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Since we usually venture more towards either nerdcore or chiptunes, we thought we’d put another group of musicians in the spotlight, especially just because they’re too often overlooked.
Sure, there are guys like Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage) Martin O”Donnell (Halo 2/3) and Harry Gregson-Williams (Metal Gear Solid games), whom are hailed as industry giants, but for a multi billion-dollar industry you ‘d think video game composers would have earned more respect (how long have The Grammys had a ‘Comedy’ category?).
That’s why The Computer Game Musicians Group (CGM), a group of freelance artists who specialize in scoring both indie and mainstream games, has been formed — to give themselves and anyone else aspiring to compose gaming music a voice. Comprised of musicians from all over the world, The CGM has taken to Soundcloud and Bandcamp to share their music soundtracks, as well as their love of composing gaming music.
In the U.S., there’s rising stars like Python Blue; In Mobile from France, and Cantarin Antonio, from Italy — all of whom celebrate a love of diverse kinds of music, and express it in their soundtracks.
While it’s too soon to tell whether this actually helps more people take notice of the skill level and creativity composing game music takes, it certainly can’t hurt — as gaming composer Walter Mair pointed out to UK paper The Independent a couple years back, “We use the same musicians, the same level of orchestration and the same studios such as Abbey Road as Hollywood films…it costs just as much. Even the sound engineers are the same.”
Currently comprised of 220 members, The CGM is still seeking out new composers to join their ranks. If you happen to compose video game music, you can look them up and message them on Soundcloud.
Jeff Nau – who has written 1264 posts on The Jace Hall Show.
Jeff Nau is a main contributor to the Jace Hall Show covering pop culture and music trends in the nerd community. He has contributed to San Diego City Beat, 944, and Ill Literature, amongst others, and spends his spare time working as an artist and photographer.

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