GXM Podcast (Games X Music)

The last few years have seen a record number of music collaborations take place between game studios and the music industry, from massive virtual concerts on platforms like Fortnite and Roblox to a growing number of artists like Marshmello and Imagine Dragons setting up their own game studios. But where is the industry heading next? In this episode of GXM, Mat speaks to JP Kellams, former lead pro...

We’re back from what’s essentially been an extended hiatus to chat all things video game music! In this episode of GXM, we discuss the significance of Nintendo’s first commercial vinyl soundtrack release in the West as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild lands on vinyl. We also share our thoughts on the recent BAFTA Games in Concert, and why video game music was on top form at the GRAMMYs.  ––...

Is video game music this generation’s The Great American Songbook? On this week’s episode, we’re joined by two-time Tony and GRAMMY-winning composer and producer, Charlie Rosen, to talk about his journey from working on Broadway productions to creating big band jazz arrangements of video game music with the 8-Bit Big Band and why a golden age of video game covers and arrangements is heralding what...

What happens when you build a music game with a diverse range of influences spanning Jon Wick, Kill Bill and Batman Arkham Asylum? The answer is Dead as Disco: a neon-drenched beat 'em up where every punch and kick is synced to the BPM of music in the background. On this week's episode of the GXM Podcast, Mat speaks to the studio's CEO Will Cook to learn more about why the studio set o...

Mat and Tom regroup to cover a mountain of music and gaming stories! We discuss the never-ending hype around the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack, Duolingo’s acquisition of Nextbeat and what this means for the rhythm games Beatstar and Country Star, and why the new RedOctane Games studio could deliver the guitar rhythm game fans have been waiting for since Rock Star and Guitar Hero.  –––––––...

We’re back for another chatty summary of video game music news from the last couple of weeks. Tom returns from an Undertale concert – an experience he describes as one of the best vgm concerts he’s ever attended – but with so many new productions popping up, is there a risk of the video game concert space becoming saturated? We chat through this, share our music highlights from the video game summ...

Video game concerts are more popular than ever before, but what goes on behind the scenes to bring these productions to life? This week, we’re joined by Gaetano Fazio, founder of SOHO Live, to talk about the logistics of video game concerts, why they’re growing so popular, and SOHO Live’s upcoming productions of the Stardew Valley and Death Stranding concert tours. Enjoy!  –––––––––––––––––––––– W...

Sandfall Interactive’s debut RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has been an overwhelming success amongst critics and the official charts. With more than 90 million track streams on DSPs and top spots on the Billboard Classical Charts in less than one month after its release, Mat and Tom explain the hype behind the game’s original soundtrack and how its enjoying the same critical praise as the game...

Asterism is a playable album set in a hand-crafted solar system. Tom chats with artist and solo dev Claire Morwood (aka shimmerglitch) about how to keep 12 tracks’ worth of gameplay fresh, inspirations for the project (Outer Wilds, MTV music videos), and getting in the flow of physically making the game.  The game is available now on Steam and itch.io . –––––––––––––––––––––– Whether you work in t...

We’re back for more chatty news! After attending PlayStation The Concert in Manchester, Mat shares his thoughts on why it sets a new standard for game concerts but struggled to fill enough seats in the massive Co-Op Arena. We also explore Sabrina Carpenter’s concert in Fortnite, legal troubles over at Roblox and LOTS of video game composer news.  [Via GamesRadar ] Final Fantasy 14 and 16 composer...

Jessica Curry drops by to talk about her haunting new album with the London Voices, Shielding Songs, comprising 13 choral works from across her career including several from video games (out 13th June 2025.) Jess is co-founder of video game developer The Chinese Room and is also a BAFTA-winning composer who has scored seminal games including Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Her mus...

We’re back for more chatty news, covering a range of topics from VGM concerts, Overwatch 2’s pricing of Le Sserafim skins, composer corner (pour one out for soundtracks to cancelled games) and badly named rhythm game peripherals.  In the news…  Via Billboard , ‘Death Stranding’ Concert World Tour Announced For 2025 and 2026 Via PCGamer , Overwatch 2 is launching another Le Sserafim collab with 'mo...

We're uncoupling our industry interviews from our more chatty, news-centred shows to get podcast episodes to you faster while making sure news pieces remain topical.  This episode, Tom interviews Aaron Hamel, Label Director at Materia Music, a video game record label, music publisher and rights administrator. Aaron is perhaps best known as the co-founder of the video game record label Ship to Shor...

This week’s episode marks a new format for the show where topical news and guest interviews will be split into different episodes. This means we can get episodes out faster while ensuring news pieces remain topical - so if you truly never want to miss what’s happening in the world of video games and music, make sure you subscribe!  In this episode, we chat about our recent appearances on video gam...

Tom interviews musician and producer Josh Trinnaman, the driving force behind Cactuar Collective – an experimental math rock take on Nobuo Uematsu’s classic PlayStation 1 Final Fantasy scores taking influence from artists such as Snarky Puppy, Periphery, The Mars Volta and Knower. They talk about Uematu’s composition style, drum chops, incorporating his original sounds into their covers, and how t...

It’s time for the 2024 Alternative Video Game Music Awards! Anthony John Agnello joins us for an alternative twist on the traditional end-of-year Awards categories to celebrate an eclectic selection of weird, wonderful, and unfortunately-too-long video game soundtracks from 2024.  A big thank you to Pierre and his NowPlaying video game music newsletter which continues to be the ultimate source for...

BBC Radio 3, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & others recently created a pilot virtual experience for its Sound of Gaming video game concert, but how will the technology evolve, and is this an exciting milestone in solving accessibility challenges around live music events?  We chatted to composer and conductor Eímear Noone, best known for her video game music orchestral tours and work on World...

For Star Wars: Outlaws, Cody Matthew Johnson took a musicological approach to the various hives of scum and villainy when he was asked to create an entire album of diegetic music for the Cantina bars in Star Wars: Outlaws. The resulting album, “Songs from the Underworld” is full of bangers, bringing together an otherworldly mix of music from EDM and futuristic pop to guttural grooves and world fus...

Licensed music has always played an important role in video games, and the ways in which licensed music can be integrated into games are constantly evolving. Vickie Nauman founder and CEO of consultancy and advisory firm CrossBorderWorks, joins us to discuss the biggest trends impacting music in video games and the growing relationship between major record labels and video game studios.  News - 00...

When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released on the PlayStation 25 years ago today, no one could have known the impact it would have on not just skate culture, but music culture too. What started as low expectations for an extreme skateboarding game went on to become one of the best-selling video game franchises at the time, with estimated sales of more than 30 million. In an era where there was no Yo...

We’re joined by the multi-instrumentalist and singer Lacey Johnson , who has found success on YouTube, TikTok and beyond with hundreds of video game music covers and energetic music videos. Lacey chats about how she chooses tracks to cover, the state of YouTube for VGM artists, and the soundtracks that inspire her.    News 00:04:00 Topic - Lacey Johnson intro - 00:24:20 Interview - Lacey Johnson -...

Tom explores how music is ‘implemented’ in Disneyland Paris and finds several ways in which it is similar to adaptive video game music, high-intensity arcade games, and how too much music can be oppressive. Like the virtual spaces found in games, Disneyland is a carefully designed, highly artificial space, and it’s obvious there’s a guiding hand directing the musical experience.   News 00:02:23 To...

Tom discusses chiptune, jazz, and genre with Demon Throttle composer Scott Mitchell aka ZBW. They circle around composer Aivi Tran’s ‘Digital Fusion’ as a more inclusive genre name than ‘Chiptune’; it also overcomes the negative connotations of ‘fake-bit’ or ‘post-chiptune’.  News: 00:03:33  Topic introduction: 00:27:10 Topic: 00:28:01 60-Second Recommendations: 01:17:15 In the news…  Via Emmy Awa...

From K-Pop collaborations with NewJeans and BTS to one-off activations with musicians like Tiesto and Aurora, video game studios are making a concerted effort to engage with the music industry, but why? Music and gaming consultant, Eric Tan, joins us to provide insight into some of the gaming industry’s biggest music collaborations from the perspective of his time at Riot Games and Sony Music, whi...

Mat and Tom talk about their favourite music from trailers, video games with an aesthetic core built around music, and games where music is a central mechanic. They cover that Gears of War E-Day music moment; Life is Strange, Mixtape, and coming-of-age games; music creation toy Oddada; and composer reveal announcements. News: 00:06:49 Topic: 00:30:41 60-Second Recommendations: 01:08:53 In the news...