Swiss composer and sound designer Jakob Eisenbach (Patient Zero, Temple of the Diamond Skull), in partnership with TRUEVR Systems, a world-leading developer of location-based virtual reality (LBVR) game experiences, releases the original soundtrack to TIKAL: NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MOON on August 19th. Now available at VR locations in North America and Europe, TIKAL: NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MOON is a full-body VR arcade experience utilizing motion capture, physical props and 4D effects to teleport players into an ancient Mayan temple where you and your team are dispatched to stop the awakening of evil in the shadow of the blood moon. TRUEVR’s most sophisticated experience to date and setting a new benchmark for the LBVR industry, Eisenbach’s original musical score was recorded with a full symphony orchestra and choir in Budapest, Hungary. Watch behind-the-scenes with composer Jakob Eisenbach and the Budapest Art Orchestra at https://bit.ly/3rBS4rh and download or stream the soundtrack album at https://bit.ly/36ZG6y4.

“TIKAL is a one-of-a-kind virtual reality experience that takes place during a long prophecised event in an ancient temple of the tikal,” explains Eisenbach. “The focus and aesthetics demanded huge dimensions: especially in the vertical dimension, since this can only be achieved in a VR environment. Musically we needed to tell this story with an epic-sized orchestra, which I pushed to have recorded live and TRUEVR felt the same way. Inspirations for this epic journey were the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, the orchestration finesse of Franz Schrecker, the massive power of Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ and a very important touch of simplicity to not overwhelm players while immersed in the game.”

As composer and sound designer for TRUEVR Systems, Eisenbach has also created soundtracks for other best-in-class location-based VR experiences such as Patient Zero, The Cube, Biohazard, and Temple of the Diamond Skull. For more information, visit https://www.jakobeisenbach.com.

“TIKAL was always planned to become our flagship experience from the very beginning,” commented TRUEVR Systems CEO and Producer, Philip Lacoste. “Therefore, it was clear to us that in addition to creating a stunning level of visual detail, the music needed to be beyond the highest standards that any location-based VR experience has done before. The score was crafted accordingly by our composer and sound designer Jakob Eisenbach. To bring real emotions to this one-of-a-kind experience, we knew the score had to be recorded live with a full symphony orchestra and choir. The results that Jakob achieved with the Budapest Art Orchestra not only brought the heart and soul into the game, but we truly believe this level of quality is unparalleled in the LBVR industry.”

To book tickets for TIKAL: NIGHT OF THE BLOOD MOON in North America, visit TRUEVR Systems centers and licensed partners Virtualis VR (Las Vegas) and Hyper Gate VR (Los Angeles). For additional information and locations in Europe, visit TrueVR Systems.

The Flaming Lips, The Marías, TOKiMONSTA, Cass McCombs, Maisey Rika, award-winning composer Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, and newcomer Sophie Gibson, are among 14 artists featured on the original soundtrack to E-Line Media’s Beyond Blue, an exciting new science-driven, ocean adventure game inspired by the BBC’s critically-acclaimed, award-winning documentary series Blue Planet II.

Beyond Blue Original Soundtrack, which is executive produced by legendary music supervisor Karyn Rachtman and her son Otis Rachtman, will be released digitally on July 2 by Mind Your Music/Universal Music New Zealand (https://umusicnz.lnk.to/BeyondBlue). Mind Your Music/Vinyl Me, Please will release a limited-edition of the soundtrack on 180 gram Aqua Blue and Silver Galaxy vinyl, with pre-orders on July 5 at 10 am EDT. Vinyl Me, Please Club members can exclusively pre-order it 48 hours in advance beginning July 3 at 10 am EDT. at https://www.vinylmeplease.com/products/various-artists-beyond-blue-original-soundtrack.

TRACK LISTING 

* On download and physical album only

1. Beyond Blue Original Theme (4:55) – Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper 
2. Something In The Water (Mickey P Mix) (3:12) – Sophie Gibson & Amitė 
3. Love That Never (3:35) – TOKiMONSTA 
4. *All We Have Is Now (3:54) – The Flaming Lips 
5. We Don’t Have Much Time (3:05) – LIPS
6. On The Shore (3:55) – Slow Skies
7. Renunciation (4:21) – Rachelle Eve 
8. Brighter! (feat. Karen Black) (3:51) – Cass McCombs
9. Tangaroa Whakamautai (4:10) – Maisey Rika
10. Last Castaways (3:05) – doubleVee
11. Suzie Noma (3:04) – Muthoni Drummer Queen
12. Escaping by the Moment (3:40) – The Edisons
13. Driftwood (4:57) – Vanderocker

With an eclectic mix of psychedelic indie-pop, electronic, alt rock, and world music by established artists and indie darlings, the soundtrack alsoincludes songs by Muthoni Drummer Queen, LIPS, doubleVee, Slow Skies, Rachelle Eve, The Edisons, Vanderocker, Sophie Gibson and Amitė. The Rachtmans curated the soundtrack to complement the unique narrative and environment of the game, where players are explorers experiencing the awesome wonder, mysteries, and creatures under the sea.

“Otis and I would constantly sit around trying to imagine what sounds, vibe, and lyrics would be on the world’s coolest underwater playlist compiled by scientists in a futuristic submarine. The soundtrack is truly international, reflecting the diversity of the characters and the discovery, awe, and impermanence of the oceans,” said Karyn Rachtman, the legendary executive soundtrack producer and music supervisor of several of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling soundtracks of all time, such as Pulp Fiction, Boogie Nights, Reality Bites, Clueless, TheSpongebob SquarePants Movie, Moulin Rouge!, Office Space, Laurel Canyon, and Reservoir Dogs, among many others.

“Besides complementing the visual splendor and action on screen, the music of Beyond Blue plays several roles, serving the story as well as the interactive and listening experience of the game. You can unlock access to certain songs at various levels and express yourself by your selections,” said Otis Rachtman.

With offices in both Los Angeles and Auckland, NZ, Karyn Rachtman is a fan of New Zealand music, and connected the dots to bring into the project several Kiwi artists, as well as award-winning New Zealand composer, arranger, and producer Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper. Bridgman-Cooper, who composed the Beyond Blue score and “Beyond Blue Original Theme,” previously worked with The Rachtmans on Netflix’s Moving Art series. His credits include director Lee Tamahori’s film Mahana, the hit indie film Housebound, the award-winning documentary Ken Dewey: This Is A Test, among many others. He also produced New Zealand singer/songwriter Maisey Rika’s 2012 hit single, “Tangaroa Whakamautai,” which is prominently featured in the Beyond Blue game, soundtrack, and promotional trailer.

“I fell in love with the beautiful ballad “Tangaroa Whakamautai” that Maisey Rika sang in Te Reo Māori, which is an indigenous language central to New Zealand’s culture, identity, and heritage. Like Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper’s score, the song is dreamy and fitting for Beyond Blue, with lyrics about TANGAROA, the mythical God of the ocean. The song has really resonated with the gamers, and we’re seeing a lot of great comments posted,” said Karyn Rachtman.

Other New Zealand artists include LIPS (“We Don’t Have Much Time”) and newcomer Sophie Gibson. Gibson, a 20-year-old singer/songwriter discovered by Rachtman, co-wrote and recorded “Something In The Water (Mickey Petralia Mix)” with American artists Amitė (Jorgen Baertsch and Christopher Gerber). Two versions of the song were produced by Grammy award-winning American producer/mixer Mickey Petralia (Flight of the Conchords, Beck, Eels, Peaches). A full version of the song is used as the end title over the credits. A separate, stripped down version of “Something in the Water” is also heard in the game when two characters discuss a demo song by a fictitious character named “Sophie.”

The focus on incorporating music into the game in such a creative way stemmed from E-Line Media’s development process working with leading international ocean scientists. Michael Angst, E-Line Media Creative Director and CEO, said: “We learned from scientists how music was such a huge part of their expeditions, from listening on the ships to finding a playlist as they traveled to the bottom of the ocean in submarines. So we knew the music had to be special, interactive and an emotional experience for players.”

Since release Beyond Blue has received positive critical press from major gaming news outlets across the world. The game is already hugely popular with influencers who have streamed the game to a global audience of over 2 million viewers. Beyond Blue is currently available on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Apple Arcade. To purchase the game, visit http://www.beyondbluegame.com/.

Maneater developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive announced today that the official soundtrack for the award-winning action-RPG where you play as a shark (ShARkPG) is out now. Available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and Deezer with direct-from-artist purchase on Bandcamp, the official soundtrack for Maneater will take players on an audio journey from the shallow swampy waters of Fawtick Bayou to the depths of the deep blue sea in The Gulf.

In addition, Tripwire Interactive is proud to break ties with traditional official soundtrack sales models, and have adopted a more collaborative perspective to the soundtrack release. That deeper creative partnership bore an agreement where the soundtrack’s creator, Metal Gear Solid V composer Daniel James, will retain full, exclusive rights to sell the official soundtrack after launch and will keep 100% of direct sales revenue, while Tripwire Interactive maintains the rights to use that music in current and further Maneater content and marketing. This invested, collaborative approach to working with artists of all mediums mirrors the driving philosophy behind Tripwire Interactive’s publishing division, Tripwire Presents, and their commitment to supporting independent creatives, offering contract artists, who are normally part of the gig economy, a more vested stake in the projects they take on.

“This arrangement gave Daniel a sense of real ownership for the Maneater soundtrack project,” explains Mark Muraski, Audio Director at Tripwire Interactive. “The level of commitment from Daniel throughout this collaboration far outweighed any revenue Tripwire Interactive would “lose” from sales with a standard sales model. Our company has always paid royalties to composers, but we believe this new model offers an even greater step towards providing contract artists a vested stake in the projects they take on.”

“One of the joys of working with Tripwire is their unfaltering support in the vision of artists and this agreement further proved that point to me,” noted Maneater soundtrack composer Daniel James. ‘We support our artist’ is an easy thing to say, but allowing me to publish my own work and exclusively profit from it goes beyond a generous gesture to a genuine support for me as an artist.”

Maneater is a single player, open-world action-RPG (ShARkPG) where YOU are the shark. Starting as a small bull shark pup you are tasked with surviving the harsh world while eating your way up the ecosystem. To do this, you will explore a large and varied open world encountering diverse enemies — both human and wildlife. Find the right resources and you can grow and evolve far beyond what nature intended, allowing the player to tailor the shark to their play style. This is fortunate, because to get revenge on the cruel fisherman that dismembered you will take evolving into a massive shark, an apex predator of legends. Eat. Explore. Evolve.

With a truly unique premise and never-before-seen approach to the action-RPG genre, Tripwire Interactive looks forward to taking players on a journey through uncharted waters with Maneater.

Maneater is out now for $39.99 / €39.99 / £34.99 MSRP with an ESRB rating of M for Mature, PEGI 18 rating, and USK 16 rating. For more details on Maneater, please visit the official website – and follow the developers at Tripwire Interactive on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch.tv, and Instagram.

Crafted after Kratos’s Leviathan Axe and Atreus’ in-game journal, these limited-edition, official God of War notebooks have been made by art gallery and publisher Cook and Becker in conjunction with Sony Santa Monica Studio, the creators of God of War. They are available to order from Cook and Becker’s store from today: http://bit.ly/GodofWarNotebook (worldwide shipping)

The notebooks come in a luxury collector box and have subtly lined paper, interspersed with pages of rare God of War concept art and in-game drawings. The Collector’s Edition of these notebooks also includes a small giclee art print and fun accessories like copper Kratos and Atreus paper clips, stickers, a stamp and pencils.

This God of War notebook set is the third release in the exclusive Cook and Becker high-end notebook line, following very successful notebook releases for The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and Horizon Zero Dawn earlier this year.

The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2: Original Score is now available on all major digital music platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.

Presented in collaboration with Lakeshore Records, The Music Of Red Dead Redemption 2: Original Score was composed by longtime Rockstar collaborator Woody Jackson and features contributions from a wide range of artists and musicians from around the world, including Arca, Colin Stetson, Senyawa, David Ferguson, Jon Theodore and more.

Describing the score as “Full of haunting strings and atmospheric guitar,” the Los Angeles Times said, “Jackson’s score for ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ shares more with the film music of Ennio Morricone and the spooky desert rock of ‘Kiko’-era Los Lobos; it’s an immersive experience — finely detailed but somehow also defined by negative space.”

Track List:

1. By 1899, The Age Of Outlaws And Gunslingers Was At An End – Jeff Silverman, Woody Jackson & Luke O’Malley
2. Outlaws From The West – Woody Jackson
3. Blessed Are The Peacemakers – Woody Jackson
4. Mrs. Sadie Adler, Widow – Woody Jackson
5. Revenge Is A Dish Best Eaten – Mario Batkovic & Woody Jackson
6. It All Makes Sense Now – Woody Jackson
7. The Fine Art Of Conversation – Woody Jackson
8. Banking, The Old American Art – Michael Leonhart & Woody Jackson
9. There She Is…A Real City, The Future – Mario Batkovic
10. Everybody Wake Up – Woody Jackson
11. Welcome To The New World – Senyawa & Colin Stetson
12. Paradise Mercifully Departed – Senyawa, Woody Jackson & Colin Stetson
13. Doctor’s Opinion – Colin Stetson
14. Fleeting Joy – Colin Stetson & Woody Jackson
15. Icarus And Friends – Colin Stetson, David Ralicke & Jeff Silverman
16. Country Pursuits – Arca & Woody Jackson
17. An American Pastoral Scene – Woody Jackson
18. Blood Feuds, Ancient And Modern – Woody Jackson
19. Red Dead Redemption – Woody Jackson
20. The Wheel – Woody Jackson
21. American Venom – Woody Jackson
22. American Reprise – Woody Jackson
 

Also available:
The Music of Red Dead Redemption 2: Original Soundtrack