Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term taiko refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called wadaiko and to the form of ensemble taiko drumming more specifically called kumi-daiko. The process of constructing taiko varies between manufacturers, and the preparation of both the drum body and skin can take several years depending on the method.
Chiptune is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The term is commonly used to refer to tracker format music using extremely basic and small samples that an old computer or console could produce, as well as music that combines PSG sounds with modern musical styles. It has been described as "an interpretation of many genres" since any existing song can be arranged in a chiptune style defined more by choice of instrument and timbre than specific style elements.
In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 on (sound) with the kanji 楽 gaku. Japan is the world's largest market for music on physical media and the second-largest overall music market, with a retail value of US$2.7 billion in 2017.
Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to the style of music known as chiptune, which became the sound of the first video games.
The Rapture is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Luke Jenner, Vito Roccoforte, and Gabriel Andruzzi. The classic lineup (1999-2009) added Mattie Safer playing bass and sharing lead vocal duties with Jenner. Safer and Jenner's harmonized choruses became part of the signature sound of the band, featuring on several of the band’s more well known songs.
Timothy John Follin is an English video game music composer, cinematographer, visual effects artist and game developer, who has written tracks for a variety of titles and home gaming systems, including the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Drive, Super NES, Game Boy, Dreamcast, and PlayStation.
Yann Pierre Tiersen is a French Breton musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and contemporary instruments, primarily the electric guitar, the piano, synthesisers, and the violin, but he also includes instruments such as the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, piano accordion, and even a typewriter.
65daysofstatic are a post-rock band from Sheffield, England. Formed in 2001, the band is composed of instrumentalists Paul Wolinski, Joe Shrewsbury, Rob Jones and Simon Wright.
Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos, or simply Solstice, is a 1990 puzzle video game developed by Software Creations. It was published by Nintendo in Europe and CSG Imagesoft in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game focuses on the wizard Shadax's bid to defeat the evil baron Morbius and rescue Princess Eleanor, whom Morbius plans to sacrifice. Shadax aims to gather the six pieces of the titular Staff of Demnos hidden within the fortress of Kâstleröck. The game's setting is non-linear, and consists of 250 rooms, each with a particular puzzle to solve.
The music of the Streets of Rage series of beat 'em up games, released in the early 1990s, was primarily produced by Yuzo Koshiro.
Taiko no Tatsujin is a video game series created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games for the arcade and for console and mobile platforms including PlayStation 2, Advanced Pico Beena, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and Japanese feature phones.
Gocoo, or GOCOO (ゴクウ) are originally seven female and four male Taiko drummers from Tokyo (Japan). On stage Gocoo performs with up to 16 artists. Gocoo performed at major Music & Arts, Blues & Roots, Rock & Pop and alternative Rock festivals, in live clubs, classic theatres and concert halls or at techno events. Lead drummer, Kaoly Asano (浅野香), attracts much attention as a female Taiko artist. Whenever not performing with Gocoo on stage, she teaches the art of playing the Taiko at her Tawoo Taiko Dojo in Tokyo.
Halo 3 Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack to Bungie's first-person shooter video game Halo 3. Most of the original music was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, but also includes a bonus track, "LvUrFR3NZ", which was the winning entry in a contest held before the soundtrack's release. The 2-CD set was released on November 20, 2007.
Marcos Ortega, better known by his stage name Lorn, is an American electronic musician.
Simon Delacroix, better known by his stage name the Toxic Avenger, is a French DJ, songwriter, and record producer.
Maxence Cyrin is a French pianist and composer living in Paris. His second album Novö Piano released in 2009 contained a piano cover of the Pixies song Where is my mind. This version has appeared in numerous television shows including The Leftovers, Mr. Robot and black-ish.
Furi is a 2016 action shoot 'em up video game developed and published by indie studio The Game Bakers available for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Amazon Luna. The game takes place on a planet in a colorful, retro, science fiction setting and consists entirely of boss fights.
Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418, is a German musician, producer and sound engineer, best known as the former composer and sound designer for the sandbox video game Minecraft. He has also written and produced the theme for Beyond Stranger Things and the soundtrack for the Steam release of Cookie Clicker. He has also DJed for American rock band Anamanaguchi.
Franck Hueso, better known by his stage name Carpenter Brut, is a French darksynth artist from Poitiers, France. He has released three EPs, EP I (2012), EP II (2013) and EP III (2015), which were collected and released together as the album Trilogy (2015). He later released three additional studio albums, Leather Teeth (2018), Blood Machines OST (2020) and Leather Terror (2022), along with one live album, CarpenterBrutLive (2017). He has also contributed original music to a variety of soundtracks, both for film and video games.
