Summertime, home of hot nights, cool games and awesome festivals. In the true spirit of summer, Nintendo Life’s Video Game Music Festival, VGM as they fondly call it, kicked off this week. Over the next several weeks, the VGM will cover all sorts of tune related content. And while we are not Nintendo Life, we do know good music when we hear it. Believe me, they have picked some great SEGA icons, who are closely tied to Streets of Rage and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Heavy-weight composers Tee Lopes and Yuzo Koshiro, both of Streets of Rage and Sonic the Hedgehog fame, opened up about their beginnings, favorite projects and random trivia during the Video Game Music Festival. I won’t spoil the interviews, but here are a few interesting highlights for you curious cats.
Lopes started out 12 years ago on YouTube with his remixes of various game music, including Sonic and Major Magnet. He has recently gained recognition in the professional musical circles. Lending his talents to Sonic Mania and Mr. X Nightmare DLC for Streets of Rage 4, Lopes has cemented his name among the greats. His latest projects include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and the Metal Slug Tactics reboot.
– As a Portuguese youth growing up in the 90’s, he was fascinated with cartoons of Sonic. “Sonic’s attitude and speed were the coolest thing in the world to me,” recalls Lopes.
– He sequences all of his music “with a mouse and QWERTY keyboard,” instead of playing traditional instruments. Check out a sample of his music below.
Ironically, he lists some of his biggest musical influences during the VGM interview, which just happens to include Koshiro.
Koshiro, legendary composer of Revenge of Shinobi, Super Adventure Island, Eye of the Beholder and the Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune series, appeared on the gaming scene in 1986. A veteran with a vast array of scores to his name, he shows no signs of slowing down.
In a rapid fire interview with Koshiro, he revealed his current playlist and which fantasy instrument he would take on epic adventuring (it’s a harp). He also took time to reflect fondly on Streets of Rage 2 as his proudest piece. “I love making music on Genesis,” he said.
As a funny, Koshiro pledged to save his credit cards from a fire, because you know- technology and clouds keep our memories safe now.
There is a whole lot more to discover about these amazing composers with plenty more to come in the weeks ahead. Get the full account on NintendoLife’s website. Check back here for more coverage. In the meantime, enjoy some awesome music!
