If you've been reading the site for a while then you're probably already somewhat familiar with Hideo: A Theatrical Concert of Music from Japanese Animation and Video Games, also known simply as Hideo.
This one of a kind show, described by NPR as 'A video game symphony on steroids' is the brainchild of creator Blair Baker who sought to create the ultimate experience for fans. After attending many video games concerts Blair decided that there was a lot more that these shows could be doing, and so she created Four Lights Productions to do just that.
Hideo combines an original play with live music from anime and video games the likes of Final Fantasy, Megaman, Noir, Wolf's Rain, Chrono Cross and many more. Each song is accompanied by animated projections courtesy of artist Dan Howard.
The world of Hideo is one that is ever expanding via smaller performances known as Overtures (that feature new storylines, characters, and music) as well as original graphic novels. By bringing together live music with theatre, art, stage combat, audience participation, and more Hideo becomes more than just a concert: it becomes an experience unlike any other.
What's more the entire show is entirely by fans for fans. Every single person working on the show is a fan themselves, whether of anime, video games, or the music they feature.
Here's a small taste of what Hideo has to offer:
Hideo began in 2010 and has had two major performances, one in Berkeley and one in San Luis Obispo. Beyond the main stage shows Team Hideo has made its way around the anime convention circuit, even performing as the opening act for Fanime's Masquerade in 2011.
While Hideo won't be an official Fanime event this year, the show will be taking place right across the street from the San Jose convention at the Montgomery Theater so whether you're a con attendee or not you'll get a chance to see it.
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, will be attending Fanime, or are just a huge fan of live music and theatre then this is one event you won't want to miss. There are four chances to see the show, 2pm and 8pm on both Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th.
Apologies for the break last week. As I've said before we've got something very exciting on the way and a lot of energy is going towards it, hence no Audio File Friday last week. But it will all be worth it in the end. I promise.
As you may recall, after realizing how few women have been featured here on AFF I've been on the hunt for talented musicians of the female variety to showcase. Now the thing about all of the female artists I've found thus far is that they all seem to be of the singer/songwriter variety. Nothing wrong with that at all, but where are the nerdcore girl rappers or the chiptune loving ladies?
Earlier this week I happened to stumble upon a lady gamer that is both a talented singer/songwriter and a chiptune artist. Best of both worlds! Even better: Supporting her music goes to help suicide prevention efforts by the Jed Foundation. How could you not love her?
It's no secret that we here at Gaygamer.net are big Animal Crossing fans. While I go in and out of my AC-binges, our very own Wootini has managed to keep up with his town for literally years now. Animal Crossing: City Folk was released in 2008. It's 2012. That's more staying power than even some of the most lauded of big-budget titles on the market. There's just something about doing chores, picking fruit, and fighting the 1% dealing with Tom Nook that is endlessly satisfying.
What a shame, then, that despite spending nearly a year showcasing original video game covers, remixes, and what have yous, finding good Animal Crossing inspired music worth featuring has proved...not so fruitful.
Until today that is! While plenty of Animal Crossing inspired tracks exists, today I managed to find one that stands out from the pack courtesy of this week's featured artist FFmusic Dj.
I hope your week has been treating you well. As I've said week after week my favorite thing about Audio File Friday is getting to getting the chance to showcase as wide a variety of musical genres as possible. When I started this feature nearly a year ago I never thought that I'd find even half of the music I have. But through it all one of my favorite things to see is still a full orchestra going to town on the classics.
Groups like Team Hideo and the Video Game Music Choir have taken steps to bring their fresh take on gaming music arrangements to new audiences. What a challenge it is, though, to put together such grand performances. Especially when the necessary sheet music is hard to come by.
This week I'll be taking a look at the multi-talented Mr Trent and his spectacular gaming arrangements. Somebody give this guy his own personal orchestra to conduct, because he could definitely use one.
So I've realized something that I'm rather embarrassed by: To date, Audio File Friday has only featured female artists about three times: Angela Aki, Lana Del Rey, Rebecca Black and the lovely ladies of the Video Game Music Choir. Now, considering Audio File Friday is fast approaching its one year anniversary and this is a mostly weekly feature...well, that's not exactly a great number. It's a pretty awful number, actually.
Is there just a lack of female gaming artists in the world? Or are they just difficult to find? Are we about to dust off the age old gamer-girl debate? Whatever the case, in the following weeks I promise to make a concerted effort to include more female artists here on Audio File Friday.
This week's artist just so happens to be an extremely gifted young woman who is quite the Skyrim fan and goes by the name Malukah.
I apologize for being MIA of late. I've been busy on some rather exciting projects, some of which concern the very site you are currently browsing. But I won't tease you, rather I'll get back to business; scrounging the net to bring you some of the best original gaming music there is to be found.
This past Winter I found myself pleasantly surprised with Sega's newest release Sonic Generations. It is a true return to form for everyone's favorite blue hedgehog, and quite the nostalgia-fest for long-time fans. Being quite the audiophile myself, one aspect of the game that really stood out was its soundtrack. The game took all the Sonic classics and presented them in both original and newly remixed versions. Being one of gaming's biggest names his unfortunate last decade aside Sonic has always had some of the best music around.
It got me thinking: There has been barely any Sonic-love happening on Audio File Friday. Well I intend to remedy that immediately, with an awesome newcomer known as Juan Abad.
You didn't think that after three weeks of no Audio File Fridays I'd leave you guys without a bonus track to make up for some of that time did you?
This week's Audio File Friday Bonus Track comes to us courtesy of indie rapper E-Dubble, who first caught my attention in 2010 when he did a little something called Freestyle Friday. Gee...sure does sound familiar Every week for fifty-two weeks straight E-Dubble released a brand new song for his fans, totally free, and usually with some entertaining outros. No small feat. One of those songs just so happens to be one that gamers might enjoy.
Oh and he's super hot. Bear-cub fans, get in line!
Do you like Wild Arms? Do you have 4+ hours at your disposal? Well saddle up, Sally May, because the internet has some free candy for your ears. Indeed, OverClocked ReMix has a lovely surprise, in the for of "Wild Arms: ARMed and DANGerous." Featuring hours of nostalgic goodness, the album's styles vary more than one expect, bringing the collective, creative unconsciousness together to pay homage to the PlayStation title.
OCReMix (as they prefer to be called) was brought to my attention by the melancholy, and staggeringly beautiful version of Final Fantasy VIII's "Compression of Time" - if you haven't heard it, it's well worth checking out - but to be honest, their offerings have been a bit hit or miss for me. There are a good deal of "metal" tracks with not one Norwegian black metal rendition of "The Opened Way" from Shadow of the Colossus and trite, formulaic, techno thump-fests; one can assume this is due to the sheer volume of content on the site. Still, scattered amidst the chaff, there are some genuine treasures to be discovered - and as this is an "album" from OCReMix, one can hope that the release will be a bit more than a scattershot collection of everything Wild Arms.
Worst case scenario, the album is preposterously long - even if three out of every four songs is terrible, you have an hour of audio loveliness at your fingertips - and, more importantly, it's free. This is especially appealing if you, like me, are on the "washing down salt & pepper sandwiches with a tall glass of river water" rung of the economic ladder. Wild Arms: ARMed and DANGerous is available in both mp3 and FLAC, the latter being my poison of choice. The mp3 version is available for direct download, while the FLAC version must be acquired via torrent. So check out the preview, and if you feel so inclined, download the tracks at this link!
Community is a vital part of our lives; it brings us together and it keeps up connected. Us gaymers know a thing or two about community, whether it's the gay community, the gaming community, or the gaymer community for which this very site was created.
Creating community is a wonderful, and necessary, thing. Sometimes all it takes is the desire to find others like you, and letting that desire grow and grow until you've created something new. And how invaluable, to have people to share yourself with while simultaneously finding new things that others want to share with you.
Earlier this week two groups that have been featured here before, The Megas and Rare Candy, shared at the exact same time the newest release from this week's featured band, Entertainment System. It got me thinking: These guys all know each other; there's a real community of rock n' roll gamers out there and they're all working together to promote each others' work.
And thank goodness for that, because finding a new artist to feature week-in and week-out is harder than you might think even when you have no life like me. Thankfully this week was a no brainer, and artists I already love did all the finding for me.
But wait! This week's Audio File Friday isn't over yet!
These days its not just hardcore gamers making music that gamers will want to listen to, mainstream artists are dipping their feet in as well. Remember the Kid Cudi track Capcom? With those tracks in mind, Audio File Friday Bonus Track is born.
For our first Bonus Track ever I'll be taking a look at an incredible up and comer that you should all take note of, trust me she's going to be huge. Introducing the gorgeous and immensely talented Lana Del Rey.
If you can manage to pull yourselves away from Skyrim, Skyward Sword, and other Sky-related endeavors for a few minutes I promise it will be worth it.
This week I've got a treat for you guys, and I call it a treat because it's truly something fresh. I certainly hadn't heard anything like this before this week's featured artist, and that's what Audio File Friday is all about: finding music for gamers of all different genres, including new unexplored ones.
The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has gathered together a brand new charity album, titled Novum Initium, to help benefit career musicians dealing with illness, disability, and old age. Unfortunately, sick guitarists aren't as guilt inducing or adorable as those sad kittens on late night television, so they have another trick to get people excited for this soundtrack - all the music comes from video game composers.
Novum Initium will feature original work from such industry notables as Sam Hulick (Mass Effect), Neal Acree (World of Warcraft), Garry Schyman (Bioshock), Aubrey Ashburn (Dragon Age), Jason Graves (Dead Space), Tom Salta (Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands), and Chad Seiter (The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony). And that's not even half the list of contributing artists.
"We reached out to our friends in the video game industry and were overwhelmed with the response," explains composer and album co-producer Jason Graves (Dead Space). "This is obviously something everyone can relate to. As full-time composers, we are self-employed contractors and there's no such thing as 'time off' or 'paid vacation.' If we don't work, we don't get paid. Medical bills can add up quickly. That's the whole impetus behind the album."
Novum Initium will be available through iTunes and Amazon starting December 6th, just in time to gift it to that music loving dork in your life. While a charity for musicians may not be the most glamorous benefit work, at least there's some amazing tunes to be had.
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