The Pc gaming progressive steel task, WASD, just produced its 2nd album, Escape (opens in new tab), which contains chunky, proggy reimaginings of classic tracks from hits like Deus Ex and Warcraft 2, but also some further cuts like Turrican and Space Quest 3. We experienced a likelihood to sit down with WASD mastermind Austin Environmentally friendly and chat about the album, as effectively as its cheeky “Floppy Disc Thriller Single” edition.
“I’d messed about with the thought of making an attempt to fit each individual tune onto a floppy,” Environmentally friendly advised us. Sad to say the audio compression essential rendered his music “unlistenable.” A satisfactory floppy launch of Escape in all probability would have essential a unfold of discs like a ’90s match installation, so rather Inexperienced minted a limited operate of 50 floppies, every with two random tracks from the album.
This’ll web you a “not negative” listening working experience, but you are going to likely want to stick with the integrated digital obtain of the album for listening in your $200 headphones. But it is not about practicality with this kind of point, is it?
Just like with the indie audio scene’s obsession with cassette releases, it can be about the audacity of maintaining an outmoded structure alive just for the hell of it, and I really like how Inexperienced made this happen by discovering tons of aged floppies to generate more than on Fb market. (Admittedly we are biased—in 2020 we compensated Austin Inexperienced to develop a free album celebrating some of our preferred Personal computer gaming music, The Computer Gaming Display 2020 Album (opens in new tab).)
I’d review WASD’s sound to progressive steel bands like Haken—you’ve acquired individuals chunky steel guitar riffs, but also a certain funkiness and playful virtuosity like a ’70s band of men with mustaches and wizards on all their album artwork.
The spotlight of Escape for me is Green’s Deus Ex keep track of: Nanotech Outlaw (opens in new tab). It blends the exploration and overcome versions of that game’s important UNATCO HQ theme, and I found that WASD’s type specifically gelled with Alexander Brandon, Michiel van den Bos, and Dan Gardopée’s initial compositions.
Inexperienced generally focuses on that formative, western, ’90s to early ’00s era of Personal computer gaming in his get the job done. “I imagine the fantastic thing about that period of Pc gaming is that it can be when Computer games ended up Computer system games,” Environmentally friendly explains.”It goes equally methods, game titles have been on their individual certain platforms with their possess experience.”
There were being a handful of gems from this era that were remaining on the chopping room floor for Escape, and Inexperienced may check out to revisit them in long run function. Myst, for case in point, is right smack dab in the middle of Green’s most popular period, but he is nonetheless to settle on a model that satisfyingly translates that game’s dreamy OST. Likewise, Environmentally friendly toyed with and finally axed addresses of music from StarCraft and Unreal Match (while the original Unreal is represented here), and had at a person point thought of a rendition of Portal’s close credits song, “Nonetheless Alive.”
You can hear to Escape in its entirety correct now on WASD’s Bandcamp page (opens in new tab), as very well as check out out the project’s merch and physical releases. WASD will be playing at MAGFest (opens in new tab) this January, so if you’re everywhere around the Gaylord Conference Heart in Bar Harbor Maryland from January 5-8, you know exactly where to locate a good time. You can also follow WASD on Fb (opens in new tab) and Twitter (opens in new tab).
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