Primeval

DOS, NES, and SNES melodies were constantly running through my 12-year-old brain. Now that I'm older I've been able to go back and fill in the gaps. Recently I've been exploring the soundtracks from games and systems I never owned (especially the Sharp X68000 and the NEC PC-98). I've also been listening to a bit of dungeon synth... so you may hear a bit of everything in this album. It isn't designed to be any one thing, it's just the music I like to make. It's a tribute to those who crafted the soundtracks of our childhoods.

Let's take a journey. The album begins with a couple songs dedicated to the early days of DOS gaming. This may sound similar to the NES, but the typical Yamaha sound chips found in PC sound cards could be used in a greater variety of ways.

Then, in the 90's, midi became a thing and PC gaming music was drastically changed. You didn't have to rely on PSG/PCM anymore; you could use emulated instruments... many of these "instruments" had that distinct cheesy midi sound, but you could use them in interesting ways. The hardware had to support this, so you'd have your standard sound card plus midi. This is why you had to select separate sound devices for music and sound effects. The OPL sound chips could work to emulate these instruments using wav and FM synthesis... This had a really interesting, slightly buzzier sound, but it worked well.

So, in this album, I'm using a variety of styles including PSG, FM-Synth, SNES-style sound fonts, and midi... including the fancy midi sounds of the Roland Sound Canvas.

Enjoy!

Pixel art by mr_pistooki