Pixelated Audio

GRIS with Berlinist – PA107

GRIS was developed by Nomada Studio and published by the hitmaker Devolver Digital in December of 2018 for Nintendo Switch/Mac/Windows. Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. As the story unfolds, Gris will grow emotionally and see her world in a different way, revealing new paths to explore using her new abilities.

Pairing with the gorgeous art by Conrad Roset is the equally beautiful and emotional soundtrack composed by Berlinist. We are joined by Gemma and Marco of Berlinist as they discuss their unique approach to music, and their close relationship with Conrad and Nomada Studio in creating the atmosphere for this game.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:59 — 154.5MB)

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ExP XXII: Sounds of the Season – PA106

Seasons greetings! We’ve got a new Expansion Pack with music, both new and old, fitting of the holiday season. With bright synths, bells and occasionally familiar melodies join us as we get ready to ring in the new year. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:53 — 102.1MB)

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Illusion City – PA105

Illusion City is a cyberpunk JRPG from Microcabin, originally released for the MSX Turbo R in 1991, only in Japan. It was later ported to a number of other systems including the PC98, X68000 and Mega CD over the next few years. The game mechanics are fairly traditional RPG fare of the era, but the graphics, animations and music are top notch and really stand out for the hardware.

The soundtrack was composed by three Microcabin veterans: Tadahiro Nitta, Yukiharu Urita, and Yasufumi Fukuda all of whom went on to compose for a number of other titles. The Mega CD port was handled by AISYSTEM TOKYO with some additional redbook audio tracks composed and arranged by Hirokazu Oota.

Listen to the sounds of Neo Hong Kong in this episode brimming with fantastic tunes.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00:28 — 172.5MB)

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Micro Maniacs – PA104

Micro Maniacs is an isometric racing game (based on the Micro Machines franchise) for the Game Boy Color, released only in the UK and Australia in 2001. This offshoot originally began on the PlayStation, by Codemasters, but given the popularity of Nintendo’s handhelds, it ended up making a transition to the portable market shortly after.

For the Game Boy Color adaptation, Codemasters had less of their hand in its development. This time it was published by THQ and development was subcontracted out to a small group called Hyperion Studios. THQ also found a composer to do the music, a mysterious contractor known as MESSY STUDIOS.

EDIT: User GBC Fan says that the composer is Laxity (Thomas Egeskov Petersen). We’ll have to follow up but it does seem likely.

Even though it’s a somewhat simple racing title, the C64 demoscene style soundtrack keeps the energy level peaked for the game. Take a listen as we explore the Micro Maniacs soundtrack on the Game Boy Color.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:59 — 90.9MB)

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Dropsy with Jay Tholen and Chris Schlarb – PA103

Developed by Tendershoot and A Jolly Corpse and published by Devolver Digital in 2015, Dropsy: A Point and Click Hugventure is the story of one clown’s journey to make the world a better place. Take a mellow journey through various locales with your animal buddies and a fittingly chilled out soundtrack.

We’re thrilled to have both the creator Jay Tholen and lead composer Chris Schlarb join us for a lively discussion about this surprisingly genuine story and talk about our shared love of 90s adventure games.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:02:46 — 167.9MB)

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LIVE: MAGWest 2 Panel – PA102

Another year, another MAGWest, the West Coast Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest) in Santa Clara, California (August 10-12, 2018). MAGWest brings it – with the bands, games and an awesome community of VGM fans!

This time we’re joined by a whole slew of performers from this year and last year as they talk about their childhood gaming experiences and some of the ways that gaming and VGM shaped their lives as performers.

The audio quality isn’t perfect (far from it – especially in the beginning. Sorry Michaela!) but everyone in the panel had a lot of fun!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:45 — 117.1MB)

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