p>Composer Dren McDonald? pays homage to Galaga, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog and other well-loved classics in The String Arcade, an album due out in the near future featuring a selection of game music newly arranged for string quartet.
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p>The String Arcade was funded by an impressive Kickstarter campaign. It includes 15 original arrangements of classic gaming themes that were performed and supported by Bay Area musicians and Boston's Videri String Quartet. Featured games include Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, Monkey Island 2, FTL: Faster Than Light and Minecraft. A preview track from PopCap?'s Plants vs. Zombies is available for download and streaming here.
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p>The String Arcade is due for release on February 11. The album is available digitally pre-ordered on iTunes for $7.99 and a limited-edition CD with two bonus tracks is available for $9.99 [Photo credit: Lorrie Murray]
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p>Classic video game music is reimagined in The String Arcade, now available for preorder
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p>Release of String Quartet Album February 11, All proceeds go are donated to Alameda Music Project After-School Program
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p>ALAMEDA, Calif. - January 28, 2014 In August, Bay Area composer Dren McDonald? conducted a successful Kickstarter campaign for The String Arcade The String Arcade, the recording of video game music reimagined for string quartet. The final version of the recording was released to backers in August, and is now available for preorder by the general public on BandCamp? and iTunes (see below for links). The String Arcade will be released on February 11 for digital downloads and CD.
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p>About The String Arcade -- http://www.thestringarcade.com
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p>The String Arcade is a meticulously curated collection of music arranged for string quartet by Dren McDonald? (Ghost Recon Commander, Ravenwood Fair) and Jason Poss (Lord of the Rings film trilogy, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King). The arrangements go beyond chamber music emulations of the original themes and each piece is altered, embellished, and reimagined to capture emotions evoked by the games. McDonald?'s was inspired to create the project by John Lurie's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) soundtrack which featured a moody string quartet score.
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p>In addition to offering gamers a fresh way to enjoy beloved classics The String Arcade is also poised to encourage youngsters to take up a violin, viola, or cello. Several tracks were specifically chosen from games popular among kids, and all album proceeds will be donated to the Alameda Music Project (http://www.alamedamusicproject.org), a tuition-free K-5 after-school program launching in September.
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p>About The Music
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p>The String Arcade's 15 original arrangements (plus two bonus tracks on CD) were inspired by games from Galaga to Minecraft and performed by local musicians, including an appearance by the Boston-based Videri String Quartet. https://jasonotto.net/ One preview track, Plants Vs. Zombies' "Grasswalk," has been released as a free digital download: https://soundcloud.com/dren-mcdonald/plants-vs-zombies-from-the
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p>The String Arcade spans a few years of video game history, starting with stand-up arcade classics (Galaga, TRON), through the 16- and 8-bit eras (Legend of Zelda Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin) and the golden age of 1990s adventure (Monkey Island 2, Outlaws), to more recent hits (Portal 2, Minecraft), indie favorite (FTL - Faster Than Light, Scurvy Scallywags), and mobile/social games (graBLOX, Pettington Park, Ravenshire Castle). For a full track list, visit http://www.thestringarcade.com/#!about/c10fk.
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p>Preorder Details
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p>Until the album's February 11 release, The String Arcade digital download can be preordered from iTunes for $7.99, a 20% savings over the normal $9.99 price: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-string-arcade/id805763356
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p>The CD version, which includes two bonus tracks not included with the digital download, can be preordered from BandCamp? for $9.99 (regularly $11.99): http://thestringarcade.bandcamp.com
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p>The String Arcade's String Quartet album The String Arcade makes classic game themes sound more elegant.
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