Press A

On videogame soundtracks

Feb 16, 2024

When ACL began, we decided to rededicate ourselves to album reviews, rather than focus on news, reviews of live shows or tracks, and other kinds of features that had bogged down our previous endeavor. Still, we used the opportunity to branch out in other ways, with sub-sites and features gathered within ACL.

Under the heading LOST CHILDREN, I curated a mix series which ran for 100 installments before settling into a less regular occurrence. I also began Sound Propositions as an in-depth interview feature, trying to foster a new space for discussion about creative practices that didn’t seem like it was designed to sell consumer electronics. That series ran for 21 installments, before my focus shifted to the podcast, bearing the same name. Jeremy Bye began Electronic Observations, a periodic batch review column focusing on electronic music. More recently, he has organized many excellent features, including lists dedicated to compilations, art books on music, and our much loved seasonal music lists. Nayt Keane has been on hiatus since 2015, but his contributions, including Best Album Covers and Music for Haunted Houses, have continued to birth new installments under Richard’s stewardship, and Nayt’s original posts remain some of our most widely shared ever! And most recently, our friend Gianmarco Del Re has joined us, mostly dedicating his efforts to his series, Ukrainian Field Notes.

But in this post, I wanted to highlight the incredible body of work David Murrieta Flores and Chris Redfearn-Murray have produced exploring video game music (#VGM) with their series *Press A*.

*Press A* is devoted to coverage of videogame soundtracks and is a source of quality reviews and longer-form analysis in a fast-growing field. The department is run by international collaborators and avid gamers Chris Redfearn-Murray and David Murrieta Flores. Also found under their individual genre categories, the direct links are collected here in order of their appearance.

Gamers, rejoice ~ when your thumbs are tired, treat your ears!