Post by Wyrdwad on Oct 25, 2014 3:36:45 GMT -5
All this time, the Follin brothers and Jake Kaufman were pretty much my top-tier picks for non-Japanese game musicians, and I didn't think anyone else could ever quite give them a run for their money.
...Then, in the course of listening to tracks for my Soundtrack Sleuth videos, I discovered Alberto Jose Gonzalez.
I had no idea this dude existed, mostly because he's composed largely for licensed games that are most likely viewed as shovelware (Smurfs and such) and now works primarily on iOS titles and such. But DAMN, this guy is totally up there with the greats.
Just listen to this track and tell me it's not one of the best 8-bit techno songs you've ever heard. (Skip ahead to the 1:00 mark if you don't want to deal with the intro, but I kinda like it -- it adds a little extra mood to the piece!)
Here's a more mellow, emotional piece from him (from his very first NES soundtrack, no less!).
And a couple tracks from the GBC version of Turok 2, including the one I used in Soundtrack Sleuth episode 5. These absolutely SCREAM Tim Follin to me (especially the second) -- I swear, this Gonzalez dude managed to out-Follin the Follin brothers.
And here's a track from one of his later-era GBC releases. I had no idea the GBC could even produce this full of a sound. It really sounds like it's using waaaaay more channels than the GBC has!
I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with his work or not (I imagine Gamemusicfreak must have at least heard of him before), but for me, discovering this guy was a total HOLY CRAP moment -- he really has shot up my list of favorite VGM composers almost instantly, and I felt compelled to share because... well, just listen!
Here's a full list of his works, and some info on him as well:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Jose_Gonzalez
I hope to hear more of his stuff in the future. Maybe some indie game designer can recruit him into the limelight or something, or one of his own games will hit it big -- because damn, he seriously deserves it.
-Tom
...Then, in the course of listening to tracks for my Soundtrack Sleuth videos, I discovered Alberto Jose Gonzalez.
I had no idea this dude existed, mostly because he's composed largely for licensed games that are most likely viewed as shovelware (Smurfs and such) and now works primarily on iOS titles and such. But DAMN, this guy is totally up there with the greats.
Just listen to this track and tell me it's not one of the best 8-bit techno songs you've ever heard. (Skip ahead to the 1:00 mark if you don't want to deal with the intro, but I kinda like it -- it adds a little extra mood to the piece!)
Here's a more mellow, emotional piece from him (from his very first NES soundtrack, no less!).
And a couple tracks from the GBC version of Turok 2, including the one I used in Soundtrack Sleuth episode 5. These absolutely SCREAM Tim Follin to me (especially the second) -- I swear, this Gonzalez dude managed to out-Follin the Follin brothers.
And here's a track from one of his later-era GBC releases. I had no idea the GBC could even produce this full of a sound. It really sounds like it's using waaaaay more channels than the GBC has!
I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with his work or not (I imagine Gamemusicfreak must have at least heard of him before), but for me, discovering this guy was a total HOLY CRAP moment -- he really has shot up my list of favorite VGM composers almost instantly, and I felt compelled to share because... well, just listen!
Here's a full list of his works, and some info on him as well:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Jose_Gonzalez
I hope to hear more of his stuff in the future. Maybe some indie game designer can recruit him into the limelight or something, or one of his own games will hit it big -- because damn, he seriously deserves it.
-Tom
