Composer Lennie Moore wrote such gorgeous music for Outcast - A New Beginning that it made me mad, no exaggeration. It's so pleasing harmonically with fantastic melodies and transitions, and outstanding musicianship from the soloists and performers.

Live choir, live soloists, live orchestra - and you can tell. The music has breath and life.

Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Lennie Moore on the Level with Emily YouTube channel.

PLAYLIST

by Lennie Moore for Outcast: A New Beginning unless noted otherwise

00:00 Outcast Main Titles

03:54 Tower of Humanity

06:08 Galenta

16:53 Bidaa

18:27 Outcast Main Titles

20:05 Okksanar

22:24 Daokas

29:25 Galenta

34:05 Okksanar

38:53 Outcast Theme (featuring Manu Delago)

40:20 Outcast Theme (featuring Manu Delago)

41:48 WFA Fortress

42:52 Pillars of Saar

44:51 Almayel’s Prophecy

54:12 Desan

1:13:47 Plains of Sanon

1:15:26 Kizaar

1:21:03 Prokriana

1:25:08 Heights of Adoron

1:28:08 Sappa

1:37:56 Danger Ahead!

1:40:52 They’re Everywhere!

1:41:20 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

We're so happy to have Zac Tiessen back on Level to talk about a new project he worked on with his fine artist brother, Josh Tiessen!

Zac wrote music for a series of paintings called Vanitas + Viriditas. You can hear the music here (and elsewhere). It's really gorgeous music, with outstanding live performers like singer Julie Elven, the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and more.

Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Zac on the Level with Emily YouTube channel. Find Level with Emily on Patreon.

PLAYLIST by Zac Tiessen from Vanitas + Viriditas unless noted otherwise

00:00 Sophia

04:53 Harbinger from Streams in the Wasteland

06:26 Memento Mori

09:54 Sophia

10:48 Qohelet

12:58 Sophia

18:49 The Kairos Stones

19:58 All Creatures Praise

22:02 Auguries of Innocence

25:41 Vanitas + Viriditas

30:48 Vanitas + Viriditas

38:21 Qohelet

39:39 In This Birch Grove

41:29 In This Birch Grove

42:18 In This Birch Grove

46:11 The Kairos Stones

48:05 Memento Mori

51:53 Auguries of Innocence

54:30 Vanitas + Viriditas

55:08 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

Composer Tom Salta talks about his extremely frightening music for The Outlast Trials, the third installment of the Outlast series. It's always a joy to have Tom on, and I manage to learn something new every time we talk! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to exclusive merch, Discord events and special guest playlists. PLAYLIST by Tom Salta for The Outlast Trials unless noted otherwise 00:00 Let the Trials Begin 05:03 (in background: John Carpenter, Halloween Main Title) 06:00 Let the Trials Begin 07:24 Let the Trials Begin 08:16 Let the Trials Begin 08:42 Let the Trials Begin 10:00 Let the Trials Begin 14:37 Little Angels 15:49 The Root Canal 18:40 Motherless Children 23:18 The Weight of Memories 24:45 Come to the Fair 26:54 Brush Your Teeth 28:01 Brush Your Teeth 30:27 (recording of the Thomas Edison doll) 32:53 Can’t Get it Out of Your Head 37:12 Burden of Skeletons 40:26 Killjoys Aren’t Allowed Here 45:50 We’re All Getting Better Together 53:29 Well Done 53:53 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

Peter McConnell is such a master of cinematic music. He recently scored Psychonauts 2, a game released by Double Fine Productions. At the time I interviewed Peter, I had only gotten a few hours into the game and the soundtrack wasn’t out yet, so I hadn’t even heard all of the music. I finished the game, and now that I’ve heard all of the music in Psychonauts 2, I can tell you that it’s so fantastic. I wish I could put it all in this episode. And the game is great too. The game is a breath of fresh air in its treatment of dark issues in a light way. Please consider supporting Level with Emily on Patreon!  

 

Joel Corelitz composed more than 70 tracks for the game Eastward, scheduled for release later in 2021. The music, like the game, pays tribute to the 8-bit and 16-bit era of games, with Joel's musical voice and a modern twist at times. It's colorful, nostalgic, creative and enjoyable. Here's a link to the soundtrack! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

This is music by Sergio Ronchetti for Eldest Souls, a boss rush souls-like game with beautiful pixel art and a fun battle style. So you’ll die a lot!! But the music is great incentive to keep slashing away at oversized, overpowered bosses. Please consider supporting us on Patreon!

We love getting caught up with Jason Graves to hear what he's composed lately! He's been working on The Dark Pictures Anthology, composing for the first chapter, "Man of Medan" and now for "Little Hope." It was fun to speak with him about the stark differences in those 2 soundtracks, and how he created the spooky soundtrack for "Little Hope." Support Level with Emily and see a playlist on Patreon!

Composer Kenny Young talks about his music for Astro's Playroom, which comes on all PlayStation 5 consoles. It's a sequel to Astro Bot Rescue Mission, which was for PlayStation VR. Learn more and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Oleksa Lozowchuk composed music for Horizon Forbidden West. The game isn’t out yet, nor is the soundtrack, but Sony Classical - the label for the soundtrack - released a 4-track EP of music from Forbidden West, including one of Oleksa’s tracks, “Eyes Open.” So Oleksa and I had a chance to talk about that.

But also, Sony released a State of Play video with about 20 minutes of gameplay, including a battle with a machine animal called a tremortusk. Oleksa wrote the music for that battle, and we chat about that track too. Support Level with Emily on Patreon.

The Soundlings, a composition duo of Sonny Rey and Matt Naylor, just did the music for Knockout City, which is, at its essence, multiplayer dodgeball, just out at the end of May. The music is energetic and colorful, with a lot of great live musicians and the three of us had a great time talking about their music! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

League of Legends is an institution! And there are so many avenues within the League universe for music and fun. I spoke with Kole Hicks, Brendon Williams and Jason Walsh, all of whom write music for League or one of its many offshoots. It was a pleasure to speak with them! Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

I stumbled across Kyle Athayde and his band in a unique way. I first discovered Kyle as a jazz vibraphonist while listening to one of my current favorite jazz pianists, a guy named Sullivan Fortner. Sullivan’s newest album is a duo album with Kyle on vibes (called Tea For Two). I hadn’t heard of Kyle, so I went to YouTube and typed in Kyle Athayde. His band, the Kyle Athayde Dance Party,  came up with a bunch of video game covers, and there were also links to videos of his days as a professional Smash Bros player. So I immediately emailed him and scheduled an interview. It was great fun talking with Kyle about games and jazz! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Tom Salta is a composer I’ve interviewed many times for Level about his music for the Halo series, our first interview was for a game called From Dust, we’ve talked about PUBG before, and we’ve been together on panels and such. Rather than talk about his music today, we’ll talk about a series of classes he has online about writing music for games. You can see a playlist and support Level on Patreon.

During our Next Level discussion about this very episode, our friend Sacha counted up how many times we've had Jason Graves on an episode of Level, and Level's friend, Top Score. Six times on Top Score, six times on Level, and this marks the 13th ep dedicated to his music. Best part is, we know there will be many more! This time, it's all about battle royale and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II DLC called Warzone. The Warzone maps are DLC for Modern Warfare II players, and Jason's released a soundtrack of the music from them. It's always great having him on the show - I always learn something about his approach and I can't wait our next conversation! Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Jason on the Level with Emily YouTube channel. PLAYLIST by Jason Graves for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Warzone unless noted otherwise 00:00 Welcome to Al Mazrah 5:10 Unearthed 10:54 Unearthed 14:06 Enemy Anthem 15:07 Welcome to Al Mazrah 15:35 Power Broker 21:22 Resurfacing 24:13 Perilous 27:10 Controlled Chaos 38:11 Welcome to Al Mazrah 38:42 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

Enjoy a deep dive into music from No Way Home by composer Brad Gentle. I loved the variety in the music and I was drawn to the ambient tracks where Brad used recordings of planets from NASA. No Way Home is a space shooter on Apple Arcade by SMG Studio out of Australia. Support Level with Emily on Patreon.

This episode features a chat with Jack Wall about his music for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. The score features live orchestra and live choir, which posed quite a challenge during the pandemic, but you wouldn’t know it because it all sounds great. The score is a bit of a family affair for Jack, with lyrics written by his wife, Cindy Shapiro, and vocals by their daughter, Gracie. Jack also wrote lyrics for the soundtrack. It is always a pleasure to have Jack on Level and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music he wrote for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War.

Gordy Haab's music in the Star Wars gaming universe is fantastic. His new addition is Star Wars: Squadrons, a space combat game that fulfills most Star Wars fans' dream of flying X-wings and TIE Fighters. The music is so great. Enjoy! Support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Composers Mikolai Stroinski (The Witcher 3) and Garry Schyman (BioShock series, Torn) teamed up to write music for Metamorphosis, a 3D platformer based on Franz Kafka's 1915 novella. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Pianist Rob Kovacs talks about his amazing and difficult arrangements of 8-bit music for piano! See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Nicole Zalles is in her final year of medical school, she's a gamer, and she's a patron of Level. I talk with her about some of her favorite game music. See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Here are two tracks from Inon Zur's upcoming score to Syberia: The World Before. The music is performed by the Budapest Film Orchestra and I can't wait to hear the rest of the soundtrack! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Signs of the Sojourner is a narrative deck-building card game about communication. This is easily one of my favorite soundtracks of 2020 and one I know I’ll return to for years to come. It was a suuuuuuuch a pleasure to talk with Steve about his music!! You can support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Tim Wright -- aka CoLD SToRAGE -- composed music for the game Pacer, which is an anti-gravity racing game with elements of combat. It’s a spiritual successor to the Wipeout series which started in the mid-90s, and Tim wrote the music for 3 of the Wipeout games. It was a pleasure to speak with Tim! He has an extensive catalog available on Bandcamp that includes his Wipeout music, be sure to check it out. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Hear composer Jesse Harlin talk about his music for Mafia: Definitive Edition. The game is a remake of the first Mafia game, which came out in 2002, but with completely new music written by Jesse. We’ve had Jesse on the show twice before; once was for Yoku’s Island Express in 2018 and in 2016, Jesse was on Level to talk about his work on Mafia 3. That was mostly a blues score, but the score for Mafia: Definitive Edition is entirely orchestral. Support Level with Emily Reese and see a playlist on Patreon.

Composer Steve Pardo got to write music for one of the most musically famous franchises of all time in Cypher 007, the newest game from James Bond. And it's great! I love how the soundtrack fits seamlessly into the fabric of the stealthy Apple Arcade game.

Steve and I talk about how neat that is, how great John Barry's original music is and a lot more in this week's chat.

You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to exclusive merch, Discord events and special guest playlists.

PLAYLIST by Steve Pardo for Cypher 007 unless noted otherwise

00:00 The James Bond Theme (from Dr. No) by Monty Norman and John Barry, arranged by Steve Pardo 11:25 The James Bond Theme (from Dr. No) by Monty Norman and John Barry 15:34 The James Bond Theme (from Dr. No) by Monty Norman and John Barry, arranged by Steve Pardo 17:06 The John Dunbar Theme (from Dances with Wolves) by John Barry 17:30 (Main Title) I Had a Farm in Africa from Out of Africa by John Barry 21:07 Damp Echo 23:02 Decipher 29:02 Decipher 30:17 Back of the Neck 35:05 GoldenEye Watch Music by Grant Kirkhope 37:29 Bloody Martini 40:29 Broad Daylight 41:25 Escape 43:01 Escape 44:25 The Traitor 51:56 Ghost 53:17 cut chase scene music 55:55 Dark Hallways 59:28 The James Bond Theme (from Dr. No) by Monty Norman and John Barry, arranged by Steve Pardo 1:00:04 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

I love the Spiritfarer soundtrack. It was a pleasure to talk with Max LL about his music for Spiritfarer. We also talk about Jøtun and Sundered. All three are made by Thunder Lotus Games in Montreal in Quebec in Canada. It's worth repeating: I love this soundtrack. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Please consider supporting Level with Emily on Patreon!

I spoke with YouTuber Stephen Sharer about his new app called Rocket Slide. Stephen's channel is full of family-friendly content, positivity and vibrant colors. It was a pleasure to speak with him about all the videos he makes. Support Level with Emily on Patreon!

Composer Cris Velasco's music for Carrion is fantastic, and definitely check out the story about the album art. Find the playlist and support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Charlie Rosen talks about running The 8-Bit Big Band. See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Ubisoft released an EP of music by Jesper Kyd, Sarah Schachner and Einar Selvik from the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Valhalla game due out in November. Here's a review of what they released.  

On occasion, I'm offered the opportunity to interview a composer about a film or tv series rather than a game. I tend to pass on those chances, but I couldn't refuse the opportunity to speak with composer Larry Goldings. I was familiar with his name as a jazz pianist and Hammond B3 organist, since my day job is as a jazz radio morning show host. He's recorded prolifically, and he's in my radio playlist on a weekly basis. He's a fantastic musician and I was taken with his music for the miniseries Self Made: Inspired by the Life and Madam C.J. Walker. So we talk about the music he composed for that show (which I thoroughly enjoyed watching), and numerous other aspects of Larry's life as a musician. Be sure to check out his Patreon page! See a playlist on our Patreon page.

Nick Marinelli talks about leaving MAGFest after so many years to run Video Games in Concert, a video game band booking agency. We also talked about how he achieved his most recent platinum trophy, which he got in Horizon Zero Dawn. You can see a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Orchestrator and composer Eric Buchholz talks about what it means to be an orchestrator, and how that job fits into the pipeline of getting a soundtrack recorded. See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Edward Patrick White talks about the music he composed for Gears Tactics, a new game in the Gears of War franchise that turned the third person shooter into a turn-based tactics game with an overhead view. Support Level with Emily on Patreon!

Composer Thomas Parisch talks about his music for the Biped, a co-op action adventure game. See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Composer Ross Tregenza is back for a deep dive into the music and sound he created and composed for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. We also talk about his music for Deathloop, which earned him a BAFTA nomination, and his ubiquitous music in Cyberpunk 2077. I love every minute of all of it. And I loved talking with Ross about these projects, including his industrial band Goteki. Hot tip, all of their music is available as a FREE download on Bandcamp. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to exclusive merch, Discord events and special guest playlists. PLAYLIST by Ross Tregenza for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre unless noted otherwise 00:00 Who Will Survive (Overture) 10:53 Bizarre Crimes 14:15 Blunt-Headed Hammer 16:26 And What Will Be Left Of Them (Credits) 18:28 And What Will Be Left Of Them (Credits) 20:08 And What Will Be Left Of Them (Credits) 27:04 The Gas Station 33:20 Cyberpunk 2077 Ads 34:10 Cyberpunk 2077 Ads 35:06 Cyberpunk 2077 Ads 39:00 Wrong Side of the Mirror from Deathloop 39:46 Sun Goes Down from Deathloop 41:05 Sun Goes Down from Deathloop 42:03 Heartbreaker from Deathloop 42:45 Heartbreaker from Deathloop 43:44 The Dahlia’s Lounge from Deathloop 45:29 Wolves by Goteki from Songs from the Void 49:35 Wolves by Goteki from Songs from the Void 50:45 Saucermen by Goteki from MMXX 52:38 Boneshaker by Goteki from Boneshaker 1:11:58 The Massacre (Main Theme) 1:12:47 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

Gareth Coker wrote a giant score for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the sequel to 2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest. It’s fabulous, and we talk about several aspects of it. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Composers Igor Nemirovsky and Kenny Wood talk about their music for Amoeba Battle. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Composer Helge Borgarts is a part of BowsToHymns, a group of three composers that write music for media. Helge talks about the music he created with his music partner, Thomas Stanger, for The Surge 2. You'll find a playlist on Patreon.

Here is a panel Emily did at this year's VGM Con. We hope to see you there again next year!! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Andrew Prahlow talks about his music for Outer Wilds. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Charles McGregor talks about his music and designing his game, Hyperdot. You'll find a playlist and you can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Emily talks about upcoming episodes of Level with Emily Reese and what games she's currently playing. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Enjoy the chat with Justin E. Bell about his music for The Outer Worlds. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Composer Trent Moriarty talks about his music for the Skyrim mod, Legacy of the Dragonborn. You can see a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Into the weeds, perhaps a bit too far, on a portion of a delightful track by Justin E. Bell called "Edgewater" for The Outer Worlds. On the Official Soundtrack, "Edgewater" includes both of the themes that are heard in the town called Edgewater. This video contains the second half of that full track from the OST, which is what I focus on for this demonstration. You can support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Voice actor Morla Gorrondona has created some iconic characters in games, from Eris Morn in Destiny 2 to Naafiri in League of Legends. It's such a pleasure to hear her talk about her process of creating a new person or creature for a game. You'll hear samples of her acting in the show. Yay! 

You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube and Twitter. Patrons have access to exclusive merch, Discord events and special guest playlists.

Composer and Grammy-award winning producer Steve Levine talks about creating the music for HyperBrawl Tournament. Special thanks to Universal Audio #UAD for making the introduction to Steve. You can support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Composer Mikolai Stroinski talks about his music for Bee Simulator. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Quick update on our work on Half-Life: Alyx, our roles at Level, Emily's woes with Clash Royale and what she's playing, underscored by Cal Tjader playing "Tanya" off his Soul Sauce record. Tasty! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.