Module, best known for the excellent Shatter Soundtrack, is releasing an album called Imagineering and from that album we have Nantai San Sky – track 10 – available for a full preview. Click here to listen to what promises to be an excellent return.
Posts Tagged ‘module’
Module – Imagineering Album Sampler
Module (Shatter OST) is returning with a new album away from games. Entitled Imagineering, it’s due out in March. Here’s a sample below.
Module – Shatter OST Now on CD
Some people (and I have to say I’m one of them) still feel a bit cheated sometimes by buying mp3 albums and you don’t have a physical CD there to enjoy. However the times are changing and so I need to get with it! The magnificent Shatter soundtrack from Module is now available to buy as a CD from the excellent indie CD store, CD Baby. If you didn’t buy the mp3′s before, be sure to pick up this, easily one of the best soundtracks of 2009. There’s also talk of possible 5.1 mixes later on down the line as a special bonus but only if the public want it.
Most Viewed – September 2009
Well due to my holiday and getting back into the routine, September was a very quiet month for HPM in general but towards the end we had a massive influx of visitors for one man – Christopher Tin! He grabs this months most viewed award with the review of his debut album and his interview afterwards. Lisa Gerrard also popped up the order with audio samples from forthcoming album Black Opal. Here’s the top 10 artists:
01) Christopher Tin (NE)
02) Lisa Gerrard (^)
03) Imogen Heap (v)
04) Lisa Germano (^)
05) Brendan Perry (v)
06) Hikoki Kikuta (^)
07) Module (v)
08) OverClocked ReMix (v)
09) Utada (v)
10) Vienna Teng (RE)
In the gaming front, Battl Tanks was the top read review this month and actually the second highest hit post this month too! We will be going really into game reviews from all old consoles from October and they will feature more prominantly, as the site will now be taking a much more active approach due to a change in circumstances of myself!
01) Battle Tanks (NE)
02) Shatter (v)
03) Numblast (v)
Most Viewed: August 2009
And so to August 2009 where we had a four way fight for the top this month, won by Imogen Heap whereby more people actually viewed the tracklisting after the whole album was posted as a streaming audio on the website and people didn’t actually listen to the album itself! However, HPM has not reviewed Ellipse (although I personally love it already) because I’ve ordered the two disc edition and want to hold on until it comes through.
Behind it was all go for OverClocked Remix, Module and Brendan Perry.
01) Imogen Heap (^)
02) OverClocked ReMix (v)
03) Module (NE)
04) Brendan Perry (v)
05) Utada (v)
06) Kento Watanabe (NE)
07) Akira Yamaoka (^)
08) Hiroki Kikuta (v)
09) Vienna Teng (v)
10) Baiyon (NE)
Top 3 Games
01) Shatter
02) Numblast
03) Magic Ball
Module – Shatter OST Review
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!
Module – Gripshift EP
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.
