Music

Soundcloud user Lazyitis has posted a Super Mario Bros-style chiptune version of The Smiths' classic This Charming Man, making use sound effects from the game. More >

Q Entertainment has announced the 34 songs it has licensed for PlayStation Vita launch puzzler Lumines Electronic Symphony. Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, the tracklist includes dance music luminaries including The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Josh Wink, Deep Dish, Ken Ishii, LFO and Orbital. And Benny Bennassi. More >

The trend for pay-what-you-want indie gaming promotions following the Humble Bundle's lead continues with the Indie Game Music Bundle, a collection of indie game soundtracks. On offer are DRM-free soundtracks from ten games including Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Cobalt, and VVVVVV, with those paying $10 or more getting a further seven, including The Binding Of Isaac. More >

Valve, and band The National, have announced the winners of their Exile Vilify music video contest. The competition tasked budding directors with matching visuals to the song, written specifically for Portal 2 by The National. It would seem that the developer and band had trouble selecting just one video from all the entries, so two first-place winners take home a prize package each. You can see the winning videos below, and view some of the runners up by following the source link. Any excuse to listen to The National's heartbreaking tune again is fine by us.

A number of ex-FreeStlyeGames staff have established a new mobile development studio called Music In Colour. Headed up by former FreeStyleGames boss Chris Lee, it’s set to release a music title, Say What?!, for iPhone on July 20. A collaboration between the studio, music production company Reactify and independent recording studio Metropolis Group, the game uses an increasingly cryptic collection of scrolling icons which relate to song lyrics, which players have to correctly identify and tap on to progress. Debuting with four playable tracks from artists Calvin Harris, Scouting for Girls, the Zutons and The Nolans, it’ll be free to download, with additional songs sold via in-app payments of £1.19. “The music business needs to capture a new audience," Music In Colour managing director Lee told the Guardian. "Rather than make a game then license the music, this is much more of a partnership. We think there is a great opportunity to leverage the mobile platform to build something that reaches a wider audience, and monetises music… It's almost a Generation Game mechanic: a simple layer that lives over the music. We're not trying to be cleverer than that. This is about something that appeals in its simplicity, and we're trying not to niche it. It should appeal as much to 8-13 year-old girls as it does to 30-40 year-old males."