Category Archives: ALBUMS

ALBUMS, DANCE MUSIC, FUSION, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

“Boogieman” — A Review of Jake Kaufman’s “Mighty Switch Force! 2 OST”

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"Everybody out!"
“Everybody out!”

Call up your folks and tell ’em disco ain’t dead, baby! Jake Kaufman‘s newest release, the soundtrack to WayForward‘s 3DS puzzle-platformer Mighty Switch Force! 2, harkens back to the glory days of dancehall greatness, yet still keeps things fresh by throwing in some of electronic music’s more recent innovations. Nearly every track on this album will make you want to stand up and get down. I guarantee it. So grab your white suit and let’s groove!

This album has a very distinct, classic dancehall inspiration behind it that strings the whole album together, but different tracks approach that unifying sound from various angles. Numbers like “Rainbow Love Zone,” “Got2BAStar,” and even the short little “Title” track bring the funk like only old-school-inspired dance music can. I honestly thought Maurice White or Barry Gibb was going to start singing when I cranked up that opener. You can imagine my surprise, then, when “Rescue Girl” comes around at the end and actually kinda delivers on that feeling, in the form of Kaufman himself singing with a couple friends, no less.

Meanwhile, other tracks take the album’s disco sound and brilliantly mix it into something more contemporary. “Exothermic” lays that sound over a drum-and-bass beat that slides into classic dubstep, but without following that old and busted build/drop formula that loses the beat. In fact, the closest thing this album has to a modern dubstep track is “Soak Patrol Alpha,” but even that song has more in common overall with 80’s pop music, and the drop isn’t even really a drop so much as a random section of wubs. Somehow it works, oddly as that may strike you.

Other tracks fit into a kind of gray area between these two extremes, and I think that’s where the album truly shines. “The Afterblaze” has got to be the catchiest thing I’ve heard so far this year, and gives “Exothermic” a run for its money in terms of being my album favorite. Tracks like “Soft Collision” and “Dalmatian Station” owe as much to 70s disco as they do to modern house music, yet both manage to synergize those two genres, rather than imitate one or the other. “Rescue Girl” is so incredibly fun to sing they probably can’t play it in countries where joy is frowned upon by the State, and “Glow” sounds like the opening theme to a Powerpuff Girls movie in the best way that sentence can be read.

My only real gripe with this album is that it can be repetitive at times, but that doesn’t even feel fair considering that’s my default problem with any video game soundtrack. “Title” forms the basis for much of “Got2BAStar,” while “Rescue Girl” is just a longer version with words. This isn’t inherently bad, but I could definitely understand people taking issue with it. Beyond all that, the album in general is built upon the soundtrack for the previous game in the series, which Kaufman also made. However, where the MSF1 soundtrack had chip, MSF2 has disco, so if you’re familiar with the previous OST, you may or may not prefer this one.

The album closes with several remixes by other artists of some the album’s core tracks, which are great from a standalone perspective but might feel repetitive if you’re listening to the album cover-to-cover. Under his “virt” handle, Kaufman turns “Rescue Girl” into a slow-jam R&B song, which was pretty rad, while his remix of “The Afterblaze” lives up to its “Bonus Chip Mix” subtitle. Coda drops the dubstep trappings of “Soak Patrol Alpha” and replaces the main melodies with delicious funk basslines. Finally, DJ Bouche‘s orchestral remix of “Glow” could easily be a tune in a Zelda game.

Just like the firefighter heroine of his song, Jake Kaufman is here to rescue us. His disco- and funk-inspired music rises above the jaded wastes of modern dance and reminds listeners that, in the future, electronic music can still have a soul. This is the music we’ll be listening to when we’ve all got virtual reality glasses grafted to our faces and we’re dancing in German diskotheks in the Metaverse. Except we haven’t left out living rooms.

 

Danwich once deconstructed a post-modern novel.  He is still too irradiated to risk personal human contact.  You can reach him through his email or his radio show’s page.

ALBUMS, Features, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

David Wise is back! Let’s Look Back at Games He Worked On

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davidwiseSaxophonIn some really exciting news regarding E3, Nintendo announced that fan favorite composer David Wise has returned to his roots and is now composing the music for the also announced Donkey Kong Country Returns Tropical Freeze. For those who are not following me at the moment, David Wise is the chap that created the music for the Donkey Kong Country trilogy of games back in the Super Nintendo era. He joined Rareware back in 1985, with him being the only composer until the arrival of Robin Beanland, Graeme Norgate, and of course, Grant Kirkhope. All those memorable tunes in the Donkey Kong Country games were created by this fellow; Jungle Hijinx, Aquatic Ambience, Stickerbrush Symphony and, my personal favorite, Forest Frenzy.

 

Donkey Kong Country – Forest Frenzy | David Wise

That being said, the last Donkey Kong Country game he composed was released in 1996 and, other than the ports of the DKC series to the Game Boy Advance, he hasn’t been doing much more Donkey Kong work. So, what has David Wise been up to in the period between the DKC trilogy and his upcoming soundtrack for Tropical Freeze? People say he doesn’t really get enough work but, actually, he has had plenty of work; it just hasn’t reached the popularity levels that Donkey Kong did. This piece of writing, however, is going to shed some light onto what he has been working on before his glorious return to the Donkey Kong franchise.

Continue reading David Wise is back! Let’s Look Back at Games He Worked On →

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, MUSIC

“Warrior-Poets” – A Review of Chipmusic Heroes II: Reditum

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Chipmusic Heroes II: Reditum

Bolstered by the success of their first release and back for a second helping, global chiptune collaboration group Chipmusic Heroes has released their second album, three months to the day since their self-titled debut. Reditum picks up where the debut left off and goes even bigger and louder. Thirteen different artists from countries as far-flung as Norway, the Netherlands, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Russia, Israel, and New Zealand are represented here. With one exception, every contributor to the debut returns, as well as adding new blood like Octobox, Aimm, and Super Robotic Encounters.

The opener, “Side By Side,” sets the tone followed throughout the album, striking a balance of sounding like video game music without actually being that. This album showcases a range of chip as diverse as the contributing artists, though there are definite high points.

Kartmaze‘s nine-minute romp “Across the Nebula” gets my vote for best track, and that has surprisingly little to do with my obsession with lengthy songs. This track has a very story-like feel to it, as though the listener is flying through space visiting different planets, where the music shifts every so often to sound like it was inspired by video games as diverse as Castlevania, 2D-era Final Fantasy, Contra, and Metroid.

Several other tracks deserve specific attention as well. Grimmy‘s aptly-named “Arcade Nights” opens with a build that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into Flynn’s Arcade before kicking into something I would best describe as 80’s synth revival, like the Hotline Miami soundtrack with chip tossed in. “Pixelated Sunshine” by Freq is a joy, a jaunty and bouncy little tune that somehow evokes both old Mario tunes and old rap beats. “Worker Ants” by Same Type Attack Bonus sounds like someone attempting, with success, to give MegaMan a boss stage theme of his own. Finally, Mr. Lenix & Thunder Fox‘s collab track “Frustration,” complete with random angry soundbites sprinkled in, shamelessly throws what sounds to me like an elevator track into a chipstep song. And it works! It’s like “Welcome to Rapture, enjoy your wubs.”

Something that doesn’t stick out right away and – yet strikes me as incredible after giving the album a couple listens – is that this group is all fairly new talent. To name just a few examples: none of these artists have been on soundcloud more than a year, __twc is a mere sixteen years old, and Octobox is a newly-minted Calarts grad.

Overall, the album is solid from cover to cover, with every track worth listening to and offering something fun and enjoyable. The video game influence on Reditum is very prevalent, with most of its tracks sounding very much at home alongside arcade and 8/16-bit era music. But as I said above, this album never sounds derivative or uninspired, which I think is its greatest strength, and why I would highly recommend it. This is a great starting point for anyone thinking to themselves “Just what the blazes is chiptune anyway?” or any long-time listeners looking for a reminder of what got them into this in the first place.

 

Danwich is terrified of The Man and does his best to minimize his online presence.  But you can reach him through his email or his radio show’s page.

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, MUSIC

halc & Miearth: When Late Becomes Early

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When Late Becomes Early

I enjoy Chiptunes. From Anamanaguchi’s work to Jake Kaufman to the crew over Chiptunes = Win, Chiptunes are a great music genre and like dubstep there are good and bad examples of the genre. halc is an example of an artist who knows how the genre works. Today on Lost in the Music, I will be taking a listen to halc and Miearth’s latest album, When Late Becomes Early.

I feel if music makes you think, then it is doing its job and doing it well. I enjoy it when an album has you become more introspective, thinking about life and the universe. Although the answers I get aren’t what I am looking for, the journey to find the answer is fulfilling. That is what halc and Miearth did with When Late Becomes Early. It has me think, but it also tells a story in its way. The music seems to be something out of a cyberpunk story, except the main character is an average salaryman, not some angst filled hero, bent on toppling some corrupt corporation or government.

When Late Becomes Early does what I feel many Chiptune artist omit from their work and that is making the music atmospheric. Don’t get me wrong, groups like Anamanaguchi and Jake Kaufman are fantastic at their craft, but they don’t have me feel as if I am in the music. With them, I am merely experiencing it while halc and Miearth, draw me into the music. They have me feel as if I am drawn into this cyberpunk world.

It is rare that i get drawn into an album in such a way. While other artists have me visualize a story, it is rare for me to feel as if I am part of the actual world. The last time this has happened was back in 2003 when I first heard the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Through Howard Shore’s work, I felt I was actually in Middle Earth. Ten years later halc would provide the same feeling. 

That is the mark of a great artist.

I have said that in the past that there have been individual songs that have brought me into the world that the artists have made, but that is it. With When Late Becomes Early, it was the entire album that made me feel apart of the world, not just a single song.

Is When the late Becomes Early worth picking up? Yes it is. When the Late Becomes Early is a great album to pick up. halc and Miearth did a fantastic job with this album, successfully weaving both Chiptune and Dubstep together. Very few artists can do that without making the song sound like a distorted mess, but halc is talented enough to know how to make the songs mesh and make them sound good.

I know there are people out there who are getting tired of Chiptunes, but before they give up on the entire genre, I would like to suggest that they give this album a listen to. It draws you into the world and has you become lost within the music.

You can find When the Late Becomes Early over at Bandcamp. I strongly suggest you pick it up.

This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.

Also, Dj CUTMAN has an IndieGoGo campaign going on now for some sweet GameChops Merch. Donate for some awesome gear from GameChops.