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On August 1, the Proms (celebrating its 150th anniversary this year) is going to break a few barriers. An orchestra consisting only of kazoos? No. A programme made up entirely of incidental music from cancelled soap opera ‘Neighbours’? Also no. Instead, the annual series of classical concerts is dedicating a whole show to soundtracks from video games.
The concert, titled ‘Gaming Prom: From 8-Bit to Infinity’, will feature music from the entire history of the medium. So not just the modern stuff that sounds like a film track. We’re talking bleepy-bloopy music, but played by an actual orchestra. Titles confirmed for inclusion so far: ‘The Legend of Zelda’ (sick), ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ (very atmospheric), ‘Pokemon’ (crowdpleaser) and ‘Battlefield 2042’ (don’t know it).
The concert has been curated (and will be conducted) by one Robert Ames, who was also responsible for a 2009 sci-fi Proms concert that focused on film and television soundtracks. His Twitter profile image shows him scowling in the Barbican, which is quite cool in our opinion.
‘The nostalgia of gaming music is very much part of our lives,’ Ames told the Guardian. ‘The fanbase is massive and gaming music, since its inception, has been ahead of the curve in terms of diversity. I really believe somebody like [‘Kingdom Hearts’ composer] Yoko Shimomura should be celebrated at an international music festival alongside composers like Brahms and Mahler.’
Too right, Mr Ames. Mozart did some solid work, but did he ever create anything as mind-blowing as this (also by Shimomura)? He did not.
Royal Albert Hall. Aug 1. More info right here.
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