Jeff Ball

Game Music

MOSS The Original Game Soundtrack is Available for Pre-order

July 24, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on MOSS The Original Game Soundtrack is Available for Pre-order Share this

On August 3, 2018, Materia Collective will be releasing Jason Grave’s score to Moss. Jason Graves has scored several games including the Dead Space series, Tomb Raider, Until Dawn, and Far Cry Primal.

The VR game was developed by Polyarc for the PlayStation 4 and PC. The game’s description reveals that it begins in a library, where you play as the reader. You find an old book and once you flip through pages you get transported to a fantasy land inside the book. There you meet a young mouse, Quill and the adventure begins. You can view the game’s trailer below.

The game’s trailer features the song “Home to Me” with vocals performed by Malukah, who has worked with Jason Graves previously on Far Cry: Primal, and with Austin Wintory on The Banner Saga. The soundtrack also features Kristin Naigus on Flute, Oboe, English horn and Jeff Ball on Violin. You can sample three of the upcoming album tracks featured on Polyarc’s Soundcloud page below.

The album will features 11 tracks, and can be pre-ordered digitally from Amazon. Have you played Moss? Did you enjoy the music?
Chip Music, Game Music

Tiny Barbarian DX Releases Chiptune Soundtrack Compilation

October 12, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

The 2D hack n’ slash action platformer Tiny Barbarian DX is seeing the music for all four of it’s episodes released in one large chiptune compilation, courtesy of Materia Collective and the game’s composer, Jeff Ball (Mass Effect 3, Monkey Island 2: Special Edition).

With the recent update that added Episodes 3 and 4 to the main game, Tiny Barbarian DX is now officially complete with bonus zones included and 2-player co-op added to the final build. As such, Materia Collective and Jeff Ball teamed up to release an album consisting of all of the music from the game in a massive 76-track compilation album of 8-bit chiptune goodness.

“Tiny Barbarian DX was the first time I tackled a large scale chiptune soundtrack. It was a rush to channel all the nostalgia from old NES games like Mega Man and Castlevania into a project like this.” – Jeff Ball,Composer

<a href="http://jeffball.bandcamp.com/album/tiny-barbarian-dx-the-ultimate-chiptune-compilation">Tiny Barbarian DX: The Ultimate Chiptune Compilation by Jeff Ball</a>
<a href="http://jeffball.bandcamp.com/album/tiny-barbarian-dx-the-ultimate-chiptune-compilation">Tiny Barbarian DX: The Ultimate Chiptune Compilation by Jeff Ball</a>

The Tiny Barbarian DX: The Ultimate Chiptune Compilation is available for purchase now on Bandcamp, iTunes and streaming on Spotify.
Game Music, Indie Music

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST is Out Now!

September 19, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST is Out Now! Share this

Coinciding with the release of the Plague of Shadows DLC for Shovel Knight, Jake “Virt” Kaufman has released the expansion’s soundtrack on his Bandcamp page. While much of the Plague of Shadows expansion has you exploring previous stages from the main game, there are a few extra areas, characters, and of course new pieces of music.

Many of the new music tracks written for Plague of Shadows are based on the Plague Knight theme, which was composed by Manami Matsumae for the original Shovel Knight soundtrack. This fourteen track album includes music written for the expansion and some extra goodies, including the expansion’s orchestral trailer music, a duet with Jeff Ball and Kaufman, and a song “ALCHEMY” that Kaufman wrote with Dale North.

As with the original Shovel Knight OST, the Plague of Shadows OST is pay-what-you-want. You can grab the Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows OST on Jake Kaufman’s Bandcamp page, and be sure to pick up the original Shovel Knight OST, if you haven’t already.
Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review)

February 21, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review) Share this Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review)

With the popularity of indie games and their soundtracks growing, there has also been a surge in arrangements and remixes of these works. In fact there have been a few new arrangers who focus on indie soundtracks specifically. One of these emerging artists is Brent Kennedy. His previous albums include arrangements for Danny Baranowsky’s music for Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy. Kennedy’s specialty is solo piano arrangements. His writing style can be best described as impressionist (think Debussy or Ravel) with a small dose of minimalist writing thrown in the mix. The covered tracks can vary from energetic and climactic to calm and relaxing. In this latest album, he once again demonstrates a similar musical range.

Unlike his previous work, this newest arrange album, titled Indie Game Rhapsodies, takes a sampling of different indie game soundtracks. The composers covered include Big Giant Circles, Alec Holowka, Jeff Ball, and Austin Wintory. The soundtracks being drawn from are an eclectic selection. Some are chiptune soundtracks, while others are originally orchestral. Kennedy takes each of these selections and transforms them into relaxing and mesmerizing solo piano pieces. The result is a collection of tracks that showcases some excellent game music, while presenting a more classical take on the material. (more…)
Chip Music

C-jeff’s “Big Steel Wheels” Now Launched

November 15, 2013 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on C-jeff’s “Big Steel Wheels” Now Launched Share this

A combination of 80’s music and chiptunes? You’d have to be crazy to pass up a union like that! Well, you don’t have to now that chiptune artist Dmitry “C-jeff” Zhemkov has released Big Steel Wheels for public auditory consumption.

Described as “A fictional action music adventure, inspired by works of Vince DiCola, action movies, rock and metal music, chiptunes and the legacy of ’80s!” by C-jeff himself, he combines his skill with a cadre of strong supporting artists. Featuring Grant “Stemage” Henry, Dan “Danimal Cannon” Behrens and Raz Ben Ari on live guitar, Jeff Ball on viola, and even the voice talents of Alexander Brandon, Rich “Disasterpeace” Vreland, George “norg” Nowik and Lamont Bellsarios, the album is packed with talent. Boasting an essence of “Transformers the Motion Picture” with the flair of 80’s synth and smooth guitars and viola backing, it nails a heavy nostalgic feel.

Check it out on Ubiktune or pick up the entire album for $7 on bandcamp and give C-jeff some big steel love.
Chip Music, Game Music

Big Sounds from Tiny Barbarian DX: The Serpent Lord OST

June 19, 2013 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

If the words “Retro Swords & Sorcery Gaming” don’t appeal to you, then you very well might be a lost cause. When Conan the Barbarian meets 8-bit, the pixels themselves may be small, but the old-school feel makes it much bigger. The original Tiny Barbarian may have been released in 2011, but it’s still running on plenty of steam with the new iteration; Tiny Barbarian DX. Though still simple in it’s game mechanics of “Press X to attack, Press Y to jump”, it’s the soundtrack that really gives the game the extra push into generating some good ol’ NES feelings.

Composed again by the very talented Jeff Ball (Astroman, Mass Effect 3), the album title is actually Tiny Barbarian DX: The Serpent Lord. Despite the mouthful of a moniker, the soundtrack is chock-full of chiptune beats that could easily be mistaken for the hybrid stepchild of Mega Man and Castlevania (seriously, it’s even listed as such) straight out of the late 80’s. Combining action-oriented melodies with the occasional creepy slow track, the music speaks to Ball’s experience as a composer for other like-minded game soundtracks such as Astroman, but also his dedication as a retro gamer.

<a href="http://jeffball.bandcamp.com/album/tiny-barbarian-dx-the-serpent-lord-ost">Tiny Barbarian DX: The Serpent Lord OST by Jeff Ball</a>

Boasting some incredibly catchy electronic tunes that will make you feel like an 8-year-old in front of your Nintendo again, Tiny Barbarian DX: The Serpent Lord is as fun a musical adventure as it is a hack ‘n slash game. Both available for a listen over at Ubiktune, as well as at the ever-wonderful “Name Your Own Price” tier on Bandcamp, so there’s no excuse not to enjoy the miniature musical muscular magnitude!
Featured, Game Music, Indie Music

Introducing… STASIS CONCERTO

May 23, 2013 | Patrick Gann | 6 Comments Share this Introducing… STASIS CONCERTO

*All art assets, including the above logo, are work-in-progress and may not be representative of the final product

In my last post, I hinted at a reason as to why I could no longer act as managing editor of OriginalSoundVersion. Today, I reveal what that reason is: I’m throwing my hat in the indie game ring.

After the jump, I’ll provide some initial details about this project, including the key asset developers (art/music) and a rough timeline. But for now, let me make the following statements as the two key reasons why I can no longer be an active part of OSV:

1) Time management. I can only devote so much time to playing games and writing about games if I am also simultaneously trying to make a game (this also explains my waning activity on my personal blog Gameosaurus).
2) Conflict of interest. Those of you who go on to read this full article will see that many of the people I’ve recruited for this project are people whose works have been evaluated in the past (generally in a very positive light). To continue writing about their works, or the works of their professional colleagues and (real or perceived) rivals, would be inherently biased in a whole new way, since I am now working with them on our own project.

Again, OSV will continue to live on. But my focus for the coming months and years (should it take that long) will be on this exciting new Visual Novel game project. Details after the jump! (more…)