Top Score

Aug 20 2015 5.4k
Top Score Podcast artwork

Some of the scores for video games are incredibly intricate and deserve recognition, which is why we've created Top Score: a series of podcasts dedicated to the music that accompanies soldiers through battle, sorcerers through forests and aliens through space.

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Top Score: SonicPicnic and Awesomenauts

Aug 20 2015 23 mins  
The soundtrack for the game 'Awesomenauts' sounds like an alien radio station. The music was created by a group of composers who call themselves SonicPicnic.

Composer Ryan Ike got his career started at 'Gunpoint'

Aug 13 2015 21 mins  
Composer Ryan Ike got his first big break in video-game composition by answering an open call for composers on Twitter for a game called 'Gunpoint'. He got the job -- and a BAFTA nomination. Hear more about Ryan Ike on this week's episode of Top Score.

Serious music for a casual game

Aug 06 2015 14 mins  
Millions of people around the world play the 'casual' game Candy Crush Soda Saga, but composer Johan Holmstrom took the music very seriously, even recruiting the London Symphony Orchestra for the recording session. Holmstrom is Emily Reese's guest on this week's Top Score.

A musicologist's look at 'Final Fantasy VI'

Jul 30 2015 19 mins  
Ryan Thompson is a PhD candidate in musicology at the University of Minnesota, with a special interest in ludomusicology. What is that, you ask? Ludomusicology is a growing field in which musicologists study the impact of music in video games.

Tom Salta's bold choice for subtle music

Jul 23 2015 19 mins  
The new game 'Spartan Strike' exists in an audio-dominant world. To make sure he could still capture a player's attention, composer Tom Salta decided to record quieter, more subtle cues. He also enlisted the help of the New York Film Chorale and the Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra. Hear more about it on this week's episode of Top Score.

Top Score says, 'Thank You, Pierce'

Jul 22 2015 13 mins  
Top Score says "thank you" to production assistant Pierce Huxtable for one year of great work. Pierce's position was funded by a (non-renewable) grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, an award for which Top Score is forever grateful.

What's old-school is new again for Michael Schiciano

Jul 16 2015 19 mins  
Michael Schiciano joins Emily Reese on this week's Top Score to talk about old-school and modern approaches to composing. Thanks to the burgeoning mobile market, many composers use old-school techniques to create music for smartphone games.

Do a Barrel Roll create innovative covers of game music

Jul 15 2015 21 mins  
The orchestral-rock video game cover band Do a Barrel Roll stopped by Classical MPR to record a set and to chat with Emily Reese, host of Top Score. 'They played a set and stole my heart -- I've always wanted to say that,' Emily says. Listen to the full session.

Sam Dillard is a one-man music-making machine

Jul 09 2015 20 mins  
Completely self taught, Sam Dillard not only composes music, but he also performs and records his work. Recently hired by Kinect for its new Harry Potter trailer, Dillard joins Emily Reese on this week's episode of Top Score.

Chris Huelsbeck's career leaps to next stage

Jul 02 2015 15 mins  
The enduring success of composer Chris Huelsbeck's early works has created a fan following in his native Germany and across the world. His work inspired a 2008 concert series, and more recently, he's crowd-funded a new album of piano works. Learn more about Chris Huelsbeck on this week's Top Score.