The Video Game Music Thread

[Late Bloomer]

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Sjukob]

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Stéphane Picq announces the reissue of Dune Spice Opera

Stéphane Picq, the composer of the music for the game Dune, will reissue his album, unavailable for years, in a High Definition digital version.

Stéphane Picq, the composer of the music for the video game Dune, released in 1992, chose Eklecty-City to announce in preview that he will reissue his album Dune Spice Opera, produced in collaboration with its Artistic Director Philippe Ulrich, who had enjoyed great success at the time. The album, which contains pieces inspired by the world of Frank Herbert's novel, had been unavailable for years, due to an unfavorable contract signed with a label which held the reproduction rights.

In 2020, during our interview with Stéphane Picq, we learned that he had never received royalties from the sales of this album. He also revealed that his contract extended over 30 years, and that he hoped to be able to recover his rights in 2022.

It is now done, since Stéphane Picq officially announces on Eklecty-City the reissue of his self-titled album, under the name Dune Spice Opera 2024. It is a High Definition digital version entirely remastered in files flac 48/24, which will allow fans to rediscover the songs with optimal sound quality.

‘The tools available today make it possible to considerably improve and spatialize the stereo field, with a broader frequency spectrum and an unprecedented dynamic response. In more accessible terms, the first tests literally give the impression that we are unblocking our ears!’, confides Stéphane Picq.

He also specifies that this first version will be the starting part of a larger project, entitled Dune Spice Opera 2024 Project, the details of which can be followed in the public group of the same name. Finally, he thanks all those who encouraged him for a quarter of a century, and who continue to do so.

I posted this in late February, completely unaware that Picq had already released the soundtrack by then.

You can find it on Bandcamp. for ~17 Euros.

First impressions:

# It's arranged in a 2 CD-fashion, first come the remastered Spice Opera tracks, then the remastered Dune soundtrack.

# 'WORMINTR' and 'WORMSUIT' are merged into a single track for some reason.

# 'ECOLOVE', the loading tune which can only be found on the Amiga-version, is missing from the soundtrack. (It's included in the Spice Opera though.)

# There's a bonus 'Overclocked Remix' of the Dune Theme included, this sounds like an amalgamation of the Dune soundtrack. It's neat, but it's not the reason we're here.

Overall? Including the remastered AdLib-tunes really clenches the deal for me. I've always felt that the Spice Opera itself was over-produced, but this is the best of both worlds.

Hopefully this piques both interest in Picq's works, and encourages him to remaster/re-release more of his work. 'KGB' and 'Lost Eden' would be nice to see again.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

FlatOut 2 OST - Rob Zombie - Demon Speeding


I'm demon speeding
I'm demon speeding
I'm demon speeding
I'm demon speeding

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Puukko]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[NecroLord]

 

[Darkozric]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[e-mailio estevez]

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Hopefully this piques both interest in [Stephane] Picq's works, and encourages him to remaster/re-release more of his work. 'KGB' and 'Lost Eden' would be nice to see again.

I posted this about ten days ago. He has now released 'Lost Eden' in remastered format. You can get it for ~14 Euros at Bandcamp.

It includes the tracks as laid down on the soundtrack CD released in 1997, as well as additional tracks from the CDi-version of the game, plus the original mix of the game's theme tune. Sadly high-res imagery of the game's artwork is not included, but that's just a temporary thing, Picq promises to add it in a future update. In the meantime some AI-made images based on the game's setting and characters are included, just for fun.

Finally a lengthy essay by Picq himself is included, where he goes into the history and technical aspects of composing the soundtrack.

At first glance I'd say this is worth the money, but I understand perfectly if people want to wait until the artwork is added.

 

[mord]

 

[Tse Tse Fly]

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance - Successor of Fate (NES (+VRC6) cover by Narek Papoyan | Promtastik)

 

[luj1]

 

[d1r]

 

[Hellraiser]

My latest game music discovery is that Wave Race: Blue Storm had some rather decent tracks, I like the acoustic guitar in this one:



This next one meanwhile sounds like it could be in Tony Hawk 2, probably because it was released just around a year later and those were the vibes of that era:

 

[NecroLord]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Kabas]

Didn't play this one yet but the ost pretty nice. Even if most of the tracks are taken from other games/sources.



This one i did try.

 

[ferratilis]

 

[Phinx]