The debut of Shizukesa as inspired by Ghost of Tsushima
In our first entry in the Art x Gaming collectors’ series, we established that gaming is an art form with the ability to drive compelling stories and acts as a powerful medium to express creative designs. There are many artistic layers that comprise the memorable and emotional essence of a game. Each creative layer building on the next until a masterpiece is created. One layer that I think has been pivotal in the success of some of the most iconic games is music.
If you are like me your childhood was filled with classic games with badass soundtracks like Streets of Rage, Super Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. One of my all-time favorite soundtracks comes from the timeless “Tony Hawk Pro Skater”, which to this day has me singing Goldfinger’s “Super Man” anytime I think of it. In my humble opinion, it would be hard to argue that it did not have one of the most memorable soundtracks in gaming history.
Games like Tony Hawk, Super Mario, Zelda, and many others have the special ability to invoke an emotional connection, in large part because of the nostalgic feeling that’s triggered by the joyful tunes we associate with our favorite game. According to Psychology Today, “Music has the ability to evoke powerful emotional responses such as chills and thrills in listeners. Positive emotions dominate musical experiences. Pleasurable music may lead to the release of neurotransmitters associated with reward, such as dopamine. Listening to music is an easy way to alter mood or relieve stress”.
Video game music composers use this very concept to immerse the player into a new world, taking video games from just a visual connection to an emotional connection.
Who can honestly say their hands don’t get sweaty when they hear Mike Gordon’s “Rip & Tear” while playing doom on nightmare difficulty? The screech of heavy metal music while gamers bludgeon blood-soaked demons is a powerful way to get the player's adrenaline pumping. These type of auditory queues reach players in memorable ways, furthering the connection and nostalgia of a game long after your done playing.
But game music has ascended past just the complimentary aspect of games and has become a vehicle for musical appreciation. Concerts have been created for the sole purpose of re-creating the timeless musical classics from our favorite games. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed pieces of music from Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil, and The Last of Us at the Royal Albert Hall. Video Games Live! is an interactive concert/light show extravaganza that showcases video game scores played by a live orchestra. There is a growing appreciation of video game composers and their music.
As the video game industry continues to grow and dominate popular culture, we see video game music become an essential part of marketing plans for musicians and managers as it presents the opportunity for new artists to grow their exposure.
Companies like EA and 2K games take great strides to curate great music for their titles. “We often begin working on a soundtrack almost a year in advance, trying to identify new music we believe will define the sound of the coming season,” says Steve Schnur. "We knew that video games could become what MTV and commercial radio had once been in the 80s and 90s. Any given song in Fifa 19 – whether it’s a new track by an established act or the debut of an unknown artist – will be heard around the world nearly 1bn times. Clearly, no medium in the history of recorded music can deliver such massive and instantaneous global exposure.” Games like Fifa and 2k have become musical showcases, routinely displaying talented artists from around the world.
This type of reach and ability to grow an artist’s notoriety is unprecedented. Beat Fever is a mobile game helping to generate better engagement between players and musicians. Players engage with their favorite music by tapping along with it and are then invited to stream the tracks in full on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
When Steve Aoki’s track Azukita was featured in the game for two weeks, its streams increased by 2.3m. The landscape for musical development in video games has definitely evolved, but it continues to establish emotional connections with our favorite games and provide artists a platform to orchestrate beautiful compositions.
One upcoming game and soundtrack that we are super excited about is Ghosts of Tsushima. The game takes place during the Mongol invasion of the island of Tsushima. Centered around a lone samurai seeking to save his land from hordes of invaders, Jin Sakai will need to traverse and fight his way through his beautiful but war-torn island. Through videos and concept art we were able to see that the game was going to be full of beautiful landscapes and complex emotions.
Having musical composition that was indicative of the emotional complexity was so important that publishing company, Sucker Punch Studios, needed two veteran composers, Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru “Ume” Umebayashi, to capture the full array of emotions. As Audio Director for the studio, Bradley Meyer said, “Having multiple voices sculpting the score can weave a more diverse and elaborate musical tapestry for the game’s story and action to sit upon. Ilan and Ume both brought something very special to the score that we used to craft the emotional backbone of the entire world: from the story to combat exploring the island”.
We here at Capitol Underground were inspired by the story, beautiful environment, musical compositions, and attention to detail in Ghosts of Tsushima; we collaborated with producer, DJ, musician, and DMV native ANTY to compose, Shizukesa, an original composition for our next Art x Gaming series.
Hailing from Virginia Beach, Virginia, hometown to juggernaut artists Pharrell Williams, Timberland, and Missy Elliot. He pays homage to those who paved the way for his distinct hypnotically bouncy sound. ANTY’s warm melodies and eclectic use of sounds create an enjoyable journey any listener can appreciate.
We were able to sit down with ANTY and learn more about him as an artist and gamer, his musical journey, and what inspired his unique sound for Shizukesa.
Artist Spotlight
Cap: What about Ghost of Tsushima inspired you to create Shizukesa!
ANTY: I became fascinated by Samurai as a kid growing up watching anime, Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai Jack, and Inuyasha. From there I fell into the rabbit hole and discovered the Japanese culture where I get a lot of my inspiration to this day.
Cap: How did you go about complimenting the unique sound of Shizukesa with the complex tone of the game?
ANTY: This was by far the most challenging aspect of creating Shizukesa. One of my strengths and what a lot of people recognize my sound for is the elaboration of emotion in melodies coupled with cinematic effects. A lot of this comes from my early years of listening to the sonic journey of classical music. But with creating a sound for the game, I had to analyze the tone of the graphic design and mood of the developers. It was a given that Japanese instruments would be used, but how I would execute it came from experiencing the footage of the gameplay. The sound had to tell a story as much as the game was telling a story.
Cap: What type of games are you into?
ANTY: My brother will joke me about this, but I play a lot of Fortnite. It's just a great game to unwind to and have fun with. The jovial nature of it although a step back in graphics is what makes it so fun. When I’m not playing Fortnite, I’m playing Modern Warfare or FIFA.
Cap: What’s your favorite game of all time?
ANTY: I don’t really have a favorite because I’ve been gaming since 93’ when my dad bought a Sega Genesis (that I still have to this day.) But I definitely have memorable games of each generation of gaming systems. For Sega, it was NBA Jam and Sonic. On the N64 it was GoldenEye, No Mercy, and Mario Kart. For Playstation, it was the Tekken series and Metal Gear Solid. And for Xbox, it was Call of Duty and the Elder Scrolls series.
Cap: Can you tell us how you got into music and your journey?
ANTY: I come from a pretty musically gifted family. Apart from several of my cousins, I get a lot of my talent from my dad. He was a choir director and led music growing up in church and continues to make music in his off time. He played the piano, guitar, and trumpet (which was the first instrument I played). It’s always been a part of life for me, and I don’t really remember a time without it. We used to clean to music, jam out in the car on road trips to music, and of course, praise GOD with music. No genre was left untouched in the house. Blues, Rock, Classical, Praise and Worship, RnB, 80’s Pop, we listened to it all. And I'm very grateful for it because it shaped my musicality.
Cap: How was it combining music and gaming for the first time?
ANTY: It's always been a dream of mine to do something like this and I'm really happy with how it came out. The mix of emotion and the buildup in the beginning then a switch in the mood to ultimately the drop is allegorical to the way of a Samurai. Which is why I called it Shizukesa, which translates to Serenity. The countryside of many Japanese prefectures is peaceful and calming and fits perfectly with the beginning of the track. In the cover art, I placed a Lotus flower in the background which symbolizes growth in even the most ambiguous of conditions. Aligning with the more chaotic nature of the second half of the song and how it parallels to the way of the Samurai.
Cap: Can you shed light on your creative process and approach when creating music?
ANTY: From Bonsai (which is also the name of the collective I am a part of) to Kendama, the Japanese focus on discipline and bettering oneself has been instilled in my creative process. It lets me take a step back and focus on what I am trying to convey and how I want to execute it. Other than that, it’s a lot of experimentation and putting things in then taking things out. My “ear” does most of the work in the sense that If I don’t like how something is feeling, I change it.
Cap: Can you describe the type of music you make?
ANTY: I used to struggle with this question a lot. But as I've grown in the last few years, my sound has developed into what I call Melodic Bounce. In my niche, most people recognize it as Electronic but it’s really a blend of sub-genres ranging from Trap to Chillwave, to Lofi. Some even call it Vapor Twitch, haha, but I will never put myself in a box. To me, genres are an old way of thinking. Nowadays, most of my producer peers are multi-talented and can make anything.
Cap: How important is game music in games?
ANTY: Soundtracks for games are crucial. It can really make or break a game to me because you’re playing this game for hours and outside of the sound effects and dialogue you are only listening to the music. My brother and I used to exhaustedly play FIFA and the soundtrack was one of the reasons why. I've been put onto so much music from games like FIFA, Madden, Tony Hawk, and others. It’s truly a fusion of arts.
Cap: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
ANTY: I try to release a track a month these days. With raising a daughter and balancing work and a family it's hard to find time to release 2 or 3 tracks a month like I used to. But I continue to try and get at least one out a month and a project or two a year. I recently released a collaborative project with a hometown homie, Blake G; which was my first Hip Hop project. Now I’m focusing on my next project out August 28th or the weekend before my birthday. The project is called “Spectrum” and will really be an eclectic arrangement of sounds. I tend to have cohesive concepts when releasing projects but this one will be a bit more relaxed and I’m having more fun making it.
Cap: How can our audience follow your journey?
ANTY: You can follow me on any of the major social media networks like IG, Twitter, FB (Tik Tok just isn’t for me.. I’m too old haha). But you can find my music on any streaming platform such as SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Music. Don’t hesitate to reach out on any of these, I really enjoy the feedback and chatting with fans who can take something away from my music. And that’s really what it’s all about, helping people cope with the world and giving light in place of darkness.
You can get your free download of "Shizukesa" here!
Do you think video game music is important in the success of a game? What game soundtrack holds nostalgic memories for you? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you liked this article please give it a like and a share.
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Video Editor Credits: Eric Bowman
IG: (Setwhentheeditor)
Update: Video has been updated with newer and refined version.