Level With Emily Reese

Pentiment is a 2D narrative adventure murder mystery set in the early part of the 16th century. Director/desinger 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 the year 1600, when tonality wasn't how we westerners understand it today, and instruments were ancestors of what's common to find in an orchestra now (these instrumental developments continued well beyond the year 1600). And Alkemie's soundtrack is fabulous.   **And they've provided Level listeners with a coupon code to watch their most recent concert at any time!! YOU CAN WATCH their most recent concert online FREE, anytime, HERE by using the coupon code "Level"**   I spoke with co-founders and performers Sian Ricketts and Tracy Cowart, who are both professional early music scholars and professors; they're multi-instrumentalists and singers too. And I'm s

The 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. To list my favorite tracks would comprise the entirety of the album, which is a fun thing to discover as you listen through a soundtrack. Each passing track sounds like the joy of discovery. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer 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 Fair in 1893. The antagonist in The Devil In Me slowly herds his victims into traps, and Jason's music reflects this slow terror walk. It's fantastic. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Trevor Gureckis scored about two hours of new music (not all of which is on the soundtrack) for the Dead Space remake. EA kept Jason Graves's original score intact, and Trevor scored the new cutscenes, battles and other content added to the game to fill out the story. And it's great. It's very Dead Space, and is unique to Trevor's style. At the time of recording, I was provided 3 tracks, and they were all quite different. I loved doing a deep dive on all 3 with Trevor, and we hope you enjoy the conversation! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

French composer Nicolas de Ferran talks about his groovy music for Scrap Riders, a point-and-click adventure/beat-em-up about a biker gang in the 80s. The last time we had Nicolas on Level, he went by the nickname of Nicolas Diteriks, and we spoke about an orchestral score he composed for the game We Are Billions. The Scrap Riders score is very different stylistically, with a lot of 80s vibes and grooves playing off each other. And he gave us this fantastic audio from this voice memo he recorded one day as he was out on the street - you'll hear it. It's so good!! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.  

We always love having composer Garry Schyman on the show. His music is so darn great. This time, we talk about his gorgeous orchestral score for Forspoken, the new RPG from Luminous and Square Enix. Recorded live in Nashville, the music is full of energy slathered in soaring melodies that take you somewhere with each new phrase. It's so fantastic. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Jonah Senzel talks about his music for Inscryption. He wrote in a handful of different styles, from music heavy with sound effects to the simplest, slow chip-tune chords. The game also is a bit of a mash-up of styles - a deckbuilder with escape room elements and a bit of horror. It was great chatting with Jonah about his music! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Ego Plum writes such fantastic music for The Cuphead Show (on Netflix). The show itself is an absolute delight and it's almost inexcusable if you don't watch it (the episodes are brief enough that you could binge all 3 seasons in a day). And with comedic animation like this, the music is intertwined with the visuals that you really need to just watch it. It's SO worth it. That's my endorsement. As for Ego's music - he fumbled through the restrictions of the pandemic like any composer, finding musicians capable of recording themselves as far away as Greece. It sounds so good and the energy he still managed to capture is electric. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

I met video essayist Jacob Geller during my occasional appearances on The MinnMax Show to discuss the best game music of a given year. Meeting him led me on a journey through his videos, and I absolutely adore his videos. We talk about why in this conversation! In addition to YouTube, you can find Jacob on Patreon. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Thomas Cipollone writes 8-bit scores for games that release on NES cartridges. He has to adhere to all the rules composers followed in the 80s, constricted heavily by the size of his audio files and the voicings he can compose. And he does so brilliantly, with creative textures, great grooves and fulfilling melodies. We spoke about four of his scores, some of which have been released, some of which are still in the process of getting released: Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum, Full Quiet, Unicorn and Beyond the Pins. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Curtis Schweitzer talks about his hypnotic, largely orchestral music for the indie 2D space explorer, Starbound. I loved how many of the tracks stretch out almost indefinitely, giving the listener time in that musical place. And there's quite a bit of music too - more than 6 hours of it. It's worth your time, I promise. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Dylan Wiest is the director, drummer and sometimes-keyboardist in The OC Jazz Collective, a talented group of musicians from the legendary OverClocked Remix brigade. The ensemble released a new album in November, 2022 called Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES. If you've never dipped your toe into the OC Remix crowd, this is a fantastic start. Dylan, who goes by "Wiesty" in the OCR community, has been remixing video game music for more than a decade. Check out their prior album too, Chronology: A Jazz Tribute to Chrono Trigger, which in addition to Mode Seven can be downloaded FOR FREE on OCR's site. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Vincent Diamante's music for Sky: Children of the Light is gentle, gorgeous and uplifting. The palette is mostly orchestral, especially in the early volumes of the soundtrack (there are 4 volumes, currently). The game is from thatgamecompany, known for its brilliantly designed indie games such as Journey, Flower and Flow. Vincent composed for Flower, and that soundtrack remains one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time. There's likely an old Top Score episode with Vincent and me floating around out there in cyberspace about that score. I loved talking with Vincent again, loved learning about how he composed and recorded it, and loved meeting Copper. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Nuno Fonseca grew up with an equal love for music, audio and technology. He's a former university professor in Portugal, and he's published more than 20 papers on computer audio and 2 books on sound and computer design. His interests led him to create Sound Particles, which is immersive software capable of generating thousands or millions of sounds for 3D audio. It's a tremendously efficient way for a composer or sound designer to multiply the sounds they're working with, and to generate other effects for audio. Nuno generously provided our producer, Sam Keenan, with the Sound Particles software so he could learn about these software tools with regards to Sam's own music. Thank you so much, Nuno! There are some great FREE TOOLS on the Sound Particles website, including a highly accessible eBook called All You Need to Know About 3D Audio, and their YouTube also has a great series of videos if you don't feel like reading! And most importantly, if you're a student or an educator, you can get all of Sou

Kristin Naigus plays dozens of instruments and has performed on dozens of soundtracks. Here's a fraction of her credits: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Aragami 1 & 2, ABZU, Farpoint, various Minecraft mythology projects like the Egyptian, Norse and Chinese Mythology packs, Moss: Books 1 & 2, Darksiders Genesis, Hades, The Pathless, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Ambition: A Minuet in Power, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Psychonauts 2, Return to Monkey Island, MultiVersus, and Horizon: Forbidden West. We had such a great conversation and I loved picking her brain about her artistry and her work! I can't wait to have her back on the show. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Ed Critchley talks about his music for South of the Circle, a narrative adventure about an academic named Peter and his relationship with another lecturer named Clara. The game is set in the Cold War in the 60's in Antarctica. South of the Circle came out more than 2 years ago, which matters, because there were a couple of times Ed needed to listen to his tracks in order to know what I was talking about, understandably. I loved this soundtrack for its simplicity, and how remarkably consonant it is at times, under the weighty circumstances of the game. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Cris Velasco talks about his music for the game Dauntless, a co-op action RPG that debuted in 2019. This release is Cris's third volume of music from the game. We talk about the evolution of the score over the last several years, and how he takes instruments from all around the world to create the sound palette for the game. It's always so great having Cris on the show! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer scntfc (C. Andrew Rohrmann) talks about two of his scores for games: Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is from 2022 - an ecological adventure game about Gibbons. As a player, you swing, slide and somersault through the trees while learning about these special creatures. Andy's music is heavy on struck percussion, rhythmic and full of energy to match the near-constant motion of the game. JETT: The Far Shore (2021) sounds entirely different to support the game's sci-fi story in space. The first track sums it all up, designed as an overture to the music in JETT. They're both so good and I was grateful to Andy for spending so much time with me to talk about these wonderful scores.

Composer Austin Wintory talks about his music for Aliens: Fireteam Elite, a squad shooter from Cold Iron Studios. The game is a part of the Aliens universe, you know, the face-hugging, chest-exploding, H.R. Giger-designed Aliens. And the soundtrack is fabulous, with many subtle and less-subtle tributes to the famous film scores written by Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner and Elliot Goldenthal. You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer Maclaine Diemer's music for Salt and Sacrifice is grimy and unpolished. As producer Sam Keenan says, "You can make a cello sound a lot of ways, and he found a bunch of fun ones." Of course, Maclaine is best-known for his gorgeous, lush, epic orchestral music for Guild Wars 2. And this is definitely a departure from that in all the wonderful ways. I loved all the grit, and all of the guitar too. Maclaine, inspired by Led Zeppelin and Game Boy Star Wars. Loved it! Buy on Maclaine's Bandcamp! You can find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find us on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to special Discord events and special guest playlists.