AudioPanicRoom

Just another bunch of random stuff which I have been listening to lately. And by lately, I mean for the last 30 years or so. Enjoy the show! Continue reading →

The style of French composer Stéphane Picq is one of the most unique within the world of video game music. Drawing from a wide range of influences, his soundtracks mix elements like ethnic rhythms, electronic and acoustic instruments, dysphonic vocals, industrial, techno, or trance, often even in the same track. The result is a strangely hypnotic sound that is hard to classify to any particular ge...

IDES was the parent company of labels like Cocktail Soft, Fairytale, or Red Zone and one of the most prolific publishers of visual novels during the 1990s. With musicians like Akira Sato, Yuki Nakayama, Ryu Takami, or BAKI they also had a fairly impressive line-up of composers that created a huge library of awesome FM soundtracks on Japanese computers from that era. Continue reading →

The term 'chiptune' was originally coined for a sub-genre of Amiga music that incorporated instruments similar to those found in the music of 8-bit computers like the C64. Popular with the demo scene, this particular style was also frequently used in game soundtracks from that era. In this podcast we look back at almost 30 years of chiptune making, from the early beginnings with SIDMon and Protrac...

Hiroaki Sano spent much of his early career composing for visual novels of publishers like Discovery or Studio Twinkle. As a master of both FM synth and MIDI arrangements, his soundtracks are pretty good showcases for the stylistic diversity within the music of this genre. This podcast features a selection of tracks that he composed for the PC-9801. Continue reading →

In the early 90s the C64 gaming market started to dry up as most developers had moved on to 16 bit computers and consoles. This gap was partially filled by a number of disk magazines, like those issued by German publisher CP Verlag. And while the games on these disks were usually nothing to write home about; their soundtracks, often created by people from the demo scene, were a last hurrah for gam...

Another mixtape with no particular theme. This time we are hanging out with the titular human insects, swing down the highway of funk, and brave the data storm while harboring forbidden feelings for King Golli. Continue reading →

Lock up your daughters, get out the air guitar, and crank the volume up to eleven! This is FM Metal, a collection of some of the finest metal tracks to ever grace FM sound chips. Continue reading →

We close out the 80's with a look at the state of game music in 1989. As usual, the playlist is ordered by release date. Continue reading →

Kenichi Arakawa is mostly known for his work on visual novels like Jewel Bem Hunter Lime or the Viper series. He got his start composing in the doujin scene, contributing music to a number of PC-88 disk mags under the alias Thomas Brown, before moving on to (mainly) work for Silence and its adult brands Sogna and C-Class. This podcast spotlights this early part of his career, featuring music compo...

Thalamus was a British publisher, mostly known for their small, but fine selection of C64 releases, which included some of the most impressive games on the system. Equally impressive were their soundtracks, composed by an assortment of SID legends, like Rob Hubbard, Jeroen Tel, Martin Walker, Matt Gray, or Steve Rowlands. This podcast features a selection of some of Thalamus' best tracks on the C6...

We're back with another un-themed selection of great tunes. An assortment of orcs, bees, evil aliens, and other delightful things is waiting for you on this edition of Audio Panic Room. Continue reading →

Welcome to the wonderful world of pinball music! This episode features a fairly eclectic mix of music from real pinball machines, demo scene-influenced Amiga and DOS soundtracks, awesome hard rock from 90s-era pinball games, and (almost) anything in between. Continue reading →

A look at the year 1988 in game music. The year that saw the first CD and MIDI soundtracks, arcade boards started the transition from FM to PCM, and some real classics were released on the NES. Meanwhile in Europe the C64 had reached its commercial peak in a market that was slowly being taken over by the new generation of 16-bit computers. As always, the playlist is in rough chronological order. C...

A tribute to the late Ryu Umemoto and his work on the PC-9801. In the West, he is mostly known for his contributions to various Cave arcade shooters, but in Japan his claim to fame comes from these expertly crafted FM-synth soundtracks he composed for various visual novels in the 90s. Continue reading →

We are back with another episode featuring a diverse range of topics such as puzzle games, cowboys, haunted houses, and rampant passions. Continue reading →

A look at the state of video game music in 1987. The games are roughly in chronological order according to their release dates. Continue reading →

A sack full of covers, some more silly than others. First person to laugh at this gets punched in the face. Continue reading →

A little excursion into the wonderful world of Roland's LA synth modules. Continue reading →

A podcast featuring a selection of tracks from Charles Deenen's fairly diverse catalog of music. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Another episode with no particular theme, bringing you a selection of great tracks from the vault of video game music. Continue reading →

A look at some of the best game music from 1986. As with the previous episode, I tried to put the tracks in roughly chronological order. Continue reading →

A tribute to Masahiro Kajihara, one of the most prolific composers on FM-based sound hardware. He is probably best known for his work on the Princess Maker series, but he also played an integral part in the creation of the Japanese computer music scene of the '90s as his PMD sound drivers were widely used for game soundtracks and demo music. Continue reading →

No special theme this time, just a selection of (hopefully) good music. Continue reading →

1985 was arguably one of the most important years for video game music. Most major arcade developers made the switch from PSG to FM, composers like Rob Hubbard and Martin Galway began to unlock the full potential of the SID, and soundtracks in general became more complex and varied in style and structure. Continue reading →