Grant “Stemage” Henry is a composer, a session guitarist and a remixer. In 2003, Grant created Metroid Metal (you can still download all the tracks, just follow the link), and so began his lengthy career in the VGM remix community. Grant and I don’t talk too much about remixing, but we focus on a couple…
Read moreMustin‘s remixes and albums lift my spirits, and I hope they do for you too! Mustin has an ability to capture juuuuust the right sound to make a track pop and nail the nostalgia. His latest album, Mario Mixtape, resulted from a challenge issued by his son: to create a Mario remix album within a…
Read moreJoe Newman is a saxophonist who remixes and covers video game music. He’s been a regular participant in Dwelling of Duels and recently released an album of some of his favorite submissions. By day, Joe is a lawyer in the video game industry (in consumer protection, if memory serves, he explains it in the chat).…
Read moreIt’s another delightful chat with composer Maclaine Diemer about Firmament from Cyan Worlds, the creators of Myst and Riven. The score is entirely synth with the exception of two or three other instruments, including an esraj and a Fender IV (technically a Squire, which only matters to people who know the difference). It’s atmospheric, ambient…
Read moreComposer Peter Chapman talks about his music for the Netflix comedy Workin’ Moms, which just aired its 7th and final season in April. Peter worked with composer/singer Maylee Todd to create music for the series. The music has this energetically fresh, crisp and clean vibe, although there are many examples of grit and grime as…
Read moreI stumbled across Logan “Biggoron” Tucker‘s music in early April ahead of VGM Con (which would be worth your time if you can attend next year!). He regularly participates in the monthly video game music cover contest held at Dwelling of Duels. Cover artists submit their piece anonymously and winners are chosen by the community.…
Read moreComposer Lennie Moore talks about his newest passion project, a big band album called Mentors that pays tribute to his musical mentors, like record producer Arif Mardin, pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and drummer Peter Erskine (who plays on the album). While we do briefly discuss the upcoming Outcast 2 (Lennie scored the first Outcast in 1999),…
Read moreWes Keltner is the CEO of Gun Interactive, creators of the upcoming game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Ross Tregenza composed the music and worked on sound. The game is in the canon of the original film from 1974. We talk about how they pieced together a handful of working chain saws to get the…
Read moreComposer Chris Rickwood gets to write in the style of some of the most famous franchises in games and other media like TV, anime and more for Brawlhalla, the free-to-play platform brawler from Blue Mammoth Games and Ubisoft. In this episode, Chris and I talk about what it’s like to take the Brawlhalla main theme…
Read more** The soundtrack to The Red Lantern is getting a vinyl release. Anyone who is a patron of Level with Emily by midnight (12:00 AM CDT) on April 17, 2023, will be eligible to win one of 5 records. ** Hrishikesh Hirway is a composer, a recording artist, a podcaster (Song Exploder, Home Cooking, The…
Read moreWe’ve had composer Rob Kovacs on Level in the past to talk about his alter ego, 88bit. This time, he’s here to discuss his Prophet 5 modern 80s soundtrack for the VR game Straylight, and I love every minute of it. The music is fantastic, and Rob sits at his piano during our chat to…
Read moreGreg Nicolett‘s music for Potionomics is as colorful as the game, weaving in and out of various styles and palettes depending on characters and locations. The game is a 3D deck builder/management sim, where you (as Sylvia) brew and sell potions out of your own shop. And go on dates 🙂 Much of the score…
Read morePentiment is a 2D narrative adventure murder mystery set in the early part of the 16th century. Director/designer Josh Sawyer dreamed of making a historically accurate game set pre-Renaissance, and he asked Alkemie Early Music Ensemble to create a faithful musical score for the game. “Early music” at its simplest definition consists of music before…
Read moreThe music Amos Roddy wrote for Citizen Sleeper is too good for words. I love the music, I loved our conversation about it, and I’ve loved the game (not finished yet). I’m not alone – players raved about the entire package of gameplay, narrative, music, visuals and all the things that make it Citizen Sleeper.…
Read moreComposer Jason Graves has a new score out, and it’s flipping scary. The fourth installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology, The Devil In Me follows a film crew trapped within a replica of H.H. Holmes‘s infamous Murder Castle, where he tortured and murdered more than two dozen unsuspecting tourists in town for the Chicago World’s…
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