LACED WITH WAX

Young Gallic composer Yoann Laulan opens up about his classical influences, game jamming his way into the industry, and what it’s like to score an early access game.

Read more

Listening to classical music can be glorious, even life-changing, but it’s a field that’s daunting to navigate. We highlight some accessible (but still brilliant) classical works that fans of video game music will love — with the help of composers Jessica Curry, Austin Wintory and Lloyd Coleman, podcaster Emily Reese, and the Videri Quartet.

Read more

Laced With Wax’s blog editor jots down some quick thoughts on what we even mean by ‘video game music’; and what resides under the VGM umbrella.

Read more

In our final Ode to Joysticks excerpts piece, we hear from the likes of Jessica Curry, PlayStation, and C64Audio.com about reimagining video game music through live performance — and how a Game Boy is actually a versatile instrument. By Thomas Quillfeldt and Ben Eshmade

Read more

Ever sing along to a video game song? Learn the lyrics to an emotive title theme? We asked a bunch of VGM connoisseurs about their favourite original vocal tracks from games.

Read more

We spoke to concept artist and illustrator Kellan Jett, one of the minds behind indie story-em-up Where The Water Tastes Like Wine — about the game’s aesthetic, his OST vinyl sleeve, and tips for aspiring artists. By Thomas Quillfeldt

Read more

Depictions of hell, and similar demon dimensions, are common in video games — we delved into the depths to find some devilishly dark music that’s been used to soundtracked virtual hellscapes.

Read more

Part 2 of our edited quotes from the Ode to Joysticks podcasts features Austin Wintory, Jesper Kyd, Eímear Noone and others musing on the value of game music in immersing players in otherworldly settings. By Thomas Quillfeldt and Ben Eshmade

Read more

We teased out some choice quotes from the experts interviewed in the video game music podcast series Ode to Joysticks. Part 1 explores the musical creativity of the leading ’80s chiptune composers.

Read more

We were inspired to take a snapshot of some fantastic composers and recent video game scores from across six continents.

Read more

We talked to three co-hosts of Sound of Play, a podcast dedicated to video game music, about the origins of the show, their favourite eras of game music and advice for others thinking of launching a pod.

Read more

Laced With Wax spoke to Where the Water Tastes Like Wine composer Ryan Ike to find out how he and his cohort of collaborators approached the intimidating brief: ‘Create a soundtrack that encapsulates the whole of the USA.’ No sweat.

Read more

We chatted to composer, arranger and orchestrator David Peacock about his lifelong love of video game music, how one goes about rearranging classic tracks (when the original composer is looking over your shoulder) and the collaborative nature of the VGM community.

Read more

We highlight some more beautiful and bonkers vinyl sets that show how inventive artists, labels and designers can be with the format.

Read more

We interviewed Benedykt Szneider, creative director of Reikon Games’ debut title RUINER, about its marketing-led development, cyberpunk influences and what the soundtrack vinyl means to him. By Thomas Quillfeldt

Read more