Episode 1
Mark Savage charts the evolution of video game music, from Pong’s basic bleeps to the sweeping scores of Red Dead Redemption 2.
Video game music has come a long way since the bleeps and bloops of Pong. Games like Assassin’s Creed and Red Dead Redemption 2 now come with dense, cinematic scores that stretch over 50 or 60 hours of playing time.
Mark Savage speaks to some of the industry's leading composers, including Yoko Shimomura (Street Fighter II), Grant Kirkhope (Goldeneye) and Bafta-winner Jessica Curry (Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture) and finds out how games companies threw a lifeline to Europe’s orchestras when they started commissioning new works.
He’ll also find out how Michael Jackson and David Bowie ended up as video game characters; and why bands like Depeche Mode and Katy Perry have re-recorded their hits in gibberish for the hit game The Sims.
Recorded in Japan, the US and UK, the programme also features observations from gaming expert Charlie Brooker, who chooses his favourite video game music in a separate 6 Music show on 3 March.
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Music Played
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Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Telephone and Rubber Band
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Jimi Tenor
Moonfolks
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Polo & Pan
Mexicali
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Bikini Kill
Rebel Girl
- Kill Rock Stars.
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Kraftwerk
The Telephone Call
Broadcasts
- Sun 3 Mar 2019 13:00BBC Radio 6 Music
- Sun 10 Mar 2019 02:00BBC Radio 6 Music
Featured in...
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Video Games
Final Fantasy VII, Charlie Brooker's Video Game Playlist and Irish gaming
