Lost In Harmony- Video Games As Art

We live in an interesting time in video gaming. We have the big hitters providing us with the spectacle and set-pieces but there are smaller developers who are trying unusual or experimental things. One of the latter is Lost in Harmony by Digixart, an endless runner and rhythm game but not…

Lost in Harmony is the story of a young boy name Kaito and his best friend, Aya, who is being treated for cancer. After texting Kaito falls off to sleep and the game comes into play in which you control the two skateboarding towards the screen in a variety of gradually more outlandish backgrounds, reflecting the fact that Aya may not make it.

The game is fine, nothing much to write about, but the music is sublime in places. Wyclef Jean produces a track ‘Lost in Time’ and it is a joy. Check out the game but definitely listen to the track!

Okami Soundtrack on Vinyl Arrives

Okami is one of gamings most beautiful examples for the argument of video games as art. The imagery from the game is stunningly presented in a traditional Japanese brushstroke form and the music is a collection of traditional instruments and modern synthesizer sounds, recalling a dreamily imagined Japan that has never truly existed.

Data Discs recently sent out the pre-orders of the 4 disc pressing of the remastered soundtrack for the game and I received my copy a couple of days ago. Over the next few days I’ll have a listen and post my opinions here but in the meantime check out the pictures I’ve taken below and underneath more vinyl reviews of classic video game soundtracks, cartoons and retro television shows.

What Remains of Edith Finch- Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack Review

What Remains of Edith Finch is a wonderfully atmospheric exploration adventure game, sometimes called in derogatory terms, 'walking simulators.' I am a huge fan of the genre as I find them a palette cleanser from the regular games I play and I would say that Edith Finch is the peak of the genre so far.

In the game the player controls Edith, a young woman exploring her ancestral home to uncover the mystery behind her family history and what happened to the various occupants there. The story is told through a series of immersive vignettes and each is powerful and emotional in different ways. The stunning yet understated music score is a huge part of why Edith Finch is so affecting. The album is one I've been listening to continuously over the last year or so on my mobile since the games release and with the recent vinyl release from iam8bit I have been listening to it in that format too.

Jeff Russo, who composes the music and has scored Altered Carbon, Star Trek: Discovery and much else, understands that silence and ambience is just as important as music to create a mood and it is this knowledge that lends the game an eerie and creepy atmosphere as you explore the strange house. Music is introduced when elements are interacted with or when certain narrative points are reached.

The whole score is peaceful and sombre with soft piano interweaving with yearning strings. The interplay creates a profound feeling of sadness yet has tinges of hope.

The tracklist is:

01. Edith's Theme

02. The House

03. Molly's Room

04. Molly's Hunger - Owl

05. Molly's Hunger - Shark

06. Molly's Hunger - Monster

07. Calvin's Swingset

08. Walter's Bunker

09. Gus' Kite

10. Milton's Tower

11. Lewis' Coronation - Daydream

12. Lewis' Coronation - Marching Band

13. Lewis' Coronation - Sailing Ship

14. Lewis' Coronation - Palace

15. Lewis' Coronation - Crowning

16. The Finale

17. The End

The standout tracks are Edith's Theme, Lewis' Coronation- Marching Band and The End. Edith's Theme never fails to put a tear in my eye, it's gentle piano and sad strings create a powerful and moving piece that is touching and beautiful. Lewis' Coronation- Marching Band is an haunting piece as it is so upbeat and oompahpah yet is probably the most tragic story. The End carries the motif of Edith's Theme but adds some haunting ambient vocals that is a beautiful way to finish the soundtrack.

The whole soundtrack is stunning and works well as a tapestry of the Finch family's stories. The pieces complement the game but work just as well as musical compositions in their own right. The soundtrack is stunning and this pressing by iam8bit is marvellous!

Streets of Rage 3- Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack Review

The early to mid 90's were a great time for gaming but it was still seen as a childish past time by many. When the Playstation released it tapped into to the burgeoning dance market where House and Trance tracks were popular and consistently hitting the charts. It seemed like a perfect mix; edgy games and oh-so-zeitgeisty music. However before Sony's miracle machine we 16-bit gamers did have a saviour of coolness and that was the inimitable Yuzo Koshiro. The composer behind the first two Streets of Rage games was a pioneer when bringing the sounds of the clubs into games. The Streets of Rage soundtracks are amongst the most highly regarded of the 16-bit era and rightly so. Whilst The Orb, The Prodigy and Orbital were getting into the charts, Koshiro was applying the music styling of the genre into his soundtracks.

Streets of Rage 2 was a high watermark on the Megadrive/ Genesis for both gameplay and music, so it was with bated breath that people waited to see what Sega would produce with the highly anticipated Streets of Rage 3 which would be released on a 24 meg cartridge!

The Streets of Rage Vinyl Soundtracks are things of beauty!

Upon release the Streets of Rage 3 game was made harder for the Western market, frustrating many with its butchered state and missing elements. The soundtrack was the same but tonally very different from what had come before and as a result quite divisive. The soundtrack was once more created by Koshiro but this time he was joined by Motohiro Kawashima, who had also worked on Streets of Rage 2 alongside Koshiro. The soundtrack was influenced more by the hardcore and minimal techno scene and so wasn't instantly as catchy as the original two soundtracks. The techno scene hadn't reached mainstream in the Western markets and so the grindy, repetitive discordant sounds didn't appeal to many.

At the time it was politely forgotten by the masses but as time has passed many have cited it as formative and an important video game soundtrack. So is the Streets of Rage 3 soundtrack worth your money and time? 

Well, first of all, being a DataDisc product the vinyl is impeccably produced and the sound quality is second to none. The double disc set contains the remastered version of the soundtrack that you remember from years ago. It has a lot to follow in the undeniably stunning SOR 2 soundtrack but in terms of production it succeeds. The soundtrack itself however is more difficult to judge. I have been a fan of old skool trance and dance since the early 90's but the discordant sounds and constant thumping, often without a discernible pattern, makes it a difficult soundtrack to listen to in its entirety. There are some standout tracks like Disco, Boss, Shinobi Reversed and stunning The Poets I but these are few and far between. The rest of the soundtrack is fine but nothing that you would want to go back to and revisit in your down time.

So is the soundtrack worth buying? For a completist a definite yes but for someone looking for a soundtrack to listen to and love? No. I'd go for Streets of Rage 2 or 1 as these are more instantly likeable and listenable. However, this being a Koshiro joint, you can't go too far wrong... even when he experiments and goes a little too left-field.

Thomas Was Alone- Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack Review

Black Screen Records and composer David Housden have teamed up to release the original soundtrack to Mike Bithell’s meditative indie darling game Thomas Was Alone on 180g vinyl.

For those not in the know, Thomas Was Alone is a minimalist 2D platformer about friendship, teamwork and sacrifice. In the game you take control of Thomas, who is initially alone, but along the way you meet and control many other characters all who have special individual powers and differing personalities. Over the course of the game you guide your group of quadrilaterals through a series of obstacles, using their different skills together to get to the end of each environment. So far, so video game 101. However what elevates this game to multi-award winning heights is the stunning soundtrack which accompanies the beautifully wistful yet soulful narration read by comedian Danny Wallace. The story that's told is more complex than many AAA games I have played and the music accompanying it adds to this drama; I have cared more for these quadrilaterals than many other protagonists in other games, heck I even bought the 'action figures' when they were released a few years ago. Yup I bought a collection of 3D quadrilaterals because this game and its music connected with me on some profound level.

The soundtrack features minimalist pianos and ambiences fused with lush strings and ethereal synths. Although this album only has 13 tracks, which feature a lot of repeating motifs, the consistency and effective re-use of simple chord progressions and melodic phrases make each track seem different but complementary to what has gone before. As a whole the soundtrack feels like a tapestry, each track is part of a bigger whole with familiar themes and motifs.

My favourite track off the album is 'A Time For Change,' a powerful emotive track that is triumphant yet tinged with sadness. It is played at a key point in the game and so carries with it a lot of weight and power. I listen to this album daily, which at the point of writing is over 5 years old.

Sometimes in your life you find that you connect with something, it could be a book, a film or a track or album. It gets under your skin and becomes something more than the sum of its parts and I think this game and especially the soundtrack is that something for me. It's not something I can explain but this album and the majesty of some of the tracks gets me every time I listen to it.

I loved the game so much that I even made it part of my websites wallpaper.

The vinyl is a stunning release and I am extremely pleased with it. This album is a must have for any fans of shoegazing etherealness.

Sonic Mania- Video Game Vinyl Soundtrack Review

Sonic Mania has recently released and has garnered rave reviews, with many complementing its throwback style and a return to the classic game play which made the series so popular during the 16-bit generation.
Classic Sonic the Hedgehog games always had great music and Sonic Mania, which has a mix of new and remixed songs, carries this tradition forward proudly.
Data Discs announced the Sonic Mania LP a few months ago and whilst I was conscious of the many missteps in the series along the way I took the plunge and pre-ordered the record as the music has, on the whole, been pretty solid.

Classic Sonic takes front-centre on the cover of this soundtrack

So what of this new album? Well the record features 16 new tracks selected by composer Tee Lopes, which provides an overall flavour of the diverse music in the game.
The cover is suitably 90s with classic Sonic front and centre and random colourful shapes thrown around, reminiscent of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or Saved by the Bell introduction credits. The record comes as a single 180 g LP which is available in 3 colours; blue, black or red, orange, white and blue splatter. I ordered the splattered vinyl and was pleased with how it looked, it does look very smart indeed.

On the vinyl the tracks are:

  1. Discovery (Title Screen Theme)
  2. Lights, Camera, Action! (Studiopolis Act 1)
  3. Wildstyle Pistolero (Mirage Saloon Act 1 K Mix)
  4. Tabloid Jargon (Press Garden Act 1)
  5. Danger on the Dance Floor (Mini Boss Theme)
  6. Built to Rule (Titanic Monarch Act 1)
  7. Dimension Heist (Special Stage)
  8. Ruby Delusions (Eggman Boss Theme 1)
  9. Comfort Zone (Main Menu)
  10. Prime Time (Studiopolis Act 2)
  11. Blossom Haze (Press Garden Act 2)
  12. Rogues Gallery (Mirage Saloon Act 2)
  13. Hi-Spec Robo Go! (Hard Boiled Heavies Theme)
  14. Skyway Octane (Mirage Saloon Act 1 St Mix)
  15. Steel Cortex (Titanic Monarch Act 2)
  16. Ruby Illusions (Final Boss Theme)

The tracks are very good with a tinge of nostalgia but also are uniquely modern. They just fit right in the world of classic Sonic with upbeat chiptune music but with added trumpets, drums, epic electric guitar solos and super fast boogie woogie piano. For fan of the original series this record is a must have as it feels like a natural progression musically to what had gone before in Sonic and Knuckles. Current standout tracks for me include Studiopolis Act 1: Lights, Camera, Action! and Mirage Saloon Act 2: Rogues Gallery, which sounds like a modern rendition of Morricone's Spaghetti Westerns mixed with an upbeat chiptune. Other tracks may come to the fore but these two are the ones that appeal to me out of the 16 at the moment.

The soundtrack is a triumph and I would recommend it highly to anyone with even a passing interest in the original 4 games from the days of the Megadrive.