This week we've got a delightful pair of interviews for your reading enjoyment -- we're talking with the music team behind Penny Larceny! Star, who created the original electro-jazz soundtrack, and Keiko, who created the theme song "Back of the House." [h1]Star![/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43797975/be278c3e5ad63e827f42dc5dbdb297ec0983a44d.jpg[/img] [i]Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now.[/i] My name is Star Victoria Power and I write music under the name Slide20XX - I decided I wanted to write music for video games when I was around 13 years old and have been at it ever since. [i]How would you describe your musical style? What do you enjoy most about it?[/i] The genre I identify most with is the “Digital Fusion” style - which for me, if I’m being totally honest, is just a really clever way of saying “video game music” ha - but in all seriousness, my music is inspired by elements of classical music, jazz, and especially combinations of those two styles that incorporate ideas from electronic music or old-school video game soundtracks. I like any opportunity to be melodic, but I’m also inspired by any intersections with hip-hop and sampling (so the Jet Set Radio soundtracks are a personal favorite). I’ve always loved music in a very general sense, so I love any opportunities to bring together different worlds of sound. [i]You're working on music for Penny Larceny! What was your approach to that?[/i] Panic ! LOL - so a big challenge for the Penny Larceny soundtrack was finding a way of capturing an authentically “Swing” sound. We were pretty clear that we wanted to take inspiration from electroswing and that sounded easy enough on the surface - I have experience with jazz and “organic” sounds, I have experience with EDM, and I have experience combining things together in general - but I came to find out that some of the most famous examples of the genre use samples that aren’t strictly speaking… legally sourced. I found some - though not many - good legal samples and used the heck out of them. [i]What are some of your favorite games which have music you particularly love?[/i] Chrono Trigger, Jet Set Radio, Madworld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - because: Chrono Trigger is great, can’t go wrong with Chrono Trigger; Hideki Naganuma is a genius; Madworld is one of the most creative rap albums I’ve ever heard in general; Muramasa is beyond beautiful; Sonic cannot be denied [i]Where can folks find you online if they want to enjoy more of your creative work?[/i] Everywhere! I’m Slide20XX on Twitter and Instagram (though I’m less active on Insta) and you can stream my soundtracks on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music, Amazon, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc etc. [h1]Keiko![/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/43797975/b07fb1c78acbc8f3da0d04490c8ca1c1dd187b34.jpg[/img] [i]Tell me a bit about yourself -- your background, how you got where you are now.[/i] I cut my teeth as a virtual performing artist in Second Life around 2005-2006. I was a proto-livestreamer before they had a name for that. Then around 2012, I got into the chiptune/chipmusic/VGM scene which combines my love of music and gaming. I joined an industrial/synth-rock chip band called Crashfaster. In 2018, I successfully funded my first ever Kickstarter and launched my current solo project, Alice Knows Karate. [i]How would you describe your musical style? What do you enjoy most about it?[/i] You could say I mostly make synth-pop, but it's a pop variety pack, honestly. I try to write for the emotion or the vibe. I can't stay inside a single genre to save my life. I enjoy the freedom to explore and play with styles and genres. Especially since music can be used to evoke so much emotion, it's Super Effective™ at telling or enhancing a story. [i]You created "Back of the House," the theme song for Penny Larceny! What can you tell us about it?[/i] I wrote "Back of the House" while I was in a bit of a rut, trying to figure out how to make my music more widely known or successful, I guess. I would watch hours of music business YouTubers spout this and that. "You have to do all these things, chase the attention, post every hour on the hour, play a show every day, maybe two, shake hands, kiss babies." I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist. And I just sort of sat there and seethed. Every video caused psychic damage. It was like they were saying, "You're not ____ enough! You're too _____! Why aren't you doing more to fix yourself to our tastes?" I felt like, if this is their game, I'd rather not play. So I wrote a song from the perspective of some kind of lounge singer who gets fed up with being increasingly sexualized and quits to become a line cook. "Last Night in Soho" pacifist run. [i]What are some of your favorite games which have music you particularly love?[/i] PaRappa the Rapper was the first, so I always gotta shout out my boy, PaRappa. Katamari Damacy. Jazzy, wacky, delightful, harmonious and melodic. Kingdom Hearts. This is a game my whole family would come watch me play. I was considering walking down the aisle to "Dearly Beloved" at one point. Undertale. It's almost cliché to say now, but I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Everything hits you in the feels and fills you with determination. [i]Where can folks find you online if they want to enjoy more of your creative work?[/i] My website: [url=https://www.aliceknowskarate.com]https://www.aliceknowskarate.com[/url]