Vinyl of the Month: the charm of video games

Vinyl of the Month: Haruomi Hosono

Remember the pac-man video game? Or phozon and galaga? Here is a vinyl dedicated to it all.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but you need to be aware that this may not be regarded as music to many.

Haruomi Hosono was one of the first producers to recognize the appeal of video game sounds and music. His band – Yellow Magic Orchestra’s self-titled debut in 1978 – contained substantial video game sounds and after YMO disbanded an early project was an album simply titled Video Game Music containing mixed and edited Namco arcade game music and sounds.

Video Game Music was released in 1984 as an early example of a chiptune record and the first video game music album.

Artist: Haruomi Hosono
Label: Yen/Alfa Records Inc.
Catalog no.: YLR-20003
Pressing: Japan
Release Year: 1984

There is much joy for us when Mappy comes up. All we could imagine is some sort of a cowboy making a fool of himself, acting perhaps. Following that track, Libble Rabble fare anything less familiar and caught us all by surprise when Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was also included.

Its eighth track titled New Rally-X is just what you might want to hear when your character attained coins or that extra point from reaching that high-strung apple from a digital tree. Be aware though that an explosion is still neither far nor impossible as the irritating and decreasing tone signifies the end of the game, very possibly due to your own doing.

The same year, Hosono also produced the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki’s popular anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, “Kaze no Tani no Naushika”, with vocals by actress-singer Narumi Yasuda.

Comical may just be a straightforward statement for many of us, but this cult-ish album is anything but trite. Classic video game sonic experience, this album is all fun and economically addictive. Who wouldn’t want this on their shelves reserved under the Classics section?

To purchase the vinyl, please visit Snow Records’ official website here.

The post Vinyl of the Month: the charm of video games appeared first on Music Press Asia.