Fire Emblem Fates Theme Song

“Lost in Thoughts, All Alone”: An In-Depth Musical Analysis

*WARNING* Mild spoilers ahead, about Fire Emblem Fates, Birthright (Chapter 12) and Conquest (Chapter 14). If you have not yet gotten to either of those chapters, be advised that I will include cutscenes that are in those chapters, but I won’t go too deep into the storyline, besides a brief and vague explanation as to what is happening on screen. If you are currently playing or intend to play one or both of these games, and would prefer to have every cutscene be a complete surprise, I suggest you not continue reading! But please come back after you get past those parts :3

However, if you do not mind a minor spoiler (I think one of the cutscenes was used in a trailer, actually) (not that trailers never ruin anything though -___-), or if you’ve already gotten this far in the game(s), OR if you are simply never going to play the game(s), then please, by all means keep reading! ^_^

Continue reading →

Interview with Nikhil Koparkar

Nikhil Koparkar’s stylistic range as well as epic and gorgeous orchestrations immediately intrigued me when I first heard his music on soundcloud. The brilliant composer took some time from his busy schedule to speak with me about a variety of fascinating musical topics, including the ever-changing nature of games, creative deadlines, and the beauty of deliberate exposure to unfamiliar music.

Continue reading →

Interview with Skittlegirl

As many composers would likely tell you, falling into a set style and way of composing—though sometimes unintentional—is a common obstacle in the creative process. This is most definitely not the case for Silicon Valley-based composer Skittlegirl, whose creative breadth and immense diversity in compositional styles is simply astounding. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Holly (Skittlegirl) in person, where we had a very exciting and thought-provoking conversation about feeling the power of music for the first time, decoding developer’s desires, and creative option anxiety. Continue reading →

Interview with ADreamer

ADreamer’s music instantly caught my attention, with its intriguing JRPG and anime influences. The amount of heart and care is so apparent in his compositions, and the emotional depth and complexity in development is truly moving. Here’s my interview with the Singapore-based composer Alvin (ADreamer), where he shared his thoughts and experiences about writing stories, creative freedom (and restriction), and being able to feel the heart that composers put in their music. Continue reading →

Interview with Calbert Warner

Recently I discovered Calbert Warner (Schematist), a New York-based video game music composer, on soundcloud. The encouraging and instructional nature of a lot of his videos, and his overall professionalism really stood out to me. I reached out to the talented composer, and was fortunate to have a great conversation with him! Check out our interview here, where we discussed starting off with just the basics, composing imaginatively, and recognizing the merit of every composition.

Continue reading →

10 Categories of Video Game Music

Games currently playing: Brave Frontier, Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Fire Emblem Fates – Birthright

In my music theory classes every week, I like teaching my students about an interesting instrument or genre/style of music that I really like and want to expose them to. So far this semester, we’ve learned about the steel drum, the erhu (my favorite instrument <3), keyboard percussion (specifically xylophone, glockenspiel, marimba, and vibraphone), bluegrass music, the oud, ragtime music, extended techniques on Western instruments, and this past week… Video game music! 😀 Continue reading →