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OC Remix celebrates 15 years of remixes with more music
OC Remix's eclectic community of musicians has been coating gaming music with fresh, metaphorical coats of genre paint for 15 years now, and they're celebrating their anniversary the only way they know how: by making music. A press release noting the anniversary highlights 15 new remixes that pull source material from 15 different gaming consoles, with source material involving Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and more. The full list of OC Remix's birthday tracks (as pulled from the press release) can be found after the break, which includes timaeus222's "Let's Bust Some Viruses," a dancy, accumulative opening theme remix from most of the Mega Man Battle Network opening themes, and Tetrimino's "Simply Be-groove-ed," a four-piece band's re-imagining of Kingdom Hearts' opening theme (originally performed by Utada Hikaru). True to OC Remix's nature, sampling and downloading from this selection is free. Should the anniversary tunes neglect any of your favorite soundtracks, you can always search the vault of work that's cataloged on OC Remix's website. Happy anniversary, Remixers! [Image: OC Remix]
Fan support could lead to SNES, GBA Remix
"If you build it, they will come" doesn't always apply to game development, as NES Remix director Koichi Hayashida recently illustrated. When asked about the possible inclusion of Super Nintendo, Game Boy or Game Boy Advance games in a future Remix game, Hayashida told IGN that "if there's a big enough outpouring of support for these titles, it's something I'd like to take a look at." Nintendo just launched NES Remix 2, which fared much better than the first game in our review. The first NES Remix arrived in December, though its selection of games was lackluster. Both games approach a collection of classic NES titles in a novel way: by issuing brief mini-game-style challenges. While other Virtual Console platforms like SNES and GBA sound like natural fits for future Remix installments, Hayashida said it still boils down to the question, "Does the marketplace want it or need it?" "If we get a big enough cry for that, with a lot of people saying, 'Hey, we'd love to see more of these perhaps for the SNES, Game Boy or Game Boy Advance,' then it would be something we can take a look at," he added. [Image: Nintendo]
Sonic CD dual remix album tackles the regional soundtrack debate
The game music aficionados at OverClocked Remixed have released a lengthy and comprehensive Sonic CD remix album, honoring the game's 20th anniversary and addressing its hotly debated dual-soundtrack release. The Temporal Duality album brings together 39 artists for a three-disc collection of 38 arranged tracks based on compositions from Masafumi Ogata, Naofumi Hataya, Spencer Nilsen, David Young and Sterling Crew. Fans have argued for years over whether Sonic CD's original Japanese soundtrack or its completely different North American counterpart is superior, but Temporal Duality balances out with tracks from both versions, letting listeners decide for themselves. (Editor's biased opinion: They're both great, but the US soundtrack is superior since it's connected so closely with his Sega CD-owning misfit childhood. Your opinion will likely differ.)
World 1-2 Encore remix album available now
The World 1-2 chiptune album released in May now has a follow-up in World 1-2 Encore. The album features 14 tracks from artists like Cory Johnson, Video Game Orchestra and The OneUps. Unlike the first album, it is entirely composed of remixes, so the tunes may sound a little more familiar this time around. World 1-2 Encore is available on BandCamp for $8, and both albums can be purchased in a 34-track bundle for $24.
PSA: Fez remix album, FZ: Side Z, fills your earholes today
FZ: Side Z is he second half of the Fez remix album and it's out today, assaulting your eardrums for $5 or more. The first half, FZ: Side F, launched on April 20 for the same semi-name-your-own price. Both albums feature tracks from various artists, including the original Fez soundtrack composer, Disasterpeace. You can give all of the tunes a listen – or throw down your favorite bill for the whole album – right here.
Pioneer intros Platinum Edition CDJ-2000nexus, matching mixer and remixer
DJs and even nightclubs don't always get to choose the decks for gigs or studio sessions. In the event they do, however, they'll likely want a rig to remember -- and Pioneer is more than willing to sate that desire with new Platinum Editions of the CDJ-2000nexus CD turntable, DJM-900nexus mixer and RMX-1000 Remix Station. All three are similar to existing equipment on the inside, but come with an extra-reflective chrome finish that's bound to be noticed, if more by the DJ than the audience on the dance floor. They'll also be harder to find when they're shipping in limited quantities from the outset; the mirror-like treatment is coming to just 4,000 units of the CDJ-2000nexus, and 2,000 each of the DJM-900nexus and RMX-1000. Scratch artists looking for full-on flash will need to buy two turntables and a mixer together as part of a $8,499 Platinum Edition set due in February, although those wanting a small taste of the experience can buy the remixer by itself for $1,199.
You Face Jaraxxus remixed by Mr. Voletron
All the way back in late 2009, Mr. Voletron took the World of Warcraft by storm with his remix of Wrath of the Lich King's Jaraxxus. Now that 2013 has rolled around, Voletron is back with a remix of the remix. Prepare for oblivion!
Kirby's Bassface lays down fresh Kirby beats
Mykah, whose work on the Triforce of Bass we've covered before, has returned with a new video game album. This time, Mykah turns his focus on the Kirby series, giving us Kirby's Bassface, a five-track EP remixing some of the pink puffball's classic tunes. The album takes on several recognizable themes, including Green Greens and, our personal favorite, a percussive, wobbly rendition of King Dedede's theme.You can listen to the album for free right here. It's available for purchase for $5.
Visualized: Inside Moog's Sound Lab
As touring acts grow weary from their travels across the US of A, Moog has a spot for them to get re-energized. Inside the synth maker's North Carolina headquarters sits a room that's decked out with the company's analog tech and effects (including a Model 15 synthesizer) -- waiting for musicians who are on the road to stop by for a visit. It's here in the Sound Lab where the likes of Mutemath, Phantogram, OK Go and Ra Ra Riot grab their Moog gear of choice to re-imagine some of their existing tracks. For a look at all of the sound-scaping tools on display, mosey into the gallery below for a virtual visit. %Gallery-169365%
MMO Blender: Eliot's online brother from an offline mother
We don't need to go online to have a good time, oh no. Obviously Massively's writers like us some online games. I am no exception to the rule. But I also started playing video games back when the internet existed only in its most nascent form. I started out by liking video games, period, and the online component came much later, with a lot of benefits, to be sure, but I still love some offline action just as well. I don't feel the need to bring every game into the online arena. There are games that just don't work as well in a multiplayer environment. But there are also a lot of offline games that translate quite well to an online space, and I'm not just talking about ones that play like MMORPGs stripped of the first three letters. Today's MMO Blender is taking inspiration only from games that do not have a primary online component. Let's see about making a nice big MMO from single-player offline offerings.
Dishonored sea shanty 'The Drunken Whaler' available for free, remix contest announced
Bethesda recently started offering a free mp3 download of "The Drunken Whaler," the creepy tune heard during Dishonored's E3 trailer, seen above. A collaboration between COPILOT Strategic Music + Sound and Bethesda Softworks, the song set a cold tone for a murderous video of the game back in June.Bethesda also kicked off a remix contest for "The Drunken Whaler," which will net the top ten winners a t-shirt, poster, and copy of Dishonored. Fans have until September 28 to get their dubstep remixes in for a chance to win.
Halo 4 soundtrack lands Oct. 22, Special Edition runs $75
Two versions of the Halo 4 soundtrack will become available on October 22, but only one of them will cost more than the game itself. Composed by Massive Attack alumni Neil Davidge, the standard edition Halo 4 soundtrack will encompass 15 tracks from the game's score in both physical and digital formats for $13.98.The Special Edition 2-Disc Box Set, on the other hand, will set you back quite a bit more. At $75, the package includes the standard soundtrack, a 14-track remix album (sorry, no Skrillex), a behind-the-scenes "Making of Halo 4 Music" DVD and accompanying hardcover book with "composition notes from Neil Davidge plus exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and exclusive artwork images." The kit also comes with a 12-inch art print signed by Davidge, an honest-to-goodness vinyl record with Cortana and Master Chief on the disc itself, and a special shirt for your Xbox Live avatar.Whether your Halo-music monetary threshold is $14 or $75, both versions will be available at Halo Waypoint.
'The Triforce of Bass' is three pay-what-you-want Zelda remix EPs
GameChops, an indie chiptune/remix record label founded by DJ Cutman, has released a collection of three electronic dance music EPs based off various titles in the Zelda franchise, such as A Link to the Past and Skyward Sword. The Triforce of Bass features three five-track collections of tunes that include varying degrees of wub from DJ Cutman, Spamtron, Mykah and dj-Jo.Available here, the chiptune/dubstep/trip-hop album is being sold on a "name your price" basis, meaning that customers can pay as little or as much as they want for all 15 songs. From what we can tell, the only way to prevent DJ Cutman from dropping the bass is through repeated use of Guts Man's Super Arm.
Remix & WIN: Winner to be announced live tonight at 9 PM CET (8 PM GMT) (Updated)
Update: Just in case you missed it on Ustream last night, we're thrilled to announce that the winner of our Remix & WIN competition is MIZIM, or Yasmin from Yorkshire, UK. Congratulations, Yasmin! We absolutely loved your remix. To listen to Yasmin's winning remix on Sound Cloud, click here. To all our other contestants, thanks so much for taking part! The long wait is almost over! The winner of our Remiix & WIN competition, with Olivia Broadfield, Propellerhead, SoundCloud and TUAW, will be announced live tonight at 9:00 PM CET (8 PM GMT) on Olivia's Ustream. The winning remix will walk away with Propellerhead's brand new Balance audio interface and a copy of its latest DAW, Reason 6, plus a SoundCloud premium membership, a signed copy of Olivia Broadfield's latest album, "This Beautiful War," and some TUAW merchandise, too! We've been overwhelmed and thrilled with the hundreds of submissions to the competition. It's been a tough job working through the remixes to get to our finalist because there's been such a high standard of creativity and production. Well done! But there can only be one winning remix -- the cream of the crop -- and we can't wait for it to be announced tonight. Until then, if you haven't already, why not take a listen to the finalists on Sound Cloud here?
Reminder: Last chance to Remix & WIN
Our Remix and WIN competition, with Olivia Broadfield, Propellerhead and SoundCloud, closes on the 31st January 2012, which means you've just a few days left to submit your remix of Olivia's song 'Say.' We've had loads of entries already (some of which are very impressive), and the judges (Olivia and the TUAW team) have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks! The winning entry will take home Propellerhead's brand new Balance audio interface and a copy of their latest DAW, Reason 6, plus a SoundCloud premium membership, a signed copy of Olivia Broadfield's latest album, "This Beautiful War", and some TUAW merchandise, too! If you haven't already, check out our competition announcement post here for all the details on how to enter. The winning remix will be announced in February 2012. May the best remix win! If you've had any trouble submitting your entry, leave a comment below.
KDJ-One: the Game Boy of music making is real(ly coming, in a bit) (video)
Cyberstep sent our hearts aflutter-ish at last year's NAMM with its prototype KDJ-One, a Game Boy with gigantism that held a portable digital audio workstation inside. Now, twelve months later, the company's pulled the dust sheets from a version that's ready for prime-time. Inside its roomy bowels you'll find a 1.0GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB SSD and a 5-inch WVGA (800 x 400) touchscreen that'll let you control that piano-roll score editor. There's also 15 chunky rubber LED-lit keys, a Jog dial, D-Pad and a rumble pack so you really know when you've got a poppin' choon going. You'll be able to pre-order the vanilla kit for $800, but for $830 you'll also find WiFi baked inside, in either Game Boy White or Black'n'Red -- but be warned, orders are said to be fulfilled within six months. After the break we've got some new footage of the unit being put through its paces, which at no point shows it being used to play Super Mario Bros, shame.
New album available from VVVVVV composer Souleye
Souleye, the chiptune mastermind behind the incredible soundtrack for indie darling VVVVVV, has released a new, full-length album of original delights entitles Adventure. The 20 track collection of bleeps, boops and beats includes brand new songs, tracks from VVVVVV 2.0 and VVVVVV for the 3DS, as well as unreleased remixes from the indie rhythm title Pulsen.As the above trailer testifies, Souleye's pseudo-retro compositions are guaranteed to lift your spirits in his trademark, undeniably catchy way. The album is available for $10 (or more) at Souleye's official website, and can be listed to for free at Souleye's Bandcamp profile.
Little Big Adventure remake confirmed, may be used as testbed for third title
Originally discussed back in August, talk of a remade/remixed version of Adeline Software International's Little Big Adventure (known stateside as Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure) has resurfaced during an interview between GoG.com and the creative minds behind the series, Didier Chanfray, Frédérick Raynal and Sébastien Viannay. Other than confirmation that a rerelease of the original Little Big Adventure is in the works, the team also hinted at the possibility of an eventual Little Big Adventure 3: "We obviously have a lot of ideas for a third part, our best fans already know some of them, but before telling you more we need to test some of them with the remake. Games are different nowadays and we don't want to be stuck in 90's." If only every developer could be so self-aware.
Remix & WIN with Olivia Broadfield, Propellerhead, SoundCloud and TUAW
Calling all producers, mixers and music-making enthusiasts. We've teamed up with UK singer-songwriter Olivia Broadfield (who we recently interviewed here), Propellerhead and SoundCloud to offer you the chance to win Propellerhead's brand new Balance audio interface, a copy of their latest DAW, Reason 6, a SoundCloud premium membership and a singed copy of Olivia's latest album, "This Beautiful War", and some TUAW merchandise, too! In order to be in the running for this fantastic prize, you're required to remix (the best way you see fit) Olivia's song, "Say" off her album, "This Beautiful War" (we'll provide you with the audio stems). The competition closes and entries must be in by the end of January 31st, 2012. Entries will be judged by Olivia and TUAW, with the winning remix announced in February, 2012. To enter, simply email olivia@propellerheads.se and she'll provide you with all the info and links to get started. That's it. Let the remixing begin. Any questions? Let us know in the comments below.
The iPad rocks this 'It Girl' remix
We've heard some really good music come out of an iPad before, but to me it's all basically sounded like yeah, it came from a tablet. This remix of Jason Derulo's "It Girl," however, which you can watch below, sounds like the real thing to me. Yes, there's a lot of R&B sampling in there, and some of the sythesizers do sound like, well, synths, but on the whole it sounds really amazing. Professional music, made completely with an iPad! Plus, the video, by a group called East Midwest Music, is probably the most well-produced iPad music video ever, clearly documenting not only which apps were used for which instruments, but also how they were recorded and put together. Trust me, as a blogger who often has to go hunting around for screenshots to label apps in music videos, I really appreciate that. Definitely give this one a watch below. [via TechCrunch]
