The Sound Test

Latest Episodes:

43: ST2 BONUS - Black & White (w/Russell Shaw) Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

This BONUS episode of ST2 is actually the second part of a Lionhead Studios double bill, with the first focusing on Fable (available here).
After Peter Molyneux left Bullfrog Productions in 1997, he soon started his new venture - Lionhead Studios. Though they were unfortunately ill-fated with money across their run, they were nonetheless responsible for a number of interesting and imaginative games. Their first, Black & White, was a innovative take on the God genre, featuring music from Bullfrog's own Russell Shaw.
The soundtrack itself is as forward-thinking as it is mercilessly ambient. Though mostly resting on a variety of sparse backing tracks, it also makes clever use of many smaller elements, and aspects that change depending on your playstyle. Throughout this BONUS episode, Russell outlines some of the thought processes behind Black & White, which occupies an interesting space in both his career and VGM in general.
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
Russell Shaw on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/_GoesLikeThis_
Available through the following platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes
Stitcher
and many more...
Support, early access, unedited interviews, backdated LIVE shows and more:
http://patreon.com/_secretcave

42: ST2 #02 - Fable (w/Russell Shaw) Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

I always wanted the second episode of ST2 to cover a classic, and I think I got that in spades when I spoke to Russell Shaw about the Fable series. Its first release is a real RPG benchmark, and though the games slowly slipped into a less enthusiastic reception, Russell Shaw's music was always highly regarded as some of the best in the industry.
After an interesting collaboration with Danny Elfman, Russell really made Fable his own. Despite being new to orchestration, he stepped up to the lofty task more than admirably, making huge improvements in his approach with every successive game. Even considering his growth as an orchestral composer, the first Fable's music undoubtably holds up to this day, providing VGM with some of its most accomplished and satisfying themes.
Russell and I talk about every release in the series, from Fable itself to the unreleased Fable: Legends, which had a whole soundtrack composed before its cancellation. This releases alongside a much shorter Black & White episode, and the two together serve as an extended special on Lionhead Studios. That Black & White edition premieres straight after this one, available here:
https://audioboom.com/posts/7415440-st2-bonus-black-white-w-russell-shaw
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
Russell Shaw on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/_GoesLikeThis_
Available through the following platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes
Stitcher
and many more...
Support, early access, unedited interviews, backdated LIVE shows and more:
http://patreon.com/_secretcave

41: LIVE - 01/11/19 [Weekly VGM Radio] Nov 03, 2019

Show notes

A brand new iteration of The Sound Test LIVE! This time, I'm joined by Shelley Moncaster for fresh VGM playlists and all the old features, including:
SFX Showdown
Quickfire News
SongFight
Top 5 (THIS WEEK: Top 5 Bergen Moments)
All future streams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jf...
Requests and contact:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
Original episodes of The Sound Test LIVE, with Dale Fowler, are available through Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/_secretcave
This week's playlist:
Tsuki No Koibumi – C418 & Laura Shigihara [One]
Wait – C418 [Minecraft]
Industrial Quarter (City) – Gareth Coker [Minecraft: Battle & Tumble]
Title Screen – Tim Follin [Ghouls ‘n Ghosts]
Ghostbusters – Adam Bellin [Ghostbusters]
Jerry Was a Racecar Driver – Primus [Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater]
The Human Race (Sub 01) – Originally composed by Rob Hubbard [Hubbard 80s]
The Wilderness (from “The Last Ninja”) – FastLoaders (original composed by Ben Daglish) [Ninja Musicology]
Intro – Jeroen Tel [Robocop 3]
In Space (Metal Twolegs Remix) – Jeroen Tel [The Sound of SceneSat, Vol. 2]
Night Driver – TDK [Me!]
Ryu’s Theme – Yoko Shimomura & Isao Abe [Street Fighter II]
Ken’s Theme – Yoko Shimomura & Isao Abe [Street Fighter II]
Silence – Yumiko Kanki & Naoto Ishida [F-Zero]
Page One (Menu Theme) – Motoi Sakuraba (restored by Cyanne) [Golden Sun]
Jihua Shengyu – Baby Mawson [Instincts of the Blastosphere]
Title Screen – Rob Hubbard & Ben Daglish [Auf Wiedersehen Monty]
Roked – Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & the Rajasthan Express [Junun]
MAIN THEME:
Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo & Yasuake Iwata - World 8 [Super Mario 3D World]
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes

40: ST2 #01 - Minecraft (w/C418, Gareth Coker & Laura Shigihara) Nov 01, 2019

Show notes

To kick off this first pre-Christmas mini-run of ST2, Minecraft seemed perfect. As I type this, it's the best-selling video game of all time, and it's a safe bet that practically every gamer has dipped into its blocky world at some point. Many of us, myself included, have done far more than simply dip in, using its subjective gameplay and nearly infinite possibilities to construct an addictive other life.
Along with its influential mechanics, Minecraft is known for its unique approach to music and sound. Its original soundtrack, by C418, is an intensely minimal slow burn through gorgeous piano melodies and soft strings. Once Microsoft acquired the brand, publishing a string of commercial ports and updates, Gareth Coker (known for Ori and the Blind Forest) came on board to score a variety of mash-up packs and minigames. His five albums for Minecraft are just as impressive and interesting as C418's initial work, and I'm honoured to welcome both talents onto this debut episode of ST2. As if that weren't enough, the incredible Laura Shigihara makes a short cameo appearance, discussing her previous collaboration with C418. Laura will later appear in two further episodes of ST2, covering Plants vs. Zombies and Rakuen, and it was great to include her in this huge celebration of Minecraft's audio.
We discuss Minecraft's music in painstaking depth, and I hope you enjoy hearing their insights!
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
C418 on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/C418
Gareth Coker on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/garethcoker
Laura Shigihara on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/supershigi
Available through the following platforms:
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes
Stitcher
and many more...
Support, next week's Fable episode with Russell Shaw, unedited interviews, backdated LIVE shows and more:
http://patreon.com/_secretcave

39: BONUS - Tom Salta Interview (Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Red Steel, Crackdown & more!) Oct 14, 2019

Show notes

Wolfenstein: Youngblood music samples:
https://soundcloud.com/tomsalta/sets/wolvenstein-youngblood
tomsalta.com
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter
Tom Salta on Twitter
Also available on:
iTunes
Spotify
YouTube
Stitcher

Pledge to this Patreon to help support The Sound Test's second season, and unlock backdated episodes of its LIVE version (and other content)!

38: BONUS - Telling Lies (w/Nainita Desai) Sep 07, 2019

Show notes

Telling Lies on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/762830/Telling_Lies/
Telling Lies OST:
https://open.spotify.com/album/4gp3qWnIlQ5htjjdxxzLqZ?si=UCzJrDYaQtObc631btPlUg
https://music.apple.com/us/album/telling-lies-original-soundtrack-ep/1477151521
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter
Nainita Desai on Twitter
Also available on:
iTunes
Spotify
YouTube
Stitcher

Pledge to this Patreon to help support The Sound Test's second season, and unlock backdated episodes of its LIVE version (and other content)!

37: LIVE - 28/07/19 [VGM RADIO FINALE] Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

All future streams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jf...
Requests and contact:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
All backdated episodes of The Sound Test LIVE are available through Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/_secretcave
This week's playlist:
Morihiko Akiyama - Column Dive [Columns III: Revenge of the Columns]
Super Square, Mega Ran, Wilber Roget, II & A_rival - Rise [Mortal Kombat 11]
Gareth Coker - Double Time (Tumble) [Minecraft: Battle & Tumble]
Gareth Coker - Judges of the Dead (Nether) [Minecraft: Egyptian Mythology]
Austin Wintory - Apotheosis [Journey]
Peter McConnell - Manny & Meche [Grim Fandango]
Michael Land & Patrick Mundy - Opening Themes & Intro [The Secret of Monkey Island]
Pascal Michael Stiefel - Dead Bird Studio [A Hat in Time]
Koji Kondo (composition) & Yoko Shimomura (arrangement) - Super Pipe House [Super Mario RPG]
The Mooney Suzuki - Alive & Amplified [Sean White's Snowboarding]
Megadeth - Duke Nukem [Warchest]
Koji Kondo - Steam Gardens [Super Mario Odyssey]
Mark Mothersbaugh - Hum Stutter [Boom Blox]
Norma Tanega - You're Dead [What We Do in the Shadows]
Hirofumi Murasaki, Morihiko Akiyama and/or Masayuki Nagao - Sumo Devotion [Aa Harimanada]
Jake Kaufman - Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage) [Shovel Knight]
Russell Shaw - 07 [Magic Carpet]
Trevor Yuile - Primed for Combat [Starlink: Battle for Atlas]
Joris de Man & The Flight - In Great Strides (Part 2): Out of the Embrace [Horizon Zero Dawn]
Andrew Prahlow - Timber Hearth [Outer Wilds]
Hirokazu Tanaka (composition) & ??? (arrangement) – Wrecking Crew Medley [Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]
Shigenori Masuk - Tomorrowland (Space Mountain) [Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibouken]
Robin Beanland & Grant Kirkhope - Killer Instinct Title Theme (Vintage Score) [Killer Instinct]
Grant Kirkhope - Xeno Titan [Sid Meier's Civilisation: Beyond Earth]
Koji Kondo (composition), Soichi Noriki (arrangement) & Mario World Band (performance) - Super Mario World [Super Mario World]
Pavement - Shady Lane/J vs. S [Brighten the Corners]
MAIN THEME:
Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo & Yasuake Iwata - World 8 [Super Mario 3D World]
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes

36: LIVE - 21/07/19 (feat. Professor Elemental) [Weekly VGM Radio] Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

All future streams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jf...
Requests and contact:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
All backdated episodes of The Sound Test LIVE are available through Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/_secretcave
This week's playlist:
Yuzo Koshiro – The Streets of Rage [Streets of Rage]
Laugh and Peace – Polaroid [Vib-Ribbon]
Shoji Meguro & Lyn Inaizumi – With the Stars and Us [Persona 5]
Nima Fakhrara – Empty Streets [1979 Revolution: Black Friday]
John Paesano – Inside the Numbers [Marvel’s Spider-Man]
Austin Wintory – I Was Born for This [Journey]
Austin Wintory – No Tree Grows to the Sky [The Banner Saga]
Mark Morgan – World Map [Fallout]
Orbital – Petrol [Wipeout]
Hiroki Kikuta – The Second Truth From the Left [The Secret of Mana]
Matt Furniss – Theme 1 [Bill’s Tomato Game]
Professor Elemental – Fighting Trousers [The Indifference Engine]
Professor Elemental – One Too Many [School of Whimsy]
Nobuo Uematsu – The Spy [Final Fantasy VIII]
Jeff Wayne (composition) and Stephen Murphy (arrangement) – Dead London [Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds]
Mark Mothersbaugh – Makeover [The Sims 2]
Hirokazu Tanaka (composition) & ??? (arrangement) – Wrecking Crew Medley [Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]
David Wise (composition) & Symphonic Gamers Orchestra (arrangement) – Donkey Kong Country 2 Suite
Mark Mothersbaugh – Ping Island/Lighning Strike Rescue Op [The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou]
Professor Elemental – Just Like an Otter [Amazing Friends II]
MAIN THEME:
Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo & Yasuake Iwata - World 8 [Super Mario 3D World]
YouTube
Spotify
iTunes

35: ST2 TRAILER - Game Boy (w/Steve Rockett) Jul 08, 2019

Show notes

Trailer video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbayssshFJU
Lee Tyrrell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenT128
The Sound Test Season 1: https://audioboom.com/channels/4966905

34: BONUS - LIVE Jeroen Tel Interview (30/06/19) Jul 01, 2019

Show notes

All future LIVE episodes stream every Friday, 7:30pm (GMT):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jf-ef67-A3H79fLoRDtoQ
Contact:
https://twitter.com/GreenT128
YouTube:
https://youtu.be/5npnBff0af0
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0nt97mhg0PgE3pqUmDXmhC
iTunes:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sound-test/id1418674203?mt=2