Ken Hisuag

For this week, I decided to try comprehending the soundtrack of Kid Icarus Uprising . . . again. I tried to get familiar with it a couple years back, but despite generally liking the music I couldn't quite figure out the unifying theme to the full compilation. I still can't figure it out; it goes from orchestral rock to smooth jazz and over to Latin folk, and I figure it's probably one of those games that you have to play/experience to truly understand the music's intentions. However, that doesn't necessarily mean I can't feature it anyway! EDIT: This was a feature with an expansion by another user since lost. If I may take the opportunity to say so, this soundtrack certainly deserved it; I might consider this one a "hidden gem," considering I don't hear it referenced very often.

I wish I hadn't been so busy today (I am still considering it Saturday), but I somehow managed to make it here! The nature of the CCM industry makes it a rather niche metagenre for a very specific target audience. But given that I listen to it at least as much as my other favorite metagenre (VGM), it was inevitably going to pop up here eventually. In honor of Resurrection Day tomorrow (I insist it's still Saturday right now), here's an old song written specifically for the occasion, which also managed to perfectly encapture the major characteristics of its era's style. I needed more Saturday.

It was overwhelmingly apparent as of Thursday that I would have to feature the Len'en Project here this week; I've considered posting from it several times over the past year, and kept putting it off in hopes of a more fitting time. That time has obviously come. However, in my attempts to narrow down a few themes to represent the series, I decided that such a task could not be appropriately handled in a single post. So now, I am announcing Len'en Month! Each week I'll feature one of the four currently released games. The first game (technically) is Len'en 1 ~ Evanescent Existence, and right off the bat newcomers are introduced to Jynx's signature style with the menu theme, To the Village That Isn't Real ~ chain link? Though essentially a simple motif structure, the song stands out for its instrumentation contrast of piano and overhead synth, and a nifty audio effect for its loop. Next is In This World ~ Monochrome eye, essentially the U.N. Owen was Her? of Len'en. Widely acknowledged to the best (or at least most infamous) piece in the series, with a strong motif and complimentary instrumentation, it's rather fitting that this should be the theme of the series' signature character. . . . or is it? Rounding off is the game's "final" boss. Being that this is a Touhou-inspired series, obviously there's an extra stage boss which may or may not prove to be the true final boss, but nonetheless Empire Power ~ Eternal Force technically holds the distinction of first final-boss-theme in the series. It doesn't get as much appreciation as it deserves, imo; the motif is perfect for the purpose, preserving the ominous confrontation sound that a good boss theme should have. Not to mention that bass . . . As an added bonus, I'll include the extra boss theme as well. I have it on good authority that this is a very obscure theme that even some Len'en veterans aren't familiar with, so it's just as well that I help propagate it. The theme itself is something of a controlled chaos, and is an earlier example of Jynx's jazzier side.

I cannot hope to hold a candle to the genius of today's postings. April Fool's is truly the Internet's holiday. For the sake of participation, I will submit my meager offerings here, and begin planning for next year.

Featuring the music of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is far too intimidating a venture for me to consider just yet, so instead I'm going for the second most relevant Smash title. It's honestly incredible how enduring Melee has been, but anyone familiar with the history can understand why. Obviously, there are certain iconic themes I'm obligated to include: However, the majority of Smash music is, by nature of the game, arrangements. Each game has been characterized by unique musical styles which have contributed to their respective reputations, but this is probably more true for Melee than any other entry. While the soundfonts are decidedly modern, the compositions still carry a nostalgic feel that transcends the technical aspect. But I digress; the main reason most would be familiar with Melee today would be in connection to its competitive scene. Within that context, a few stage themes become more memorable than the rest simply from familiarity. You see, even just covering this game I end up using more examples than normal! I still hope to cover Ultimate eventually, but even apart from practicality, I think this game may have deserved this respect earlier.

As of tomorrow, this thread is officially a year old! The first post featured the circle Paradise of Boundaries, which does remixes in the styles of the individual Touhou games. I've had these two songs on my "to-post" list for a while, and now I'm posting them in commemoration. Luckily one of them happens to be a Suika theme, though I personally think the second feature fits the occasion best.

With all the focus on the Touhou 18 trial, I think most people missed the extra stage update to Infinite Blade Pavilion. But I didn't, so I'm sharing one of the tracks here!

@buskerdog The track in question is meant to be a remix of Curious Old Shanghai Tile, the theme of Rinnosuke Morichika, and plays in his shop (or so I gather; I was not motivated to play the game long enough to find out for myself). Even being familiar with the theme, I'll admit I can only barely pick up on the similar elements. Ironically, I already had a Missing Power remix planned for this Saturday. I personally think it and Broken Moon depict two separate aspects of Suika's character; the one is powerfully assertive and mysterious, as befitting an oni of the Four, while the other is lighthearted and fun, in keeping with her "drunk as I like" nature. I guess this technically makes sense, being that the personality-filled piece is her conversation theme and the strength-influenced piece is her battle music. Ideally, both styles could be melded into an arrangement, and I believe it could be done well with Missing Power. So far, though, I haven't really found a piece that quite meets my expectations. The closest I've come to is, ironically, Akiyama's arrangement.

This past week I received my copy of the Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent soundtrack. I was initially rather dismayed to discover two of my favorite tracks from the circulated gamerip missing from the official release, and while I am still very pleased with it as a whole (there's plenty of tracks that weren't in the gamerip), I do wonder why these tracks weren't included. Since this is technically a gatcha game and is updating constantly, it could be possible that they are planning a future music release or releases, but I have no way of knowing if this is the case. Regardless, I might as well share the two missing tracks here (there are others, but these are among the best). Edit (March 31st): I recently realized that Oscar and Tatorock imply two more characters upcoming representing the letters "C" and "O" respectively. The subreddit mentioned the release of Cyrus as a playable character; I wonder if that counts toward the word, or if it's just a coincidence? EDIT: This link update requires a bit more explanation. The soundtrack's second volume release two years later, and the names associated with these two tracks were localized into "Oskha" and "Tatloch." While the record shows I used both characters' respective battle themes, I am loath to use tracks with such similar titles. Instead, I am choosing to switch in Oskha's character theme, which uses the same motif as his battle. The record will be adjusted to reflect this change, and this note will serve as its old record.

I finally played some of Adventures in Scarlet Curiosity, and with the recent Hachimitsu-Lemon post I figure now is a good time to feature the music (beyond the two pieces already circulated here). The styles are somewhat varied, which makes it difficult to sum up the whole. For the most part, though, I'd say it leans toward hybrid-orchestra, with the "hybrid" ranging from folk to symphonic. A Note: This soundtrack is amazing! But I personally found the game boring, to a point that it began to detract from the music's quality. Whether others have had a similar experience or not, I would suggest the soundtrack should be listened to on its own at least once. But wait, we had a theme going this week didn't we? And, because I can, Innocent Treasures for DF's megapost! I might buy this soundtrack at some point, it's that good.

I had planned to post something, but it looks like you've got it covered. ?

@Garison DeCrick Genuinely curious if this worked; the link has been changed, and should be available in Canada.

The time has finally come! I have waited months to feature one of my favorite genres of music at an appropriate time. So without further delay, I present a relatively tiny selection of Irish folk in commemoration of St. Patrick's Day. This post barely begins to cover my appreciation for this genre, but it will have to do for now. I am very likely to post more of this in the future, and hopefully feature a wider variety of artists. Happy St. Patty's Day to y'all!

You simply cannot reference that soundtrack without including what is possibly the most famous Eurobeat song ever made. Over-memed? Probably. Nonetheless spectacular.

For St. Patrick's Day, I had planned to post some Celtic folk arrangements; with the current thread trend, it was easy to decide on what theme to look for. Floating Cloud's Broken Moon is more Oriental folk, so I'm including his Demystify Feast instead (that's Suika related, right?).

I was trying to think of a game that would have appropriate music for the occasion, and eventually thought of The Witcher. The lines dividing the varieties of folk music are ill-defined, but in this case the instrumentation is close enough to be fitting (except for that last one). I've considered doing an OST+ for The Witcher 3, because the soundtrack is somewhat scattered. Such a task would be rather daunting, but if/when I get around to it, I'll return to the game here.

I was re-watching the BBC Chronicles of Narnia recently (mostly for nostalgia purposes), and I got to thinking about the audio dramas. I'm not that familiar with the industry at large, but I doubt there are many better examples of what the medium is capable of at its best. There's a perfect balance of communicating through character dialogue, sounds of action, and blended narration. I often compare it (unfairly) to the Mind's Eye Lord of the Rings, which is a great audio drama but showcases a lot of the difficulties the medium must overcome; you could theoretically have a drinking game for every time a character starts a sentence with the word "see," followed by a description of the action they are performing. Anyway, all that reminded me of this little theme from John Campbell which played at the beginning of the CoN audio dramas.

I'm sure I have something for this occasion. . . . Ah, yes! Perfect! For once, I'm not sure if this has been posted here before. But it's worth bringing up regardless.

Also, the recent request thread Immaterial and Missing Song has featured some really great remixes of Oriental Memories of Forgathering Dream, so I want to link it here for future reference.

I'm in the mood to post some ambient-leaning remixes today. I don't come across these genres too often, though I hesitate to say they are rare. I may do an active search for lofi at some point, since I really appreciate the one here. I hadn't seen that synthwave remix before, and I really appreciate its posting. After Stranger Things came out, most synthwave remixes I've come across have been extremely simplistic and disappointing. This is the kind of arrangement I'd expect the genre capable of, contrasting a patient melody with a steady formulaic beat. I should look more into Violet Delta; they're on Bandcamp, but for some reason I haven't really paid attention to them. BTW, CarrotWine has removed all his Touhou stuff from Bandcamp (hence the Charisma Lash uploads). Don't know if this matters to anyone other than me, but just in case . . .

Before Octopath Traveler, ...before Undertale, ...before Duck Life 4, ...there was Red Alert 2. Objectively speaking, there isn't much especially noteworthy about this soundtrack. This is the first memory I have of VGM. It didn't inspire a musical interest at the time, but it holds that nostalgic quality for me that so many other soundtracks commonly associated with the feeling do not. Rather ironic, since techno metal isn't a genre I'm otherwise a fan of.

I have realized that I showed off a bunch of fan music albums in the boxart thread, and didn't think to feature some of the music here. So I'm remedying that.

I'd like to take this moment to highlight Eban, simply because I follow his work and seeing some of it here reminded me of some stuff I have from him. While he does do remixes, I personally prefer his original pieces. Additionally, a light oriental folk Pure Furies. There's a patience to this piece that I appreciate; it always feels like it's about to blow up, but instead it continues simmering gently. The climax comes quietly, with a deceptive intensity that communicates high emotions without imparting them. A very intriguing effect, to say the least.

I'm really glad this thread is getting more attention. Here's a couple of more laid-back instrumentals that aren't related to each other.

Shrine's getting much busier, which is good! I might have to visit more often to keep up with things. There's a lot I want to say about Dandara: Trials of Fear, but most of it isn't music related so I'll save it for a Steam review. Suffice to say that it's severely underrated, and if you've played and enjoyed Celeste then you should definitely try this out as well. The gameplay system requires some getting used to, but it's well worth it. The music is atmospheric with a tribal twist, which perception mainly stems from the contrast between the synth foundations and the folk instrument overtones. This is also one of those games where the music is incorporating elements of world building into the compositions; Once a Beautiful Horizon has a continuous flow to it in reflection of the more abstract Village of Artists, while Hidden in Logic is more rigidly structured to represent the refined Capitol of Intention. The highlight of the soundtrack, however, has to be the boss battle theme. Everything builds up to this moment of heroic determination, of facing down fears without hesitation. I won't include it, but if y'all appreciate this selection I'd suggest the track Golden Fortress as another great example of this soundtrack.