“Music: The combination of sounds with a view to beauty of form
and expression of emotion.”
This is the first line in The Devil is in the Beats, from Hanna
by the Chemical Brothers. A more
accurate summary could not be found.
This, although the cynics and naysayers will continue tirelessly to disagree, is also present in the most synthetic and electronic forms of music.
This, although the cynics and naysayers will continue tirelessly to disagree, is also present in the most synthetic and electronic forms of music.
In the case of videogames, this expression of emotion is
fundamental to its very being. For some, it can be the making or breaking point
of what makes a good game. Understandably enough, a virtual reality often
requires quality of audio as well as visual in order for the person to fully
experience what is happening.
For example, it takes all of one note in the hook of the Battle Theme for a completely new player experiencing Pokémon to distinguish between “youngster Joey would like to battle” and “Wild Deoxys appeared”. It can build a tension when your character is walking through a spooky dark tunnel and can relinquish all sense of care in the world when you mount your bike on cycling road. With this in mind, it is as equally fundamental to the audiovisual experience as movie soundtracks are, despite the different media.
It’s hard to imagine Jaws without the music that was composed specifically to go along with it; I mean, otherwise it’s just a bunch of dragged out underwater leg shots and people dying for no reason at all.
A motif or theme that can continually be reprised in order to relate one occurrence to the other and being able to see what you cannot yet see further develops the mood and texture of the story the writer is telling.
For a vast proportion of the avid gamers, a simple electronic motif is as important as those of Adele or Shirley Bassey crooning a Bond theme, and for very good reasons.
For example, it takes all of one note in the hook of the Battle Theme for a completely new player experiencing Pokémon to distinguish between “youngster Joey would like to battle” and “Wild Deoxys appeared”. It can build a tension when your character is walking through a spooky dark tunnel and can relinquish all sense of care in the world when you mount your bike on cycling road. With this in mind, it is as equally fundamental to the audiovisual experience as movie soundtracks are, despite the different media.
It’s hard to imagine Jaws without the music that was composed specifically to go along with it; I mean, otherwise it’s just a bunch of dragged out underwater leg shots and people dying for no reason at all.
A motif or theme that can continually be reprised in order to relate one occurrence to the other and being able to see what you cannot yet see further develops the mood and texture of the story the writer is telling.
For a vast proportion of the avid gamers, a simple electronic motif is as important as those of Adele or Shirley Bassey crooning a Bond theme, and for very good reasons.
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| L; Shirley Basset, R; Adele |
Being both the artistically and commercially flaring
multinational market it is today, a lot of games companies have made it their
business to produce nothing but the best. The Music side of things is absolutely
no exception.
Nine inch nails frontman, multi instrumentalist and possible
asgardian, Trent Reznor, the man famed for writing Johnny Cash’s Hurt (the song belongs to Cash, I don’t
even care) provided composition duties on the theme of first person shooter Quake in 1996, as well as composing and
performing the theme from Call of Duty:
Black Ops II.
Winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work in 2010 drama The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for 2011 thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Reznor is nothing short of proficient at what he does.
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| Trent Reznor Live with Nine Inch Nails |
Winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work in 2010 drama The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for 2011 thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Reznor is nothing short of proficient at what he does.
Rewinding the clocks a bit, to about 1983, early digital age
technology allowed game developers only a very limited, minimalistic and
synthetic musical arrangement which is now formally recognised as ‘Chip-tune’
in reference to the sound chips used in vintage computers.
Despite limitations however, truly revolutionary composers used this to their benefit and composed such works that have become iconic in their own right.
Despite limitations however, truly revolutionary composers used this to their benefit and composed such works that have become iconic in their own right.
Gerudo Valley, a
Theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina
of Time composed by the legendary Koji Kondo has become such a piece given
its popularity and nature.
Described as the greatest legend in the video game audio industry, It is quite interesting to note that as an avid fan of 20th century Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, Kondo’s work heavily reflects his influence once transferred to a different arrangement. This can be seen quite clearly in the 25th Anniversary special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii along with which Nintendo released a music album conveniently titled The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD.
The album features live symphony performances of the work of Kondo, which displays its intricacy vividly in a new light.
Described as the greatest legend in the video game audio industry, It is quite interesting to note that as an avid fan of 20th century Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, Kondo’s work heavily reflects his influence once transferred to a different arrangement. This can be seen quite clearly in the 25th Anniversary special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii along with which Nintendo released a music album conveniently titled The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD.
The album features live symphony performances of the work of Kondo, which displays its intricacy vividly in a new light.
compare the orignal.....
.... to the orchestral version
I’ve now come to the point wherein I can’t physically
continue this essay without at least honourably mentioning the actual scene and
niche chip-tune is making for itself in modern music.
Tangent Ahoy, I know. I do what I want.
Tangent Ahoy, I know. I do what I want.
Swift becoming a classic in its own right, elements of its
vintage tone and influences can be heard in a lot of modern EDM tracks. Artists
such as Daft Punk, Gorillaz, The Dead Weather, The Chemical Brothers, La Roux
and Skrillex have used synth tones that are instantly associated with and
unquestionably derived from chip tune of
early 80s arcade games and vintage Nintendo classics. Even Muse frontman Matt
Bellamy’s use of the Kaoss Pad,
incorporated into the body of his Manson guitar and derived from the Korg Kaossilator, flurries the Muse sound
with violent synthesised hisses and squeals and adds a whole new level to their
live sound.
The action packed assault, rhythm-driven songs from the Megaman series serve as an obvious influence for Tron; Legacy by Daft Punk and more
specifically, the single Derezzed from
the album The type of synth used is directly linked to vintage arcade consoles.
Megaman 2011 German nightclub version
Since Tron; Legacy is the follow up of the 80s classic Tron and involves characters getting stuck in a virtual reality; inside a vintage arcade console, the effect used to simulate this sound is more than fitting.
It is actually quite common for artists these days to sample motifs of classic tunes purely because of the unique simplistic tone that chip-tune has and because it carries a subtle importance to those who listen to it and infuriates a lot of us who are constantly questioned over the lack of intricacy or supposed unmusical or inartistic value of it.
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| Classic 8-bit Megaman |
To those who have grown up in the 80s or after, owning a vintage game console
such as the Nes, Sega Megadrive or Gameboy, it connects them to that part of
their life; a Christmas, a birthday, a summer, and offered an escape or pastime
which they utilized and it quite simply became part of who they are.
You can program a computer to do a lot of things, but programming it to imagine is not yet within our capacity and maybe for good reason (see: Robot Apocalypse).
You can program a computer to do a lot of things, but programming it to imagine is not yet within our capacity and maybe for good reason (see: Robot Apocalypse).
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| COG Custom Bad Mario Pedal inspired by the game |
It’s kind of been long since on my to-do list to sample Sonic Adventure’s opening phrase; “Aw
yeah, This is happening”, as part of a track I think it’d go well with some
chaotic atonal driving bass synth and a Korg Kaossilator.
More on that front as it happens.
More on that front as it happens.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Having mentioned Hanna
briefly earlier, you can read my more in depth analysis of the music from the
movie composed by The Chemical Brothers here.
Intrigued by this post and looking for a Chip-tune sound?
Check out the New Korg Kaossilator KO-2 by following this link.
The older models KO-1 can be commonly found in pawn shops since they’re a bit old at this point, and its unlikely someone would sell one second hand for over €80.
They’re a pretty fun piece of kit, and virtually all you need to make your average rock band sound like Mario on Steroids.
and this.. this is beautiful. The Radioactive Grandma Spirals 8-bit
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