VG Frequency

Larry Oji was featured as special guest on My Take Radio, a live webcast hosted by Richard Butler. Listen to him discuss OCReMix and Street Fighter II HD Remix (essentially the same things that he talks about on NGI), as well as mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. Check it out here, and listen for Larry’s call-in at about 33:00.

Hiatus? What hiatus? Kyle & Larry are back to give you a dose of great game music. On this episode, the duo talk weather, surf rock, Captain Lou Albano, and of course, games and game music. Album reviews return to NGI, and the guys take an in-depth look at Metroid Metal’s newest release, Varia Suite. Head on over to Nitro Game Injection to give it a listen!

To prove that NGI is NOT dead, KyleJCrb and Liontamer have returned with a jam-packed show! This time, the guys confirm the pronunciation of Live A Live while subsequently slaughtering the names of songs, remixers, and composers, as well as coining new terms, dropping the details on PAX ‘09, and laying down the hate on a number of games. Check out this exciting new episode over at Nitro Game Injection.

Kyle and Larry take you back to a time before the Reset Generation contest winners and the Metroid Metal Varia Suite were announced, before Arm Cannon’s new followup album was released, when Summoning of Spirits was in Nintendo Power, and when Dwelling of Duels had 3 entries. They also discuss the Otakon convention, Baconaisse, Game Unicon, and much more. Check it out over at Nitro Game Injection.

In an exclusive NGI interview, Andrew “OA” Luers sits down to discuss the upcoming OverClocked ReMix album ‘Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption‘, his initial feelings on being a part of the OverClocked ReMix judges panel, his experiences with SnappleMan’s mom, and tons more! Don’t miss FOUR exclusive tracks: Two from the upcoming Final Fantasy IV album, Andrew’s new cut from SaGa Frontier 2, and remake of a remix originally featured on the ‘Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate’ album. Check it over at NGI!

Happy Alien Invasion Day! To help tide you over between the food, booze, and explosives, we have a brand new episode.

KyleJCrb shows that he did not do the research on any discussion points, and unashamedly peddles for money via the NGI Amazon Store while Liontamer dreams of being famous and mounting 22-inch rims to his wall while swimming in dollar bills. They also discuss the many lyrical interpretations of Mega Man, hate on RPGs, pay tribute to the loss of game development’s whipping boy Duke Nukem Forever, and as always, much more! Check it out over at Nitro Game Injection.

(NOTE: For those not aware, Larry Oji is now co-hosting the Nitro Game Injection podcast. Updates will be cross-posted on the VG Frequency blog as new episodes are released.)

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! Check it out over at Nitro Game Injection!

Thanks go out to GeekDad (@WiredGeekDad) editor-in-chief Ken Dedmead (@fitzwillie) and our other brother at Wired.com, Z. (@hipsterplease) for some excellent pimpage of OC ReMix recently. Make sure to follow all of those guys on Twitter to stay on top of geek culture.

Yesterday, Ken assembled a pretty comprehensive list of 100 geeky groups and people to follow on Twitter, and OC ReMix is listed second between Wil Wheaton and Weird Al Yankovic. Other important VGM groups and musicians on the list included Jonathan Coulton of Portal “Still Alive” fame (and much more), Nerdapalooza where John “hex” Carter covers VGM and nerdcore music as well as the regular music nerdcore music festival, genoboost of VGM and VGIM newsblog & netlabel Game Music 4 All, and British chiptunist Pixelh8.

Beyond that, the list is very thorough, and, since it’s not a top 100 list, many Wired/GeekDad readers have supplemented the list with great additional follow suggestions.

For those of you strictly interested in video game musicians, we continue to maintain our VG musicians Twitter list here on VG Frequency for everyone to crib from, as there are so many awesome composers & arrangers in the community that any VGM fan should follow. Thanks again to Ken for a truly awesome honor having many of us from the VGM community included in such an important list!

I happened to be visiting this site and I remember saying years ago that I’d post something here, but I’ve been too lazy. Well anyway, I just found this short review on my computer that I posted at Gamingforce in 2004. So I decided to edit it and post it here (I also posted it at VGMdb). Read on to find out why you should buy the Phantasy Star Online episode III OST right now.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I read Nick Chester’s post on Destructoid about GamerDNA’s Sam Houston maintaining a list of video game industry professionals and journalists using Twitter at Game Industry Tweet.

I love Twitter, and video game music is my passion. Since an important sector of game development was absent from Sam’s list, I’m maintaining a list of video game music professionals and enthusiasts on Twitter. More links will be added, and I’m sure there are folks who are absent from this list or want their info amended. If you need either, follow me & direct message me on Twitter, or email me at larryoji@ocremix.org.

If you’re not on Twitter, it’s a great platform with easy access to fellow enthusiasts, and it also encourages brief, effective communication. Get with the program and sign up.

Last updated: May 30th, 2009 - added chrisjhampton, esti_, gazms, gerdin, jgmusic, jasonchayes, masusu, masu_tom, neilvoss, ryuichisakamoto, whelchelphd, TracyWBush, virtjk, 8bitVGM, halc9bit, HaleaciousB, hatebunny, Nailhead, Nailhead_Gamer, nonsensicalexis, THE_Real_Chako, therks, Willrock07, danbrownpiano, dezolorfien, GenesisTribute, jason_vincion, shotanakama, SOU1, spamtron, thanatos_hn, Wizwars, xocnosaj, appiani, Axtuse, ffdistantworlds, SpiritofGamer, TheSIDStation

Since I put in the elbow grease to create this list, leading off is my bread and butter…

OverClocked ReMix (http://www.ocremix.org):

ocremix : OverClocked ReMix, composers for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, world’s largest website for VGM arrangements & fandom, hosts over 1,500 free VGM ReMixes

djpretzel : David W. Lloyd, aka djpretzel, OC ReMix founder/president/designer/webmaster; co-composer & soundtrack director for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, software engineer

LarryOji : Larry Oji, aka Liontamer, OC ReMix head submissions evaluator, assistant soundtrack director for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Tim Follin: Dirge for the Follin album director, creator of VGM radio show & blog VG Frequency, VGMdb staff

anosou : Mattias Häggström Gerdt, aka Another Soundscape, OC ReMix submissions judge, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, composer for OK Games’ Artoon and Onion Factory’s The Perfect Match

biggiantcircles : Jimmy Hinson, aka Big Giant Circles, OC ReMix submissions judge, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix,

darkesword : Shariq Ansari, aka DarkeSword, OC ReMix submissions judge, Kirby’s Adventure: Rise of the Star album director

zirconst : Andrew Aversa, aka zircon, OC ReMix submissions judge, Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream album director, composer for Fittest, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, creator of music industry/business blog SoundTempest, former host of OC ReMix podcast VGDJ, fiancé of vocalist & composer Jillian Goldin (pixietricks)

Professional video game musicians:

8bitweapon : Seth Sternberger, aka 8 Bit Weapon, chiptune musician, composer for Nokia’s Reset Generation

awintory : Austin Wintory, composer for thatgamecompany’s flOw

Beatdrop : Dain Olsen, aka Beatdrop, former OC ReMix submissions judge, co-composer for Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2, Universe 2 & Universe 3

bobbaffy : Bob Baffey, audio director at Backbone Entertainment, former audio director at Digital Eclipse, sound designer, composer for multitude of Game Boy Color titles

cdeenen : Charles Deenen, composer for Virgin Games’ M.C. Kids, co-composer for Interplay’s The Lost Vikings, senior audio director at Electronic Arts

chibitech : Jason Nisperos, aka Chibi-Tech, chiptune musician, composer for Marvelous’s Zero no Tsukaima: Fantasy Force

chrisjhampton : Chris J. Hampton, aka ast0r, composer for Two Tribes’ Toki Tori

christilton : Chris Tilton, composer for EA’s Black and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

christophertin : Christopher Tin, co-composer for 2K Games’ Civilization IV

clswall : Cindy L. S. Wall, vocalist for Ubisoft’s Myst series, wife of Video Games Live co-creator & conductor Jack Wall

CoLDSToRAGE : Tim Wright, aka CoLD SToRAGE, former in-house composer at SCEE’s Psygnosis, co-composer for Psygnosis’s Shadow of the Beast series and Sony’s Wipeout series

ColinOMalley : Colin O’Malley, co-composer for Eidos’s Tomb Raider: Underworld

Dave_Clynick : David Clynick, in-house composer at Microsoft’s Rare, co-composer for Perfect Dark Zero

David_Wise : David Wise, career-long in-house composer at Microsoft’s Rare, composer for Wizards & Warriors series, Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country series, co-composer for Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise

Disasterpeace : Rich Vreeland, aka Disasterpeace, lead composer for 16×16’s Rescue: The Beagles

doistovich : Gene M. Rozenberg, aka Ampersand/Doistovich, composer for EA’s Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

EminenceOnline : Eminence Symphony Orchestra, founded by Hiroaki Yura, Echoes of War album creators, performers for Blizzard’s Diablo III, Vanillaware’s Odin Sphere, Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles and Namco Bandai’s Soulcalibur IV

esti_ : Jin-Bae Park, aka ESTi, composer for Nexon’s TalesWeaver and NTREEV Soft’s Pangya: Fantasy Golf

gazms : Robert Stjärnström, aka Gaz, vocalist and former guitarist for band Machinae Supremacy, co-composer for Rake in Grass’s Jets’n'Guns

gerdin : Andreas Gerdin, aka Gordon, rhythm guitarist for band Machinae Supremacy, co-composer for Rake in Grass’s Jets’n'Guns

GKMarino : Gerard K. Marino, co-composer for Sony’s God of War series

Godspeed_ViViX : Masahiro Aoki, aka Godspeed, co-composer for The Law of Contradiction

grantkirkhope : Grant Kirkhope, audio director at THQ’s Big Huge Games, former in-house composer at Microsoft’s Rare, co-composer for Rare’s GoldenEye 007, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie series & Viva Piñata series

harwood9 : Stephen Harwood, Jr., composer for Ubisoft’s Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30

iwadon : Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, composer for Natsume/Hudson Soft’s Omega Five (see also: iwadon_ldrlog)

jgmusic : Jason Graves, composer for EA’s Dead Space

jasonchayes : Jason Hayes, co-composer for Blizzard’s StarCraft, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft

jonathancoulton : Jonathan Coulton, composer of “Still Alive” for Valve’s Portal, nerdcore singer-songwriter

JoshuaMorse : Joshua Morse, composer for GameOn’s Anna’s Ice Cream, creator of album Ragnarok Online: Hybridism

kevinrieplmusic : Kevin Riepl, composer for Microsoft’s Gears of War (see also: DamageVault_K)

madfiddler : Mark Knight, aka madfiddler, composer for EA’s Warhammer: Dark Omen, Bullfrog’s Populous: The Beginning and Dungeon Keeper 2, Lead Audio Designer at Codemasters Software, member of band Stuck in D’80s

Malcos : Stephen Malcolm-Howell, aka Malcos, co-composer & assistant soundtrack director for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, former OC ReMix submissions judge

mark_griskey : Mark Griskey, composer for LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

masusu : Masashi Yano, composer for Bullet Witch and Suiheisen Made Nan Mile?, co-composer for Cave’s Puzzle! Mushihimetama

masu_tom : Tomas Nilsén, drummer for band Machinae Supremacy, co-composer for Rake in Grass’s Jets’n'Guns

McVaffe : Michael Vafeas, aka McVaffe, OC ReMixer, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

M_Minoshima : Masayoshi Minoshima, co-composer for Makura’s H2O: Footprints in the Sand, founder and owner of Alstroemeria Records

Mustin : Mustin, OC ReMixer, composer for Telegames’ Ultimate Arcade Games: Treasure Hunters, leader of band The OneUps, creator of record label OneUp Studios

nakataka : Takayuki Nakamura, co-composer for Sega’s Virtua Fighter series and Q Entertainment’s Lumines series

neal_acree : Neal Acree, co-composer for Blizzard’s Warcraft: The Burning Crusade and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

neilvoss : Neil Voss, composer of H2O Entertainment’s Tetrisphere

neostormx: Anthony Marin, aka Neostorm, OC ReMixer, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

nrvststpilot : Paul Taylor, aka nervous_testpilot, composer for Mode 7 Games’ Determinance, freelance music journalist

orchetect : Steffan Andrews, OC ReMixer, co-composer for EA’s FaceBreaker and PowerUp Studios’ Night of a Million Billion Zombies

REDALiCE : Akai Hito, aka REDALiCE, composer for Dokodemo Sukishite Itsudemo Sukishite, veteran VGM arranger

Richard_Jacques : Richard Jacques, composer for Sega’s Sonic 3D Blast, co-composer for Sega’s Jet Set Radio series, BioWare’s Mass Effect and Sega’s Sonic and the Black Knight

RyanAComposer : Ryan Arndt, Lead Sound Designer/Composer/Studio Marketing & Development at Somatone Interactive Canada

ryuichisakamoto : Ryuichi Sakamoto, co-composer of Square Enix’s Dawn of Mana

SeanBeeson : Sean Beeson, composer for Silver Sphere Studios’ Eternity’s Child

ShaelRiley : Shael Riley, OC ReMixer, co-composer & soundtrack director for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, member of nerdcore band The Grammar Club, cast member of ScrewAttack’s The New Adventures of Captain S, brother of Devon Riley

sklathill : Vincent Diamante, composer for USC Interactive Media’s Cloud and Konami Mobile’s Castlevania: Order of Shadows, Interactive Media Division adjunct professor at University of Southern California

soundofjw : Josh Whelchel, aka TwiTerror, composer for Natomic Studios’ The Spirit Engine series (see also: whelchelphd)

TheMightyFatMan : George Sanger, aka The Fat Man, OC ReMixer, legendary professional VGM composer, leader of Team Fat, creator of game music summit Project Bar-B-Q (see also: fmandcg)

TheRealBeano : Robin Beanland, audio director at Microsoft’s Rare, co-composer for Rare’s Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct series, Conker series and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

toksin : Sascha Dikiciyan, aka toksin, co-composer for Ubisoft’s TMNT, co-composer for Flagship Studios’ Hellgate: London, musical collaborator of Cris Velasco

TommyTallarico : Tommy Tallarico, Guinness world record holder of work on the most video games, co-creator & host of Video Games Live concert series, founder of Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.)

TomSalta : Tom Salta, composer for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfigher 1 & 2

TracyWBush : Tracy W. Bush, co-composer for Blizzard’s Warcraft III and World of Warcraft

virtjk : Jake Kaufman, aka virt, composer for Capcom’s Shantae, Neon Studios’ Legend of Kay and Konami’s Contra 4, founder of band The Smash Brothers, husband of Kristi Kaufman

wall_snd : Jack Wall, co-creator and conductor of Video Games Live concert series, composer for Ubisoft’s Myst series, BioWare’s Jade Empire and BioWare’s Mass Effect, husband of vocalist Cindy L. S. Wall

zhaytee : Joseph Toscano, aka ZhayTee, OC ReMixer, composer for Sunspire Studios’ Tux Racer

More OC ReMixers (http://www.ocremix.org/remixers/):

8bitVGM : 8 Bit Instrumental

adrianholovaty : Adrian Holovaty, creator of Super Mario Bros. 2 ‘Gypsy Jazz’, creator of open-source web application framework Django

AkumajoBelmont : Rabbie Sabo, aka AkumajoBelmont

audixmusic : Greg Michalec, aka Audix, composed starting lineup themes for Valparaiso University and University of Virginia basketball teams

b_knox : Langel Bookbinder, member of band aneurySm, member of band Warmth

blizihizake : Blake Perdue

bogusred : Susie Sahim, aka BogusRed, has drawn cavemen for Google

BrandonBush : Brandon Bush, aka Harmony, former OC ReMix submissions judge

brfuk : Richard Whitelock, aka richBRF, co-creator of Super Mario Bros. ‘Dirty Mix’, photographer

brightflashes : Kassi Kennedy, aka Kassi/Kassie!, wife of The OneUps‘ violinist Greg Kennedy

choweee : Joseph Liao, aka Fatty Acid

CoolCoreAudio : Cool Core Audio, Swedish game audio by OC ReMixer Fredrik Häthén and Calle

cotmm68030 : Matthew Newman, aka Children of the Monkey Machine, former OC ReMix submissions judge, photographer

cyborgjeff : Pierre Martin, aka Cyborg Jeff

DaleNorth : Dale North, former member of The OneUps, News Editor at Destructoid, Editor-in-Chief at Japanator, Editor-in-Chief at VGM news blog Original Sound Version

DiggiDis : Frank van ‘t Ende, aka Diggi Dis

DJComet : Alex Morrow, aka DJComet

drjaxx : Patrick Jacks, aka JAXX

DrumUltimA : Doug Perry, aka DrumUltimA, Percussion major at Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute, son of Principal Violist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra Sharon Dennison (MomUltimA)

fatpollard : Matt Pollard, aka mp

Feanyx : K. Dani Davis, aka Cuddly Battleship Kattywampus

ffmusicdj : Haroon Piracha, aka FFmusic Dj, sound designer at High Impact Games including Secret Agent Clank and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, former QA

Freijman : Sebastian Freij, aka AeroZ

frizico : Aurora, television meteorologist

GamerSymphony : Gamer Symphony Orchestra, University of Maryland student performers

halc9bit : Andrew Wheeler, aka halc

HaleaciousB : David Ryan Clark, aka Hale-Bopp

hardgrove : Craig Hardgrove, aka tycho, Marathon enthusiast, geophysical research student

hatebunny : Rab Townsend, aka Aetherius

Hornpipe2: Greg Kennedy, aka Hornpipe2, violinist of band The OneUps

HyBound : Tyler Carson, aka Hy Bound

ikadmium : Jesse Higginson, aka Kadmium

Jason_K : Jason Koohi, aka Strike911

joecamnet : Joe Cammisa, aka Joe Cam, EarthBound: Bound Together album director

Kumeelyun : Andrew Babb, aka Zelig

kwix29 : Dustin Kulwick, aka k-wix, Cave Story Remix Project album director

mainfinger : Jesse Gregory, aka Main Finger

markedone : Steve Olofsson, aka GaMeBoX

mikesacco : Mike Sacco, aka Shonen Samurai, Game Master for Blizzard’s World of Warcraft

moonove : Reynald Deliens, aka moonove

Nailhead : Eric Fullerton, aka Faze (see also: Nailhead_Gamer)

nicole_adams : Nicole Adams

nintendometal : Elisabeth Pezouvanis aka Wire, lead guitarist of band Game Over

nonsensicalexis : Alexis Kitchen, aka nonsensicalexis

nykad : Mike Klinkhamer, aka nyKad

philstrahl : Philipp Strahl, aka texx sound

platonist : Jonas Loman, aka Platonist, creator of netlabel Reuniverse

RansomRath : Ransom Rath, member of band PlanetSkill

roggah : Roger Matthews, aka Roggah

RyoLion : Ryo Takahashi, aka Ryo Lion

schlr_physcn : Oli Horton & Steve Dawson, aka A Scholar & A Physician

SketchHurricane : Paul Ford, aka metaphist

sgtrama : Doug Arley, aka SgtRama, creator of VGM news portal ThaSauce, immortalized in EGM (R.I.P.) #156 for his Kirby Super Star OC ReMix ‘Green Greens (Contagious Eye Infection)’

sgxmusic : Danny Adler, aka SGX, creator of electronic music label Protagonist Records

SonicSkillz : Duane Thorpe, aka DCT, creator of hip-hop/R&B netlabel Urbanizm Music

starlainjury : Starla, aka injury

subtonic12 : Dan Studnicky

suzums : Ty Guenley, aka Suzumebachi

Tansunn : Tansunn

terhechte : Benedikt Terhechte, aka Zeratul

thabisnit : Martin Binfield, aka Binster, artist & animator at SCEE, co-lead animator for Sony’s Heavenly Sword

thegirlnextdork : Candy Bullard, aka Juverna

the_junk : Marc Junker

themegas : Mega Man tribute band The Megas (Eric von Doymi [MEGAEric], Greg Schneider [ megasgreg], Josh Breeding [ breeding], Mike Levinson [ MegasMike])

THE_Real_Chako : Trevor Fulton, aka DjChako

TheoryOfN : Dustin Lagaly, aka Theory of Nonexistence

therks : Rob Saunders

thesaxprophet : Bradley Burr, aka the prophet of mephisto, Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate album director

TheWingless : John Burnett, aka The Wingless, former OC ReMix submissions judge, user interface artist at EA’s Pandemic Studios, former user interface artist at Midway

TimSheehy : Tim Sheehy, aka Kaijin, Contributing Writer at VGM news blog Original Sound Version, former customer service rep at Blizzard

tumult : tumult, member of band PlanetSkill

Ubik2501 : Brian Davis, aka Ubik, dressed as Karnov for MAGFest 7, spits hot fire

vergo890 : Philip Schwan, aka Tepid

wdelgenio : William Del Genio, aka munky

Willrock07 : William Harby, aka Willrock

YellowArcher : Kevin Stephens

younghahn : Youngjin Hahn, aka Ziwtra

zyk0 : Waleed Hawatky, aka zyko, former OC ReMix submissions judge

More video game musicians:

Atsushio : Atsushi Ohara, arranger

beefyness : Keith Moore, aka Beefy, member of nerdcore band The Grammar Club

binary1230 : Dominic Cerquetti, aka binary1230, Programmer at Firaxis Games, creator of JamSpace music performance area for MAGFest, member of band Rare Candy, road member of band Temp Sound Solutions

c64glen : Glen McNamee, aka c64glen, Commodore music arranger & enthusiast

cacomistle : Brian Vanek, aka cacomistle, chiptune musician

computeher : Michelle Mitchell, aka ComputeHer, chiptune musician, wife & musical collaborator of Seth Sternberger (8 Bit Weapon)

danbrownpiano : Dan Brown, aka Kareshi

DevonRiley : Devon Riley, cast member of ScrewAttack’s The New Adventures of Captain S, brother of Shael Riley

dezolorfien : Johan Hedlund, aka Dezo, bassist for band Machinae Supremacy

dj_skitz : Paul Hadrill, aka Dj Skitz, Commodore music arranger & enthusiast

doctoroctoroc : Levi Buffum, aka Doctor Octoroc, creator of 8-Bit Jesus VGM-inspired Christmas chiptune album

GenesisTribute : Brian Davis, arranger

glenncase : Glenn Case, co-composer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, former member of nerdcore band The Grammar Club

GrantHenry : Grant Henry, aka Stemage, creator of Metroid Metal

Infamousuk : Christopher Bailey, aka Infamous, Commodore music arranger

jason_vincion : Jason Vincion, arranger

KirbyPufocia : Mike Molnar, aka Kirby Pufocia, road member of band Metroid Metal

KyleJCrb : Kyle Crouse, aka KyleJCrb, Tales: Summoning of Spirits album director, creator of VGM radio show Nitro Game Injection

lidbjork : Henrik Lidbjörk, aka Lie Mutherpluckin’ B, creator of Sex, Drugs N’ Nintendo & Nintendosploitation albums

megadriver_bass : Rubens Stulzer, bassist for band MegaDriver

MegaRan : Raheem Jarbo, aka Random/Mega Ran, underground rapper, creator of Mega Ran, American Gamer and Mega Ran 9 albums

MissTrueStar : Kristi Kaufman, kickass knitter, wife of VGMix founder & Konami’s Contra 4 composer Jake Kaufman (virt)

pongball : Shannon Clark, aka Pongball, chiptune & MIDI musician, former VGMusic staff, wife of David Clark (Hale-Bopp)

q_pa : Jon Heiman, aka q-pa, VGM club DJ

raublekick : Andrew Rauble, aka Rauble, guitarist for band Armadillo Tank

richtaur : Matt Hackett, aka Richter, Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Hedgehog Heaven album director, Senior Frontend Engineer at gaming social platform Raptr

RyoOhnuki : Ryo Ohnuki, arranger

shawnphase : Craig Jakubowski, aka Shawn Phase, creator of band Temp Sound Solutions, former drummer of band The Smash Brothers

shotanakama : Shota Nakama, director of Video Game Orchestra

skyriser : Lix/Skyriser, arranger

SOU1 : SOU1, arranger

spamtron : Guerin McMurray, aka Spamtron, chiptune musician and arranger

sumppi : Juha Kaunisto, aka sumppi, Commodore music arranger, web developer

thanatos_hn : Thanatos, arranger

WaveTheory : Wave Theory, electronic/hip-hop band led by Alex Esquivel (AE)

Wizwars : Kevin Hagge, aka Wizwars

xocnosaj : Jason Cox, aka Xoc, multi-talented arranger, creator of album SMW

Yamajet : Yamajet, arranger

ZenAlbatross : Joshua Kopstein, aka ZenAlbatross, chiptune musician

Video game music events/news/PR/radio/education:

Aktrez : Becky Young, aka Aktrez, Events Director for Video Games Live concert series, host on VGM webstream Game Music Radio, creator of the Girls Entertainment Network

appiani : Thomas Boecker, executive producer of Merregnon Studios, producer of concert series Game Music Concert, Drammatica, Symphonic Shades

arcubalis : Jayson Napolitano, Managing Editor at VGM news blog Original Sound Version

Axtuse : Brett Wooley, aka Axtuse, host of Meteor Radio at KBYO 92.7 FM (Monroe, LA)

C64Takeaway : The C64 Take-away, created by Remix.Kwed.Org founder Jan Lund Thomsen (Kwed)

cocoebiz : CocoeBiz, VGM retailer founded by Kahori Ezaki (Coco)

CocoVader : Kahori Ezaki, aka Coco, founder of VGM retailer CocoeBiz

dekubar : dekubar, creator of VGM news blog dekunology

ffdistantworlds : Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds, international concert series featuring the music of Nobuo Uematsu conducted by Arnie Roth

Gameodactyl : Patrick Gann, Associate Editor at VGM news blog Original Sound Version

genoboost : Anthony Ruybalid, aka Genoboost, creator of VGM and VG-inspired music news blog & netlabel Game Music 4 All

hexWarrior : John Carter, aka Hex, creator of nerdcore music news blog & concert series Nerdapalooza

hipsterplease : Z., man of mystery, contributor at Wired.com’s GeekDad, creator of nerdcore news blog Hipster, please!

Jeriaska : Jeriaska, creator of VGM news portal Nobuooo, freelance writer for Siliconera and GameSetWatch, microlender & futurist

justinj212 : Justin Johnston, former PR Director for the University of Maryland Gamer Symphony Orchestra, host of VGM radio show 8-Bit Radio at WMUC 88.1 FM (College Park, MD)

MAGFest : MAGFest (Music and Gaming Festival), yearly 3-day Washington, DC-area festival/convention/concert celebrating gaming & game music, created by Brendan Becker (Mr. MAGFest)

Music4Games : Music 4 Games, VGM news portal, created by Greg O’Connor-Read

Nerdapalooza : Nerdapalooza, nerdcore music news blog and concert series

Nobuooo : Nobuooo, VGM news portal created by Jeriaska

Sitorimon : Simon Smith, creator of VGM news blog Higher Plain Music

siven7 : Kenley Kristofferson, aka siven7, creator of academic VGM podcast Into the Score, music teacher

slayradio : SLAY Radio, VGM webstream featuring live shows, focused on Commodore arrangement community, created by Kenneth Mutka (Slaygon)

SpiritofGamer : Carl Larson, staff at VGMdb

superquarky : Stephanie Prader, Guest Coordinator for MAGFest

thasauce : ThaSauce, video game music new portal created by Doug Arley (SgtRama)

TheSIDStation : The SID Station, Commodore 64 radio stream created by John “Dr. Bongo” Taylor

vgmdb : VGMdb (Video Game Music database), world’s largest catalog & information source on video game music albums, run by Ken Moore (Secret Squirrel) and Gigablah

yaku : Yaku, Administrator of VGM news blog Noctilucence

Jillian Goldin - Notes #13 - November 7th, 2008

Hi, friends!

It seems like an eternity since I sent out my last newsletter in September.  What have I been up to?  Well, I mentioned last time that I would be coming out with a Christmas album this season.  Like a mad scientist, I disappeared into the laboratory to work on my masterful new creation!  It’s true.  I locked myself away from the world - shunning food and almost all forms of human contact (with the obvious exception of our one-and-only zircon) - in order to bring you….

---

Through Sand and Snow - Christmas album preorders!

The holiday season is filled with a special kind of magic: trees glisten with
freshly fallen snow, families are reunited for the traditions of gift-giving and
mealtime stories, and age-old carols imbue the air.  But how often do we have
the chance to steep our thoughts in solitude?

Through Sand and Snow brings the listener on a nighttime journey through the
aura of mystery and awe that Christmas so quietly inspires in our hearts.  A
vast nature surrounds us in these colder months, longing to be explored…
Sometimes, it is only after we have that our own homes feel even warmer.

Release Date: November 25th, 2008
Preorders Available: TODAY, at JillianGoldin.com!
Price: $9.99
Songs Included:

• Prelude
• I Wonder As I Wander
  
• What Child Is This? (a.k.a. Greensleeves)
  
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
• Walking In the Air  (from the classic animated film “The Snowman”)
  
• Silent Night

…Woo hoo!  So what are you waiting for?  Go hear the previews on my music page, and ensure that you are among the first to receive the new album!  :D

Now for some more good news: in anticipation of the holiday season, I have set up  all sorts of discounts and specials offers for both CD releases.  With every copy of Through Sand and Snow that you preorder, you’ll also receive a complimentary gift card featuring the winter song “Walking In the Air.”  You can pass it on to a loved one… or even send it out with your holiday cards this year, for that extra special touch.  It’s a beautiful winter song (non-demoninational), so anyone can enjoy it!

This gift card offer also applies if you preorder Through Sand and Snow with a      copy of Origins, in the 2-CD Combo Pack deal.  :>

And finally, both CDs are now set up to offer discounts in bulk - so you will    automatically get 2-4 dollars off each additional CD that you buy!

---

I know how hectic the holiday season can be, and that is largely why I was inspired to start this project in the first place.  For Andrew and I, it has been a whirlwind of music-making, track-mixing, and hair-splitting… But the result?  A breath of fresh (albeit cold) air.  :>

Enjoy the preeeeviews,
Jill

Hey guys,

If you enjoy game music enough to take a quick survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HFyUHjM0BHA8lH_2b_2bgR2j5Q_3d_3d), your answers will help University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student Chris Russell for his ethnographical study of OC ReMix and game music fans like you!

The survey is brief, asking about your favorite game music, composers, thoughts on being a musician (if you are one), as well as where you fit into the OC ReMix community. If you’re not a musician, just fill in “N/A” (not applicable) for any questions you don’t need to answer. If you’re a lurker or long-time holdout, it’s OK; share your answers on game music, and swing by http://www.ocremix.org again! 1,600 ReMixes strong, and we’re still free.

If your responses are good, your answers may be quoted in Chris’s ethnographical study of OC ReMix, both in his paper as well as his presentation at next month’s Art of Record Production conference!

Now Chris is going to hijack my message to tell you a little bit more. Have fun answering the survey, and thanks as always for listening to our community’s music and supporting OC ReMix!

Larry “Liontamer” Oji
Assistant Soundtrack Director, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Head Submissions Evaluator, OverClocked ReMix - http://www.ocremix.org
Creator, VG Frequency - http://www.vgfrequency.com
Staff, VGMdb - http://www.vgmdb.net

—————————————-

Hi everyone -

My name is Chris Russell, a graduate student in Music Theory at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In about a month, I will be presenting a paper about OC ReMix at the Art of Record Production Conference, a joint academic/industry conference in Lowell, Massachusetts. I’m hoping to ask you all, the OC ReMix community, to help me represent you at this conference by taking a brief survey.

The survey should take no longer than 20-30 minutes, and is intended for all members of the community - whether you’ve got a ReMix up on the site or not. Please take a moment to assist me in this endeavor.

The survey is available at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HFyUHjM0BHA8lH_2b_2bgR2j5Q_3d_3d

Thanks in advance for your time.

Chris Russell
Master’s Candidate in Music Theory
Department of Music
University of Wisconsin - Madison

Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair have created a World of Warcraft machinima from a script entitled “Busted” for the “Synergy” contest at WarcraftMovies.com. The challenge was to make the best machinima from either one of two pre-existing manuscripts. The movie, one of six entries and one of three tackling the “Busted” script is available in a pretty impressive 720p, so feel free to check it out.

I don’t know the first thing about World of Warcraft, but the movie features the excellent integration of several OC ReMixes and OCR album tracks, including Voices of the Lifestream and Chrono Symphonic from Pot Hocket, Sephfire, tefnek and Xaleph. Baron’s looking for support for the contest on his personal blog. There’s $300 in scrilla on the line, and the field is full of solid entries, so feel free to swing by WarcraftMovies.com and give Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair your support (since they clearly chose the best music, am I right)!

Just another great day in #ocrjudges. You can view the full post for our conversation a few minute ago on this Wisconsin Kia dealership commercial, featuring original track “Inferno” by zircon:

Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Titterington (known as JigginJonT on OC ReMix) toured around with Greg Laswell the past couple of months for Greg’s US tour, promoting his new album Three Flights from Alto Nido, out on Vanguard Records.

While in Atlanta for their performance at Variety Playhouse (a dual show with Ingrid Michaelson, which Jimmy “Big Giant Circles” Hinson and myself attended), Greg and bandmates Brandon Walters & Jon stopped by Decatur’s Paste Magazine to film a Live at Paste performance of “What a Day.” Jon’s featured on trumpet, so be sure to check it out!

Hey, I know we just recently sent out a mail on OC ReMix doing the soundtrack for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Thanks for checking out our E3 week feature about it on Ars Technica: http://digg.com/gaming_news/Fans_go_pro_how_OC_ReMix_put_its_stamp_on_Street_Fighter_II

I’m actually mailing because today, July 25th, is the birthday of OC ReMix founder David Lloyd, better known around these parts as djpretzel!!! He also recently got engaged to the lovely Anna, which was revealed on OCR just a couple of days ago!

To help celebrate, I’m asking you to take a few moments out of your day to wish djp a happy birthday! You can make his B-day a good one by doing any or all of the following things:

***Well, djp started it all, so throw some birthday greetings to djp right here: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17434

***Buy a copy of this month’s issue of Game Informer magazine (with Wolfenstein on the cover), which features an interview with djp about OC ReMix and spotlights the video game arrangement community: http://www.gameinformer.com/Magazine/

***Buy a T-shirt, hoodie or stickers from the OCR store and fly the colors: http://www.ocremix.org/store/
***Purchase ANYTHING at Amazon through OCR and have (a much-appreciated) 6% of the sale donated to help pay for our sizeable bandwidth at no extra cost: http://www.ocremix.org/amazon/

***Leave a Review for any OC ReMix on the site. Comments don’t have to be essays, but let djp, or any OC ReMixer, know how you felt about a ReMix you enjoyed. Any ReMix is fair game, and it’ll make their day: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14

***Complete your OCR collection by downloading the ReMixes you don’t have. The only mistake I ever made when I first found OCR in 2002 was to only download about 30 mixes just from games I knew. If that’s like you, you’re missing out on free GOLD: http://www.ocremix.org/torrents/

***Join OCR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210239078
***Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/OverClocked-ReMix/7350358374
***Join OCR on MySpace: http://groups.myspace.com/ocremix

***Last, but not least, just encourage 10 friends to check out OC ReMix. OCR is what it is today, because people like you have been kind enough to spread the word on the site, the 100% free music we offer (1500+ tracks and counting), and the amazing creativity of the ReMixers who take time out to honor video game music. Anyone who likes games, game music or just awesome free music should swing by and see what we’re about, so tell everyone you can!

THANK YOU as always for supporting OverClocked ReMix, downloading the music, and being a part of the OCR community. We appreciate it! And happy birthday, Pretz!

Larry “Liontamer” Oji
Head Submissions Evaluator, OverClocked ReMix
Creator, VG Frequency
Staff, VGMdb
www.ocremix.org
www.vgfrequency.com
www.vgmdb.net

Shael Riley says, “BUY THE SHIRT!” The banner below isn’t the logo that’s on it. Swing by The Grammar Club’s site to check out the sexy new design the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix musicians are pushing from their store, for $18 plus S&H. Silhouettes of women never go wrong. You add an arcade cabinet next to her and clearly you’ll need a clean change of boxers:

Hey!

Go to our website and buy our T-shirts.

www.thegrammarclub.com

Shirts are there. I fucking swear.

If you go to our website and buy our T-shirts, we will use the money you spend on our T-shirts to buy more T-shirts, and sell them on our website.

Do it.

Now.

-S

Let’s plug the C64 Orchestra touring around Europe, representing the SID:

The C64 Orchestra will perform a special gig at the 3daysON festival on Saturday the 30th of August. Other gigs at this night will be by Michael Fakesch (Funkstorung) and Lefties Soul Connection.

It’s gonna be a great night! Tickets and info at www.3dayson.nl

DCT’s original netlabel Urbanizm Music has just come out with a new look courtesy of Joshua Morse. Urbanizm’s got some great hip-hop and R&B acts from around OC ReMix, VGMix and OneUp Studios, so check it out.

Check out The Mega’s latest T-shirt design, “Death Does Wear Blue” and pick it up from their storefront. $15 plus S&H to rock it. The band made their pitch via MySpace bulleting:

Check ‘em out… this time they’re available in black, as well as a limited number in lapis blue and heather grey w/black rings. Impress your friends! They probably have no clue how badass the man in blue really is.

All of our shirts are printed on American Apparel tees, the best T-shirts in all of the land.

They are soft, don’t fade in the wash, and they fit like a mother’s warm embrace! Support the Megas’ east coast tour by picking one up today!

Cool stuff from Greg “Audix” Michalec and Brian “Tweek” Arnold, as they just released a music video of their OC ReMix collaboration, Mario Kart 64 “Day’s End”. Audix kept it brief on the OC ReMix forums:

Just finished up a “music video” of sorts of this track, featuring clips of me and Tweek playing parts on guitar and keyboard, Mario Kart shortcuts, and FL Studio playthrough footage.

Check out the sweet powerslide up the ramp at 2:02. Did that on the first take. ;)

Nice work compiling the footage, with a great combinations of features. You get your nostalgia fix via the Mario Kart 64 footage, along with a nice look at the guts of the mix in the sequencer (arranging the work of Kenta Nagata), and performance shots of both ReMixers. Fun stuff, and nice to see these two go the extra mile.

Grant Kirkhope announced today via MySpace that he’s leaving Rare, his workplace of the past 13 years:

Well everyone…..it’s a very sad time, I have to tell you all that I’ve resigned from Rare. This Friday (18th) will be my last day at the company. Recording the stuff in Prague with Robin for Banjo has been my last task before I leave.

Needless to say my time at Rare has been the most amazing and rewarding experience imaginable and I’m going to miss not being there.

Nearly 13 years ago now, Rare gave a long haired metal fan a chance that no-one else would and I am forever in their debt.

I’ve worked with some fantastically talented people and it’s their creativity that has spurred me on to write and create the stuff I have………I really can’t put it into words.

I wish the company and people there all the luck in the world!

Grant.

I actually just left him a MySpace message a few days ago for his birthday; one thing I mentioned was how excellent the first Viva Piñata soundtrack was. I’d express sadness at these current events, but the circumstances haven’t been publicized. And as far as I’m aware, Kirkhope can write his own ticket as far as his career is concerned, which is great. So, following the initial rough patch of feelings after leaving a long-time employer like Rare, I’m excited at what he has the potential to do now.

Of course, I’m looking forward to the eventual release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on the Xbox 360 to hear his final work with Rare. Best of luck to Grant as we see what the future holds for him!

Great stuff from Chris of Square Enix Music Online, lining up the first English-language interview on the upcoming Chris Hülsbeck concert series tribute, Symphonic Shades. Producer Thomas Böcker spoke at length about what led to the concert’s creation, working with a host of top industry talent like Arnie Roth and Yuzo Koshiro, as well as what to expect, including nearly all-new orchestral arrangements from Jonne Valtonen and the upcoming CD complementing the concert.

Böcker also went into detail on why there won’t be a sixth Symphonic Game Music Concert at Leipzig’s Games Convention, certainly of interest to fans of what was seemingly an institution at GC until recently. A great job and a very thorough read courtesy of Chris and SEMO, check it out.