GameGrooves Uncovered

Ro chats with Pixel Mixers' leadership team/album runners Hashel, Erika, and Dewey about the 10 year anniversary of the Pixel Mixers founding, the celebratory 38-track VGM album for the 10th Anniversary, and reflect on the communities. Ro and Hashel share stories of founding the Pixel Mixers scene together, how the PM group has worked to grow and enjoy new artists, and they all discuss favorite memories and surprises in keeping an open community alive this long.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Hashel (He/Him), Erika Richards (She/Her), Dewey Newt (He/Him)

Plugs:

https://pixel-mixers.com/

https://linktr.ee/PixelMixers

Ro chats with Ben Zimmermann and Jayhan from the band JiggyTones about their new live album "Live at HeroFest" and their band performing and growing the video game music scene in Europe. They discuss the unique aspects of arranging as a band, and building a diverse setlist to connect with fans. Don't miss great stories about performing without any prep for their first show, let alone collaborating with Video Games Rock including composer David Wise and designer Kev Bayliss!

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Ben Zimmermann (He/Him), Jayhan (She/Her)

Plugs:

https://linktr.ee/jiggytones

JiggyTones is:Rhythm Guitar/Piano/Vox: Ben ZimmermannLead Guitar: Jakob HeldBass: Gülsen GüldalDrums: Nikolas LangholzVocals: Jayhan

Ro chats with Drew AKA Lowlander about co-directing and producing GameGrooves' Donkey Kong Modern-Metal/Prog tribute album "Konged Loose" released in November 2025.

The two discuss how the project is unique to the entire game music arrangement scene, the defining of metal genre, and the new quality bar set by the feedback cycles and strive to push the album farther as well as hijinks and challenges the album took!

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Drew Gibson (He/Him)

Plugs:

https://bsky.app/profile/drewbertisms.bsky.social

https://lnk.to/konged-loose

Ro chats with Kyle Schaefer AKA Archaeologist about writing the soundtrack to Duelyst II. They discuss the influence of progressive metal and self-producing, and the unique changes to approach that Kyle made to develop a game OST.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Kyle Schaefer (He/Him)

Plugs:

https://archaeologist.bandcamp.com/album/duelyst-ii-original-soundtrack-complete-edition

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2004320/Duelyst_II/

Ro, representing GameGrooves Uncovered Podcast, heads to PAX West 2025 in Seattle, WA to chat with different game musicians and developers about all things video games this year. He meets with a variety of artists and developers, quizzing them on their favorite games so far, soundtracks, deep cuts, and of course the buzz at PAX West 2025.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him)

Ro chats with GameGrooves Operations Team members Ian Martyn and Veronica AKA V-Ron Media about the upcoming MAGWest Album Jam, being hosted in GameGrooves' Discord server. Discussing the exciting event, accessibility, and spirit of collaboration, the three invite listener musicians to throw their hat in the ring, arm up their instruments and mana, and join in the fun!

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Ian Martyn (He/Him), V-Ron Media (She/her)

Plugs:

https://www.magwest.org

Ro chats with Matt Silverburg AKA MarimbaMatt about his newest album "Pokemon: Mostly Marimba Version" as well as his experience performing percussion in the game music space. They break down collaborations, working with a less-common instrument, arranging for live as well as Pokemon as a series!

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Matt Silverburg (He/Him)

Plugs:

https://www.youtube.com/@MarimbaMatt913 https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Mgt2K3aFoXa2w2uU7Hbjl https://www.mattsilverbergmusic.com/ https://www.instagram.com/marimbamatt913/?hl=en

Ro chats with Nikola Whallon, seasoned chiptune, Balkan, and Klezmer VGM artist about starting a video game music live event in Seattle, Washington. The two chat about other conventions and live venues that host game music, celebrating local and nearby artists, and the event's hopes in the PNW area.

Split Screen Seattle will be hosted at Substation in Ballard, in Seattle, WA on May 8th. Doors open at 7:30PM, and show starts at 8PM. The lineup is Ian Cowell's Exceptional Band of Goblins, Ro Panuganti Prog XP, Super Soul Bros., and dannyBStyle and the venue is 21+. There will also be retro game stations.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Nikola Whallon (He/Him)

Plugs:

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/split-screen-seattle-tickets-1316634311669

Bluesky

Instagram

Ro chats with guitarist Steven Poissant aka Steven Strums about his debut solo album "Acoustic VGM Vol. 1" and arranging retro and modern songs for acoustic guitar. They chat about early Youtube and the video game music scene in 2010s, working with Sam in Super Guitar Bros., experiences recording the album, and playing live as a solo artist.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Steven Poissant (He/Him)

Plugs:

Bandcamp: 

Spotify: 

YouTube Channel: ⁠

Ro speaks with composer Josh Barron about his work on Fallen Aces: Episode 1 and the process of going from cover-creation to orchestration. They discuss learning as Josh wrote a score across several years, writing techniques, and the power of influential video game music.

Participants: Ro Panuganti (He/Him), Joshua Barron (He/Him)

Bandcamp: http://joshbarronstudios.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/artist/5OnSsTZYZgoL0bJfa8YtNm?si=4oqfOQk1TN6-wqImbGS1DA

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/barronjcomposer.bsky.social

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@joshbarron8961