Level With Emily Reese

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 Innoce

We loved having bandleader and drummer/percussionist Dom Palombi back to talk about his new album, Dom Palombi's Game Night! Vol. 2. There are about twice as many musicians on this album than on Vol. 1, with what Dom describes as more personal track choices than before. The musicianship is just beyond measure, and it's a fun, adventurous, delightful, funky romp through some great tunes. The three originals are fantastic. ENJOY! Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube.  PLAYLIST from Dom Palombi’s Game Night, Vol 2 00:00 Wings That Cross Time (from Chrono Trigger), feat. Andrew Sumabat, Josh Vasquez 7:48 Bad Guys - Kerning City (from Maplestory), feat. Super Guitar Bros, Charlie Rosen, MegaRan 9:29 Bad Guys - Kerning City (from Maplestory), feat. Super Guitar Bros, Charlie Rosen, MegaRan 10:34 Wings That Cross Time (from Chrono Trigger), feat. Andrew Sumabat, Josh Vasquez sans (from Undertale), feat. Skatune Network, Ryan Slatko 12:00 Monkey Target (from Super Monkey Ball 2), feat. Insan

Composer Chase Bethea talks about his music for Stardander: School for Witches, a Harry potter-esque narrative turn-based battle adventure game where you learn spells and solve mysteries. The music is mysterious at times, with winding melodies and unexpected instrumentation. His mom sings too, which is great! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord. Find this conversation on YouTube. PLAYLIST by Chase Bethea for Stardander School for Witches unless noted otherwise 00:00 The Conjurations of Touchstone 3:46 Daily Activities 6:20 Daily Activities 9:28 Daily Activities Choice Reminder 11:26 Investigations 13:18 Stardander School Song Anthem 14:47 Trouble and Mystery 17:02 Fall Festival 23:16 Clearing the Forest 25:10 Clearing the Forest 27:56 Fae Reign Supreme 31:48 Protector of Renar City 36:16 The Inventor’s Imprudence 37:43 Cloaked in Rivalry 39:58 Cloaked in Rivalry 44:53 Twilight Patrol 45:48 Discovery Circle 46:18 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

Composer Thomas Brunet talks about his absolutely stunning music for Chants of Sennaar in this episode. We love how spontaneous the music sounds, and the colorful, creative instrument palette. In addition to the wonderful music, Thomas and I talk about a new graduate program he's created for music and sound design in Bordeaux, France, as well as his love for and knowledge of French literature. Composer Thomas Brunet talks about his absolutely stunning music for Chants of Sennaar in this episode. We love how spontaneous the music sounds, and the colorful, creative instrument palette. In addition to the wonderful music, Thomas and I talk about a new graduate program he's created for music and sound design in Bordeaux, France, as well as his love for and knowledge of French literature. PLAYLIST by Thomas Brunet for Chants of Sennaar unless noted otherwise 00:00 Out Of The Cavern And Into The Light 06:11 The Cogs Of Science 14:06 Smell Of Rain 20:47 A Bit Of Fun 29:20 Envers 31:20 Envers

A little more than two years ago, Erik Desiderio was on Level to talk about music he'd written for Last Epoch, which was in early access at the time. Erik is back to talk about all of the music he's written for the game since we spoke in 2022. Also, Last Epoch is about to get its official release, and the Game Music Ensemble of UCLA is going to play Erik's music from the game live, with Erik conducting. This gave us many reasons to chat! That concert, by the way, will apparently be streamed? Unsure, check here and here! The concert is on Saturday, February 24th at 7 PM PST (UTC-8). PLAYLIST by Erik Desiderio for Last Epoch unless noted otherwise 00:00 Last Epoch Theme 09:03 Keeper’s Camp 14:28 The End of Ruin 17:48 The Surface 19:22 Burning Forest 28:36 What She Left to Remember 31:54 Shadow’s Whisper 46:32 Eterra 48:30 The End of Ruin 50:32 Fires Before Dawn 57:40 The End of Time 59:58 The End of Time 1:06:04 Above the Black 1:08:20 Bastion of the Sun 1:09:17 In Preparation 1:09:54 Other Sprouts by Sam

This is such gorgeous music by Dale North for Astral Ascent. Fully orchestral (a mix of real and samples), lush and full - and sometimes it ascends! Like the game!    Definitely check out the conversation Sam and I had about it on Next Level.    Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Dale North on the Level with Emily YouTube channel.   PLAYLIST by Dale North for Astral Ascent unless noted otherwise 00:00 Opening Cinematic 01:00 Main Menu 05:44 Fragmented Plains - Exploration 12:16 Crimson Highlands - Combat 18:54 Main Menu 23:24 Fragmented Plains - Combat 29:38 The Master - Phase 2 (feat. Emi Evans) 32:34 Andromeda’s Bar 35:19 Echoes Room 35:58 The Yalee Kingdom 38:37 The Garden 40:12 Short Intro 43:59 Choral Archipelago - Exploration 46:18 Red Barrens - Exploration 49:27 Event Horizon 50:22 The Void 51:40 Sun & Moon 52:54 The Master - Phase 1 (feat. Emi Evans) 53:24 Fight Theme 53:48 Other Sprouts - Sam Keenan

I loved talking with Terence and Janice so much about their wonderful music for such a fabulous game. The music for Tunic is a glorious blend of synths and acoustic piano, with waves of (often) consonant sound. Plus, you get to play as an adorable fox! Terence and Janice live in Taiwan so I got to learn a bit about that tropical island too, and got to meet some cats which always brings a smile! You get to see them in the YouTube video... PLAYLIST by Lifeformed and Janice Kwan for Tunic unless noted otherwise 00:00 Memories of Memories 07:19 Sunset Breakfast 14:32 Ghost Field 15:36 The Librarian - piano sketch 15:56 The Librarian 18:07 The Captain - piano sketch 18:24 The Captain 19:10 The Knight 20:52 Remember to Remember 22:21 Carbon Harvest 23:32 What They Kept From Us 25:02 Ghost Field 26:43 Ghost Field 28:19 Ocean Glaze 31:20 Ocean Glaze 32:01 To Far Shores 35:56 To Far Shores 45:51 Sageless 49:39 Flux is On 53:30 River, River (not for Tunic) 58:03 pull me in by Janice Kwan 1:01:16 The Cats Are Hung

Composer Jon Everist's music for The Lamplighters League is a great blend of noir and adventure. The soundtrack paints such a perfect picture of the vibe of the game (which is a turn-based tactics game). So many wonderful solos and soloists, with an orchestra recorded live at Abbey Road Studios, and they all sound fantastic! Also, I swear I know what a trombone sounds like. Or I used to think I did. PLAYLIST by Jon Everist for The Lamplighters League unless noted otherwise 00:00 The Lamplighters League (Main Theme) 02:38 Heist Prep 04:04 Nicastro Theme 07:51 The Lamplighters League (Main Theme) 12:38 Jungle Quiet 16:42 Nicastro Theme 20:43 Cloak and Dagger 21:35 The Lamplighters League (Main Theme) 23:00 Arctic Quiet 25:37 Arctic Quiet 28:18 Parisian Night 32:38 Spotted 35:58 The Undrawn Hand (Opening Cinematic) 38:09 Jungle Combat 41:06 The Tower 42:39 Marteau Theme 46:18 Light the Way (World Map Theme) 48:01 Heist Execution 48:42 Other Sprouts by Sam Keenan

It's always a joy catching up with composer Cris Velasco! This time around, we chat about his epic music for Lords of the Fallen, a souls-like action RPG with plenty of boss battles. He also clues me into another one of his recent scores, for a game called Fae Farm, He and I will talk more about that in a future episode, because it's delightful. Also couldn't be more different than his music for Lords. Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Cris on the Level with Emily YouTube channel. PLAYLIST by Cris Velasco for Lords of the Fallen unless noted otherwise 00:00 Aphotic Judgment 06:29 Warmaster 06:56 Orian Ascendance 08:22 Deathless Duty 11:01 Molten Heart 12:30 Archnemesis 16:39 Bloodletter 19:44 Call to War 20:05 Howl of Devastation 23:02 Archnemesis 26:05 Maw of Faith 27:23 Maw of Faith 33:02 Bloodletter 37:13 Fiery Malice 43:15 Welcome to Azoria 45:00 Warm Winds of Adventure 45:55 Maw of Faith 46:41 The Sun on Your Back 47:28 The Market Dance 53:53 R

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 He

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

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 O

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 Cy

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 Darren Korb's music for Hades properly beloved. It's a great blend of metal with acoustic Mediterranean instruments to take you through the deep story of the game. Darren adds his voice acting talents to the game as well, voicing the main character, Zagreus, and the training dummy, Skelly. Hades is one of my favorite rogue-lite dungeon crawlers, and the music is the best.  Darren and I had this conversation about his music and acting in November 2021. For a handful of reasons, none of which have anything to do with Darren, we are sharing it now, with sincere apologies for a nearly two-year delay! Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and subscribe to Level with Emily's YouTube channel. PLAYLIST by Darren Korb for Hades unless noted otherwise 00:00 No Escape 06:44 Scourge of the Furies 10:06 Out of Tartarus 10:54 Out of Tartarus 12:29 Through Asphodel 13:54 The King and the Bull 14:56 Mouth of Styx 15:50 God of the Dead 16:56 On the Coast 17:32 In the Blood (feat. Ashley Barrett) 23:14 Final

The original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001. The person largely responsible for how audio worked in that original Xbox and what the Xbox would “sound” like was Brian Schmidt. We’ve had Brian on the show in the past, most recently to talk about Game Sound Con, which he runs in LA every October. In the late 1990s, Brian was working for Microsoft and began working on the Xbox right away as he’ll tell you, and achieved many technological breakthroughs in this work. One of the launch games for Xbox in that winter of 2001 was Halo: Combat Evolved, with music by Marty O’Donnell. And that was an audio achievement as well, as Marty will tell you. We are so honored Brian and Marty wanted to share these stories on Level! 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 00:00 Opening Suite from Halo: Combat Evolved by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Sa

It's always a fascinating discussion with composer Maclaine Diemer. In this episode, we talk about Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure, the newest expansion in the MMORPG. The last time he was on Level to talk about Guild Wars 2, we spoke of the End of Dragons expansion. Maclaine's music for End of Dragons was heavily influenced by Korean traditional music (called gugak) with synth undertones. The music for Secrets of the Obscure is quite different, as you'll hear Maclaine discuss, driven by a tight timeline. It's beautiful orchestral music - a very traditional Western orchestra - with few soloists, just beautiful sweeping melodies and mysterious turns, colored by polytonality and the influence of Debussy. 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 Maclaine Diemer for Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure unless noted otherwise 00

It's been far too long since we had composer David Housden on the show. Last time, we talked about Thomas Was Alone and Volume. David's music for Disney Illusion Island is quite different from those scores, as you'd expect. Complete with cartoon humor and sweeping melodies, it fits perfectly. The game is a multiplayer platformer/Metroidvania and it is SO. FUN!! I highly recommend it, as much as I recommend the fantastic music. 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 - timings coming soon! by David Housden for Disney Illusion Island unless noted otherwise Illusion Island The Sky Below The Post Officer MOPS Crater’s Bay Downtown Gizmopolis Crescent Hamlet Forgotten Farmlands Forgotten Farmlands Forgotten Farmlands Grayzar’s Workshop Shallows Future Town Illusion Island The Library Illusion Island Head of the Highness The Library Grayza

This is Part Two of my chat with scntfc / Andy Rohrmann about his music for Oxenfree and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. And it's another episode packed with music and back stories. We can't wait to have Andy on the show to talk about more music in the future! 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 / PART TWO by scntfc for Oxenfree (I) or Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (II) unless noted otherwise 00:00 Epiphany (I) 05:09 Lost (I) 06:36 music from the ARG for the cult Parentage 06:48 Lost (I) 11:14 The Beach, 7AM (Magnetophone) (I) 11:48 The Beach, 7AM (Magnetophone) (I) 13:38 The Beach, 7AM (Magnetophone) (I) 16:12 A Block A Rock A Grave a Cave (II) 17:42 A Block A Rock A Grave a Cave (II) 18:51 A Block A Rock A Grave a Cave (II) 20:15 Cleanslate (I) 23:27 Cleaned Slate (II) 24:48 Kanaloa (I) 33:03 Catbird Station (I) 34:48 Towhee Grove (I) 35:

Oxenfree and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals are fantastic games with phenomenal music. The games are scored by scntfc, a.k.a. Andy Rohrmann. And I can't ever get enough of Andy's music. I love these games so very much, from the art and story to the music. If you haven't spent time listening to these scores, treat yourself. 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 / PART ONE by scntfc for Oxenfree (I) or Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (II) unless noted otherwise 00:00 To The Valley (II) 06:40 Beacon Beach (I) 09:58 Nightfall, Camena (II) 12:22 Berenson Creek (II) 14:15 Atwater Station (II) 16:28 Arcadia Station (II) 17:41 To The Island (II) 19:06 Atalanta Third (II) 23:33 20 Days Past (I) 27:20 Baby Carrots (II but not on OST) 29:22 Baby Carrots (II but not on OST) 31:14 Journey of a Bird by Morgan Kuhli from Infinite Psychic Translations 35:00 Bl