Kaleidoscope Original Soundtrack
| Composed by | djpretzel / Mattias Häggström Gerdt |
| Published by | OverClocked ReMix |
| Catalog number | OCRO-0001 |
| Release type | Game Soundtrack - Official Release |
| Format | 1 Digital - 7 tracks |
| Release date | February 12, 2010 |
| Duration | 00:16:16 |
| Genres |
Overview
The Kaleidoscope Original Soundtrack is OverClocked ReMix's first original soundtrack release, in a new movement by the website and prominent game music arranging community to act as publishers of original video game music. The fact that this is even possible is a testament to the dedication of fans and arrangers in video game music, and is certainly a welcomed initiative. However, note that Kaleidoscope is a little-known low budget indie game and not any major title. As you may have expected, the main composer Mattias Häggström Gerdt (aka Another Soundscape) and contributor David Lloyd (djpretzel) were each bred in the OCR environment, perhaps giving further reason to its release through the publishers. You will also be pleased to know that while the Kaleidoscope game has to be purchased through Xbox Live, the album itself is free of charge to game music fans, and can be download in torrent form at OCR.
Body
This album can be seen as a landmark in OverClocked Remix's history, but it's sad to announce that the themes featured aren't exactly the best things to come out of the community. Although Gerdt wished to give each theme a unique feel, each theme is mostly the same. I am informed the first track on the album, "Home (Main Theme of Kaleidoscope)," was created before he was asked to work on Kaleidoscope. Interestingly enough, it's also his best theme on the album, featuring a quaint melody and really relaxing synth. Upon listening to the next track though, "Pretty Pleasantries (Greenwood Breach)," the album skydives with the theme featuring a simple ostinato and boring development. Of course, this can be taken either way, with the composer intending to compliment Sang Han's in-game art and create a happy-go-lucky feel. In a sense, he does succeed, but perhaps he could have executed his approach differently.
Next up on the album is "Troublesome Travels (Windyridge Harvest)," which again is a simple and laidback theme. The instrumentation is mostly similar, but includes a rock organ which plays some of the melody. One good point about the track is its odd rhythm, which actually gives it a bit more personality alongside the other themes. As well as this, much of the same devices in this theme are used in "Variations on Navigation (Map)" which is also a bit quirky, yet ultimately pretty droll. At least "Malevolent Mysteries (Murkwood Creep)" and "Old Oddities (Nostalgic Heights)" stray away a little from this, being two fairly decent themes. "Malevolent Mysteries..." is the album's sole mysterious theme, whereas "Old Oddities..." is a homage to 8-bit and 16-bit game consoles. The latter track is actually pretty enjoyable after you get used to it.
The most original contribution to the soundtrack actually comes from OCR owner djpretzel (David Lloyd) in the form of "Looking Glass (End Credits)," and with its addictive synth lines, it's actually the best track on the album too. It's nice to hear something a little different after hearing the hearing the same sound six times in a row. Funnily enough, it's also the shortest theme on the album, and here's me criticising the others for being underdeveloped...
Summary
With such a good background, one would assume that OCR's first original game music release would be a decent album with solid, unique themes. The Kaleidoscope Original Soundtrack, though, falls short of the mark in this regard, being quite short and mostly repetitive. In the liner notes, the composer does explain that he wished to create a cohesive soundtrack (which he succeeds at doing) but also that he wished to give each world a unique identity. I don't see the latter point so much reflected through what is offered on this album. The same superficial sound effects are used in each, the developments in each track are mostly unimpressive, and overall, each theme emanates a laid back atmosphere. The good news though is that it is free and readily downloadable, so don't be afraid to give it a listen, but don't expect anything outstanding.
Dave Valentine
Kaleidoscope Original Soundtrack [OCRO-0001]
Kaleidoscope developed by Morsel Games (http://PlayMorsel.com) for Xbox LIVE Indie Games
Tracks 1-6 composed and produced by Mattias Häggström Gerdt (a.k.a. Another Soundscape)
Track 7 composed and produced by David W. Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel)
Contact: mattias@anosou.com
Composers' comments:
With Kaleidoscope, the main goal of the music was giving each world a unique identity while still making the soundtrack feel cohesive and as a whole. I worked hard on finding a few basic instruments that fit Sang Han's fantastic art and then built the tracks around these. To give them a unique identity, I made sure the main hooks were played by instruments that went well with the unique themes of the different worlds.
For 'Pretty Pleasantries,' the main thought was to make a rather simple and upbeat track to ease the player into the experience. Most World 1-1 themes from history's platformers have used this kind of happy music and I thought it was only fitting that I followed their lead. The synths and drums might seem a bit on the simple sounds but I honestly like it that way, it went well with the clean art Sang produced.
For 'Troublesome Travels,' I tried to capture that special mood of autumn. Not quite sad but never really able to be happy. The harmonies and instrumentation reflects this somewhat (I hope) and the odd phrasing gave the track a sort of uneasiness that I found very amusing while writing it.
In 'Malevolent Mysteries,' the task was to create an atmospheric, dark almost mysterious mood. Compared to the other worlds in Kaleidoscope, this one has black withered trees and isn't very cozy at all. Instead of going straight horror with Adams Family instruments I kept relatively close to the rest of the soundtrack. I focused instead on keeping it atmospheric, always in minor, and make the instruments seem a bit more hollow. The sounds are heavily reverbed and delayed and the atmosphere it created worked well.
The final level track, 'Old Oddities,' is basically one big tribute to the old classics. The world is influenced by the old 8-bit and 16-bit consoles so I gave the music the same treatment. Seeing as 16-bit sounds aren't as compelling to me as 4-bit and 8-bit, I focused on the sounds of the Game Boy and C64. If my mind serves me right there's even a Sinclair Spectrum in there but I might be imagining things. The only instrument I sampled myself is the Game Boy sound, that's my old brick Game Boy and Little Sound Dj making some noises. It's processed with both basic equalizer, some easy low-pass filtering and delay/reverb to make sure it sat well with the "regular" synths. The time signature changes, melody and harmony is something I'm still extremely happy with. The track really DID sound odd when I was done but I found myself humming it for days after working on it. It's definitely my favorite of the bunch.
Based on these four tracks, I constructed the Map theme. Using a very simple melody and bass, I could expand it with instruments corresponding to each world. In the game this track sounds different depending on which world you're currently standing in, so if you're in the 8-bit influenced world, the map theme will include the previously mentioned Game Boy samples. This was my way of further using the distinct "sound" of each world, to make sure the map theme would work wherever on the map you were.
The Main Theme was made long before the other tracks. I must admit, I actually made it before I was asked to work on Kaleidoscope. When Matthew approached me with his vision of the game and the opening scene though I knew this was a perfect fit. I have a weak spot for bells and mallets (if you hadn't noticed), and the sound used here is one of my absolute favorites, courtesy of ReasonBanks proVITAMIN Refill.
Finally, I just want to thank a few people. I know, this is not a speech, I didn't get a prize but still! Dave for agreeing to contribute an AMAZING track to the game, for being supportive, for releasing the soundtrack, for creating OCR, for basically making my career and being generally awesome. Larry Oji and the other guys at OCR for support and feedback. Jeriaska for being a strong supporter of VGM in all ways imaginable and a good friend. Matt and Sang for making this fantastic game and being generally sexy. Much love!
Keep appreciating, supporting and promoting video game music!
Mattias Häggström Gerdt
mattias@anosou.com
http://anosou.com
http://twitter.com/anosou
http://ocremix.org/artist/4751/another-soundscape
When Mattias first linked me to a WIP of his work on Kaleidoscope, I instantly "got" the sound he was going for: the score has a very distinct mechanic & aesthetic, emphasizing a blend of chromatic percussion/mallet elements within a pure, distilled electronica environment.
I think it fits the game quite well, and for my own contribution, I really just tried to respect what he came up with by penning a short original melody and trying to emulate that style to the best of my ability. I had the pleasure of playing the game at PAX '09, and I'm looking forward to the final build, since I love platformers.
This is actually my first original scoring for a video game of any kind, and while it's short and heavily inspired by Mattias's excellent work, I'm still proud of it and glad I could contribute to the game in some way.
David W. Lloyd
djpretzel@ocremix.org
http://ocremix.org
http://twitter.com/djpretzel
http://ocremix.org/artist/4279/djpretzel
Morsel Games:
http://facebook.com/pages/Kaleidoscope/121218962154/
http://twitter.com/playmorsel
http://youtube.com/playmorsel
| 1 | Home (Main Theme of Kaleidoscope) | 01:48 | |
| 2 | Pretty Pleasantries (Greenwood Breach) | 02:32 | |
| 3 | Troublesome Travels (Windyridge Harvest) | 02:36 | |
| 4 | Malevolent Mysteries (Murkwood Creep) | 02:23 | |
| 5 | Old Oddities (Nostalgic Heights) | 02:53 | |
| 6 | Variations on Navigation (Map) | 02:43 | |
| 7 | Looking Glass (End Credits) | 01:21 |  |
