Archive for review
{ October 28, 2009 @ 6:29 pm }
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{ VGM, ambient, composer, electro rock, indie, music, review, rock }
{ Tags: Akira Yamaoka, Joe Romersa, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn }
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Silent Hill 4 -The Room- once again see’s Akira Yamaoka throw himself and the kitchen sink at a bizarre mix of ambience, noise, haunting melodies and rocked out beats. This time round the ambience and noise have been put on a back burner however as we gear up for the most melodic assault yet.
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn returns with her achingly emotive vocals. They are first showcased with “Tender Sugar”, a slow but climactic almost darkwave piece with haunting guitars and a very low-res production – a trait that stays with us for the rest of soundtrack. At first I found the low-res approach a turn off and in some respects it still is – but if you listen to the whole thing all the way through, you don’t notice it after a short while. “Tender Sugar” is a stunning opener setting a new darker tone for the vocal pieces and sets up the listener perfectly for what’s to come.
“Waverer” is one of the more abstract tunes. A minimal drum, bass and warped echoing piano/guitar feedback hybrid swirl throughout the piece enticing you in further. “Fortunate Sleep -noone disturb her dead-” then slides in after a small noise interlude with a song that reminds me of “Forest” from Silent Hill 2 for some reason. It’s not very similar sounding but its in the same tone for me.
“Melancholy Requiem” begins the first real instrumental “song” with arpeggios of piano and some distorted keyboards and string implements. The whole piece has a dirty, edgy and uncomfortable feel to it – it encapsules the essence of Silent Hill completely especially as the song degenerates into discorded ambience – a trait again carried in many songs.
“Confinement” has a mean guitar and percussive edge to it and brings you back to the old guitar sounds of the original Silent Hill songs before “Drops of Shame” takes you on an eerie trip-hop ambient climb around the echoing room. “The Suicidal Clock Chime” is a short piece of humming noises and discorded clangs of a very broken organ by the sounds of things before “Silent Circus” returns to the trip-hop beats for a quirky tune that is actually quite funky and chilled out.
“Traversing the Portals of Reality” then returns to the more grungy guitar riffs of earlier tracks with a very b-movie stabbing organ sound that lends itself very well to rock music, as does the out of tune violins! Great work! “Into The Depths of Self Discovery” then gives us an unnerving “new age” track of keyboard delights that pulsates with echoing soft screams flying through the piece. It’s probably the closest the soundtrack comes to a properly laid out melody too in an instrumental song.
“Cradel of Forest” sees the return of Joe Romersa on vocals for an excellent song. His vocals came under a bit of criticism in Silent Hill 3’s Soundtrack however here they fit the song perfectly and actually made me appreciate “Hometown” much more. Mary gives us some backing vocals too in this catchy rock song.
“Resting Comfortably” is the only sub minute song but I adore it. Its just a circle of synthesized vocals (it sounds like it anyway) but my goodness I could listen to it for ages on end. Eerie and subtle it leads straight into “Nightmarish Waltz” with distorted vocals and drum loops before the essence of “Resting Comfortably” returns for “Pulsating Ambience” where the songs non-vocal parts are accompanied by disorientating percussive booming bassy boings, almost like an Indian Udu Pot but Silent Hill style!
Onto vocal track three “Your Rain” with Mary on full song with heartbreaking weariness before the anthemic chorus pounds through your heart. This one took a few listens before I really appreciated it but now its a firm favourite.
“The Last Mariachi” is a completely carefully mucked up song and shows genius is how to make something likeable out of non-tune before my favourite instrumental song appears. “Wounded Warsong” is all about building tension as the chords pull up further and further with grinding padded synths crawling you up with it. It gets me going every listen – pure class.
“Underground Dawn -Never Come-” is similar to the second track, trip-hop drum beats and random guitar ambience flows throughout before “Fever Chill” takes away the guitars for some banging around on vibraphones and keyboards. “Remodeling” is the last of the official instrumentals which takes you off on a fun paced tour de force of random sampling and noises which is what the series does best.
To finish the real soundtrack off we have two stunning vocal tracks. The first “Room Of Angel” is easily the most downbeat original vocal track for a game I’ve came across to date and for that it deserves a mention. The bond between piano, vocal and ambient background is electric and you can feel yourself losing your strength. Some may think its too miserable – I think its superb! Finally “Waiting For You ~Live at heaven’s Night~” is a bonus track that’s not live at all. Its unreleased and they have simply and somewhat pointlessly popped a cheering crowd in it – thankfully it doesn’t sound fake. The song is catchy and have great hooks – a good rock out grunge style with Mary giving it some welly!
The second disc features a spoken story in Japanese called “Inescapable Rain in Yoshiwara”. The reader speaks gruffy and performs voices for all the monsters leading to some quite bizarre and unnerving screeching and moaning! Of course it would be no fun it wasn’t set to all the noise that characterises the Silent Hill series.
Each chapter is given a note of the music scale and each one works in harmony with the next. The atmosphere is tense and I’m sure if it were in English, you could appreciate the disc a whole lot more. However even in Japanese you can immerse yourself as the reader gets well into the story and the ambience unnerves you.
So does it match the previous three soundtracks? In a word – Yes! This soundtrack took an awful long time for me to really appreciate. I instantly fell in love with 2 & 3, and the original soundtrack I believe deserves status purely on its bold statement of noise. It didn’t feel like collectively it held together as the balance of melody overcame the ambience and therefore lacklustureness random noises couldn’t hold their own.
Now however on a relisten while writing this review, I can safely say it deserves its place up with the first three soundtracks. A fine collection, a fine series – Well done Akira Yamaoka!
{ October 15, 2009 @ 12:01 am }
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{ chant, chill out, christian music, music, review, singer songwriter, vocal group, world music }
{ Tags: Anoymous 4 }
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Having discovered Anonymous 4 via Christopher Tin’s “Calling All Dawns” album, I picked up the quartet’s latest album which is a kind of retrospective over their career taking segments from each of their previous albums.
To review “Four Centuries of Chant” is very difficult as the album is a completely fluid being. One song envelopes you into another and is done so in a way that transitions softly and almost without notice. What I can tell you however is how the experience is quite profound in a way and the vocal talents of these four ladies really touch something that is rarely touched upon.
The open trio of songs is taken from “An English Ladymass” and are 13th and 14th Century chants. They are sparse, elegant and humbling. There is a certain stillness to them almost Buddhist like, in a meditative state of being and just channelling positive energy out. A beautiful start the album.
The next trio is taken from “The Lily & The Lamb” and is a chant from medieval England. The three pieces continue to send you away to another world, particularly the rousing middle section where some higher vocal sections show some fantastic precision and execution by being both powerful and serenely angelic at the same time. Three chants for St. James from the Codex Calixtinus appear next from “Miracles of Sant’lago” and continue to ascend to audio heaven with some beautiful scales and pitch changes.
“Te Deum: Isten, tegad” from “A Star in the East” is from medieval Hungary but continues the same vein of vocal restraint while “Responsory: Spiritui sancto” from “11,000 Virgins” effortlessly spins a yarn of heavenly soars and magical calm sections.
As the album continues through the rest of its 20 tracks, you’ll have floated so far away from home you’ll almost forget you’re listening to four distinct voices travelling with you. The music never really deviates from the first track to the last and there is just one style of chant performed.
Anonymous 4 are fantastic. “Four Centuries of Chant” is perfect for the end of a busy day to relax, as a meditative album to drift off to or even as an album to feel at peace. There is something unique about the quartet’s voices that harmonize as one and therefore despite singing in an old tongue, they carry a message all of their own and you’ll be captivated until the last breath. Magical.
{ September 27, 2009 @ 10:53 am }
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{ VGM, classical, composer, music, orchestral, review, scores, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Anonymous 4, Aoi Toda, Christopher Tin, Dulce Pontes, Frederica von Stade, Jia Ruhan, Kaori Omura, Lia, Soweto Gospel Choir, Sussan Deyhim }
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Christopher Tin, well known VGM artist (“Baba Yetu” from Civ IV) and musical talent returns with his first solo album “Calling All Dawns” and its a cracker of a concept that you normally don’t come across unless you go into the alternative music world.
“Calling All Dawns” has 12 tracks in 12 languages and goes through a day cycle of day, night and dawn. The clever part which you might not notice is that each movement of songs flows straight into each other and when the final song finishes it actually serenades you straight into the opening track again if you play it on a loop. There’s a lot of hidden intricate details for you to discover with this album, but let’s get to the tracks!
“Baba Yetu” is a song any Civ IV fan will already be aware of although it’s been rerecorded and re-jigged. The Soweto Gospel Choir are simply magical with their tonal qualities and the way they can explode into joyous rapture only to give you a soft understated finale which really sets the mood for a new day. Coupled with the world music and track workings from Christopher Tin who builds the track up only to break it down gently again, for me personally its one of best examples of world music to have been made in years. Think Lion King and then some…
“Mado Kara Mieru” is adapted from haiku’s of the four seasons and is sung in Japanese. There is a certain richness to the string arrangements which is present throughout the whole album. There is something very familiar with the track that reminds me of what the film soundtrack of “Shawshank Redemption” would sound like Haiku’ed in Japanese! I love the grandness in this track, Christopher spares nothing for what is a track that almost has an impending doom to it.
“Doa Zai Dan Ye” is a delicate Mandarin piece that is as lyrical as it is operatic. Remember those British Airways ads? It has a similar feeling but with all the regal ladyship of the traditional Orient and holds a lot of graceful fragility to it. Jia Ruhan’s voice sounds so serene with Chris’ multitracking too.
“Se E Pra Vir Que Venha” is Portuguese and has a free flowing gallop to it. Christopher has a way of capturing different languages and their religious texts in a musical soundscape and although all the tracks are orchestrated each one has its own style and space.
“Rassemblons-Nous” is the French song and the first with a male lead and electronic percussion backing up the orchestra. This song features a lot of deep brass sounds and therefore reminds me a bit of Bjork’s “Selma Song’s” album. It’s very dramatic and filmic as it continues to its huge climax and with it ends the Day time section with a bang. Here you can really hear the 200 musicians put to their use with Tin’s magical scores.
Night time starts with “Lux Aeterna” which is of course Latin. This track is led by the harp and signals a pace change. Woodwind instruments float gracefully like night birds setting out for flight and this track which is largely instrumental really sweeps you off to another world. It also reminds me of “American Beauty” but I have no idea why!
“Caoineadh” harks back to old Irish language for a subtle string and vocal track that is almost like a eulogy for the day just gone. It’s downbeat and funeralesque in its tone even though the words talk of nobility. The string sections are particularly emotive in this track.
“Hymn Do Trojcy Swietej” is Polish and just like all the tracks, the words are from some kind of religious text of sorts. This track however is the most church styled track on the album. It almost sounds like you’re inside a huge Cathedral with atmosphere by the bucket load.
Dawn starts off with te Hebrew track “Hayom Kadosh” which sounds like something Lisa Gerrard would release with her otherworldly sound. The track is very short but packs its punch from the outset. It has a certain joy to it too and leads almost unnoticed into “Hamsafar” which is in Farsi and is in a similar vein – joyous and full of spirit and uplifting energy. I challenge you not to lift a smile for these types of songs.
“Sukla-Krsne” sung in Sanskrit is very much like waking up to a new sun rise. The warmth that comes through the speakers on these tracks is due to Christopher’s inspired decision to transfer the tracks from digital tapes to analogue tapes. It really pays off in the dawn section of tracks.
The closing track (or if you loop it the last of the dawn tracks before the day is back upon us again) is the Maori track “Kia Hora Te Marino” which is a traditional Maori blessing and its the perfect way to start a new day. The song is grand, the Maori chants and choirs go hand in hand and the world seems anew again and full of hope.
Quite frankly Christopher Tin’s album is a masterpiece. Every track is of such a high calibre and standard and there is so much unconditional love in each one for the cycle of life that you can’t help yourself but join the ride and the day through. It’s the first album for a while that works better played as an entirity than as individual tracks and the concept is both refreshing and fulfilled. Put simply “Calling All Dawns” is not just the best world music album of 2009, it’s one of the best world music albums of the decade. Pure and absolute musical hedonism.
{ August 8, 2009 @ 11:45 am }
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{ VGM, ambient, composer, dance, electro rock, guitar, music, review, techno, trance }
{ Tags: module }
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Shatter (as you can read below in our review) is a fantastic game. Just as fantastic is the 14 track soundtrack made by Module. The whole thing has an electro-rock feel that feels both retro and futuristic wrapped into one sound. The soundtrack sounds more like a shoot-em-up game but with real riffs and not just freak out guitar solos.
“Kinetic Harvest” gets things going with grizzly bass lines, chugging electric guitars, electric arpeggios and a foot stomping beat. The tune itself is relatively simple but it never sits still and therefore never runs the risk of being stale. “Aurora” is more synth led but although it has an aural essence to it, it’s not a song you’d find on Chill FM. Again its a song that adds and adds to its beautiful bass with all kinds of catchy plinky riffs. There’s some great percussive sounds in this song that manages to sound heavenly yet industrial at the same time and the contradiction works perfectly.
“Granular Extractor” for some reason reminds me of the Beverley Hill Cop theme song and old Spectrum games. There’s a real retro arcade feel to this track specificially. Combined with electric percussion and the way the track changes from high to low pitches, it also sounds more like a medley track in some ways which is great as it feels like going on some kind of space journey. “Krypton Garden” sounds like something Ladytron would make. It’s use of real guitars side by side with loads of keyboards just absolutely works and when it comes together for the final two minutes, its quite possibly one of the best things to happen in VGM releases for the passed couple of years. Fantastic!
“Freon World” is a joyous track. From the nearly uke-sounding guitar unpinning to the blipping arpeggios, this song is a happy bean. At the half way mark it becomes more of a statium rock track with infectious riffs and pulsating keyboards throbbing through to your brain with hedonistic results. Another fab track! “Amerthyst Caverns” is a real personal highlight. The song features clipped vocal samples played via a keyboard it seems. Coupled with a great four bar chord riff and some fantastic keyboard riffs, the song just sound absolutely epic. It’s the perfect mish-mash of old meets new in a whole new ball game. This track is already an all time favourite track for myself.
“Neon Mines” is a grizzly-funky track. It follows the same principle as all the tracks do. A simple start, building up to a new section that then builds up to the two tunes joining. Again this track is infectious and its the voice instruments that stick in your head as you want to strut your stuff. “Argon Refinery” is a great stadium track and would do well as a track to download and play on things like RockBand. The tune is simplistic again but that’s where the beauty lies and if you aren’t playing air guitar after this track, you never will.
“Xenon Home World” see’s the guitar become more edgy and grungier almost. The feedback and whammy bar are great to hear and the whole track sounds like a big boss battle and for a six minute track that is essentially based of two chords, it still feels as fresh as a morning dew at the end as it does at the beginning. “End of the World” is a great track mixing all the elements already mentioned above into one seemless track. It’s almost like a tour de force of Shatter, moulding all the elements of each song together to create a super-song.
“Boss Music” is has some great little touches to it especially the mini freak outs at the end of every four bars at the beginning before it gets dramatic at the half way point with rousing keyboards leading the way. This track feels much quicker than it actually is because its constantly got various things all pumping out a certain beat. “Homelands” is a much more relaxing and free-bird track in many ways. It’s the end credits one and has some great dolphin like snyths that hark back to Ecco the Dolphin! The guitar then kicks in and gives us great memories and a mighty fantastic track.
“Glass Halls” is the menu track which is more electro-ambient with music made from keyboards and dripping water samples. It still bounces along at a fair pace but it’s about as sedate as the Shatter soundtrack gets. The final track is “Hyperspace (extended version)” played in the bonus sections which has a great hook to it and really sums up exactly why this soundtrack is golden.
So far in 2009 I have been seriously underwhelemed with a lot of VGM. Shatter has completely blown me away. Not only is it by far my favourite soundtrack of 2009, it ranks amoungst the best soundtracks for the passed decade with ease. The fusion of old school themes on modern days technology is exactly what a lot of game music is screaming out for today and top marks for Module for going the whole hog and then some to give us a masterpiece. I cannot recommend this collection enough and I’ll look forward to giving it some fine awards I’ll expect come the end of the year. Mind-blowing!
{ August 8, 2009 @ 10:52 am }
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{ DJ, RnB, VGM, dance, electro rock, music, pop, remix, review, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: misfits of science, module, S. McQuinn, Y. Moodley }
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Gripshift is a great little racing game for PS3/Xbox360 downloads. The five track EP from Module, Misfits of Science, Y. Moodley and S McQuinn is but a short yet sweet sample of the music from the game.
“Night Riding” is a smooth electro-pop rock piece with a great yet simplistic guitar riff. It kind of reminds me of OutRun in a way with its breezy electro rock that has grit but still enough seaside cruising to be relaxing too.
“Nitro is Good” is a more grizzly track with more bump and push. It’s mono-tone tune is broken up with quick chord changes at the end of every four bars but the song is very short so it doesn’t seem stale.
“Pedal 2 The Metal” has a great bass hook to it. This is most beastly racing track on the EP and is very busy – always evolving and forming a new fast paced tune to quicken your pulse. A great track.
“Shift” is the vocal and menu track for the game. It’s R’n'B at its minimal core with a catchy chorus and chorus rap. It’s not generally my type of music that I listen to but its harmless enough and its the kind of music that’d do well and the chorus is one that sticks about in your head when you driving! “Shift (Module Remix)” see’s Module bring is electro bass touch to it for a more seedier sounding version of the song but it doesn’t offer much difference other than that.
The Gripshift EP is short but sweet (and pretty cheap). Module’s open three tracks are my personal favourites as I like his electro-rock style and the “Shift” track itself is perfectly fine, it’s an EP that I wouldn’t hold in the same light as say the Shatter soundtrack just because its all too short but for VGM fans and fans of racing or shoot-em-up soundtracks this will appeal much more to your senses.
{ July 16, 2009 @ 1:28 am }
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{ DJ, VGM, acoustic, alternative, ambient, arrangements, classical, composer, drum n bass, electro rock, guitar, heavy metal, indie, jazz, music, orchestral, piano, release dates, remix, review, rock, techno, trance }
{ Tags: Abadoss, AeroZ, Another Soundscape, audio fidelity, Audix, Avaris, bLiNd, BogusRed, bustatunez, Children of the Monkey Machine, Cyril the Wolf, DragonAvenger, Fishy, Hy Bound, Ilp0, James George, John Revoredo, Kidd Cabbage, Level 99, Liontamer, Loka Lafevre, Long Dao, Mazedude, Nathan Rich, Nutritious, OA, OverClocked ReMix, Pot Hocket, Rozovian, The Fabul Men's Choir, The Prophet of Mephisto, The Scuba Divers, theultravisitor, Tweek, Vampire Hunter Dan, Wiesty }
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OverClocked Remix is something of a stamp of quality assurance. The community that continues to grow from strength to strength has been embraced by music and game lovers alike for its sublime remixing skills. “FF4 Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption” is the latest project which has spanned over thirty remixers and three discs of music.
Disc 1 is entitled “Act I Betrayal” and opens with “Full of Courage” by Nutritious as a rousing opening track. Both regal and militant, this track seeps with pride and the arrangement breathes 21st Century life into the original “Red Wing”. “The Might of Baron” from audio fidelity takes it to the stadium rock level with a great marching boots samples and a great vein of tension that is given a real pay off with its interesting use of different instrumentation to make a fantastic track.
AeroZ’s “Overture~Tellah’s Prophecy” is an electronica medley that crafts many of the signature themes into a great heavy bass orientated track with seamless transitions. “Journey to Solace” from Avaris is eerie as it is compellingly beautiful. The song continues to move and shape shift into a more dramatic piece but its the quieter moments that make this track more effective. “Ana(pro)logue” from Another Soundscape has a retro/new age feel to it taking an older synth sound, cleaning it up and then turning it into summer breeze party track. The change of pace and tone is very welcome and its unabashed joy is infectious.
“The Flying Machine” by John Revoredo has some of the most realistic samples I’ve heard in a free remix soundtrack. It’s an orchestral arrangement of the Main Theme and could possibly be my most favourite arrangement of it to date. In contrast, Mazedude’s “Welcome to Our Town” has gone for the low-fi route and it works. The gently blips and burps give it a relaxing potion feel that’s quite unique like an alien symphony.
Cyril the Wolf’s interpretation of Rydia is well gauged. Using an acoustic guitar and then building on it into a nice jazzy band, “Emerald Beauty” is the first band version of the theme that actually sounds right and that’s a tribute to the arranger for knowing exactly where to go with it. “RDX Necklace” by Children of the Monkey Machine and audio fidelity has a long ambient build up while the main tune (Ring of Bomb) is only barely heard in the background. It’s an interesting concept but as it builds up and up it only really comes to life in the final minute and you’ve already had three minutes of distorted guitars. However on repeated listens you do begin to appreciate it more and spot the subtle changes going on behind the mask of noise.
Tweek’s “Of Fiend and Man” is a real rock out of titanic proportions. Like a neo gothic finale, this is an absolute stonker of a track. Followed by a nice brass arrangement by DragonAvenger, “Interlude-Yay!” makes winning worth while! “The Skies Hold No Angels For Us” from Level 99 and audio fidelity follows as an excellent track. Starting off as a full on rock track the arrangement is spot on and then suddenly in the middle is a piano solo segment. Of course its back to manic guitar solos again for a bit but the different segments of this track make it one of the most accomplished arrangements as it completely transforms the track into an original.
The collaboration of Adadoss and James George give us “Edward’s Dream Quartet”, a seven minute string quartet arrangement of Melody of Lute. The arrangement is elegantly done and the sound of turning pages is a great little touch. Who knew there were so many ways to play the song! “Golbez ‘n Goblins” from bLiNd is a dance floor filler. I love the cross over of what should be an orchestral track being given high heels and a disco ball and these kind of dark wave dance tracks always get me going and this is top notch. The final track from disc 1 is “Fighting for Tomorrow” OA, Nutritious and The Fabul Men’s Choir. This is a stunning track for its otherwordly feel. It reminded me of bands such as Faun, Omnia and such at the beginning with a harsh choir. Then out pops all the electronic gizmo’s for a riot and when the vocals kick back in again its simply one of the best things I’ve heard in 2009.
Disc 2 is “Act 2 Strife”. AeroZ kicks things off with “Mystic Variations”, an early 90’s throwback to electro jazz beat and works well as quirky happy-go-lucky introduction. Cyril the Wolf and OA’s “Metal Mage” is possibly the most deranged version of Palom and Porom and is all the more fun and silly for it. Heavy Metal with over the top voice acting? Yes please! In contrast “Smiling Hilltop for Four Hands” from Long Dao is a nice piano led track. The arrangement is great and isn’t hindered much by the poor midi sound quality at all (which says a lot!). “Step Into the Light” from Nutritious is spacious and airy. It’s large scope is portrayed well and its reverb really gives it an extra layer.
The Prophet of Mephisto’s “Long Time Gone” is a sublime arrangement that’s full of life and soul. Adding the electric guitars onto what is a lazy but fast tempo track is a great mash-up and works perfectly. “Rhymes with Elixer” from The Scuba Divers featuring Liontamer takes the Chocobo theme and turns it into a rap track. Liontamer can definitely MC well and the female chorus line is absolutely hilarious “Chocobo-Chocobo you’re so fine, you’ve got more bling than all of those guys!” Cue mental images of a pimped up Chocobo… Normally I’m not into these kind of remixes as they can be really hit and miss but this is so tongue in cheek over a really dark angsty arrangement it just makes you smile without realising. DragonAvenger returns with a short but sweet brass arrangement of Big Chocobo entitled “Interlude~ Nom!”
Nathan Rich’s “Blue Planet in Mode 7″ is a really nice transitional track. From its intricate quiet sections to its bouncy bridges and big chorus’ the track is always on the move and is a fabulous arrangement. “Goodbye Cid…” from Wiesty, audio fidelity, OA is a come down track. It’s acoustic edge and space bar synth that leads the theme wistfully floats around you until the half way mark where things turn more electric. This is another great example of track and arrangement evolution. Ilp0’s “Almost Fell for the Trojan” is another ballad track that’s been given the band treatment and this one waltzes bitter-sweetly into the horizon with another beautiful arrangment.
“Somewhere to Hide” from Hy Bound and Loka Lafevre is a heavy dance floor track and doesn’t do subtle. It’s pounding beats and embellishments make this track, along with the great vocals. AeroZ’s “Fallen Dragoon” has a very short sombre section before turning the arrangement into a Sonic level music track which is great as its not where I’d have thought the track would go. “Fallen Ascent” (got to love some of these arrangement titles) from Children of the Monkey Machine follows the same pattern as his previous arrangement – a lot of noise and ambience while the theme swirls around just out of general ear shot. These tracks will be either loved or hated but this track is more accessible than the previous one. Audix’s “Survival Instinct” starts off like a girl-band song but then goes trance’d and never looks back. A faultless arrangement.
Cyril the Wolf’s “OMFG! GET OUT OF THERE!!!” wins best track title award while keeping tension as high as possible with a clever arrangement. Rozovian’s “Lacrima” is an ethereal piece with lots of tuned glasses and the slow gradual change into a more electric track bring implemented well. I think this will be a hidden gem many will uncover after a few listens. The final track of disc 2 is “Theme of Love for Guitar Duet” frmo Pot Hocket which is tender, beautiful, emotive and all kinds of wonderful. So far being the only real ballad of the arrangement it wins you over hands down and instantly became my favourite Theme of Love arrangement.
The final disc is entitled “Act 3 Redemption”. Long Dao starts off with “Tundra of Dwarves” and uses his piano expertise to make a cute wintry track with some nice string sections. Ilp0’s “In the Land of Dwarves” is a smokey jazz turned humorous four piece band take of Giott. The electric guitars work really well here., as do the brass to convey a silly its-all-gone-wrong tone. bLiNd’s “Path of Deception” seals the arrangers pedigree as a damn fine dance arranger. Again this is one of those dark wave techno trance arrangements that I think just works perfectly.
“Treason” from Kidd Cabbage is heavy metal to the point of thrash metal taking over. The tempo of the track is so fast the percussion alone has about 10 beats a second at times! The arrangement is a good one and will go down well with Black Mage fans who are looking for more evil. “Evoking the Dawn” from BogusRed is a gorgeous and sumptuous version of Prelude which speeds up the process and is more grande than the piano collection versions. There aren’t many quiet tracks on this arrangement but each one is worth its weight in gold. Vampire Hunter Dan’s “A Saviour Ascends” is an interesting track that spans all kinds of moods and genres in its seven minutes. From chirpy to dramatic and back again, the variety and constant tempo changes really make this symphonic suite come alive.
James George’s “The Land Still” is a space odyssey and its strength lies in its ambience and little flairs that float around in the background. It’s anti dramatic nature (apart from it ending) makes it more daunting in the run. “Bridge to Eternity” from bLiNd is another boogie woogie fest dark Ibiza style and rounds off an excellent trilogy from the talented arranger.
“Finale Part One ~Eminence Gris” from OA and DragonAvenger takes the unusual approach of making a tense atmospheric track and turning it into a vocal one and surprisingly it really works. The vocals are suitably haunting and coupled with the discordant piano and dramatic percussion it all hits the right spots for a great piece. “Finale Part 2 ~ Genesis of Destruction” is a mega arrangement from audio fidelity, Nutritious, OA, lisabela and Cyril the Wolf and continues the final battle vocal track approach. The vocals are bigger and more dramatic to match the music here. It’s a bizarre duet between a female singing like Sarah Brightman had joined Metalica and a male who is busy feasting on people and making death metal! However as strange as it sounds it works – absolutely 100 per cent works. It’s artistic arrangements like these that really show exactly how far game music and its followers and arrangers have come in the last fifteen years.
“Facing” from Fishy is a great arrangement of the Epilogue and goes from nice ambient swirls to full on electro-rock that Team Sonic would be gagging for. Finally “King of Green” is a bossa nova rendition of Rydia from Abadoss, audio fidelity, bustatunez and theultravisitor. It works a treat and feels like the credits are rolling in front of your ears.
There’s also a selection of bonus tracks but I’ll leave that for you to discover!
Quite simply, this collection is fantastic. Most of us know the tracks, many of us will be amazed at the arrangements. There is a lot of rock and guitar but there’s enough dance and the occasional slow track to keep everyone happy and just as I said about Summoning of Spirits back in March – how can something this good be free? Life may not be great on Planet Earth at the moment but OverClocked Remix once again shows us that sometimes the best things in life really are free!
FF4 Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption is available to download Saturday (the 18th) and we will have interviews with the arrangers and project leaders all next week as part of the celebration!
{ June 18, 2009 @ 1:58 pm }
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{ alternative, ambient, chill out, composer, indie, music, review, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Klaus Schulze, Lisa Gerrard }
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For once I’m at a loss for words and am completely torn. Lisa Gerrard’s latest collaboration partner is Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream fame and an electronic maestro with a career spanning over 40 (!) albums. “Farscape” is a two disc journey. Over the two discs seven songs, although they are more like symphonic movements, glide over you in a spacious ambience. Lisa’s vocals float and twist throughout the pieces and what you are given is something that on the surface is lightweight ambience but for those looking for more, can enjoy the lengthy process of ambience song structure.
Each song is entitled “Liquid Coincidence” and then is given a number 1 through 7. “1″ is 22 minutes long. Its swirling synths and arpeggio’s dust against Lisa’s ever evocative voice. It’s one of those tracks that once it starts, you forget its there almost and then quarter of an hour later, its still going but nothing much has changed except at half way through chill out beats join in. “2″ is 31 minutes long and is a bit more easy listening chill out world music. There’s some excellent use of echo on Gerrard’s vocals here but once again, nothing will be rushed and half an hour later, you feel as if you’ve been somewhere but your not quiet sure where. “3″ is 26 minutes long and concludes disc 1 as being somewhere in-between the previous two songs but sounds almost identical.
Disc 2 starts with “4″ at a much shorter 18 minutes! There is a noticeable shift in tone and that’s because disc 1 centres around Lisa improvising over Klaus’ music. Disc 2 is the other way around. “4″ is darker and less fluffy out-of-body-experienced with discordant stabbing brass samples however by the mid point its turned into a slightly more dramatic version of 1,2 and 3. “5″ for some reason works better for me as its a perfect blend of each other’s strengths although again its an 18 minute movement. “6″ is 24 minutes long and does little to change what’s already been heard although there is no percussion in this track at all and sounds better for it. “7″ is the shortest track at 13 and a half minutes. Who’d have thought that on an album? It basically wraps all the other tracks into one coherent piece which is a lovely feeling track and reminds of swimming with dolphins.
I’m so torn as its brave and at times genius. However quite why every song has to be half an album long is beyond me. It completely depends on your mood. Yes, you can close your eyes and drift off to it if you have time but its all so hypnotically similar so then one track blends into the next and then none of the differences actually stand out. The best track is the shortest one as it packs all the album into one track, which they could have easily done and then changed the electronics about and made some different sounding tracks. The whole overall sound sounds like a cheap relaxation CD you find from something like Time Life.
I will probably never listen to the album as a whole ever again. It completely devalued itself for me as a single piece. I will only tackle this CD one track at a time and even then only as background music when I’m busy. To have Lisa Gerrard’s voice as background music is something I’d never thought I’d say but alas, that’s all I can see this CD being used for. Sorry!
{ June 10, 2009 @ 11:34 pm }
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{ VGM, acoustic, composer, music, piano, review }
{ Tags: Nobuo Uematsu, Shinko Ogata }
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Final Fantasy VIII Piano Collections continues the excellent series’ trend for producing albums that piano lovers can treasure. Taking 13 tracks from the soundtrack and arranging them on a piano, the formulae hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t really have to, its all down to the passion and the arrangements. Shinko Ogata is the ivory maestro this time around and if I could have just a tenth of his piano playing expertise then I’d die a happy man.
“Blue Fields” opens the album with a delicate start of this pleasant tune that calmly pitter-patters though like a dream which “Eyes On Me” calmly takes over. The delicateness of this love song is made even more apparent here in a perfectly converted to piano song. The soft playing of a complicated piece makes for superb music for drifting off to sleep and cuddles in candlelight. “Fisherman’s Horizon” is the last of the trio of dreamy songs, closing the section in beautiful fashion before the album takes a step up in pace.
“Succession Of Witches” strips away the dream to create an uneasy and haunting song awaking you to the evil side of Final Fantasy VIII but retaining a cutesy effect to make it more eerie. “Ami” makes the original piano tune into a beautiful epic with the softest of playing and the loveliest touches to make for an enchanting piece before “Shuffle or Boogie” gives the album a big lift in beat with a bluesy number that provides a nice bit of fun to the collection.
“Find Your Way” is a piece of abstract work that infects the mind with superbly detailed piano work and excellent tension building. “The Oath” is a dramatic uplifting track that gets more confident and powerful as it moves on but never fulfils its promise of a big ending.
“Silence And Motion” is a beautiful song that comes across bitter-sweet but dramatic with the song ever evolving and fast changing in what is one of the best surprises of album. “The Castle” is one of the most complex songs on the album with several different sections the song. Some are dramatic and slow, others complex and fast giving us another great evolving track. Having spoken to many pianists just being able to play this track is a marvel in itself. “The Successor” continues the evolving complexity trend with a song with a very different view to an end boss theme. It slows it right down and gives it a beauty that could have been lost in all the power of the original. Its not what I was expecting, but it gives the end boss theme a very unique edge to it.
“Ending Theme” is dramatic, elegant and regal all at the same time with several sections to it, including the Final Fantasy theme and the near 6-minute epic is a fantastic piece of work. The closing track is the extremely fun and very complex “Slide Show Part2″ with ends the album on a light note with a great, bouncy classic Laurel and Hardy sounding song!
Final Fantasy VIII Piano Collection is probably the most relaxed of the all the collections to date. Its emphasis on soft but complex melodies holds it in a good stead and the more you listen, the more you hear and the more you enjoy. Another gem in the collection.
{ June 3, 2009 @ 9:37 am }
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{ alternative, band, goth, indie, music, review, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Brendan Perry, Dead Can Dance, Lisa Gerrard }
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Brendan Perry has just released the first studio recording of Dead Can Dance from 1982. The songs “A Means of Escape” is available to download from Brendan Perry’s website. It keeps true to the début albums more rockier sound with Brendan on vocals. It’s pretty good too with the strange percussive bells rounding off the song.
{ June 2, 2009 @ 10:54 am }
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{ acoustic, alternative, celtic, classical, electro pop, music, piano, pop, review, rock, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Patrick Wolf }
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I must admit I came to Patrick Wolf very late – last year in fact. It’s not very often someone strikes a chord on the very first listen but it happened with Patrick. The Bachelor is his fourth full length album and came out yesterday and is more of the same and then some.
“Kreigspier” opens like an electronic air-raid siren before “Hard Times” jumps in with his unique brand of electronic alternative classical pop rock. There is an eastern influence on the strings which embellish over the punchy pop-rock tune. It’s not as glamorous and spangled as his last album but is definitely single worthy and is a great introduction to everything Patrick Wolf.
“Oblivion” continues the electro-rock cross over a Metal Mickey beat. What is clear is that the production is a great part of the music here. The anti-pop beats make everything seem approachable yet layered with depth. “Oblivion” is a bit scatterbrained but better for it as it never sits still. Title track “The Bachelor” sounds like a pub song in a way, but to say so gives it complete injustice. It’s reminds me of Patrick’s songs that you can imagine him playing on his door step in the desert. It’s a song you can listen to repeatedly and find new noises in it too.
“Damaris” is epic. From the echoed drums to the 80’s synths to the swelling string sections to the backing choir, this track is nothing short of stunning and one his best songs to date. There’s just something about it. “Thickets” is the Celtic song of the album with Irish flutes and soothing percussion and strings again and its beautifully sublime. This album has a particular richness in its sound which really boosts the overall feel on the album.
“Count of Casualty” is genius. It sounds like a chip-tune (which I love). Of course other instruments come in too but the use of what sounds like a game over crash of an old SNES/Genesis game is great. The song is quite abstract but it lures you in and the haunting effect of the backing vocals really work for the chorus. “Who Will?” slows the pace down with a organ led track with various electric piano extras. The percussion eventually joins in but its filtered out and so makes the track stand out as its almost turned inside out in terms of its audio.
Single “Vulture” is Patrick Wolf at his electronic best and will please fans of his first two albums and it reminds me of Fischerspooner in a way. I love the bending of notes in this track and its something that’s used throughout the album but comes to fore here. “Blackdown” changes everything to organic instruments with a piano led track. Being the sole “ballad” so far it sounds out even if its not exactly slow and then half way through it becomes a band track. It is beautiful however if initially a bit hard to follow but the bridge is sumptuous.
“The Sun Is Often Out” isn’t the happy track I thought it’d be looking at the title. It’s a string/vocal track that is both haunting and emotive. It sits perfectly in amongst all the technical tracks and the climax with the choir is fantastic. “Theseus” (along with “Thickets”) has a narration running through it and there’s all kinds of guest vocal snippets scattered throughout the album. This track reminds me of his earlier albums, its serene, slightly folksy and alternative all at the same time and the sitar embellishment is a nice touch.
“Battle” is a return to the electro-pop-rock at the start of the album but this is Patrick running riot. This is an anthem through and through from the screaming “Fight!” to the rocking guitar riffs. It reminds me a bit of a rocked up Adam and the Ants. The closer “The Messenger” is an interesting closer and uses some familiar chord structures from other songs of his. It reminds me of “This Weather” and in fact sounds just like it in the verses. The chorus’ are different enough however and sounds like a Wolf-esque space odyssey.
“The Bachelor” is another triumph. New fans are start here, old fans can rediscover here. Patrick’s sound has moved enough to stay fresh, even if his chords don’t always change – which is no small accomplishment. Patrick has yet to make a dud and by this effort, he doesn’t even look close to.
{ May 28, 2009 @ 7:40 pm }
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{ VGM, acoustic, ambient, composer, music, piano, review }
{ Tags: Nobuo Uematsu, Seiji Honda }
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After a long wait, too long for some, Final Fantasy VII finally gets its own Piano Collections set. Taking 13 tracks from the OST, they are arranged in mind for the piano to produce some of the most impressive and flowing pieces yet in the Piano Collections series. Tinkling the ivories is Seiji Honda, a newcomer to the arrangement series on Final Fantasy – but you’d never know it – the arrangements are stunning!
Tifa’s Theme opens up with a surprisingly tender piece that works out a lot better than what the original did; replacing the whiny snyth’s with the soft plinks of the piano to really set the atmosphere. “Main Theme Of Final Fantasy VII” is intricately played to great effect too with its scaling grandness beautifully rendition. “Chino de Chocobo” however is less successful, being a bit too clumsy and straightforward, not to mention sounding like a few duff notes were hit (or at least it sounds it).
“Ahead On Our Way” however restores the bliss with carefully spaced piece, allowing for a bitter-sweet taste that leaves you on a soft high, another surprise conversion.
Nothing can prepare you for “Fighting” though, as its power, rage and waves of energy take the speakers over. Still in amongst the most raging of battle themes, its still able to melodic and upstanding as a tune in its own right and is possibly the stand out track from the album.
“Cosmo Canyon” is a song that has been completely transformed into another time, place and culture. With a strong, but bare tune to go on, its been added to, beefed out and made into a complex and proud piece that will delight the listeners and rank up there with the favourites. Superb stuff! “Gold Saucer” gets a chirpy conversion that has some great pace and tweaks to it that comes across to me like a childish snowball fight scene song. Cute but with buckets of charm.
“Farm Boy” is a slower version of the song, which is pleasant enough without ever really getting into your ears, before “Rufus’ Welcoming Ceremony” gives a formal and grandeur representation to the album with a great piece that loses none of its regal charm.
“J-E-N-O-V-A” is the song with the real pace and with its full-bodied slides up and down the piano in an endless assault on the keys. Personally I adore this song, which at first seemed too much for me, but with each listen a new appreciation is found.
Then comes the crowd pleaser “Aerith’s Theme”. Thankfully, the safest route was always going to be the best way to go, and although rivalled by Tifa’s Theme for best slow song on the album, this one takes it marginally. Rarely does a piece so soft touch a person, but upon each play it never fails to touch you. In stark contrast “One Winged Angel” sounds like a bizarre b-movie theme tune. That’s either good or bad depending on how you like typical old cliché horror music, but there’s no denying it has a feel all of its own, and you will be singing “Sephiroth” along with the piano as it builds up to its climax.
“Descendant From Shinobi” closes the album in a light hearted fashion with winner of best happy track of the album, turning what was a fun little number into a classy track for everyone to hum along to in style.
All in all, Final Fantasy VII Piano Collections was definitely worth the wait. None of the 13 tracks are awful, and the album flows perfectly raising the pulse with a monstrous battle tune, only to sooth it again with a sweet ballad. Excellently pitched, excellently played and creatively transposed. Top listening!
{ May 28, 2009 @ 7:17 pm }
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{ VGM, alternative, ambient, composer, humour, music, review, theremin }
{ Tags: bobby banjo, MediaJuice Studios }
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Flock! The cute game of sheep herding, taking the PS1 game entitled “Sheep” and running with the idea, making it much more friendly and yet despite mucking up the controls, manages to make it a fun day in. Now the soundtrack, composed by Bobby Banjo mainly is available for free download! Free?! In this day and age? Thank you very much Capcom!
“The Motherflockers Have Landed” opens like a chirpy b-movie on speed. The theremin going wild and lots of kooky keyboards and drums going at it hammer and tongs. It really sets the mood for a tongue in cheek joyous ride. “Hay Fever” takes the music to a thigh slapping middle American desert banjo feel. You can hear the jews harp bouncing away with aplomb! It’s great fun to shake your bum to on the seat – excellently constructed. “Leaf It To Me” is more top tapping and normal. It’s still a fun tune and the guitar playing is great. The b-movie theremin makes an appearance on this bluesy number but doesn’t feel out of place at all. “Lazy Chick” sounds very familiar with its harmonica lead theme as the slow but comical barn yard theme.
“Wooly Jumpers” is the wintry theme with lots of chorused keyboards and keyboards to serenely skate over the speakers. It’s like an alien Christmas party theme – strangely warm. “Fur Coat” is similarly gentile and relaxed in a joyous way, almost becoming like a spring theme rather than winter. “Moonlight Moonatta” reminds me of Sly Cooper’s music, comically sneaky. Nothing beats frogs as percussive beats! “Pigs In Space” is the credits track which is like a swinging blues track which would be slightly downcast if it weren’t for the funny choice of instruments. To make a sad track comical but its instrumentation is an unusual but solid choice in this excellent soundtrack.
Following that are the short “Round Clear” & “Round Fail” inserts which are perfectly pitched for the soundtrack and then “Do Ewe Lurve Me” which is short 13 second insert piece. Following that and rounding off the soundtrack are three trailer musics from MediaJuice Studios which sound slightly different with its keyboard samples but the overall mood is still cowboy b-movie and they are fun extras.
Flock! is great so for many reasons. It’s nice to see in 2009 that downloadable games are getting custom music and not just awful minimal loops. It’s great to see VGM isn’t completely going stale with licensed music. It’s great to have music not take itself seriously. It’s great to have real tunes!!!
“Enough!” I cried…after its third repeat…my bum is too sore after all the seat bopping!
{ May 21, 2009 @ 10:39 am }
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{ VGM, acoustic, composer, music, piano, review }
{ Tags: Toshiyuki Muri }
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The Piano Collections goes from strength to strength as its turn for Final Fantasy V to get the piano treatment. Gone is the “thin” feel that slightly lessens the FFIVPC experience and here arrives a fuller sound that makes piano music much more enjoyable. Again Toshiyuki Muri takes to the ivories and as the arrangements are more creative, we find our ears treated track after track.
“A Presentiment” is a lovely opener, showcasing a little bit of everything to come. From slow to fast, quiet to loud and big build-ups. The changes keep you listening for the next twist in the song and you’ll be satisfied come the end. “Tenderness In The Air” is a very enchanting piece that takes you through the love story of the game. Its very sweet indeed, and for the most part, the soft playing emphasises this. Once again, the fuller sound makes the music sound more complete.
“Harvest” is one of my favourites on the album. It has a sheer quality and purity to it that takes over your soul and pounds out the tune. From the main tune to the jazz fused parts, you’ll be dancing away to it without a care in the world. “Ahead On Our Way” is another song that is sweet yet fluent. With this collection, the piano playing, can be fast, and still be cute rather than powerful. Some parts do slow down to make adorable music before building up for a grandstand finish.
“Critter Tripper Fritter!?” may be a little too bizarre and discordant for many people, but it definitely has charm and character. Admittedly, it’s the most abstract song people will have heard for a long time, but if you like it, your treasure the song forever. “My Home, Sweet Home” is a very dramatic yet docile song, which is a strange thing to achieve. It does it very well, but the overall feel is one of sorrow… but with a beat to it!
“Mambo de Chocobo” is a very uplifting affair. The piano really brings out the sunshine and the different harmonies on the song make for a real Mambo effect, which is pulled off well and is definitely one of the better Chocobo arrangements.
“Lenna’s Theme” is a bit too abstract to make for tear jerking listening. They could have made it a lot sweeter, but then they are trying to show the characters strength. As a result it’s one that grows after repeated listens. “Music Box” is more like a waltz than the music box theme, but it still plays as great music with it having the obligatory big finale chorus at the end.
“Battle With Gilgamesh” is a fantastic piece. It has all the power and then some cunning build up sequences within. The playing is mesmerising and it’s a top-notch performance, while “Waltz Clavier” starts off well, and plays nicely and makes for a great tune, but the clumsy out of tune part can grate a little. The second half of the song is lively and makes up for that part if you’re not a fan of it though!
“Dear Friends” is a slow paced but lovable piece that plays like a Royal tune. Played through twice, the song’s second turn is more enjoyable for the broken chords. “The New Origin” is a climatic piece to cap off a superb album. The way it’s played shows power, anticipation and dominance. It’s a fantastic way to close the album in style.
Final Fantasy V Piano Collections is a magnificent album that all music lovers, never mind piano lovers, would enjoy. It has a presence that hooks you from the very first note, the last fading chord.
{ May 21, 2009 @ 10:29 am }
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{ VGM, acoustic, composer, music, piano, review }
{ Tags: Toshiyuki Muri }
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Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections was the beginning of a much-loved series. This shows the piano collection series at its most basic, uncluttered and purist. Depending on how you like your piano piece’s played; this is either you most or least favourite selection. Whichever way you swing though, you cannot deny it is still a music masterpiece played beautifully by Toshiyuki Muri.
“Prelude” is the opening track, which flows so sweetly with ever increasing grandeur. The echo of the notes makes this CD much more fuller than how it would be if it was just a standalone sound. This is a lovely piece. “Theme Of Love” is played very slowly and for the most part quietly as to emphasis the loving emotion shown. It sticks to the tune and plays it though twice, the second time bolder than the first and ends softly, like a kiss.
“Prologue” starts a little too simple but adds different pieces of the tune as it goes along, making the song more complex and much better as it plays what many people will know as “Final Fantasy”. This song, despite sounding a little sparse in areas, is very grand indeed. This is where a big piano struts its stuff! “Welcome To Our Town” is lovely tune, which only small problem is its transition from the main theme to a melodic, almost raining arpeggios sounding a little disjointed. I am being very picky by saying that though. “Main Theme” is another song that sticks into your head, despite not standing out. This is due to sheer standard of playing and song writing.
“Chocobo-chocobo” is the song that really gets the feeling into it. This is maybe my favourite on the album as its no holds barred and very well played indeed. Maybe some people find it a little too eccentric but I adore this piece. “Into The Darkness” is a deliciously dark piece that makes you think of a death waltz. The piece is wonderfully played, and slowed down to emphasis the darkness that you have been swallowed by. “Rydia” in complete contrast is a heartening piece that is so peaceful and loving. The contrast of the two works extremely well and compliments them both. “Rydia” is another song that vies for favourite on the album as from the first to the last note; it is music at its best.
“Melody Of Lute” is another strong melody that grows on you. This version is faithful to the original piece and adds very little to it. As a result it might sound a little sparse at the beginning, but in keeping with the rest of the songs, it doesn’t seem to be noticeable and gets stronger towards the end, with a rather bizarre ending, that doesn’t suit the song! “Golbeza Clad In The Dark” is a dark song indeed, that uses the low notes to power out a military beat with a chill down the spine for an after taste. It works a treat, but would have been a shocking song if had a little more bass to it to boom out the big parts. “Troian Beauty” is another song with a clear melody that waltzes into your ears. This song is very underplayed at the start, and could have been played a lot more full and extravagant with broken chords than standard plodding ones. Still the overall song is good and extremely listenable.
“The Battle” plays much like a royal anthem would for the first minute and a half, then it breaks into a frenzy. Arpeggios of bass notes race as the main theme thumps out. It’s the most powerful song on the album, showcasing piano playing at its best to fantastic results. After that section finishes with a bang, on comes a somewhat funky and suave part, which leads into a battle version of the main theme. Its all done seamlessly and in great context and fashion. “Epilogue” is a nice piece that calmly goes through various stages and takes sections from various songs to make a long piece that spans 7 minutes, which includes “Final Fantasy” and finishes climatically.
The closing track in amazingly not entirely in piano! “Theme Of Love (ensemble)” is an orchestrated version of the song that is very heart rending and just as good as the piano version, and it is a nice way to close the album.
Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections does what it says on the box. Not many extra frills here, but the songs it sticks so faithfully too are classic songs, which are played in magnificent style. If you’re after straight copies onto piano – here is where you must go.
{ May 19, 2009 @ 2:04 pm }
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{ alternative, indie, music, piano, piano rock, review, rock, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Tori Amos }
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Now on studio album 10, Tori Amos never takes a break. Her fanbase may well be smaller than it was almost 20 years ago but her spirit and passion for what she does has never diminished. This time around Abnormally Attracted to Sin keeps her evolutionary wheel turning in a kind of back catalogue style. Everything feels familiar while maintaining a fresh edge to it.
“Give” is a dark industrial opener with heavy drum loops and discordant piano’s and synth’s. It’s signals a return to some degree to a darker edge of Tori’s music. It’s not a full swing over but there’s definitely moments of it. The production on this track, as well as the album overall is of very high quality.
Single “Welcome To England” is very representative of the new direction and is radio friendly without really having a great hook. It’s like Scarlet’s Walk was made with left over keyboards from the To Venus & Back album and is a real grower. It’s also a strange choice of a single as its not the strongest track either. Strange is a word to describe “Strong Black Vine” which see’s Tori let it all hang out rock style. It’s full of passion and her vocals are at their soaring off key best.
“Flavor” is a real highlight. Very sparse and empty whilst holding a great atmospheric tension, Tori’s light vocals are a complete contrast to what we’ve heard on the opening three rockier tracks. The juxtaposition of it works very well too. Then on the complete opposite “Not Dying Today” is almost Amos gone hill billy! Sounding like a Beekeeper offcast, it has a sunny demeanour about it which although sounds good, will not go down well with established fans – especially sing talking in verses. However if you take it face value, its a fun catchy song.
“Maybe California” was given away for free and its one of the gems of the album. You can place all the gizmo’s on the record but give Tori a piano and some strings and she can reduce a grown man to tears. A classic song. Classic also is “Curtain Call” which is a fantastically melodic yet almost bitter song about getting older and/or losing your job. It perfectly captures the mood of the world today and is a real anthem. Also anthemic is a smooth way is “Fire To Your Plain” which manages to be interesting whilst being middle of the road pop/rock.
Off on a tangent comes the random “Police Me” which is either complete genius or complete mess depending on how you look at it, however I fall on the first option. It’s heavily processed electro-rock which never sits still and flits from various different sounds and is a definite new sound for Tori to get into. Another new sound is the stage-showy styled “That Guy”. Amos was to be writing a musical and one wonders if the project has ended up split up across the album. This song is new territory for Amos again but its again a sound that seems to suit her, especially with the big finale. The third of the off tangent trio is title track “Abnormally Attracted to Sin” which is an electronic based track with a killer bridge early on. Tori’s soaring vocals make this another stand out.
Back down to Earth we come with “500 miles” and “Mary Jane” which are both cute yet drowned by being surrounded by instantly more memorable tracks either side. “Mary Jane” is the only piano/vocal track but is a bit jazzy hands which may translate well live, but it doesn’t work so well on CD. “500 Miles” is saccharine pop/rock which feels a bit out of place on the album but stands better on its own.
“Starling” has the most haunting riff on the album and is quietly confessional. It’s a masterpiece of a track but has a bit of a strange bridge that breaks the flow and atmosphere the rest of the track as built up. It’s not bad by any means, I just have it differently playing in my head – but its an unusual choice to take. Unusual choices are what this album is all about, for better or worse – from the tracklisting to the array of emotions each track goes for.
“Fast Horse” is the big anthem of the album. Sounding like its jumped straight from Scarlet’s Walk but with more grunt, it has an otherworldly quality to it while being completely rocking. A definite highlight and the lyrics are inspired. “Ophelia” is straight to the jugular in a heart wrenching song that is a personal favourite again. Tori can manipulate her voice to sound like she’s going to burst into tears very well and its showcased here. “Lady in Blue” is a show stealing finale which starts off very jazzy and spacious, gently taking its time to envelope you before building up to a big ending. It’s great to have a blast off ending on an album for once. The bonus track on the deluxe edition is a sparse, downbeat “Oscar’s Theme” which is like looking out of the window watching the album sail away while you wave goodbye.
Abnormally Attracted to Sin is a difficult one. I personally have really enjoyed it from the very first listen. It’s great to see Tori Amos back writing songs that have real meat to them after the fantastic, albeit lighter recent albums. However from that there is a clear divide on the album between the dark and lighter sides which is greater than its ever been as the side seperate further. This makes for an inconsistent record that while I found was bursting with ideas individually, each song played together almost tries to take from each other. It’ll be interesting to see where Amos goes from this record. Fans will find something to enjoy here but this could be the first record for a while where new fans will enter the foray.
Interesting, flawed, but still utterly memorising. Give it a few weeks and I’m sure you’ll love it.
{ May 6, 2009 @ 8:59 am }
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{ acoustic, alternative, indie, music, piano, piano rock, review, singer songwriter }
{ Tags: Vienna Teng }
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Vienna Teng continues to know no bounds with her fourth album Inland Territory which manages to sound similar without retreading old ground or ever becoming stale. This partly because Teng’s vocals are silky smooth like a breath of fresh air, and the fact that all the songs on this album are absolutely captivating.
Opening with “The Last Snowfall”, Vienna relies on atmosphere and delicate vocal delivery to set the mood. This opener is beautiful and almost Christmas like without the holiday cheer. Wintry but in a warm log fire cabin way than an icy cold way. This gives way to “White Light” which is an up-tempo number. In each of the opening tracks its not piano but organ that dominants the track. “White Light” also contains a lot of electronic embellishments which really set the song off and the chorus is rousing.
Next up is the flowing elegance of “Antebellum” which is contender for favourite song on the album. The piano just keeps rolling, along with the percussion and sumptuous vocals. Her co-producer adds his own vocals towards the end which you’ll either love or hate but personally I think it goes perfectly. One of the finest songs in Vienna’s catalogue – as is in fact “Kansas” which is a slow baron piece with muted percussion and just minimal electric piano. It’s really very effective and heart wrenching.
Lightening the mood somewhat is “In Another Life” and the absolutely swinging round the kitchen table “Grandmother Song”. Both have a certain charm to them, the former a kind of bopping 20’s wind and brass backing and the latter is a finger clicking hand clapping country jig. While neither have particularly happy lyrics they are unique strings to Vienna’s every increasing bow of extraordinary talent.
“Stray Italian Groundhog” is next up returning to a fantastically catchy piano led band track with a chorus to die for and perky verses. However when it climaxes into its middle section the song takes full form and it just hits the spot perfectly. Following up in piano rock track “Augustine” which is simple but powerful and one to sing along to whilst driving along – very empowering.
“No Gringo” is the longest track of the album and fully deserves every second. From the slow enveloping piano intro you’re held captivated by the story being told. Gradually the slow builds into a final frenzied bursting climax where Vienna cries “No Gringo Aqui” before it all slips away again in a sloping upset. It’s really like building for the battle, losing and crawling away. A fantastic track.
“Watershed” is the slow smoky aftermath of No Gringo in my opinion and they fit perfectly together. This dark brooding song is all about the ambience and the sting in the tail. It leads into the quirky “Radio” which is like a schizophrenic song that doesn’t sit still and jumps around like a cat on speed. I personally really enjoy it but it may require a couple of listens to get into it for some. The album closes with “St. Stephens Cross” which is beautiful serene track that soothes you to sleep with understated swaying euphoria.
Inland Territory is a self assured fantastic album from an artist on top form and comfortable with herself and her style. By just moving her styles and sounds around slightly, Vienna is able to keep everything fresh whilst not alienating her core fans by being stale. Without doubt its in my top three releases of 2009 and just continues to grow upon each listen. A treat for all.
{ April 23, 2009 @ 9:26 am }
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{ VGM, acoustic, classical, composer, music, piano, review }
{ Tags: keiichi shibata }
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Welcome to Brandish Piano Collections, the piano collection that is not solely piano! Almost every song is based on the piano with various snyths and instruments layered over the top of it. Keiichi Shibata takes the arrangements to dizzying heights and for a piano collection that’s some 15 years old this original outlook on piano collections is still surprisingly fresh.
“Prologue – Bundevia” is a very solemn song with the piano plays the background to a bizarre organ-sounding soundwave that plays out a dark and sorrow filled melody. The song is fantastic and will have you feeling glum and hopeless in no time. It’s more like a requiem of beauty than anything else and captures the overall mood of the album completely. “Shop” continues this slow, glum feeling, but this time has a light string backing that fades in and away to fantastic effect. The playing of the piano is great and although there is no fast playing, the tune is complex. After a while the song uplifts a little as other instrument samples are entered. The effect is like a piano led orchestra. “Shop” is another fantastic song.
“Game Over” doesn’t have any piano for the first 10 seconds! The sparse beginning makes you feel isolated and desolate. After a minute, the tune starts, which is fantastically catchy but sorrow filled too. The balance is a fine one but it is stricken perfectly. Quite how you can make a four and a half minute version of a game over screen become such an excellent track is beyond me. “Brandish Tower” is a dramatic piece too, with a beat pounded out on the lower keys with an almost Spanish feel to the main tune. The strings are back again and work well. The chorus is majestically played with a trumpet synth thrown in for good measure! Organ join in and then play out the tune for the second time round. The pitch is perfect and although it may sound on paper chaotic, it sounds perfect to the ear.
“Cave” is the first all piano song, and it relies on a good tune to get through. It’s a beautifully played song, and the tune is infectious. “Spilling Innocent Blood” on the other hand is the least piano based so far. Congas and synthesizer waves start the song before after 45 seconds, getting to the piano. It doesn’t feel jarred but there is a big difference between the agile piano playing and emergency of the starting piece. The end is fantastic; as the last notes are played a hollow breeze begins – perfect!
“Stage Clear” starts off with a bang, before playing the melody. There is percussion in this great tune, which sounds like someone is playing the beat on a piano top. It’s another unusual twist in the album that works fantastically and sounds really organic.
“A Journey Without Rest” is a blues song and only the second all piano song. If you like blues songs, you’ll love this as it’s beautifully played, with all the frills included! “Ruins” is another piano only song, which is a little less obvious to the catchy song people, but the playing is excellent again, and after a few listens, you’ll like this piece a whole lot more than first time through. “Solders Sorrow”, the closing track, an epic 6 and a half minutes. It is played ever so fragile and gracefully and is a poignant way to finish the album and sums it all up.
Brandish Piano Collections is a rare piece of artistic beauty. Perfectly played music, with all the trimmings and all the unique twists and turns to make an epic album forever memorable. With piano collections constantly staying (especially back in 1994/5) in a set box, this really broke a mould and I highly recommend it all these later. Well done Keiichi Shibata!
{ April 21, 2009 @ 3:11 pm }
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{ VGM, alternative, ambient, composer, indie, music, review }
{ Tags: Otograph }
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PixelJunk Monsters (and Encore) have been out for a long time and the soundtrack has also been available at a shockingly cheap price on the PlayStation Network. Duo Otograph scored the soundtrack and offer up a cute, melodic and fun selection of tunes.
“Dive into PixelJunk Monsters” opens the 24 track album with the tone it continues with. The bleeps, blips, muted electronic drums and ambient melodies that layer over each other are beautiful and entrancing. This swifly follows on with “melodie” which has a charming electric piano riff and some excellent studio trickery to give it ebb and flow. It’s a personal favourite although most of the soundtrack just blends from one track to next in an airy light haze.
“45×8 60×6 90×4″ is a manic yet underplayed pressure track. The speed that the keyboard riffs interact with each other is perfectly pitched to be both cute and tense. “Good Morning” slows things down with a song that mimics a stretch on a sunbed at sunrise. “Circle Flight Sketches” is another looping track that is added to with soft marimbas and organs but it never feels like a holiday song – more like a sunny stroll with friends.
“A-maze-ing maze” is the first song to add in an acoustic guitar sample led track. A constant plucking backing melody fills the speakers whilst an intricate riff is repeated over the top like a mantra. It’s quite hypnotic, like most of the soundtrack. “Flux” is all about soft electronic blips that roll from the tongue which passes over to “Hyper Puzzle Like a Sherbert” which is a bit more percussive and boppy. A simple two chord backing melody is completely fused with seemingly random tunes over the top which makes for excellent listening. The same can be said for “Chocolate Ripples” where the electronic riffs sound almost jazz guitar like. A bossa nova beat and some beautiful music box tinkles set this song off.
“Its a Sonny” is a bit more bold and clumsy with a marching drum beat and simple organ riffs that gradually evolve into a cute track before “Fantasia” strips off the drums and layers various synth pads and reverbed keyboards for a digital classic Otograph style. “mono no aware” has muted piano leading the main tune with a slightly discordant melody which then paired with a picturesque backing track makes for an interesting piece. “Phase Lunaire” continues much of the same synth work in this, the plodding bass beat led section of the soundtrack.
“High Pressure Area” is about as dramatic as it gets with a light drum and bass beat and some very soft high pitched stabs on the keyboard before the low-fi bass heavy “cracked big egg” gives you a slow ambient track that whilst doesn’t have much development, isn’t awful to listen to. “Visualise Your Enemy” is a fast paced melodic minute of keyboard aurora before “Ryhmes” very short electric piano kicks in to lead to the six minute “Bye Bye Monsters” which is the epic track of the album. Starting off with just one keyboard riff and constantly adding, turning and developing, its a marvel in creating a beautiful sound scape to get lost in and one you don’t particularly wish to leave.
“Cool Brain” drum loop introduces you to “lumiere tremblotante” which is warm and cuddly much like most of the album… until “final bit explosion” which is the sole hardcore electronica track. Even then it’d pale to any dance track but in the context of the album, this is the gritty, cold and clinical track with a heavy bass line. “Another Chance” is a low-fi track like Mogwai would produce before the warmth returns for closers “Lovely Brain” and “Game Over” with lush, cosy production from the organs, soft fuzzy percussion and a gelling love from one layered item to another.
Gelling is really what this soundtrack from Otograph is all about. Everything seemlessly fits in perfect precision. Its a soundtrack you could quite easily have this playing on repeat and not notice for hours because its that hypnotic. A joyous soundtrack for anyone to pick up and enjoy.
{ April 8, 2009 @ 9:02 am }
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{ alternative, ambient, charts, music, piano, pop, review, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Bat For Lashes }
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Second albums are supposed to be the hard ones to do. Keeping your original sound whilst staying fresh and not repeating. Bat For Lashes’ début album “Fur and Gold” was a corker and with the follow up “Two Suns” released Monday HPM can report that Natasha Atlas has pulled out another stunner from her bag of tricks with an album that’s infectious and catchy as it is unique.
Opener “Glass” has a real rumbling urgency about it with rolling drum beats and soaring vocals in the chorus. There’s an opening poem that’s integral to the overall thought pattern to the album as a whole which seems tied to the history books of Solomon. “Glass” is catchy and violently addictive with its mix of tribal elements and electronics. This is carried through to the more minimal “Sleep Alone” which runs parallel with “Trophy” from the previous album in terms of its overall soundscape and feel. There’s the plodding bass, stomping beat and some funky vocal hooks over the top.
“Moon and Moon” has been about on the internet for ages – infact we featured it in a Live Vault post months ago. The album version differs little from that performance but remains just as enchantingly beautiful. It’s really the only ballad on the album so it stands out even more as a highlight. That’s followed by single “Daniel” which gives a more electro-pop vibe than the rest of the album contains. It’s about as a commercial as the album gets with its 80’s synth and pop beats. The chorus is understated and its all about the instrument riffs.
“Peace of Mind” follows as the experimental piece on the album. It’s difficult upon first listen but after a few rounds in your player it’s electric folk / gospel cross over catches on as a mark of genius as it all comes together for the end result. “Siren’s Song” then takes over as the big number of the album. Starting off just piano and vocal – instruments are added and the pace quickens into a frenzied freak out – similar to “Bat’s Mouth” only more gritter and angrier. There’s a doomsday feel to the song, like walking off the edge of a plank. The atmosphere’s electric and its a great example of how a simple song can really be effective.
“Pearls Dream” will probably be a single with its uptempo alternative dance beat and its marvellous chorus with its duelling vocals that lead the way to an infectious song. Infact if its not the next single, I will eat my proverbial hat! “Good Love” is organ heavy and possibly my least favourite of the album. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the track, it just feels a little clunky at the beginning compared to the smooth timing of the rest of the album but I am being very picky. Here Natasha’s vocal layering is particularly pretty as she talks over the verses and ambience swirls around it.
“Two Planets” is the tribal song of the album although the percussion throughout the album is excellent. With Bat For Lashes there’s always an ancient meets the future clashing sound to her work and nowhere is that shown better than here. It’s a free flowing track that may be overlooked by some but its a work of art. Ruslana anyone?
“Travelling Woman” is the most straightforward track on the album – almost band like. However the cleverness comes in the time transitions between the 4 beat a bar verses and the waltzing slowed down choruses. It’s an interesting twist that gives the song its own lullaby persona. That leaves closer “The Big Sleep” which is bizarrely comical and cosmic with a perfectly sad piano ambient track being sung over by a sincere Natasha and absolutely murdered by a male at the same time who’s singingly almost anti-operatic. It’s got its charm but you can’t take it seriously which I hope is its intention – however if you’re in a sad mood it could well be effective.
“Two Suns” is a triumph. Bat For Lashes has moved forward and included a splash more electronica to her sound whilst not losing her native roots in ancient music. The cross over of the two is sublime, the music is compelling as it is a joy to listen to and I for one am satisfied that this is in the top three releases so far in 2009.
{ April 2, 2009 @ 7:01 pm }
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{ VGM, acoustic, celtic, composer, folk, music, remix, review, singer songwriter, world music }
{ Tags: Maire Bhreatnach, Nobuo Uematsu }
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“Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon” takes the songs from the epic game’s NES soundtrack and rearranges them onto beautifully played Celtic instrumentation. Selecting 15 tracks, the album still tells the story of the game well and is very well paced.
“The Prelude” opens the album setting the scene with arpeggios from an Irish harp and the main tune played by a timber flute. It’s a dreamy way to start the album and stays faithful the original version. “Prologue” is more traditional in the Celtic and Irish sense. The various string instruments plod though the track but fail to really give it the power that the classic song deserves which is a shame. “Chocobo-Chocobo” does give it some oomph though and dares to take one of the all time favourite songs into a light. After playing it through jollily it then speeds up and plays it just how a Celtic dance would. The result is something more bouncy and uplifting before returning to the original formula.
“Into The Darkness” takes the tone down with some excellently majestic but haunting playing and was a surprise highlight of the album for me. Sadly the “Main Theme Of Final Fantasy IV” is a tail of two halves. The first half of the song is great, with someone going bananas on a xylophone, but after that it quickly becomes sombre and downbeat and while the actual tune is still well played, it seems like the wrong tone is set.
“Welcome To Own Town!” starts off very relaxed before getting a Chocobo-Chocobo treatment with a new rendition. Strangely there is little correlation between this part and the actual tune, but it is once again another highlight from the album where I didn’t expect to find one!
“Theme Of Love” is tenderly done and played out like an opera death scene! It manages to capture everything in the song that despite having many different version made from it, still manages to be fresh and entertaining. “Melody Of Lute” starts off just as the “lute” in a nice little solo piece before the other instruments gradually filter in and make this piece well remembered for being heartfelt and excellently played. Followed by “Parom & Polom” which also gets it own little individual original section that barely tries to follow the chords of the actual song, yet still fits it, this song has the unfortunate problem that its repeated just one time too many. This song proves you can have just slightly too much of a great song. It doesn’t ruin the song by any means, but it could have been better shortened.
“Giotto, The Great King” plods through original tune happily enough before getting a Celtic fair arrangement half way through and really only getting mean and evil during the last half minute! In stark contrast “Dancing Calcobrena” is haunting and mystic from the outset with its merry-go-round keyboards and its Spanish yet evil sounding fiddle. Continuing on with the mystic tones comes “Mystic Mysidia” with it’s slightly out of tune melodies that are portrayed superbly with this kind of instrumentation. “Illusionary World” finishes off what is the best segment of the album. All these songs are show the best of Celtic Moon, being intensely dark and delicious.
“Rydia” returns to the elegant side of Celtic Moon with a peaceful and delicate version of the song with soft instrumentation and tear jerking beauty before “Troian Beauty” finishes off the album in more anthem style.
“Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon” is one of those albums that grows on you more with every listen. You can’t get away from comparing it to Xenogears:Creid or even the Genso Suikoden Celtic trilogy which is a shame because most of those albums are better judged separately as this Celtic influenced album has a different tone to it all together and therefore holds its own niche in the genre. Despite seeming a bit sparse and little misjudged in places, the majority of the tracks make for excellent listening and any game music fan should find solace in this album.
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