I already loved Red Bull Music Academy for their lectures, podcasts and whatever else they have their hands in… I love them even more for Diggin’ In The Carts. This program is legit. I’m totally digging how it shines a light on gaming music. I mean, what has been really cool in the 80s and 90’s is how creative musical programming had to be to bypass the limits of technology. An old apple 2 had the capacity for one single tone at a time. How they got it to (a) shout German at the player rocking the original Wolfenstein) or (b) layer chords into the single tone with subroutines is totally beyond my understanding. Once you get into the PS2 era and MP3 files can be on the game disc, giving you full soundtracks playing GTA Vice City, creativity was no longer required. Just record a voice. Does anyone even remember synthesized voice? How long has it been when we just had voice actors record parts? it was once a big deal you could get a console accessory with a rudimentary voice synth. It neatly corresponds with the rise of the Moog and electronic music in the days predating the sampler. This art is worth preserving even if it is totally a function of the limitations of technology. The special eight-part series blasts out of Japan to explore video game soundtracks and their composers from all over the world.
From the press release:
From 8-bit to 64-bit and beyond, host Nick Dwyer expands on Red Bull Radio’s previous two seasons to travel outside the island of Japan for this new eight-part season of two-hour episodes, shining a light on the games, creators, composers, sounds and systems from the UK, US, Europe and beyond.
Born out of a 2014 Red Bull Music Academy documentary series written and directed by Dwyer, Diggin’ in the Carts joined the Red Bull Radio ranks in 2016. In 2017, Diggin’ in the Carts continued to evolve, returning for a second season on Red Bull Radio and as a compilation album released by legendary UK electronic label Hyperdub and a live tour with stops in Los Angeles, Tokyo and London that featured Kode9, Yuzo Koshiro, Motohiro Kawashima and more. After many years working on this project, Dwyer, who is based in Tokyo, has profiled and featured countless figures, artists, luminaries and industry veterans from the world of gaming, and this third season marks an exciting new chapter for Dwyer and Diggin’ in the Carts.
“As a result of having my head so deep in Japanese video game music for these past few years, I was biased in my thinking that there wasn’t an awful lot worth checking from beyond its borders,” Dwyer says. “My goals for season three were to prove myself wrong and over the past 10 months researching for this, I think I’ve more than done just that. There is an unbelievable rich history, filled with composers that were true pioneers in every sense of the word. I hope listeners will feel the same way!”
The first episode of season three will feature Atari founder and Pong producer Nolan Bushnell, a primer on Commodore Amigasoundtracks, Donkey Kong Country composer David Wise and Fool’s Gold Records affiliate Nightwave as a guest host.
Each episode explores different games, creators and composers from the U.K., U.S. and beyond. Surveying video game music and the global impact it has on music and culture, listeners to the new season can expect to hear from guests like Yaeji, Marco Passarani, composers C418, Tim Follin and Ben Daglish as well as chiptune expert Anders Carlsson and many, many more.
New episodes will air every Thursday for eight weeks starting 9/27 through 11/15 at 7PM EST on redbullradio.com