Tag Archives: metroid

FUSION, MUSIC

J. Arthur Keenes Band – Social Lion – Chip/Folk/Reggae?

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The J. Arthur Keenes band continues to impress me. Their previous abum, Computer Savvy has what I consider to be the finest piece of chip/ska ever written, a bouncy little 2 minute piece called Cluck, which I’ve listened to on repeat while jogging over 20 times straight without noticing. I’d have been happy to have a whole album of nothing less than these great ska and reggae influenced chiptune tracks. But you get so much more from a J. Arthur Keenes album.

On trying to describe their latest album, The Social Lion, I find myself referring to bands that are the furthest thing from chiptune; M. Ward, Pedro the Lion, Beck, early-Wilco come to mind, mixed in with bits of swing, cowboy music and of course more ska and reggae. The chiptune influences are still there, little reggae upstroke ARPstabs, occasionally swirly bending notes and most prominently a low, crunchy bass, however they are a lot less prominent than they were on Computer Savvy. It sounds as if someone took the instruments away from half M. Ward’s backing band and replaced them with Gameboys.

The most distinctive thing about Social Lion is the vocals. The lyrics are clever and memorable and you’ll find lots of memorable choruses and melodies. This album is a lot more cohesive than Computer Savvy. You can get a digital copy for $8 and for just $2 more, an awesome hard copy album. It may be the first chip/folk/reggae thing in your collection!

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

sleepytimejesse’s Spacious Anxious Takes You On a 16-bit Audio Odyssey

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When we think of what sounds make up quality, memorable chiptune albums and songs, the SNES is probably one of the last systems we think about. However, when you think of the most memorable songs from the 16-bit era, the SNES, at least for me, is near the top of the list.

 

Sleepytimejesse aims to close that discrepancy with Spacious Anxious, which he describes as  a “first-person space odyssey; episodes of awe and agoraphobia.” If you recently picked up Chiptune = Win vol 2, you heard his stand-out track, Riparian Woodlands, arguably the quietest song on the entire compilation, this delicate track recalled the mystical feeling of every 16-bit RPG you ever played. He’s also the author of the massive, Earthbound Soundfont. To my knowledge, it’s the most extensive SNES soundfont out there.

 

With Spacious Anxious, we get an album that’s both beautiful and menacing, spacious and claustrophobic, it all depends on the track. Using sounds from the SNES, N64 and GameCube, sleepytimejesse constructs an album that mostly sounds like boss battle music from Super Metroid interspersed with slower, soaring pieces that give you rest from the action and make me think of exploring some sort of foreboding alien temple.

 

What also sets this album about is the composition influences, it’s not a dance album, so don’t expect that. It’s clear that Radiohead is an influence with the track, “Anthem For A Plutoid”, which sort of sounds like Massive Attack remixed “National Anthem” on an SNES. The heavier tracks also have a bit of chugging Djent converted to 16-bit guitar samples. It’s great to see someone taking a fresh approach to chiptune music, not only with their platform choice but also with their style. Support this excellent effort and pick up a copy.

 

Screen Shot 2013-05-03 at 2.36.44 PMBeatscribe is a full time indie composer, musician and writer. By day he creates soundtracks and sfx for various mobile gaming companies, by night creates megaman-inspired chiptunes, in the afternoons he drinks tea. Check out his latest releases, tutorials and retro ruminations at www.beatscribe.com.
CHIPTUNE, MUSIC, PRODUCTION & TUTORIALS

Tutorial: Pick Apart a Gameboy Song with an Emulator / Recreate in LSDJ: Metroid II Return of Samus

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It's not the perfect sequel to the original, but it's a solid and atmospheric game that continued the traditions of Metroid.
It’s not the perfect sequel to the original, but it’s a solid and atmospheric game that continued the traditions of Metroid.

The Metroid series is known for its awesome music. I think I fell in love with NES music after hearing the Brinstar theme for the first time. I’ve also never been so terrified as the first time I entered a Chozo Room area and heard that creepy, alien noise start playing. It only got better as time went on; Super Metroid and Metroid Prime are two of the most amazing game soundtracks ever.

Metroid II: Return of Samus, for the most part, does not measure up to the rest of the series. However, it does have an AWESOME song in the first area. Surface of  SR388 is one of the most uplifting and exciting songs I’ve ever hard on the Gameboy.

I decided I’d try my hand at building it in LSDJ just to get a handle on how it was composed. This video will walk you though it if you’d like to give it a shot. You’ll learn a lot of core concepts of LSDJ in the process. This video isn’t meant to be a full blown tutorial but it will help you look at the composing element of creating music with the Gameboy.

Sadly, the rest of Metroid II has pretty irritating music. I get that they wanted to make erie alien noises but most of it is just annoying screeches and random bits of music that just get annoying. Even with its faults, though, this is one of the best Gameboy games out there. I think it feels more alien and claustrophobic than the other Metroid titles due to the limited palette and graphics on the Gameboy.

BeatScribeFaceBeatscribe is a full time indie composer, musician and writer. By day he creates soundtracks for various mobile gaming companies, by night creates megaman-inspired chiptunes, in the afternoons he drinks tea.  Check out his latest releases, tutorials and retro ruminations at www.beatscribe.com.
ALBUMS, Features, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

bLiNd – NESteryears

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NESterYears-Black-Cover-GCMAGfest may be over, but GameChops is just heating up! This new release is a huge milestone, Overclocked Remixer bLiNd has created TEN remixes based on games from the Nintendo Entertainment System; Final Fantasy, Mario Bros, Castlevania and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to name a few! It’s called NESteryears and you can download it right now!

I’ve been listening to bLiNd’s music for nearly a decade, it is a great honor to have worked with him to release this album. Some of you may remember my bLiNd Trance mix from back in 2010, which showcased my appreciate for bLiNd’s music.

NESteryears is a licensed remix album thanks to a collborative effort between GameChops and Joypad Records.