The National Videogame Arcade are proud to announce the launch of a new videogame music and audio festival on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 January 2018.
A series of talks, concerts and more will take place across The National Videogame Arcade, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and Antenna, with Friday’s sessions taking an industry and student focus.
The festival will become an annual destination for videogame music and audio professionals, enthusiasts and fans of all descriptions.
Returning to Nottingham after his inspirational GameCity festival appearance, sessions from Japan’s renowned videogame composer and musician Masaya Matsuura promise to be a highlight of the weekend. Matsuura will reflect on one of his recent commissions, including an innovative soundtrack for the National Videogame Arcade, in which he has created a unique audio signature for the building. Through Music and Words, Matsuura will also explore his work as one of the pioneers of the rhythm action genre (creating works such as Parappa the Rapper, Vib Ribbon and others.)
Matsuura-san says, “I’m really looking forward to join ‘All Your Bass: The Videogame Music Festival’ and visiting Nottingham for the second time. I hope this will inspire something undiscovered in your mind. See you, soon!”
Rob Hubbard, the internationally-renowned musical heartbeat of the UK home computer scene throughout the 80’s, will treat attendees to a director’s commentary. Rob stated “I’m very proud and honored to be taking part in this festival celebrating Videogame Music, and look forward to a great weekend of music.”
Getting behind the scenes Rob will discuss the musical influences, compositional techniques and technologies he used to create some of the most influential and best-loved pieces of game music.
Bringing a new perspective to the influence of videogames on classical music composer Maria Kallionpää and the University of Nottingham’s Mixed Reality Lab present their recent collaboration ‘Climb!’ The work, a virtuoso piece composed for Live Pianist, Disklavier and Interactive System, tests the skills of the performer with a series of ‘challenges’ with the interactive system mimicking “an invisible chamber music partner;” albeit a partner which tests their fellow performer by jumping to new points in the score, challenging them to overcome a series of musical trials. Adrian Hazzard, Research fellow at the University of Nottingham’s Mixed Reality Lab said “The University of Nottingham is delighted to be participating in All Your Bass, establishing a new, annual appointment for videogame audio and music. The NVA is at the vanguard of bringing cutting edge work to the public and we can’t wait to see what they make of our interactive musical experiences. We have ‘Climb’, a game like composition for pianist, self-playing piano and electronics and an exploratory locative audio walk around the streets of Nottingham City Centre.”
Friday’s events climax at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall with a rich and haunting play-through of Dear Esther with on-screen play by Thomas McMullen and narration by BAFTA- winning composer Jessica Curry accompanied by the Liverpool Philharmonic. The first tour of it’s kind in the UK, the performance will be followed by a post-show discussion with Jessica Curry.
The festival takes place on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 January 2018 in Nottingham across The National Videogame Arcade, Royal Concert Hall and Antenna.
Further programme details and ticket prices will be available shortly via: https://www.thenva.com/