What does Mega Flare sound like?
Electronic producer grounded in chiptune and retro game music vibes.
The review of Mega Flare – KGPX
‘KGPX’ is a concept EP around a Korean Grand Prix taking place in 2450. For Mega Flare, it’s an excuse to dive back to the dance beats and gentle rave of 90s Namco arcade racing soundtracks and create one himself. Reminding me of the arcade club beats of Ridge Racer, ‘KGPX’ is a delightful EP that showcases the simplicity of arcade music from the early 90s era.
After a simple introduction with ‘Get Ready’, complete with computer sampled voice over, we dive straight into the dance beats with ‘Daegu’. It is fast-paced, uplifting, anthemic and pumped full of adrenaline. It reminds me of International Track and Field and arcade games focused on chunky polygons and cheesy announcers. Add in a catchy four-chord progression and airy synths ricocheting around your ears and Mega Flare places you in arcade heaven. ‘Race Results’ is a sublime brite piano chord riff that is everything you’d expect from dance music in 1995. Adding in some playful synth motifs that bounce around like a sports montage from the early days of Eurosport, it sounds nostalgic and uplifting. ‘Suwon’ turns towards synthwave territory with rubbery synths and thick rounded basslines. Its bassline is killer. Including the jangly tambourines, hip-hop “woo/yeah” samples and cheesy race chief samples, I’m taken back to PS1-era gaming. ‘End Credits’ is a piano chord stabbing electronic piece that fuses in chiptune undercurrents and some suave basslines.
‘KGPX’ is a 14-minute throwback to 90s arcade games and specifically a homage to Shinji Hosoe. The chunky beats are as infectious as the playful chords and retro pianos. The silly audio samples ground it in a gaming world and everything sounds simple, clean and direct. In a world full of chaotic chiptune explosions running at 180 notes per second, there is something nostalgically simple about Mega Flare’s direction here. A cute palette cleanser.
Recommended track: Daegu
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Mega Flare - KGPX