Nubuwo & King Soukutu to Release Rokko Chan Soundtracks


If there was a female version of Mega Man, what would her name be trademarked as? Mega WoMan? Mega Girl? How about Rokko Chan? If you don’t know what Rokko Chan is, you’re in for a treat with this Mega Man-inspired Flash game. Nubuwo, one of the best video game music news sites on the ‘Net (besides us, of course), has just teamed up with independent developer King Soukutu to formally release the incredible Rokko Chan Soundtracks: 

Nubuwo has partnered with independent developer King Soukutu on the publication of Rokko Chan Soundtracks. The designers ofThe Big Adventure of Owata’s Life and Rokko Chan will be overseeing the project, together with the organizers of music compilations Hydorah Arranged Tracks and Splatterhouse: Butchered by Various Artists.

The music collection is scheduled to include the Famicom-inspired score to browser-based Flash game Rokko Chan, written using PxTone Collage software and composed by Hokkaido-based musician Asagen. New chip music remixes by various artists are also planned for the release, in addition to arrangements in miscellaneous genres.

The Rokko Chan Soundtracks will be out on Bandcamp on July 4th in a convenient “pay what you want” format. Be sure to check back here within the month, as participating arrangers will also be announced soon.

Arecibo Radio Presents Shnabubula’s Starbound Release Party


Our friends over at Arecibo Radio have once again outdone themselves by holding yet another epic listening party in the name of one of our most admired artists, the piano prodigy known as Shnabubula on Tuesday, May 29:

Holy smokes! Shnabubula is releasing a new album! The album is called Starbound, a forty-two minute-long synth odyssey spread across 5 movements. Anyone who is familiar with Sam’s music knows this is going to be good, so I know you guys are gonna be there!

Arecibo Radio will have the great fortune of hosting this event, check out our radio station at www.areciboradio.com. It’ll immediately follow after a normally scheduled Touhou Tuesday, and you can join in & chat while the album’s being played live on the air via the on-site chat client, or using your preferred IRC client by connecting to irc.esper.net #areciboradio.

The event will start at 10 PM Eastern (that’s 7 PM PST for you West Coasters). If you have NOT heard of Shnabubula’s mind-bending piano solos, we suggest heading over to both his Bandcamp and YouTube (check out one of our favorite songs here). This is definitely an event not to miss!

Jordan Steven’s The Lost Angelic Chronicles of Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey OST Available Now


Jordan Steven is no stranger to creating a broad range of eclectic beats that have since delighted the VGM remixing community throughout the years.  Known by his active involvement as Jordan “bLiNd” Aguirre since the early ’00s, you may have have heard of Steven’s wonderful trance and house blends over on several OverClocked ReMix projects as early as 2004, ranging from the earlier Kong in Concert to the more recent Maverick Rising release this year. However, Jordan Steven has proved that he can put down his mixing expertise momentarily and show how much he has mastered his own skills in composition and musicianship.

While one may disagree to what we may state shows a pure yet comprehensive examination into his skills as an artist, The Lost Angelic Chronicles of Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey OST for the action-RPG Dragons Odyssey Frane (available now on iTunes) reveals that Jordan Steven more than exhibits his expert proficiency in orchestration with inspirational and deeply moving melodies like the wonderful “When The Sun Shines” or the incredibly soft “Heaven’s View (Vanneth)”.

When speaking of his experiences regarding the OST, Mr. Steven writes:

I recently replaced the OST to the Japanese RPG “Lost Memory of Angel Story Frane 3” for the English release on the PC and iPhone/iPad.  It is my first game soundtrack and was a true joy to work on.  I also casted and directed the voice acting which was quite difficult with the limited budget and lack of experience.  I hope you enjoy the tunes, like me on facebook, follow me on twitter/youtube/soundcloud and let me know what you think.

A huge congratulations to Jordan Steven for creating such an excellent album. If you are as passionate as we are about great independent VGM releases, we suggest that you give this OST a try — you can preview some tracks below or listen to the full album on iTunes or Bandcamp.  Buy The Lost Angelic Chronicles of Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey OST for $10 here.

 

Nerdapalooza 2011 Recordings Released on Bandcamp

 

Can’t wait to get your Nerdapalooza fix? Team Nerdapalooza has just released the live CD recordings from last year’s event featuring over 30 performers, including such artists and bands like The OneUps, Metroid Metal, brentalfloss, HDninja, Armcannon, I Fight Dragons, The Bossfights, Jeux On, Random Encounter, and much more! With over thirty-seven tracks and hours of living up some Nerdapalooza nostalgia, the Nerdapalooza 2011 Recordings will hit your sweet nerd spot and keep you sated until August.

While the first eight tracks from the Friday Pre-Party are all free, we would suggest giving the remaining songs from the main event a listen and buying the digital album for just $7, or if you’re a hardcore fan, physical copies shipped to your doorstep for only $15. Check out Nerdapalooza 2011 Recordings on Bandcamp today.

Cory Johnson’s The Legend of Zelda Release & Online Listening Party on Open Circuit

 

Time to get with what could very well be one of the best releases of 2012! Open Circuit will be hosting an online listening party for Cory Johnson‘s finalized version of the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda album tonight at 5 PM EST on Arecibo Radio:

Originally released as a collection of unpolished demo recordings in August 2011, Cory Johnson’s post-rock interpretation of the classic Zelda music took the internet by storm, garnering coverage from Destructoid, ScrewAttack, and more.

On Saturday, May 12th 2012, 5PM eastern, join Open Circuit on Arecibo Radio as we celebrate the long awaited debut of the finalized version of Cory Johnson’s album The Legend of Zelda.

This will be the first place to hear the full album which is currently slated to include not only songs from the demo album, but also new arrangements of Gerudo Valley, Outset Island, Tal Tal Heights, and more! After the listening party, the album will be available as a free / pay what you want download hosted on Cory’s Bandcamp page.

If you haven’t heard the awesome that is Cory Johnson, you can preview the Lullaby EP  or his actual Legend of Zelda demos for a preview of what to expect for this upcoming release. Mr. Johnson will be joining on-air for a quick interview during the show, so be sure to tune in as soon as possible to hear the both artist and album in all their glory. See you there!

coda’s Solo Debut Album to be Released on May 3rd

Just received word from our friends over at Ubiktune that Ken “coda” Snyder, one half of yogurtbox duo (along with the recently discussed Steven “surasshu” Velema) that are known for last year’s Tree of Knowledge album, will be releasing his solo debut album tracer within the week:

As we previously announced, a new debut album tracer by coda of yogurtbox fame will be released on May 3. This album will be released as ‘pay-what-you-want’ and will be available right after the Noise Channel listening party. Noise Channel listeners will be the first to hear the album from start to finish and then download it immediately afterwards.

Be sure to join the party and get in on the chat with coda and the other listeners over at Arecibo Radio. Start time is 10PM Eastern, 7PM Pacific, 6AM Moscow time or May 4th noon for JST. More details are revealed over at the Facebook event page.

coda’s EP will consist of four tracks that promise a “half hour of chiptune-infused prog rock madness”. Viewing the trailer above, we feel inclined to agree with this statement and are excited to listen to his fascinating interpretation of chiptunes, which definitely strays away from any traditional chip music we have ever heard. Be sure to head over to Ubiktune or yogurtbox’s Bandcamp for tracer this Thursday, May 3rd.

OverClocked ReMix’s Pilotwings: Take Flight Released Today

 

OverClocked ReMix has just released its thirty-fourth arrangement album in tribute to Nintendo’s game series Pilotwings and the original score produced by the various composers involved throughout the series such as Soyo Oka (Pilotwings), Dan Hess (Pilotwings 64), and Asuka Ito (Pilotwings Resort). The album itself features seven tracks from Indianapolis-based arranger Drew “halc” Wheeler, who humbly takes his time in Pilotwings: Take Flight to combine “nostalgic chiptune instrumentation with modern electronic sounds and production techniques”.

Insert Rupee, a collaboration between Benjamin Briggs and halc, also make an exciting appearance, arranging two pieces from the later installments in the Pilotwings series. It is also worth noting that the album’s concluding track, “Depth Perception,” is OC ReMix’s first arrangement representing the Nintendo 3DS console.

While you can download the album for free at http://flight.ocremix.org, old-schoolers can also get and share Pilotwings: Take Flight by torrent as well. Comments and reviews for the release itself may be given and seen in the official OC ReMix forums here.

Pre-order Disasterpeace’s Original Soundtrack FEZ Now


San Francisco composer Disasterpeace, also known as Rich Vreeland, really knows how to spend his time creating something absolutely delightful. And by ‘time’, we mean every progressive second that we have listened to with his most recent work like Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar wholeheartedly changes up the conventions of chip music, giving room for something reminiscent between progressive rock and 8-bit ambience,  along with a few intriguing twists in style.

Along with the exciting release of the multiple award-winning indie platformer FEZ just this week alone, Disasterpeace’s original soundtrack of the same name is also scheduled to be available this Friday, April 20th. From what we’ve heard of the available free tracks, the FEZ soundtrack is astonishingly awe-inspiring. “Home” sets an interesting, lo-fi quality that seems to be explored throughout select songs while  “Puzzle” reveals a evocative change of pace and marks Disasterpeace’s ability to easily transcend a set style in favor of establishing mood and tone throughout the  actual game itself.  “Compass” is another favorite of ours that is simply stimulating and beautiful, which we feel speaks loudly (or rather, softly) about Disasterpeace’s power to create contemplative spaciousness.

You can pre-order your copy now of the original FEZ soundtrack on Disasterpeace’s Bandcamp, available for $5.

Joshua Morse’s Waveform 3 To Be Released

 

There’s no wonder that Nashville-based sound designer Joshua Morse‘s progressive tune creations are some of the best in the VGM scene right now. With amazing recent releases like Onslaught! OST and  Waveform 2 that emphatically display such a loaded, eargasmic arsenal within the the electronic-jazz fusion genre, Morse’s talents as a composer are fully realized.

On April 24th, Joshua Morse will be releasing his third album in what may be considered a series of FM-based music, which he began in 2007 with the first Waveform‘s blend of Yamaha TX81Z, MDA DX10, and various sampled FM percussion, followed by the 2011 release of Waveform 2 with a coalescence of SNES music styled by Morse himself.

Especially with what we’ve heard of so far, we’re absolutely STOKED for Waveform 3 to be released within the next two weeks. For fans, Morse is also offering a special incentive for ‘liking’ his Facebook page. If the page reaches over 700 likes, Morse will be releasing the album for free. If not, the album is scheduled at retail value for $5. Free > five dollars = please support Mr. Morse and like his Facebook page right now!

zircon’s Unearthed Now Available on iTunes


Hitting third in Bandcamp’s top sellers recently, Unearthed is definitely a force to be reckoned with. With astonishing sound and production quality that VGM aficionado and sound designer zircon usually revels in, there’s no wonder that this newest release maintains the same absolutely breathtaking standards that he incorporates into all of his music. zircon describes the process in which Unearthed was also made available:

The material on UNEARTHED was culled from a library of songs and instrumentals spanning from 2007 to 2012. I chose only the best unreleased material; though there are many more unreleased or non-album tracks, the ones on UNEARTHED are those that I really want to make available to the public and especially my loyal fans who have been waiting far too long for a new album. As a bonus, this 56+ minute album includes unreleased versions of tracks like “Warhead (Skrypnyk’s Deep 6 Mix)” and “Mindbender (Circular Breakdown Mix)”, both from Antigravity, and both featuring the remixing talents of other artists (Skrypnyk and Big Giant Circles, respectively).

Ranging from a variety of styles from dubstep to vocal trance, Unearthed boasts having “something for every kind of electronic music fan”. We’re definitely inclined to agree. While zircon’s newest CD is available on Bandcamp for digital and physical copies, Unearthed has also been made available on iTunes for all you iTunes users out there!