Into the Score - November 10, 2007

Castlevania

1) Intro
2) Contact Info
3) 1986 in Gaming
4) Story of the Game
5) Composer
a. Michiru Yamane
6) The Music
a. The environment is a character
b. Baroque Music - Polyphonic Melody
c. Gothicism + Romanticism
7) Gothic subculture
8) Arrangement!
a. "Nothing But a Pile of Dance Moves!" - noppZ

INTRO

(TITLE)

I'm Kenley Kristofferson... and this is Into the Score.

Good evening, listeners! Welcome to Episode 15 of Into the Score for the third week of November, 2007.  As always, Into the Score is the only podcast solely devoted to the academic study of video game music and I am your host, Kenley Kristofferson.  It has been a wildly awesome period between these two episodes - while this episode is released a little bit later than usual, there have been two entries between Episode 14 and this one here.  Firstly, there was an interview with the University of Manitoba radio station's program, F*SMAK and that was a good time.  Even more exciting than that was the second entry, entitled "The Road to Video Games Live," which chronicles the flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada and then the experience of VGL itself, which was one of the most unbelievable things that I have ever experienced. Please check out both, I'll tell you where in a second! We are currently listening to "Wicked Child" from Castlevania for the NES, released by Konami in 1987 and composed by a group called the KuKeiha Club.  Now, where can we find all of this Into the Score goodness? Before we do that, we need some shaker, some bongos and some contact info...

CONTACT INFO

The address for Into the Score is www.intothescore.com, as always.  If you would like to reach me, you can always send me a note at Kenley@intothtescore.com, so k-e-n-l-e-y@intothescore.com! Definitely leave comments on the episode of your choice or an any episode at all! It is always awesome to hear from you!

I must apologize for quite a lengthy wait for this episode.  It has been quite busy at my school, getting ready for our concert on the 27th of November, the musical in the second week in December and then getting back from Calgary mid-month... it's been quite the few weeks.  However, every week is good and it is wonderful to return to the podcast! I must also add that I have discovered another podcast that I am really interested in - in fact, it just began this month.  ff-xiii.net has just released a podcast discussing the ongoing development of Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII.  They have a music segment with remixes often taken from OverClocked ReMix, which is a site that I love and respect for what it does and continues to do for the video game music community.  Definitely check it out, it can be found at www.ocremix.org!

In this episode, we're going to chronicle a series that has touched the musical souls of hundreds, maybe thousands... It has been tackled by many composers including a group called "Kukeiha Club" and most recently, a Japanese woman named Michuru Yamane and we're going to look at both of them.  The series began in 1986 in Japan and the following year in North America and Europe, so let's find out what the world of gaming was like in 1986, but not before we listen to some music.  This is "Vampire Killer" by Kukeiha Club from the very first Castlevania.

(VAMPIRE KILLER)

1986 IN GAMING

While 1986 was a landmark year for video games, the events that transpired were few and far-between.  Home-based video games were just starting, the Nintendo Entertainment System had only been out for one year in every country but Japan, the great Video Game Industry Crash occurred only three years earlier and many developers and publishers were inching their feet back into the pool of gaming.  Okay, that's a half-truth - everyone was still a bit nervous UNTIL 1986, this is when the tide began to turn.  Five new consoles came out that year: Namco releases the "Namco System '86" arcade system board, Atari releases the Atari 7800, Sega gets the Sega Master System into the US, Sharp has the Twin Famicom console and finally, the Nintendo company releases the Famisom Disk System Add-on for their Famicom system.  Lots of big releases.  Some serious franchises began this year as well, including The Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Dragon Quest - all of which for the NES.  That information was taken from the wiki on 1986 in gaming; if you'd like the link, it is here in the shownotes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_in_video_gaming






As the ongoing history of gaming pressed on, so has the Castlevania franchise, spawning games on the NES, Gameboy, Turbo Grafix 16, Sega Genesis (or Megadrive), SNES, PlayStation, Gameboy Advance, Mobile Phone, PC and the Nintendo DS.  With that said, I think that it's really interesting that this is one of the few series that not only cross-platform and cross-company (meaning that it's made for more than just Nintendo or just Sony), but it's also a look into the development of interactive media technology - these games tell the story of how video game consoles have evolved over the last twenty years.  If the series has been around for 20 years, the story must be gripping enough to keep gamers going.  Before we start that, this is "The Silence of Daylight" and it is the town theme from "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest".

(SILENCE OF DAYLIGHT)

STORY

That was "The Silence of Daylight" from Konami's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.  One of the unique features of the Castlevania series is that it does not follow a single protagonist like say, the Mario series or the Legend of Zelda, which just follows Mario or Link, respectively.  Instead, the games follow a clan and the games construct the lineage to which the Belmont family exist, and then use their clan identity (as well as some enchanted whips) to kill vampires.  

Now, upon hearing that explanation of a family, one may initially think that this is just one game with twelve spin-offs.  For once in gaming history, this is not true.  In fact, the first game (being Castlevania) is actually the seventh-game in the series, if we go chronologically.  Another really cool infrastructure set into the franchise is that the timeline of the series corresponds with the chronology of human history - no fictional years or written history, the series correlates with our history.  As of November 2007, there are NINETEEN Castlevania games, with one of them recently removed from the Castlevania timeline... so while there are 19 games, only 18 now belong to the official Castlevania chronology, with Castlevania Legends as an independent title.

So far, we know that there is a family of vampire hunters called the Belmont clan and that their history corresponds with our own.  While the game makes efforts to stay historically accurate, the mythology of is it a big stew of Gothic and Romantic folklore, including vampires, werewolves, Medusas and dryads, Dullahans, Cerberus... so many.  A great resource for finding out about these types of things is the "Mythology" section of the "Castlevania Dungeon." And the URL is in the shownotes! 

http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/history/monstermyth.html

In which case, Dracula is shows up around 1094 and to begin the story, we'll quote the "Castlevania Dungeon: Timeline" section:

"The beginning of the Belmont conflict against Count Dracula seems to begin with Leon Belmont in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. The Belmonts were continually called to use their superhuman abilities and hard trained skills for the side of Good. When Count Dracula and his army of darkness began to cast a shadow over all of Europe, a Belmont was never far. The Belmont Clan would have their mettle tested many times, and always prevail. Their stories are told with you, the player, as their guide."

1094 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
It is the time of the crusaders, and our story focuses on Leon Belmont, hero of the knighthood. One dark day, his fiance Sara is kidnapped. His friend, bedridden Mathias Cronquist, tells Leon that his lady has been taken away by a vampire named Walter, who lives in the forest known as Eternal Night. Unable to convince the church to lend him aid, he gives up his sword and his title to find Sara himself. Upon entering the evil forest, Leon comes across a mysterious old man named Rinaldo, who bequethes to Leon a whip enchanted with the power of alchemy. With this begins the Belmont legend, and the origin of the feud between the Belmonts and Count Dracula.

The website for that section is in the shownotes and it chronicles the ENTIRE Castlevania timeline, so it's definitely worth the read, even if you've never played the games because it's very thorough and very thoughtful... really solid stuff.

http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/storyline.html

The next game takes place over 450 years later, where Dracula comes out of hiding after being resurrected and seeks to cover the world in darkness - this is Castlevania Legends." However, another descendent of the Belmont family is alive - Sonia Belmont.  After she defeats Dracula, the dark lord now wants more than just a world veiled in darkness, but he now wishes to destroy the Belmont clan once and for all.

The next title takes place in 1476, 26 years after Legends and follows Trevor Belmont - the next vampire hunter in line for the clan.  This game, called Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.  Dracula is prematurely resurrected by his followers and Trevor now has to step in.  This game features some new characters into the series which help Trevor in his quest, including Grant DaNasty, Sypha Belnades and the son of Dracula and protagonist of Symphony of the Night, Alucard... which is also "Dracula" spelled backwards.  

Anyways, while there are many, many MANY Castlevania games, we're going to jump to the one featuring Alucard as the protagonist.  That game is called Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and it was released by Konami in 1997.  The composer is Michiru Yamane and the song that we're going to listen to "Crystal Teardrops," played during underground sections of the game.  It's a cool fusion of a lot of styles, particularly trance, jazz and some Baroque, yet Gothic organ... hard to explain, so I'll let you decide for yourself! This is "Crystal Teardrops."

(CRYSTAL TEARDROPS)

THE GAME'S INSIDES

There's "Crystal Teardrops" by Michiru Yamane from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  While Symphony of the Night was more of an open-ended style of gameplay, that is not where the gameplay mechanics of the series began.  The first Castlevania titled, released in 1987, was a linear 2D side-scroller that progressed level by level through Dracula's Castle.  This game had a built in architecture that made it feel a bit less "one-stage-at-a-time," so unlike Super Mario Brothers or other side-scrollers at the time where every level looked more-or-less the same.  According to "inverteddungeon.com," "You begin your quest at the Fence of the Castle, where the introductory scene is played. You make your way through the Castle Entrance and Hallway, the Towers and the Chapel, the Upper Courtyard and Bridge... then fall to the Underground Tunnels and lower Courtyard (apparently by accident), then you go to the Dungeons and Gallery, and finally you climb to the Ramparts and Clocktower before you reach the Castle Keep, where you go to a final showdown with the Prince of Darkness to save the countryside... maybe."
The addy for that gem is in the shownotes.
http://www.inverteddungeon.com/Games/cv1.php

While that worked out well for the first one, Konami decided that they wanted to have a more open-ended game for the second one... more of an RPG feel... unfortunately, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest did not do well on the shelves.  It incorporated some cutting edge developments like an in-game clock, that switched to night after a period of time, then eventually back to the day... "The sun has vanquished the horrible night..." yeah, very cool.  One of the pieces we heard earlier, "The Silence of Daylight" was taken from this game.

After this, Konami reverts to its more 2D adventure style for the game's third installment, Dracula's Curse, but now adds the three new characters.  The 4th installment, Super Castelvania IV (original, ha!) is an enhanced version of the original, but for SNES... again, original.  Okay, well, not entirely true.  The story was altered so that it could take place after Simon's Quest.  Let's listen to a piece from Super Castlevania IV, this is "Forest of Monsters" and it plays during the forest level of the game.

(FOREST OF MONSTERS)

One thing I do have to say about this game is that I think that this is when the modern "look" of Castlevania games started.  I mean, the originals have a  charm to them, but I don't think that the technology of NES could keep up with the final thought of the developers.  Even the SNES, as far as it was pushed to the limits, couldn't have the FINAL overall feel of what they were looking for - close, but not entirely.  I think that that honour goes to Symphony of the Night.





While I thought that Symphony of the Night was the first game to start on this musical-allusion tirade, Rondo of Blood actually began it when it was released for the Turbo Grafix 16 in 1993.  When I talk about the musical allusion in the titles, I'm referring almost entirely to the games released in the late 90s to the present: Rondo of Blood, Harmony of Dissonance, Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow and Lament of Innocence.  A Rondo is a musical form where we have a first section of music (let's call it "A") then something else, which we'll call "B", then A again, then something else, C, then A, then D, then A... think of it this way: ABACADA.  An symphony is a musical work, often in 4 movements (but not always) and often performed by a symphony orchestra (again, but not always); an aria is a self-contained piece for one voice with a focus on an expressive melody - that's it; a lament is a song of mourning or loss.  All of these musical terms or forms have worked their way into the Castlevania literature.  Maybe music was emphasizing the development of the work? I don't know... but I know that the woman who really pushed and continues to push the envelope in Castlevanian music is Michiru Yamane and her biography is next.  This is "Prologue" from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night by Michiru Yamane.

(PROLOGUE)
 
BIOGRAPHY
Michiru Yamane was born in 1963 and not very much is known about her.  If I could read Japanese, I'm sure that I could find out more - she has a blog, aptly titled "Michiblog" and the URL can be found in the shownotes.

http://mp.i-revo.jp/user.php/michilog/

We do know the obvious - she is a video game music composer and is most renowned for her work on Konami's Castlevania series.   Other games that she has worked on include TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan for Gameboy... I had that game, Nemesis on the NES, had that one too as well as Suikoden III, IV and V for the PS2.

Information taken for that section was from the wiki on Michiru Yamane.  Now that we know a little bit about the composer, let's see what her music sounds like.  Setting the stage for Symphony of the Night by playing during the game's opening menu, this is "Prayer."

(PRAYER)









THE MUSIC

While I can't really cite this, I as a researcher, gamer and musician feel like Castlevania I-III were good and pretty fun, the team really hadn't achieved entirely what they wanted when they released them, probably because of the technology.  The NES technology was limited, that goes without saying AND they did a superb job of making the game look different than all of the other games out there at the time, but I don't really think that the game achieved the amount of detail that the group wanted.  At the time, none of the audience would ever know that because they wouldn't know what would come after, but I think that ambiance and atmosphere play an incredible role in the series.  

To me, this concept of characterizing the environment was best said by Alan Lee, illustrator and artist for many of Tolkien's works, including Lord of the Rings.  He also served as conceptual artist and art director for the films and in the making, he states that one has to treat the environment like a character - especially regards to Tolkien because of deluge of detail that Tolkien has put into his writing.  Tolkien himself very much, treated the setting like a character, often giving the land human-like qualities or describing it in anthropomorphic ways.  

I think that this is the first that we, as gamers, music lovers, scholars or otherwise have to realize is that the environment is an important, if not THE most important character in the game.  Take a look at any screenshot and see the engravings in the stone, the shimmer of light on a brass staircase railing, highly-detailed paintings in the background, careful attention to lighting... lots of Baroque-style artifacts... the list goes on.  We're going to talk about Baroque style a bit later in the episode.

Even with the graphics as gorgeous and detailed as they are, without sound, it would just be a pretty moving painting.  I think that the music is one thing that definitely evolved during the course of the series.  In the beginning, the pieces were more rock-based - in fact, two series standards came out during the earlier games, scored by KuKeiha Club.  Let's have a listen to both - the first is one we've heard before, it's from the original Castlevania and it's called "Vampire Killer."

(VAMPIRE KILLER)

The second is from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and I think that it's safe to say that this piece is probably more well-known than the game itself.  This is called "Bloody Tears."

(BLOODY TEARS)

Alright, now those are two benchmarks - most particularly because A) They're really solid pieces of music, B) They're well-orchestrated or sequenced... pick your word of choice and C) because the NES is tremendously good at rock-based pieces and simulating an organ, which is what "Bloody Tears" opened with.  

Let's listen to that one more time, listen for the pattern in the opening part section of "Bloody Tears" and listen for where you hear the melody in that jumble of notes.  Here it is again:

(BLOODY TEARS)

There's always one note that repeats that's adding some busy-ness to the melody.  This is a technique that began in the Baroque era as polychordal instruments like the organ, hammerklavier and eventually the piano, came into popularity.  A polychordal instrument is an instrument that can play more than one note at the same time - "poly" meaning "many" and "chordal" meaning "stringed", so a "many-stringed" instrument like a guiar or a piano.  Anyways, that pattern of notes that we just heard  (EXAMPLE) is a melodic figure called "polyphonic melody", or a "melody with many sounds."  If we did have those extra repeating notes, we would simply have this.

(NO POLYPHONIC MELODY EX)

But to add some meat the riff, the composer puts in this extra repeating note and it adds Baroque sound to the organ part.  It has a Baroque sound because people in the Baroque era used this polyphonic melody quite a bit... that's why it sounds like that.

Now, listen for the polyphonic melody! Bloody Tears! Go!

(BLOODY TEARS)

Okay, so at this point, I think that it's safe to say that the score to Castlevania II has a different objective or intent than Castlevania I.  CV1 had a very rock-based score and it sounded good because the NES is really good at rock scores, but again, I'm not sure if CV1 was exactly was the developers thought that it might be.  CV2 takes the game in a bit of a different direction, being a bit more like an RPG and less like a side-scrolling action game.  I think that Castlevania II is where the crafters of the game start to think "hey, you know what would be cool... if we made this WHOLE GAME more gothic." 

Now, while that's a good idea on paper, how does one actually DO that? Especially with the technology available at the time...

Granted, I can't cite any of this, this is just my own research and puzzle-solving abilities here, but that's what researchers do - they put the pieces together.  No one REALLY knows how Beethoven's symphonies were performed when he was alive, there are no recordings! Hell, half of the instruments in the orchestra weren't even invented yet and the ones that were have evolved quite a bit in the last 200 years - we can only research and do our best.

Anyways, back to Castlevania.  Before we discuss how to make the game more Gothic, I think it's time that we actually learn what that even is... bringing us to the big idea of the episode... (MARIO CLIP)... The Baroque and the Gothic.

In order to understand what "gothic" is, one must understand the era to which Gothicism is based - the Baroque.

The Baroque era began in approximately 1600 and is often cited to have closed in 1750 with the death of Johann Sebastian Bach, prolific composer and church organist.  Cited from the wiki on the subject:


In the arts, the Baroque was a Western cultural epoch, commencing roughly at the turn of the 17th century in Rome, that was exemplified by drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music.[citation needed]. In music, the term 'Baroque' applies to the final period of dominance of imitative counterpoint, where different voices and instruments echo each other but at different pitches, sometimes inverting the echo, and even reversing thematic material.[citation needed]

The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement.[citation needed] The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumphant power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance sequence of courts, anterooms, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing magnificence. In similar profusions of detail, art, music, architecture, and literature inspired each other in the Baroque cultural movement[citation needed] as artists explored what they could create from repeated and varied patterns. Some traits and aspects of Baroque paintings that differentiate this style from others are the abundant amount of details, often bright polychromy, less realistic faces of subjects, and an overall sense of awe, which was one of the goals in Baroque art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque

This is where things start to get a bit squirrelly.    Okay, I know that we aren't studying the "topic" of "history" right now, but history (with the history of music especially) is a largely cyclical phenomenon: People have ideas, then others take new ideas somewhere else, future writers/philosophers or historians find the older ideas, reinvent or rework them and take them new directions, et cetera.  

This back-and-forth nature of ideas happened quite often in the history and development of Western Music.  Before I begin this brief aside, there is a supplementary graphic on the website, intothescore.com that shows the trends of each musical era, going from more technical/structural to more emotional and evocative - it's in the post for this episode, it's kind of nice to have.

During the Medieval and Renaissance era, musicians and composers were experimenting with forms of rhythm and new modes or keys - so the music was based very much on structure and design.  At around 1600 with the advent of the Baroque era, people were starting to realize an innate beauty in this sound and used this new music in a very evocative and emotional way.  However, as this beautiful and inspiring music began to develop, composers started to get craftier with how they used it and thought of clever ways to toy the music's structure and form - thus paving the way for the Classical Era.  The classical era, while much shorter (1750-1800ish), was a breakthrough time for Western Music.  Some notable composers from that era are Mozart, Haydn and the early Beethoven.  Those big three experimented a lot with form and really crafting each section of their works, dividing many into "movements" or shorter pieces of music.  These movements would eventually develop into a pattern and combine to form the first symphonies.  It would be Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, titled "Eroica," which had an incredible furious passion that it changed the way that people composed and listened to symphonies - thus began the Romantic Era, filled with wonders, storytelling, folklore and passion.  It in the Romantic Era that we get a lot of the folklore found in modern myth: Transylvania, Frankenstein, the Brothers Grimm, the Volsungasaga and Nibelungenlied (both inspirations for Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings") AND... the basis for 20th century Gothic culture.

Okay, obviously there was more to the development of Western Music than that - that was the "Reader's Digest" version of it, the "Books on Tape" version.   However, that helps connect the Baroque architecture to the Gothic and folklore-influenced creatures and story of the game.  FURTHERMORE, We also have to understand that the people who wrote all of these legends in the Romantic Era wanted to romanticize them by having them take place in the past - the 1800s were not "the past" to people who lived in the 1800s - so when did they place all of their legends? Well, which era was the other evocative and imaginative era? That's right, listeners: The Baroque Era... a nice long 150 years of exciting and mythological happenings.

Coincidently enough (or not), five Castlevania games take place between 1576 and 1748, which is (about) the ballpark of the Baroque Era.  Two CV games take place during the Classical Era... not much of a surprise there (seeing as it's not quite as fabled and it's a much shorter era) and four take place during the Romantic Era, a time when monsters and myth were at their peak.

Okay, with all of that history, we still haven't actually talked about Gothic music or Gothic culture at all - this is quite a long section.  

Let's break it up with some music.  This is "Requiem for the Gods" from the Symphony of the Night OST by Michiru Yamane.

(REQUIEM FOR THE GODS)

Now, in that piece, we hear a lot of stereotypical musical devices for darkness or death: Like the chimes, the soaring sopranos and really low male voices in a sort of, call-and-response sort of way, synthesized organ... very Baroque sounding.  Similar to this, is the Gothic style.  Wikipedia has this to say: 

"The goth subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion, whether or not all individuals who share those tastes are in fact members of the goth subculture. Gothic music encompasses a number of different styles. Common to all is a tendency towards a lugubrious, mystical sound and outlook. Styles of dress within the subculture range from death rock, punk, androgynous, medieval, some Renaissance and Victorian style clothes, or combinations of the above, most often with black attire, makeup and hair." 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_subculture

The gothic subculture began in the UK and Europe in the 1980s in the post-punk scene.  The combination of these two symbiotically formed the Goth Rock scene.  The Goth Rock scene and the Gothic Subculture are symbiotically intertwined, still constantly changing and evolving, but still keeping true to the mysticism of the Romantic Era and the mystery and alchemy of the Baroque.  

The term "Gothic" in regards to a 20th-century reference was first used as a label for select bands in the "Post-Punk" scene of the 1970s, then eventually became a distinct subgenre in the early 80s.  

While the gothic music style had begun in its life in the post-punk movements of the UK, the emergence of "death rock" or "death metal" in Germany revealed the extent that one could take Gothicism in modern day culture in a subculture consisting people labeled "grufties", or in English, "vault creatures" or "tomb creatures."  The New Romantic style of 80s fashion and music began to fuse with some of the more underground New Wave musical acts like The Cars, Devo or the Talking Heads... asking for more a varied audience for this new style... the grufties followed.

In the early 90s, we see a resurgence of Victorian fashion in the Goth scene... clothes like corsets, elaborate veils or gowns.  Interestingly enough, however... this is not the first time for a part of society to revert to the gothic styles of things.  The first reversion as such, called the "Gothic Revival" happened in the mid-1800s... do we remember what era that is? Indeed, it is in fact, the Romantic era, where a lot of this fascination with the supernatural and the occult became popular in society.  

It really is a symbiosis between the Baroque Era, the Romantic Era and the Gothic Style - all which draw from one another and particularly with regards to Castlevania, these three periods and style fuse the entire game together.  Castlevania is built upon the supernatural and monsters, the myth of vampires and a bloodline of vampire hunters, old cathedrals with Baroque and Gothic architecture, music that has serious themes, fusing rock, orchestral and ambient music... it's an incredible web that this game has woven.

To really feel that fusion, here is "Metamorphosis 1," from the OST by Michiru Yamane.

(METAMORPHOSIS 1) 

Let's do a bit of review from earlier in the episode.  We now understand the gothic and Romantic influence of the game, so let's listen to some earlier pieces from the podcast and see if we can hear those influences.  To start us off, here is the "Silence of Daylight" from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

(SILENCE OF DAYLIGHT)

And now, "Bloody Tears" from the same game.

(BLOODY TEARS)

Now, moving right along to Symphony of the Night, here is "Dracula's Castle."

(DRACULA'S CASTLE)

ARRANGEMENT


Now, Drac's Castle is actually going to bring us to the Arrangement portion of the show and thus, to the end of the episode. This has been Episode 15 for well... the month of November, I suppose.  Again, apologies for being late, but now that the concerts are done and the musical will be drawing to a close shortly, all will be back on schedule.

In this episode, we studied Konami's Castlevania - many of them and we learned about the gothic influence on the score of the games, most notably, Symphony of the Night, which was composed by Michiru Yamane.  Our arrangement for the episode will come from OverClocked ReMix, which can be found at www.ocremix.org.  The arrangement is called "Nothing But a Pile of Dance Moves", and arranges "Dracula's Castle" and "Bloody Tears."  It's arranged by Filip Themrin, aka NoppZ and it can be found at ocremix.org!

Episode 15 draws to a close - thanks so much for listening! Episode 15 chronicled the Castlevania series with a particular focus on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  We also studied the gothic and Baroque influence on its music and environment as well as their rise to subculture in our modern world. 

If ever you would like to reach me, it can always be done at www.intothescore.com.  If you'd like to drop me a line, feel free to comment on any of the episodes or send me an email at Kenley@intothescore.com, it's always great to hear from you!

Next up is Episode 16, where we will look at Jason Hayes' score to Blizzard's 1998 release, Starcraft and we'll look at the ongoing history of the Real-Time Strategy genre.  Thanks again for listening and without further waiting, this is Filip Themrin's "Nothing But a Pile of Dance Moves."  ENJOY!

(END)





  






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