Composer Vinicius Barbosa Pippa has held many jobs as a musician working in media. In addition to his work in games and film, he garnered an Emmy nomination for his work as a music editor on an animated show called Go! Go! Cory Carson. And he was the music supervisor on a different animated show…
Read moreComposer Brent Meyer talks about his music for Katoa, a mobile game where you build and manage an underwater ecosystem. A portion of the money spent through microtransactions goes toward charities that support the climate. The main theme Brent wrote is a sweeping, melodic orchestral romp. Once you begin gameplay, the texture simplifies and the…
Read moreIt’s always a great time having John Robert Matz on to talk about his music. This time, we discuss Tchia, an open-world adventure of a young girl on tropical islands inspired by the real location, New Caledonia. The music is such a joy. John Robert captured a colorful, simple and memorable island vibe with his…
Read moreI love these games! And Sander van Zanten‘s music does a fantastic job capturing the wonder, loneliness and splendor of being in space. If you haven’t played Deliver Us the Moon, I highly recommend it. And then play Deliver Us Mars! The gameplay is so engaging and Sander’s music is a great part of it…
Read moreGrant “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…
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