highlights being the vocal theme for King Dice and the surprising performance by barbershop quartet, ‘Shoptimus Prime on “A Quick Break”. I get a serious Skullmonkeys or‘Splosion Man vibe from that one. Speaking of influences, it warms my game-music-loving heart to see Maddigan include some of our beloved favorites alongside genre-defining legends. Uematsu and Mitsuda sit among Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, John Williams, and dozens of others that led to Maddigan’s huge score.

Take a listen for yourself and pick up the album on Bandcamp for $10 or on Steam alongside the game.
Doujin

Listen To: Chrono Trigger’s ‘Secret of the Forest’ by Reuben Gingrich

June 7, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

It’s always a fun little treat when you come across a band or musician who normally does their own thing with original music in their own style, but then suddenly breaks out a video game cover. (I’m looking at you, Mutoid Man) It’s like getting a neat little surprise in your cereal box.

Jazz musician Reuben Gingrich recently released his first album, Blue Island, which features 11 tracks of what his Bandcamp describes as “Space Funk to the Dome”. It’s all enjoyable stuff to listen to for some chill tunes so you should check it out on its own merits, but nestled in the middle of the album is delightful tribute to Chrono Trigger‘s “Secret of the Forest”.

The original song, composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, is the theme of the Guardia Forest from the Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack. The song and video production done by Gingrich are both top notch and worth the attention. You can check out the entire Blue Island album on Bandcamp and Spotify.

What hidden gems of video game music have you found buried within seemingly innocuous original music albums before? Share them with us in the comments!
Doujin, Game Music, Reviews

Coming Up All 7’s – Part Seven by The OneUps (Review)

March 28, 2016 | Sebastian Urrea | Comments Off on Coming Up All 7’s – Part Seven by The OneUps (Review) Share this

The OneUps have just released their seventh studio album, appropriately titled “Part Seven”. The OneUps are a video game music cover band that performs arrangements of a wide variety of music, oftentimes in variations of jazz and rock styles. Their latest album, released just prior to this past MAGFest last month, continues this trend with new covers in a funk rock style. It includes a nice selection of songs, including some fairly familiar ones and some less so. Read on for the full review.

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Doujin, Game Music

The OneUps New Album “Part Seven” Now Available Online

February 26, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on The OneUps New Album “Part Seven” Now Available Online Share this

If you hadn’t heard, game band The OneUps recently debuted their newest album, Part Seven featuring arrangements from F-Zero, Earthbound, Megaman 2 and more. Done in their signature mashup of smooth jazz-funk-rock fusion, this marks their seventh studio release. (If you couldn’t tell.)

Physical copies of the 11-track album were released at MAGFest last week, and digital format was supposed to be released at the same time but complication lead to a delay until today. Part Seven has now been released for purchase on Loudr, with releases to iTunes and Spotify soon to follow.

Songs off the new album were performed live at this past MAGFest 2016 via the MAGFest Youtube channel. Worth the check out for a preview of their new music.

The OneUps – Part Seven | Twitter | Facebook
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Gemini Man

January 15, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Gemini Man Share this Arrangement of the Week: Gemini Man

There are some interesting approaches that composers and arrangers take in mixing instruments from different genres. 8-bit sounds have worked well in combination with rock instruments for chiptune rock arrangements, and there’s a healthy dose of dance and electronic genres that 8 bit sounds have meshed well with. Today’s selection for Arrangement of the Week combines the sound capabilities of the NES with upbeat jazz piano.

This peculiar concept comes from artist Shnabubula who has created an entire album, NES Jams, that features arrangements of game music for piano and the NES sound chip. Today we will be looking at one of my favorite tracks on the album, “Gemini Man.”

<a href="http://shnabubulamusic.bandcamp.com/album/nes-jams">NES Jams by Shnabubula</a>

Like the other pieces on the album, the piano is the focus for the arrangement. The NES chip music acts primarily as accompaniment, performing much like the virtual members of a jazz quartet. The percussive effects act as drums, there are discernible 8-bit bass lines, and plenty of countermelodies are provided from the other 8-bit instrument voices to support the piano performance.

The piano gets a majority of the melodic material, with some occasional melody doubling from the NES instruments. There are also some great improvisation sections. At the 2’00” mark, for example, the piano and a few of the NES instruments play some solos against each other. This works as a nice contrast to the earlier sections and it transitions smoothly back to the reprise of the primary themes for a great finale. All in all, it’s an interesting mashup of music elements that makes for a very memorable Megaman 3 arrangement.

Have you heard any interesting instrument combinations for VGM arrangements? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below. You can check out “Gemini Man” and the full NES Jams album on Shnabubula’s Bandcamp page.
Experimental, Game Music

V-Jams Takes DOOM, Sonic, Killer Instinct & More on a Jazz Fusion Ride

August 15, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on V-Jams Takes DOOM, Sonic, Killer Instinct & More on a Jazz Fusion Ride Share this

Poking around Bandcamp new releases again (an exercise that could easily be a weekly feature) I stumbled upon the fantastic self-titled debut album from V-Jams. The six-member group out of Idaho aimed to rearrange some familiar video game tunes in styles that are completely different than the source material. As my initial listen to the album left me speechless I’d say it was an immense success.

Though the album’s tags wander across go-go, jazz fusion, neo-soul, R&B, bossa nova, hip hop and more it mostly feels like a unified style thanks to the amazing and consistent guitar and percussion performances. If I had to pick just one of those tags it’d be jazz fusion as the whole album has a smooth, cool, soulful feel despite the various influences.

Nothing encapsulates the group’s desire to get far, far away from the source material like this track. An arrangement of “I Sawed the Demons” from DOOM, the original track amped up the game’s insane movement speed and gory hellions with sawing guitars and spastic drum fills. V-Jams’ version is anything but hellacious but it’s still pretty intense. The drum work is incredible and though things are slowed down to fill nearly nine minutes the percussion is constantly juking, jabbing and driving as an ethereal guitar plucks out the familiar tune.

Around two minutes in a wailing funk guitar features and around the four-minute mark a heavily effected, almost synth sounding guitar joins for a bit. Things pick up again from here with more outstanding drum work, another funk guitar run and a soaring climax.

Remember when people would take pop songs and slow them down by 1000% to create mesmerizing soundscapes? Take the Killer Instinct theme and slow it down by only 300% and let V-Jams noodle on it and you get the slightest hint of how incredible this fifteen minute improvisational jazz track can be. The wailing electric guitar of the original is replaced here by a smooth, wandering saxophone that doesn’t even get to the most recognizable melody until two minutes in. It passes back and forth between a smoldering soul guitar and the two frequently duet. In the final minutes a grungy blues guitar and bass jump in and the sax keeps up on accompaniment.

There are other tracks that the group mentions were their favorites but I keep coming back to this epic and masterful piece. Man, this track doesn’t rock, it simmers. You soak in it and absorb it and now it’s part of you.

By far, the most unique track of the album. It’s essentially a smoky, bluesy arrangement of “Aquatic Ruin Zone” from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with electric guitar riffs and solos that remind me more than a little of “Hotel California”. But during each breakdown the members rap and vamp (musically and conversationally) about the differences between Sonic and Mario, Dragon Ball, how music is like making a game, reality simulations and more. I don’t know if it was intentional but they also rap about the Aquatic Ruin Zone in the same way Knuckles rapped about his stages in Sonic Adventure 2 which is fantastic.

The rest of the album features similarly awesome arrangements from Link’s Awakening (“Ballad of a Winded Fish”), Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask (“Stormy Day in Clock Town”), Pokemon Silver & Gold (“National Pork”) and Metal Slug (“Living on the Deck”). All of the songs besides “National Pork” and the bonus track are available for free on the group’s Bandcamp page.