Tribute

Doujin, Game Music

OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears by Materia Collective Available in December

November 30, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears by Materia Collective Available in December Share this

If you’re like me and you get a bit too sick of holiday and season music before the month of December even hits, even as it relates to video game music, then you’ll be in luck as of next week. Materia Collective and a slew of artists and musicians have created a huge tribute album to the music of one of Squaresoft’s most well-known Playstation games, Xenogears, just in time for us humbuggers to flock to.

OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears is a 44 track super album featuring a bevy of artists new and old contributing to the memory of Yasunori Mitsuda’s soundtrack to the Squaresoft RPG; artists including Dale Noth, zYko, Lauren the Flute, Videri String Quartet and a lot more (including former OSV editor Michael Hoffman). Xenogears Original Soundtrack was released on March 1st, 1998 spread across two discs. The music of Xenogears covers numerous styles, including Celtic, Arabic, folk, and religious and the new tribute album works to further that diversity courtesy of album producer Chris Porter.

For OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears, the Materia Collective community came together in full force to pay tribute to one of the finest RPG soundtracks ever made. Over 130 arrangers, musicians, vocalists, lyricsts, mixing engineers, mastering engineers, translators, and engravers worked together to cover all 44 tracks from the original soundtrack. OMEGA features a diverse range of instrumentation and styles, from solo piano to full orchestra; guitar and mandolin duet to an enormous choir just to name a few. We put our hearts and souls into this album, and we hope we have made a fitting tribute to a soundtrack that has meant so much to so many people since it was released twenty years ago.

<a href="http://materiacollective.bandcamp.com/album/omega-a-tribute-to-xenogears">OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears by Fredrik Häthén</a>

OMEGA: A Tribute to Xenogears is currently available for pre-order on Bandcamp and will be fully released to the platform, as well as presumably iTunes, Spotify and more, on December 7th.
Doujin, Game Music

German Remix Group Release a Tribute to Chris Huelsbeck’s Game Music Legacy

March 5, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on German Remix Group Release a Tribute to Chris Huelsbeck’s Game Music Legacy Share this

In celebration of game composer Chis Huelsbeck’s 50th birthday on March 2nd, the artists known as the German Remix Group have put together a tribute album paying homage to the music Huelsbeck has created for games in the past 25 years.

Literally titled A Tribute to Chris Huelsbeck, the album features 19 tracks of remixes and covers of the composers work across several games he’s worked on, including Turrican, Turrican 2, The Great Giana Sisters, Jim Power and more. It even includes SID medley, which Huelsbeck created a slew of from the Commodore 64.

<a href="http://chrishuelsbeck.bandcamp.com/album/a-tribute-to-chris-h-lsbeck">a Tribute to Chris Hülsbeck by Chris Huelsbeck, German Remix Group</a>

<a href="http://chrishuelsbeck.bandcamp.com/album/a-tribute-to-chris-h-lsbeck">a Tribute to Chris Hülsbeck by Chris Huelsbeck, German Remix Group</a>

A Tribute to Chris Huelsbeck is currently available on Bandcamp for digital purchase at the Name-Your-Price tier and a proper nod to the history of an amazing composer.
Game Music

Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Games Get Music Release With Sonic BeATS Album

September 11, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Sonic the Hedgehog Fan Games Get Music Release With Sonic BeATS Album Share this

Far be it for me to miss a tribute to a Sega console, especially when that tribute is Sonic the Hedgehog related. In time for the 18th anniversary of the launch of the Sega Dreamcast on 9/9/99, musical artist Funk Fiction along with Materia Collective, have released an album with music dedicated to the Sonic tribute games, Sonic: Before the Sequel and Sonic: After the Sequel.

The fan games, created by LakeFeperd back in 2012 and 2013 respectively, were composed by Pejman “Funk Fiction” Roozbeh with completely original music for each Act of both games. Now, years after their release, publisher Materia Collective has aided Roozbeh in releasing the game’s soundtrack in a compressed album, Sonic BeATS.

In the same philosophy of evolution from the first two Sonic games towards the third, I wanted to apply the same maturation for Sonic BTS and ATS. This time, integrating external influences such as Yuzo Koshiro’s Streets of Rage, the French Touch flavor of early Daft Punk’s Homework & Discovery, and the rich, gooey, and supremely funky essence of Jamiroquai. This is the result of what you hear in Sonic BeATS. – Funk Fiction

<a href="http://funkfiction.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-beats">Sonic BeATS by Funk Fiction</a>

When original Sonic the Hedgehog 3 composer Jun Senoue praises the work on music composition for Sonic fan games, you know there’s something to be said of the quality. The 18-track album is currently available for purchase on Bandcamp, iTunes and streaming on Spotify.
Doujin, Game Music

Tribute Album 64 To Celebrate 20 Years of the Nintendo 64

September 27, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 5 Comments Share this

The North American anniversary of the launch of the iconic Nintendo 64 console is coming up this Thursday, and it’s not going uncelebrated. The folks over at Patient Corgi (Super VG Christmas Party, SOUND WAVES: A Tribute to Ecco the Dolphin) decided to put together a massive fan tribute album to mark the momentous occasion!

Tribute Album 64 will be a huge 87-track mega album done by a large assortment of bands and musicians within the video game music community over five discs covering the greatest the Nintendo 64 had to offer us all.

“Some of the most beloved themes in all of video game history were born on this console from the minds of great composers like Koji Kondo, Grant Kirkhope, Robin Beanland, Kazumi Totaka, Graeme Norgate, and so many others. We’re incredibly thankful for the astounding number of talented bands and artists that have teamed up with us to pay tribute to the music of this iconic system, and I personally couldn’t be happier with the result. Be sure to check out the contributors’ websites for more great music (and the same goes for the original composers). Enjoy, and thanks for listening!”— Ian Luckey, Producer

An astounding number of bands and artists is right. Patient Corgi have been kind enough to share with OSV the final track listing for Tribute Album 64, which you can see after the cut!

(more…)
Doujin, Game Music

GameChops Tribute to Metroid 30th Anniversary with Elysian Sky

September 2, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on GameChops Tribute to Metroid 30th Anniversary with Elysian Sky Share this

A little something for your Friday before the holiday weekend! The 30th anniversary of Metroid is something to celebrate all the rest of the year, and GameChops has made no exceptions. Musician and artist Varien has created a funky, dubstep-like original tribute to Metroid, with a video that combines footage from “The Sky Calls” by Rainfall Films and gameplay cinematics from Metroid Prime.

Whether you’re a dubstep fan or not, the video is still a great piece of work and a commendable homage to Metroid and it’s legacy.
Doujin, Game Music

Celebrate 21 Years of Chrono Trigger with Chronology Jazz Tribute Album

August 23, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

Yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of the American release of Square’s beloved time-traveling JRPG, Chrono Trigger. Now that Chrono Trigger is legal to drink here in the states, the good folks at Overclocked Remix decided to throw it a party; in the form of a jazz tribute album! Chronology: A Jazz Tribute to Chrono Trigger features eight tracks from the Overclocked Jazz Collective; a group featuring artists such as Nostalvania, DrumUltima and the project’s own director, Dylan “Wiesty” Wiest.

Through some fluke, I was able to assemble my own “dream team” of musicians and arrangers on OC ReMix who all shared a passion for jazz and video game music. I felt Chrono Trigger would be an ideal candidate for our first release given the game’s quickly approaching 20th anniversary and the fact that Mitsuda’s music lends itself so well to jazz and improvisation. The musicians and artists on this album have put in countless hours of practice and recording to produce an album which I think sounds authentic and natural. Jazz is a social music best captured in the moment… and while the production process of this album was anything but “in the moment,” I think the album’s sound and cohesiveness will speak for itself. – Dylan Wiest, Chronology Project Director

This marks the second album Overclocked Remix has produced in tribute to Chrono Trigger; the first being Chrono Symphonic in 2006.

You can download the entire Chronology album for free on several mirrors hosted on their OCRemix website. Between this and the Chronicles of Time mega album from earlier this year, Chrono Trigger and it’s gorgeous soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda is definitely getting the love it rightfully deserves.
Doujin, Game Music

Ecco the Dolphin Tribute Released with “Sound Waves”

January 5, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 4 Comments Share this

If you’re a huge oldschool Sega fan like myself, then you are likely familiar with Ecco the Dolphin; the game where you take control of a lone bottlenose dolphin and swim the seven seas achieving everything from reuniting with your pod to battling aliens to being a time lord. (that last one is speculation)

If you’re equally a fan of the game’s music by Spencer Nilsen, Brian Cobourn, András Magyari and several others through the series, then you’ll be happy to learn of the new arrangement tribute album that just released. Sound Waves: A Tribute to Ecco the Dolphin is a rather large compilation of arranged tracks from several music pieces from across the franchise created by a large assortment of musicians and artists across the game music fandom. Groups such as Armcannon, Do a Barrel Roll, Kirby’s Dream Band and even individuals like composer Alexander Brandon (Dues Ex, Unreal Tournament) have all lent their skill to the huge 39-track, three-disk album.

<a href="http://soundwavesecco.bandcamp.com/album/sound-waves-a-tribute-to-ecco-the-dolphin">SOUND WAVES: A Tribute to Ecco the Dolphin by Kirby’s Dream Band</a>

Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the entire series, or you only played for five minutes on your friend’s Sega Channel before quitting in a fit of rage, Ecco the Dolphin made a distinct impression on gamers across the globe with its unexpected, immersive, and haunting world of marine exploration, aliens, and time travel. Once Colleen and I began thinking about how we wanted to follow-up our last compilation, Super VG Christmas Party, the unique ambiance of these soundtracks came to mind almost immediately. – Ian Luckey, Producer

What’s best is that the album is completely free for download! Check out the album’s Bandcamp page to grab the entire tribute and enjoy yourself some awesome marine music marvels.

Sound Waves: A Tribute to Ecco the Dolphin – Bandcamp