Ro speaks with Jay Kim, aka Ronin Op F, about his slew of collaborations, live performances at MAGFest and VGMCon 2023, and his brand new instrumental hip-hop album "Link's Restless Awakening". The two discuss the benefits of joining communities, preparations for good live shows, thoughts on genre "boxes", and how making albums can be therapeutic.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Jay Kim AKA Ronin Op F

Plugs:

https://ffm.to/restlessawakening

https://twitter.com/roninopf

Ro speaks with surf punk/rock and latin rock specialist Audio Mocha/Daniel Florez about his album "Seas of Destiny: A Xenoblade Tropical Tribute" as well as the genre and subculture of surf rock. The two discuss its impact, branching from its 1950s roots, and the many ways it can be arranged for video game music. They also discuss live video game music events and how arranging interesting guitar mods and performances has been, and how the album's creation helped improve various aspects of production.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Audio Mocha

Plugs:

https://audiomocha.bandcamp.com/album/seas-of-destiny-a-xenoblade-tropical-tribute

https://www.audiomocha.com/

Ro speaks with composer Alpha Something about their work scoring the indie game Venba, based on South Indian cooking and the immigrant experience. The two share thoughts on the game, its story, and how composing with inspirations from classic Tamil film scores worked into the game. They discuss Indian food favorites, the navigation of infusing culture into music, the ways Venba tackles key Indian culture, and the "Tandoori Chicken Diet".

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Alpha Something

Plugs:
https://alphasomething.bandcamp.com/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/Venba/

Ro speaks with the folk/medieval music duo Axe & Ale about their formation, debut original album Tavern Melodies: Medieval Lute & Flute Dances of the Hobbits Vol. 1, and the music styles of medieval inspired music and fantasy-driven covers. They discuss working together through online real-time streaming, forming a violin streaming group, and their love of Lord of the Rings, Witcher 3, and more fantasy tales.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Diwa AKA String Player Gamer, Isabelle AKA Firamiel

Plugs:

https://axeale.bandcamp.com/album/tavern-melodies-medieval-lute-flute-dances-of-the-hobbits-vol-1

https://twitter.com/axealemusic

https://twitter.com/firamiel

https://twitter.com/StringPlayerGmr

Ro speaks with Carrie Wood about her experience playing bass and band-leading across live groups like Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra, GameGrooves, performing at VGMCon and the upcoming MAGWest convention, as well as her work in the Quick Save band and duo Bi Score with Ian Cowell. The two chat about their cats, gear, and what it takes to create a collaborative album as well.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Carrie Wood

Plugs:

https://twitter.com/supitscarrie

https://biscore.bandcamp.com/

https://baltimoregso.org/

https://www.magwest.org/

Ro speaks with Jeff Penny about going from arranging to sound design and composition, including Jeff's latest soundtrack and first solo work "The Game of Fourtune" based on a visual novel meets death game. The two discuss the experience of working together on a cover *for* the game's release, drawing from anime and influences, and marketing your own work.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Jeff Penny

Plugs:

https://jeffpenny.com/

https://jeffpenny.bandcamp.com/album/the-game-of-fourtune-original-soundtrack

Ro speaks with Ian Martyn about his completion of the 2022 GameGrooves Album Challenge, releasing Beyond the Wind, VGM and vocal-driven game music, and a long history of community involvement and instrument playing. They discuss the exciting JRPG vocal music and growing scene for performing game music live, as well as the ability to choose songs for the EP.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Ian Martyn

Plugs:

https://twitter.com/IanMartynMusic
https://ianmartyn.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-wind

Ro speaks with Vaughn Rowles about the upcoming VGMCon 2023 in Minneapolis, MN featuring exciting guests, panels, and celebration of game music. The two discuss the event's origins, what viewers can expect, the virtual and streamed music, Gamer's Rhapsody, and what the Zelda theme will bring.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Vaughn Rowles

Plugs:

https://vgmcon.org/

https://twitter.com/VGMCon

Ro speaks with Mahn about his new album Mode 8 featuring classic SNES tracks arranged for heavy metal and includes a variety of collaborators from the VGM Space. The two discuss Mahn's interests in game music and playing guitar, exploring the community, as well as performing live and virtually in different game music spaces.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Mahn AKA MahnPlaysMusic
Plugs:

https://mahn.bandcamp.com/album/mode-8

https://www.youtube.com/mahnkiman2

Ro speaks with Austin Green (Katajun) about the upcoming WASD project's album ESCAPE, the preparation for a full band MAGFest show, running and participating in the Dwelling of Duels community, and geek out on modern production tricks for making heavy metal. The two also swap favorite reference tracks and discuss different entrypoints and accessibility into the VGM community.

Participants: Ro Panuganti, Austin Green
Plugs:
https://wasdband.com/
https://wasdband.bandcamp.com/album/escape

https://linktr.ee/WASDBand