ThaSauce: Misc. Music News

Tron Tribute EP RELEASED!

Tue, 04 May 2010 19:23:37 PDT

This just in from Game Music 4 All, the great 8 Bit Weapon and ComputeHer has released a Tron Tribute EP, which is available for for free!The following is quoted from GameMusic4All.com:

A new EP has just been released by the great 8 Bit Weapon (and ComputeHer, of course) featuring 5 tracks all in homage of the classic 1982 science fiction film “Tron”. You get to hear Wendy Carlos’s scores redone in a 8bit remix version that still carrys the intense, nostalgic, climatic feeling. The 5 tracks feature three different mixes called Tron Scherzo and two mixes of the Theme + Ending. Each mix are named after the characters from the movie. My personal favorites go out to Sark’s Revenge Mix and Flynn’s Fare.

...

Download this now and get sucked into a system of 8bit signals that will trigger nothing but the feeling of content all around you.

8-bit Pimp by A_Rival: On Sale Now

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:21:45 PDT

From OSV:

Of all the performers in the worldwide chipmusic scene, very few can match the flair and spectacle of San Francisco’s chip-hop king, A_Rival (aka Wave Theory, AE, Planet Skill, etc). In his latest album, 8-Bit Pimp, Rival stages a 2A03-powered assault on your ear drums, spitting rapid-fire rhymes with impeccable cadence atop some of the dopest 8-bit beats you’ve ever heard.

And while I’ve never been a huge fan of chipmusic that defaults to videogames as a unifying theme, jams like ‘Cybernetic Mariachi’ and ‘Show Me Girl’ tell entertaining and humorous stories while showcasing a masterful mix of chip sounds, guitars, synth and vocals. The production quality is top-notch and so are the rhymes; an exceptional release that West Coast chip fans can take pride in.

If you’re just hearing Rival’s stuff for the first time and you’re not going to be at PAX Eastlater this month, you’re missing out, as this fella puts on one heck of live show. Fortunately, 8-Bit Pimp should give you a pretty solid idea of the fresh sound A_Rival brings to the stage. And if you were at MAGFest this year, you can join me in interjecting with that bad-ass Colossus roar during the title track’s chorus. I’m telling you, that meme never gets old.
Available at: A_Rival’s Bandcamp page

VGM Spotlight � Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:28:22 PST

From anosou.music:

One thing I really enjoy about the soundtrack for Shadow Hearts: Covenant(composed mainly by Yoshitaka Hirota) is how much attention is given to the overall “sound” in his effort to portray the characters and add to the game’s unique mood. I’ve noticed that in music for JRPGs traditional instruments or simple synths rule the world and even when something other’s featured (like the ethnic instruments in Ar Tonelico) it’s just used as is.

What Yoshitaka Hirota does on the Shadow Hearts soundtracks is taking his music further by often electronically treating his instruments and using rather unconventional pallets of sound. For all examples I will provide YouTube-links, just click the name of the track.

In the track Death is the Great Leveller the rather mysterious mood is greatly enhanced by the production. To begin with the initial harp sound is quite muffled which makes it be more in the background, just adding to the harmony and not working as the main melodic line. The drums and bass are in the front of the soundscape, working together. The heavily compressed and a bit reverbed acoustic bass adds to the rather ominous mood of the track. The filtered part synthetic, part real drums drives the track forward and some distortion adds a dirty sound that works incredibly well with Shadow Hearts: Covenant’s darker visuals and environments. The mix of traditional sounds like harp, strings and bass with the synthetic drums and overall daring production certainly gives this track an edge that wouldn’t be achievable if it sounded more “clean”.

Read the full story on anosou.music, official website of Another Soundscape.

Powerglove Tour with Sonata Arctica / Munity Within! Album recording continues!

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:48:49 PST

From Powerglove's MySpace Blog:

Hello Powerglovers,

We're tickled pink (literally) to announce that we'll be touring with Sonata Arctica and Munity Within right after our tour with Hammerfall. After these two big tour announcements this week, I have a sudden urge to travel back in time and reassure my 16 year old self that if I devote my life to making metal arrangements of video game and cartoon music, for some reason I'll get to tour with my metal heroes. Also, I can let 16 year old Chris know that in a few short years his beard will finally fully connect to his moustache, ending years of nervous confusion and beard-doubt.

Tickets are again available through enterthevault.com at their site and through the links below.

The Sonata and Hammerfall tours play many of the same places, which might present some fans with a difficult decision. The true Powerglove way of course is to attend all possible concerts, wearing a ceremonial Zebediah mask to all events, and try to stage dive over and over until the Ultimate Power reveals itself to you or you lose consciousness. Cosplaying as Bridget from Guilty Gear is also acceptable.

Since most comments on these blogs are about where we're not playing, let me assure the populace of Glovopolis that we'll be touring a lot in 2010 and have some headlining dates and smaller shows to announce later that will happen during the Hammerfall / Sonata Arctica odyssey and beyond. By all means though let us know in the comments where you want us to play, and we'll analyze the data with our tricorders and make sure we bring enough swords and starbusts for everyone.

For tour dates and more check out the Powerglove blogpost on MySpace.

Incoming injury/starla album?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:44:48 PDT

starla posted on her blog:

I've decided to finally release an album. Now it's not done yet, but I have suffered long enough from the it's-not-done-itis. I figure I can grab between 10 and 16 tracks, mostly from my recent compos, and others from songs that have never been released.

I need you guys to bug me and make sure that I don't give up on this, and that I don't dawdle on other things too much. Since most of the composing part is complete and all that is left is rerecording and finishing up the backing tracks, it is certainly possible to see something completed come Magfest. Thank you for all your continued support!

VGM Spotlight � Game rips worth your time

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:20:50 PDT

From anosou.music:

Quite a few games never got a soundtrack release but have been brought to the mighty internet in form of game rips, either from the ROM or direct audio recordings. Here I’m gonna mention a few that’s worth looking into. From Software’s extremely overlooked Lost Kingdoms II (known as Rune II in Japan) has some quirky music.

From Software head composer Kota Hoshino is joined by From Software regular Yuji Kanda and Takeshi Yanagawa of Culdcept fame for the soundtrack, never released in stores, and it certainly has it’s moments. A strange blend of ethnic, electronica and classic RPG music that makes up for the lack of sample quality with unique compositions. Highlights include Battle, Gromtull Desert and Kendarie Fortress. A must if you’ve played the game.
Whoopee Camp’s PS1 cult hit Ore! Tomba also has some fantastic music. Happy-go-lucky music based mainly around mallet-type sounds and percussion with really strong melodies. This soundtrack went great with the crazy art style of Ore! Tomba, the pink-haired little boy battling against evil pigs, solving mysteries and helping people. Highlights include Dwarf Forest, Village of all Beginnings and Phoenix Mountain. Harumi Fujita (Pulstar, Blazing Star) and Nao Hatsutani really made a memorable soundtrack and it’s a shame it goes unreleased. Since Ore! Tombe (or Tomba! or Tombi! as it’s also known) is such a rare game many people will miss out on this so hunt down that game rip NOW!

Future Tactics: the Uprising might have been a bad game, I don’t know, but goddamn the music is groovy. Tim Follin, one of the best NES/SNES composers out there, finally got his hands on some real samples and made some fantastic tunes. The soundtrack is a groovy, funk-inspired blend of jazz flute infested jam sessions, extremely atmospheric semi-ambient pieces, folkmusic and balls-to-the-wall rock. The instruments sound authentic, the riffs are strong and Follin really showed why he was one of the greats (he’s now retired from game music). Find it, enjoy it and beg to a god of your choice that Tim Follin gets back into game music.

Long story short, there’s a LOT of good VGM out there that never got a soundtrack release. That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, game rips is fan effort at it’s best and will give you hours of listening pleasure. It’s probably not legal in SOME way but damnit, I fail to see anyhting wrong with it if the game never got a soundtrack release. Anyway, if you have any personal favorites be sure to let me know and I’ll check them out.

New Armcannon album onsale now - previews available

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:11:23 PDT

From ArmCannon's MySpace:

ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR SALE----
Cost = $12 plus shipping
------------------------------------------
go to http://www.armcannon.com/merch or CLICK HERE to buy

This is it. The sequel. The duece. This is Armcannon 2: The Return of the Attack of the Legend of Pizzor. If you're wondering who Pizzor is, you'd best be searching through some previous Armcannon media for a history lesson.

We're probably going to be referring to this as "Two" or "Pizzor" for the sake of brevity.

In February of this year, we entered Watchmen Studios for a few weeks to churn out this slice of delicious terror and we're quite pleased with the results.   Watchmen Studios recently put out the newest (and previous) Psyopus record, along with the new Brutal Truth.   With engineer Doug White at the helm we cranked out 11 new Armcannon glory anthems to celebrate our roots.

Now, the 11 million dollar question.   What songs did we include?

Tracklist

Power Rangers
Mario World Castle
Super Mario 2
Megaman 2 Wily Stage
Hulk Hogan/Shawn Michaels themes
Rygar
Contra
Kid Icarus
Megaman 2 Crashman
Castlevania 3
Ghostbusters
Chiptune

You're probably wondering: "When can I listen to these?".   The answer is SOON.   At a date not yet determined, we will be posting the album online for sale.   When we do this, I will put every track on myspace (I'm pretty sure myspace will let me do this) for 3 days so you can hear the album in its whole glory.    So anyways, stay tuned folks!

<3<3<3 - Armcrizzle

Weezer - The 8 bit Album compilation release

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:12:15 PDT

From GM4A:

For most folks growing up with the NES, SNES, gameboy, and other classic consoles of the current chiptune era, another staple in our lives was good old 90's rock. One such band was the ever amazing and often nerdy Weezer. In this vein, Pterodactyl Squad has organized, and finally released Weezer - The 8 bit Album compilation...

...which as the title states, is an album "created using original videogame hardware running home-brew software, and vary radically in style, from minimal 'one man and his Game Boy' compositions to 8-bit inspired full band performances.". The album is 14 covers by no less than the finest in chiptune music today.
I along with many others have been really looking forward to this tribute album, and very excited to have it released. The album is great even if you aren't familiar with every Weezer song on the album, or if you don't recognize the chippy artists paying tribute to them! As with all Pterodactyl Squad releases the album is free to download, so head to ptesquad.com right now and check it out! Check out the full tracklist below!

1. Island In The Sun (Belmont's Revisal) - videogame orchestra
2. Holiday - Anamanaguchi
3. El Scorcho - Tugboat
4. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here - Bit Shifter
5. You Won't Get With Me Tonight - PDF Format
6. Hash Pipe - seal of quality
7. In The Garage - OxygenStar
8. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly - :(
9. We Are All On Drugs - Rabato
10. Jamie - Unicorn Dream Attack
11. Come To My Pod - Mahamajama
12. Why Bother? - I Fight Dragons
13. Buddy Holly - nordloef
14. I Do - arcadecoma.

I too have been waiting for this since it was first announced and I advise everyone, fans of both chiptunes AND fans of Weezer, to go get it out immediately!

The Ocarina of Rhyme

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:18:50 PDT

This is apparently kind of old, but I hadn't heard of it until today. I came across this today when one friend of mine posted it on another friend's Facebook wall. The album, as you could probably guess, is an collection of mash-ups of rap artists like Aesop Rock, Busta Rhymes, and MF DOOM with the soundtrack from Ocarina of Time.
You can stream the whole album from here, and you can also download the whole thing. When you click to download, you're prompted to make an optional donation (you can choose to donate $0) to download higher quality files (320kbps CBR MP3, FLAC, AAC, OGG, etc., etc.) or download a free version for 128kbps CBR.

Finally you can subscribe to Team Teamwork's RSS feed to get updates on future releases.

Nitro Game Injection #119 Hot Seat: Another Soundscape

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:44:36 PDT

Mattias “Another Soundscape” Häggström Gerdt has finally come to Nitro Game Injection! OverClocked ReMix judge, contributor to Final Fantasy VII Voices of the Lifestream and Street Fighter II HD ReMix, and composer for XBox Live Arcade games Artoon, The Perfect Match, and the upcoming Kaleidoscope joins NGI on this episode for an in-depth interview regarding his works, game music composition, gaming experiences, and more great stuff. Also includes TWO exclusive tracks from the man himself!Full Story at http://kngi.org/

Weezer - The 8-bit Album announced

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:29:06 PDT

genoboost posted on GM4A:

For fans of the band, or 8-bit music, or both, a tribute album to Weezer has just been announced, featuring many of the leading musicians of the 8-bit scene.

The compilation is set to be released on Pterodactyl Squad, and will feature contributions from 14 different artists, including Bit Shifter, Anamanaguchi, arcadecoma., I Fight Dragons, PDF Format, seal of quality and Videogame Orchestra.

Head on over to the official blog to view the artwork for the compilation, drawn by David Mauro and modelled on Weezer's iconic 'Blue Album' cover. You can also preview PDF Format's cover of You Won't Get With Me Tonight, which will be featured on the compilation.

Stayed tuned to the official blog for more updates, and look out for the compilation to be released on Pterodactyl Squad during the coming weeks.

Mutherpluckin' B: 8-Bit Democracy

Sat, 16 May 2009 07:25:02 PDT

It took a while, though maybe not quite as long as it did for Axl Rose — my long overdue follow up to Nintendosploitation. Now it's finally here!

This is the "Socialist Edition", i.e. the free download version. If you want to preorder the $7 Capitalist Edition and receive the full version on CDR with two more songs and full color multi-page artwork, please contact me by mail. A proper order form will show up soon, along with flac files and more jpegs.

Note: As with Nintendosploitation, most tracks flow seamlessly into the next one, which explains a couple of abrupt intros and outros if heard separately.

Download entire album in ogg format + front cover 8-Bit_Democracy_Socialist_Edition_ogg.zip (59 MB)
Download entire album in mp3 format + front cover: 8-Bit_Democracy_Socialist_Edition_mp3.zip (81 MB)

1. Please Select Freedom (Super Mario Bros 2) ogg · mp3
2. Deflektions of My Life (Deflektor) ogg · mp3
3. Sky Diver, Inside Her (Mega Man 4) ogg · mp3
4. Razzle Rides to Town (Battletoads / Gunsmoke) ogg · mp3
5. Napalm on the Dancefloor (Mega Man 5 / Castlevania)
6. All My Bubbles Burst (Mega Man 2) ogg · mp3
7. Turtle Funk (Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles) ogg · mp3
8. Unsanxioned Soloing (Sanxion) ogg · mp3
9. Investigating Outer Heaven (Metal Gear / Super Mario Bros) ogg · mp3
10. Air Guitar (Mega Man 2 & 3) ogg · mp3
11. Don't Feed the Warhawk (Warhawk) ogg · mp3
12. Lead Jewelry (Mega Man 9) ogg · mp3
13. Achilles, Mega Man and the Silver Surfer (Having a Rave Up with Dr Wily)
(Mega Man 1-3 / Silver Surfer) ogg · mp3
14. Godzilla's Head Soup (Godzilla)

Source: Lie Mf B's Homepage

3 new 8bitpeoples releases

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:56:53 PDT
From GM4A:

8bitpeoples keeps cranking out the hits, whilst rapidly approaching catalogue number 100. Check out these three free releases if your ears are thirsting for some 8-bit refreshment.
Chip Hero by Cornbeast

Cornbeast delivers Chip Hero, five songs from the soundtrack of an imaginary future video game where players perform along with the chip music hits of tomorrow, using controllers resembling the gaming gear of yesterday. Post-modern musical sensibilities collide with pre-information-age hardware, not so much closing the loop as introducing something unconventional, unexpected, and occasionally upbeat.

DaMaGe by glomag

As Roland walked on through the desolation, he was acutely aware that he had lost something intangible. His only clues came to him by way of the DMG in his pocket. The lamprey was willing, for the moment, to help him search the debris for the small cartridges that fit into the DMG, each one supplying a new, crucial piece of information. The hidden truth would be thus revealed to him slowly, in sequence.

Claps and Leads by Mr. Spastic

"Claps and Leads" marks Mr. Spastic's triumphant return to the 8bitpeoples catalogue; five deft exercises in virtuoso programming, balancing intricate technical skill with a warmly organic sound, all delivered in his signature bold-yet-delicate tech-soul style. Jazz, deep funk, disco, R&B, and full-on techno inflections collide and merge into an astonishing stylistic cocktail, all topped off with a shimmering pro-grade production sensibility. Dazzling artwork by Ui completes the package, sealing the deal on a certain future classic.

Wintermute Releases ''Audivore''

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:31:52 PDT
Recently, Wintermute participated in a contest called the "RPM Challenge". I've quoted his post over at the OC Remix Forums for you to read:

Good afternoon, OCReMix!
I recently participated in the RPM Challenge (http://www.rpmchallenge.com/index.php). For those not familiar with it, the basic premise is that you create an album's worth of original music within the month of Februrary. Starting on February 1st and ending (rushed!) the night of the 28th, I created an album entitled "Audivore," which I have since decided to make freely available for download.

http://www.danbruington.com/music/audivore.zip
Stats:
8 tracks
35 minutes, 42 seconds
Electronica

I had a lot of fun trying to work in such a short time frame. The production got a little rushed at the end, which was one of the major factors in deciding that it should be released for free.

I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

#ThaSauce's first ever Double Dash Compo = SUCCESS

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:14:58 PST
So we had just finished our 22nd One Hour Compo when Shael popped in with a pretty fun idea: a Double Dash Compo. Essentially the idea involves teams of 2 people; One person actually composing the music, the other writing and performing the lyrics.

Last nights participants were:
Shael & starla as Team TACO PARTY
Suzu & SgtRama as Team DoTYoG
Nekofrog & superjoe as Team Dead Cat
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Shael Riley at A&G Ohio on March 14th

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:41:46 PST

From GM4A:

Amazing nerdcore artist, not to mention OCRemixer and head of the SF2HD soundtrack, Shael Riley has recently informed me that he will be performing live at A&G Ohio, which stands for Animation and Gaming respectively. I have been watching youtubes of his sets for a while now and they are definitely not something to be missed.
Maybe one day he will make it out to the west coast, or he'll have a set at Nerdapalooza at the least (hear that Hex?). Anyway, check out the convention which runs March 13-15, as it should be ace. And of course don't miss out on Shael Riley's set on Saturday March 14th unless you are a grade A sucker. For proof check out the footage below of the appropriate for Valentine's Day song Bits and Pieces from his album Toybox!

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Mega Ran 9 = FREE

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:10:11 PST
From Capcom-Unity.com:

Unity favorite Random has finished up his new album and made it available for the low, low cost of FREE. The album isn't just entirely inspired by Mega Man--it's entirely inspired by Mega Man *9*
Splash Woman is my favorite so far, but download the whole thing here!
I had the pleasure of meeting Random when I met up with myf at Nerdapalooza here in Orlando last year. Really great guy. Really talented, too. I thoroughly recommend this to any Mega Man / Hip-hop fan.

Select Start make self titled album free to download

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:07:58 PST
From GM4A:

I have recently been informed that amazing six piece Florida band Select Start have decided to put their self titled album up on their website as a free download. Check this link to download the album.
Just click on the [link] to download the amazing 16 track album which includes songs from Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man, Metroid and a ton more! This is by far one of the most important albums any video game fan could have in their collection and now you have absolutely no excuse to not have it!

Tracked in Time

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:24:39 PST

From BigLionMusic.com:

For anyone who’s curious: Yes, I’m still using Impulse Tracker to track “normal” songs (not just chiptunes) and yes, there’s new stuff you can listen to. Here: BRAINSTORM: TRACKED IN TIME
Some background, for anyone who is scratching their head: I’m in a demo group called Brainstorm along with a bunch of incredible musicians, programmers, and artists. We make cool demos and enter in demo party contests and talk about boobies and human-goat relations and alcoholic beverages.

A musicdisk is essentially an album or EP of music released for free in the demo scene, often packaged as an executable file with a display / visualization program written specifically for the album. Tracked in Time (TiT for short, obviously) is one such musicdisk, with a very unique distinction.

In the late 80s and early 90s, tracking software exploded onto the scene following the release of Ultimate Soundtracker on the Commodore Amiga computer in 1987. There was an official disk of instrument / percussion samples distributed alongside it, called ST-01. We have taken that pack of samples, and nothing else, and written a collection of brand new songs.

This production is many years in the making — if you’re unfamiliar with musicdisks or demos, you’ll want to click on the “Info” button to get a scrolling text file while you listen to the songs. It will explain more about the disk and, at times, the “keyboard” will be “handed over” to each participant, myself included, to say a little something.

My tracks are “Keep Shreddin’, Little Man” (4 channel) and “Nightfall over the City” (multichannel), but do yourself a favor and listen to everything; there’s a TON of great music in there. Enjoy!

The Tindeck is DOWN

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:21:14 PST
Tindeck, a popular MP3 hosting website used by many members of the community, has recently announced that they were be out of commission for the remainder of the month due to bandwidth issues:

Tindeck is down until next month. - 15/Jan/2009 02:17

We got fucked hard by people uploading copyrighted material (primarily Britney Spears and Akon; can't say we're terribly surprised) and hotlinking those files on MySpace profiles and through various streaming sites. The amount of bandwidth we used is shocking and more expensive than we can afford at this time, so until our metrics reset Tindeck will be kept offline to avoid running the bill up even further.

Tindeck has never been a profit-generating service (in actual fact we pay a lot of money out of our own pockets each month to keep this place going) so the abuse of what we provide here is really disheartening, particularly given the amount of debt it's driven us into :(

The files already uploaded are all safe and sound, and we'll be back to normal operation next month with a few new features and a redesign that will make things a hell of a lot easier to manage.