Music is one of humanity’s oldest art forms. Either on its own or accompanying another work, music is integral to cultural experiences, conveying emotions and ideas that transcend languages or images.
Just as film had accompanying music long before spoken dialogue, video games have integrated music since nearly the dawn of the art form—-and video game music is just as memorable as the game play itself, with gamers playing homage to their favorite themes in a variety of ways. A YouTube search for “Super Mario Bros. Theme” returns over 50,000 results, with the first twenty results filled with performances of said theme on everything from a flute to an electric guitar to a man using just his own two hands. If you call GameStop’s corporate customer service number and are put on hold, you’ll be treated to a medley of classic gaming tunes.
As video games become widely accepted as a mature and complex medium, so has the music associated with video games grown in scope. Full orchestral arrangements are commonplace in games, and video game music is slowly seeping into the mainstream with commercial soundtrack releases (both Fable 2 and Gears of War 2 soundtracks are available at your local retailer). The true driving force behind video game music is the indie scene. Bands dedicated to the performance of video game music are a popular movement, with dedicated fans supporting them, especially on the Web.
OverClocked ReMix is an organization that strives to preserve and promote video game music and treating music from games with the same dignity and respect as more popular and critically-accepted music, encouraging critical interpretation of video game music. The primary vehicle of OverClocked ReMix is their website, and it allows an online community where fans can share and discuss their arrangements and remixes of their favorite video game tracks.
I had the opportunity to speak with three of the musicians involved with OverClocked ReMix, all accomplished musicians with a deep love for video games.
Elaine Li is a graduate student at the University of Miami and violinist for Florida-based sextet Select Start. Select Start got involved with Overclocked Remix in early 2004 with an arrangement inspired by Metroid; in 2006 they released an album featuring 16 arrangements from a variety of games. in 2007, they released “Theme of Frog’s,” a song from Chrono Trigger, as a single to promote the album. Elaine has performed with Select Start at Video Games Live this in January 2008 at Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, and gigs with “whatever group really needs me.”
Jillian Goldin is a classically-trained soprano with experience in opera and New Age music. Originally from Massachusetts, she received her Bachelor’s degree from John Hopkins’ Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Jillian made her debut on OverClocked in 2005 with “Prayer,” a remix inspired by Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. She has provided vocals for Sid Meiers’ Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword and in March 2008 won a $5,000 prize from OurStage.com; her song “Hajime” was voted that website’s best song of the month from over 30,000 entries. Her original album, Origins, includes a remix from Final Fantasy VII entitled “Deliverance of the Heart” and you can find her providing session vocals on game and film composer Christopher Tin’s upcoming album Calling All Dawns.
Nicole Adams is a 24-year-old undergraduate student based in California. "Permutation," her first OC ReMix, an interpretation of a Donkey Kong Country track, debuted Welcome to World 2 by Game Music 4 All. LIke so many her age (myself included), she got into video games with the original Nintendo Entertainment System. It was Super NES games that turned her on to video game music: she recorded "Snot a Problem" and "For Pete's Sake" from Earthworm Jim onto a portable tape player so that she could listen to them anytime. After learning about music production on the OC Remix forums, she now has many projects on her plate: contributing to an upcoming Donkey Kong Country 2 project; working on remixes from Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and SaGa Frontier; and working on original music with a singer-pianist as Panacea, with their debut EP expected soon from Protagonist Records.
All three of these young ladies were willing to share their thoughts on music, video games, and women as gamers.
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