Streets of Rage Soundtracks Available To Download On BandCamp.

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.

I have all three albums and they are great, especially the first two that hold a special place in my heart.

I have all three albums and they are great, especially the first two that hold a special place in my heart.

His three albums have been released on vinyl by DataDiscs and I have all 3 (I have linked my reviews of all three albums below) but recently the albums have been put up for purchase on BandCamp. At just 6 GBP a piece I’d say that it’s a bargain and with the imminent release of Streets of Rage 4, it’s a great time to revisit these astonishing albums.

Streets of Rage Soundtracks on BandCamp

Streets of Rage 4 Composers Announced

The Streets of Rage series has a series of amazing soundtracks. The soundtracks, by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, were totally different to anything heard in video games; it was a time of trance and dance, when The Orb, The Prodigy and Orbital were getting into the charts. This soundtracks stood out among their contemporaries as they were not the usual bleeps and bloops of video games at the time... It spoke to many youths at the time, it was zeitgeisty and hearing the music even now sends me back to the 90s dance and trance scene.
So, with the announced release of Streets of Rage 4 I and many others were eagerly awaiting to hear who the composers were, and I am pleased to hear that the original composers are back but are now joined by a dream team of video game composers including Yoko Shimomura (Streets Fighter 2, Parasite Eve) and Hideki Naganuma (Jet Set Radio). This game is going to be a day one release for me based on the soundtrack alone.

I have all 3 Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl

I have all 3 Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl

Yuzo Koshiro on Composing for Streets of Rage, Techno and Programming

Yuzo Koshiro, the composer behind the 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.

I have all three Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl and they are awesome!

I have all three Streets of Rage soundtracks on vinyl and they are awesome!

In an interview for Red Bull Music Academy, Koshiro discussed the early days of his career, how he and Motohiro Kawashima sought inspiration in nightclubs for Streets of Rage and why he never let limitations stop him from pushing forward. At nearly an hour and an half it’s an informative and interesting in-depth discussion about a very singular creator.

Streets of Rage III Soundtrack Vinyl Release

I'm a HUGE fan of the Streets of Rage fan a large part of that is due to the stunning soundtracks by Yuzo Koshiro. Well Data-Discs, the London based record company is releasing the Streets of Rage 3 soundtrack later today. I will be ordering the album of course as I want to complete my vinyl collection. I have the first two and they are very impressive. The album will retail at £24.99 and will be a double disc release, remastered for the format. Once I get the album I'll post a review but for now you can check our my vinyl soundtrack reviews for Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 on the links below.