This week we've got a delightful pair of interviews for your reading enjoyment -- we're talking with the music team behind Penny Larceny! Star, who created the original electro-jazz soundtrack, and Keiko, who created the theme song "Back of the House."
Star!
Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now.
My name is Star Victoria Power and I write music under the name Slide20XX - I decided I wanted to write music for video games when I was around 13 years old and have been at it ever since.
How would you describe your musical style? What do you enjoy most about it?
The genre I identify most with is the “Digital Fusion” style - which for me, if I’m being totally honest, is just a really clever way of saying “video game music” ha - but in all seriousness, my music is inspired by elements of classical music, jazz, and especially combinations of those two styles that incorporate ideas from electronic music or old-school video game soundtracks. I like any opportunity to be melodic, but I’m also inspired by any intersections with hip-hop and sampling (so the Jet Set Radio soundtracks are a personal favorite).
I’ve always loved music in a very general sense, so I love any opportunities to bring together different worlds of sound.
You're working on music for Penny Larceny! What was your approach to that?
Panic ! LOL - so a big challenge for the Penny Larceny soundtrack was finding a way of capturing an authentically “Swing” sound. We were pretty clear that we wanted to take inspiration from electroswing and that sounded easy enough on the surface - I have experience with jazz and “organic” sounds, I have experience with EDM, and I have experience combining things together in general - but I came to find out that some of the most famous examples of the genre use samples that aren’t strictly speaking… legally sourced. I found some - though not many - good legal samples and used the heck out of them.
What are some of your favorite games which have music you particularly love?
Chrono Trigger, Jet Set Radio, Madworld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - because:
Chrono Trigger is great, can’t go wrong with Chrono Trigger; Hideki Naganuma is a genius; Madworld is one of the most creative rap albums I’ve ever heard in general; Muramasa is beyond beautiful; Sonic cannot be denied
Where can folks find you online if they want to enjoy more of your creative work?
Everywhere! I’m Slide20XX on Twitter and Instagram (though I’m less active on Insta) and you can stream my soundtracks on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music, Amazon, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc etc.
Keiko!
Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now.
I cut my teeth as a virtual performing artist in Second Life around 2005-2006. I was a proto-livestreamer before they had a name for that. Then around 2012, I got into the chiptune/chipmusic/VGM scene which combines my love of music and gaming. I joined an industrial/synth-rock chip band called Crashfaster. In 2018, I successfully funded my first ever Kickstarter and launched my current solo project, Alice Knows Karate.
How would you describe your musical style? What do you enjoy most about it?
You could say I mostly make synth-pop, but it's a pop variety pack, honestly. I try to write for the emotion or the vibe. I can't stay inside a single genre to save my life.
I enjoy the freedom to explore and play with styles and genres. Especially since music can be used to evoke so much emotion, it's Super Effective™ at telling or enhancing a story.
You created "Back of the House," the theme song for Penny Larceny! What can you tell us about it?
I wrote "Back of the House" while I was in a bit of a rut, trying to figure out how to make my music more widely known or successful, I guess. I would watch hours of music business YouTubers spout this and that. "You have to do all these things, chase the attention, post every hour on the hour, play a show every day, maybe two, shake hands, kiss babies." I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist. And I just sort of sat there and seethed. Every video caused psychic damage. It was like they were saying, "You're not ____ enough! You're too _____! Why aren't you doing more to fix yourself to our tastes?" I felt like, if this is their game, I'd rather not play.
So I wrote a song from the perspective of some kind of lounge singer who gets fed up with being increasingly sexualized and quits to become a line cook. "Last Night in Soho" pacifist run.
What are some of your favorite games which have music you particularly love?
PaRappa the Rapper was the first, so I always gotta shout out my boy, PaRappa.
Katamari Damacy. Jazzy, wacky, delightful, harmonious and melodic.
Kingdom Hearts. This is a game my whole family would come watch me play. I was considering walking down the aisle to "Dearly Beloved" at one point.
Undertale. It's almost cliché to say now, but I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Everything hits you in the feels and fills you with determination.
Where can folks find you online if they want to enjoy more of your creative work?
My website: https://www.aliceknowskarate.com