I’ve had my eyes on FFIV’s Guitar Collections for a long time, and I’m proud to make this my first purchase to Scarlet Moon Records after reading Jason’s articles for so long and thereby being inspired to become a VGM article writer like him. I only wish I wrote as much as he did!
Anyway, I am not familiar with William Reyes, and I’m not sure if I should be. But I really like what he’s done here; Scarlet Moon has surely picked the right man for the job. And what a great, fantastic job it is! In this review, I will cover tracks that stand out to me. (more…)
Following up on the Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies series of albums, Scarlet Moon Records is now releasing a series of live classical guitar arrangements of iconic video game music in their Guitar Collections, starting with Final Fantasy IV.
Guitarist William Carlos Reyes (of The OneUps) arranges and performs Nobuo Uematsu’s iconic themes from Final Fantasy IV to celebrate the game’s 27th anniversary. Key themes such as “Theme of Love,” “Welcome to Our Town!,” and the final dungeon theme, “Within the Giant,” are featured alongside an original composition by Reyes are included in the inaugural album.
I’ve always enjoyed Square Enix’s Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY series, but I have a personal preference for the sound of the guitar. I wanted to produce a series of guitar albums starting with FINAL FANTASY IV, just as the Piano Collections series did. I also knew based on William Carlos Reyes’s past arrangements that he’d be perfect for this project with his ability to layer his performances in a very natural and pleasing way, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. I want Guitar Collections FINAL FANTASY to become a series, so we hope everyone’s as eager as we are to hear more! – Jayson Napolitano, Producer
Guitar Collections FINAL FANTASY IV is currently available for pre-order on Bandcamp and will be releasing on July 19th.
Yesterday saw the release of the indie rogue-like action game Wizard of Legend on Steam and consoles. The game is receiving positive reviews for its fun challenges and flashy gameplay, and its soundtrack is something to note of as well. Composed by Dale North (Dragon Fantasy Book II, TORICKY), the game’s music features dynamic instrumentation featuring a array of string and piano work to create a high-paced fantasy backdrop to compliment the fast action of the game.
“Wizard of Legend’s fast play style and design calls back to my favorite era of gaming, which was during the Sega Saturn’s heyday. I channeled my love of the sound of those games by building a soundscape based around my collection of synthesizers from the 1990s and recording them the old way: manually analog, and layer by layer. And then in line with Wizard of Legend’s dazzling spells and chain attacks, I wrote high-tempo, soaring orchestral backings to support the synthesizers, aiming for a blend that would be both exciting and memorable.”- Dale North, Composer
The soundtrack features 14 tracks that showcase North’s funky electronic/orchestral hybrid style. The Wizards of Legend Original Game Soundtrack is currently available for purchase and download on Bandcamp through Scarlet Moon Records. It can also be nabbed as an add-on through Steam along with the game itself.
Scarlet Moon Records and PM Studios have released the Superbeat: Xonic Extra Soundtrack, complimenting the the rhythm game Superbeat: Xonic released in 2015
The 15-track album is a compilation of music from the rhythm game. Artists from around the world are featured, including Final Fantasy Tactics composer Hitoshi Sakimoto’s Basiscape team, electronic artist and composer Shinji Hosoe (Ridge Racer) and his SuperSweep studio, trance artist bLiNd, EDM artist Steven Silo, UK synth-pop artist, Bentley Jones.
Scarlet Moon Records, Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid) and AYAKI (Eterian Odyssey) are at it again with yet another Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies. After producing several albums based around video game music to help sooth you into relaxation, the team now brings it’s newest iteration: Fight for your Dreams.
Fight for your Dreams centers itself around battle themes and boss music from both video games and other popular media, all spun into a jazzy and smooth sequence of music tracks that will help ease your tension for the rigors of every-day life. Battle Themes from Undertale, Mega Man 2, Super Metroid and more are given the GENTLE LOVE touch of Hibino and AYAKI.
I’ve been wanting to create a volume dedicated to battle music for quite some time. I’ve been trying to increase the challenge factor with each installment of the series, and what better way to challenge Hibino-san and AYAKI than by taking some of the most intense music from videogames and having them transformed into lullabies? I thought it would be a unique way to celebrate the Halloween season. We hope you enjoy it! – Jayson Napolitano, Scarlet Moon Records producer
Fight for your Dreamsis currently on pre-order through Bandcamp for $10 and will be fully released on October 10th. You can check out more of the Game Music Lullabies albums on the Scarlet Moon Records website. (Personally, I am really looking forward to that “Autobots vs. Decepticons” theme from the 1985 Transformers movie.)
It is now officially the holiday season, and we can no longer deny the onslaught of questionably festive music that started well before December graced 2016. The good news is that there tend to be a good handful of arrangement albums and collaborative efforts each year towards building fun and interesting holiday music albums, both video game related and not, to keep us all mostly sane. The fine people of Scarlet Moon Records have kicked off the season with one of our first offerings of such sanity-saving musical projects with their Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016.
Featuring joint contributions from both video game and film composers, including Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana), Dale North (Silent Horror), Vince DiCola (Transformers, Rocky IV), Robyn Miller (Myst, Riven) and more over nine tracks, Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016 is a charming and subtle way of easing yourself into more festive feelings.
“Dale North and I are both massive fans of Christmas music. After releasing the Scarlet Moon Christmas EP in 2014, we wanted to rekindle that passion by creating even more Christmas-themed tracks to get music fans of all ages and genres in the spirit of the season. And as it would turn out, most of the artists on the roster love Christmas music just as much as we do!” – Jayson Napolitano, Producer
The track listing gives you an idea of what to expect to hear, including both video game music arrangements and arrangements of classic Christmas tunes.
01. “Jingle Bells” by Vince DiCola
02. “Christmas Garden (Yoshi’s Island)” by Mustin
03. “Peaceful Christmas (Chrono Trigger)” by Dale North
04. “Some Small Hope (Cherubic Hymn by A. Kastorsky)” by Osamu Kubota
05. “Angels We Have Heard on High” by Hiroki Kikuta
06. “Christmas Comes to Myst (Myst)” by Robyn Miller
07. “Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 64)” by Justin Lassen
08. “Melodies of Life (Final Fantasy IX)” by Goomin “Nauts” Nam
09. “Aspertia City – Winter (Pokémon Black & White 2)” by Materia
“Jingle Bells” (sample) – Vince DiCola
Even if you’re not a huge Christmas person, the album is worth checking out. I myself have a hard time getting into any festive mood around the holidays, but when Vince DiCola’s rendition of “Jingle Bells” makes me envision a Transformers Christmas Special (Complete with transforming reindeer, because why not?), it’s hard not to get a little into the holiday spirit.
Scarlet Moon Christmas Album 2016 is available now for purchase on LOUDr, and soon on iTunes and Spotify.
If you’re looking for a holiday gift for the Secret of Mana fan in your life, here’s something to surprise them with this season. Prescription for Sleep: Lullabies of Mana is the newest of the Prescription for Sleep game music series, derived from the original game soundtrack composed by Hiroki Kikuta and arranged by Metal Gear Solid composer Norihiko Hibino.
“Our first two Prescription for Sleep albums featured a variety of tracks from across all videogames, and were a great introduction to our healing game music concept. But with the third album, I wanted to try something different. I had been constantly tempted to pick tracks from Secret of Mana for our first two compilations, mainly because the music is so soothing in its original form, so I thought the next evolution of the series would be an entire album dedicated to one game.” – Jayson Napolitano; Scarlet Moon Records
The 12-track album is fully licensed and available now on Loudr. Those who purchase the album will also receive GENTLE LOVE’s tribute to late Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata titled Prescription for Peace: A Tribute to the Departed at no charge, and discounts applied to the other Prescription for Sleep albums.
