Hot on the heels of the original album, here we have the second volume in the Video Game LoFi series, from Curaga Records, featuring reworked songs from the Kingdom Hearts series.
This one comes from the mind of the producer foreteller with a little help from others. The major difference between volumes 1 and 2 is that this one is generally instrumental, with only the opening and closing tracks featuring guest vocalists.
The presentation is in line with much of the Video Game LoFi collection, comprising a holographic jacket, paper sleeve and a pretty blue, purple and pink marbled record on 180g vinyl.
Side A kicks off with Simple and Clean, featuring vocalist REVEN, whose lyrics are kept low in the mix, allowing a summery breakbeat and dreamy synth to come to the fore. Track 2, Destiny Islands, all the way from the first game, features erstwhile series producer Save Point, with laid-back acoustic guitar giving the whole thing a Super Mario Sunshine feel. Across the rest of the side, Sacred Moon uses echoey sampling and gentle breaks to give an introspective mood, while Nachtflügel comes with a quiet island vibe before Treasured Memories closes us out with muted vocal samples over early-90s beats and washes.
Xion’s Theme opens side B, sampled bass guitar looping hypnotically around synth waves before fading into Ventus’ Theme, which features marimba-ish percussion supporting uptempo keys. Cavern of Remembrance is up next, with oddly truncated kick drum samples making it one of the more curious tracks in the series. Dark Impetus features more islandy guitar work before we finish with Don’t Think Twice, another track that featured on the first album. Vocalist Nila turns up on this one, albeit vocodered to within an inch of her life. It’s a wide-open number with gentle DnB hi-hats, and probably hits the mark as the standout track.
SUMMARY
This album marks a return to series themes for Video Game LoFi; whereas volume 1 changed it up with lots of vocals, this one goes back to using them sparingly, along with the odd sample from the games.
This doesn’t mean one is better than the other – both albums are worth your time, but fans of the series will probably prefer this one.
As always, the album is available on Bandcamp, but can also be found in the usual streaming haunts if you fancy a bit of try before you buy.
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