It's common for sites like this one to write with great fondness about platforms like the Nintendo 64, but an article we've seen doing the rounds on social media shows that publications in various genres have an appreciation for gaming's contributions to various areas.
Pitchfork, one of the largest and most influential publications focused on music, has done a neat feature going into detail on classic music tracks from N64 games. It not only showcases them in detail, but links their style to major musical artists. One example, for The New Tetris, is below - it's the "Giali Theme" and is highlighted for those that like The Chemical Brothers.
Voss earned a cult following after scoring his second N64 Tetris game, The New Tetris, especially years down the line when the man behind the skittering beats was finally tracked down. For New Tetris, Voss created location-specific themes that drew on trip hop and house. While fan-adored themes for Morocco and Egypt provided the necessary jolt to complete each new puzzle, it's "Giali Theme" that marks Voss' growth as a composer. The Chemical Brothers-styled percussion and spacious reverb show Voss elevating his sounds, and, in turn, encouraging future game composers to do the same.
There are a number of entries so we recommend you check out the full article at the link below. There are some of the 'usual' N64 tracks, but a few alternatives that may earn a new level of appreciation from their inclusion.
[source pitchfork.com]
Comments 13
That's a giant Link.
Always great to see major publications giving some recognition to the amazing efforts of video game composers.
Loved Voss's work on Tetrisphere and The New Tetris. They were a revelation at the time on the musicly inept N64. Still listen to them from time to time.
@dronesplitter I see what you did there...
Nice music.
Cool, it's nice to see recognition of game music from sites like pitchfork. Thanks for the article!
Very interesting and it's always nice to see gaming being viewed as more then just "gaming", althought they could have avoided to destroy the NES and SNES before talking of the N64 ^^;
Fair enough, the NES had literally 8 bit sounds, but I'm pretty sure the SNES had some pretty iconic music that, like the N64 ones, could be appreciated outside of gaming.
@BakaKnight I do agree with them here though:
"N64 games toyed with 3D graphics, and compared to the look of Sega Genesis or SNES games, N64’s games were vivid. Gameplay pushed beyond limited controls—this was a console to get lost in. "
That is perfectly worded. Back when I was first playing experiences (yes, experiences, not just games) on the N64 I felt truly emerged in every title I enjoyed. The 3D aspect, as poorly as the graphical limitations have aged, was unlike anything else I'd ever played. Much like the feeling I got when first playing Wii in regards to its control scheme.
...Honestly, I really wish the Wii U would have simply maintained the wiimote+ and nunchuck set up, albeit improved with the analog sticks on the Wii U controllers and an analog Z trigger, instead of dumping it outright for the GamePad route. Oh, and wish it wasn't called the Wii U
@BakaKnight It's weird because I find the 8/16 bit compositions hold up better today without any rearranging than anything from the Nintendo 64. The compositions were often very good, but aside from a few bright spots here and there those arrangements were generally awful at best and downright unlistenable at worst (i.e., anything with "saxophone").
Don't see similarities beetween Beirut and Gerudo Valley theme, but I love both
I'd completely forgotten about Tetrisphere's music! And BAR--though I don't believe I ever actually took note of it at the time due to the game's frenetic nature.
But why no love for Jet Force Gemini? Of all N64 scores, that's the one I still hit YouTube up for now and then. Those orchestrations were epic and so varied; reaching for a level of cinema unlike anything I could remember before.
Listen if you like: John Williams
Ah, The Chemical Brothers.
I'm so old.
Thanks for posting.
Conker's Bad Fur Day definitely earns a mention.
That game won an award for sound engineering. That was while the dreamcast and ps2 were in the market as a rival for the award!!!
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