p>Dren McDonald is a composer who pays tribute to Galaga and Sonic the Hedgehog in The String Arcade. This album includes music from video games that have been composed for string quartet.
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p>The String Arcade was funded by an impressive Kickstarter campaign. It contains 15 original arrangements of classic themes from gaming that were performed and supported by Bay Area musicians and Boston's Videri String Quartet. The games featured include Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, Monkey Island 2, FTL: Faster Than Light and Minecraft. A preview track plucked from PopCap?'s Plants vs. Zombies is available to download and stream here.
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p>The String Arcade is due for release on February 11. The album is available digitally pre-ordered through iTunes for $7.99, and a limited-edition CD that includes two bonus tracks is available for $9.99. [Photo credit: Lorrie Murray]
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p>Classic video game music is reimagined in The String Arcade, now available for preorder
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p>String quartet album releases February 11; all profits go to the Alameda Music Project after-school program
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p>ALAMEDA (Calif.) ALAMEDA (Calif.) January 28 the 28th of January, 2014. Dren McDonald, a Bay Area composer, launched an impressive Kickstarter campaign for The String Arcade. This recording of video game music was rearranged for string quartet. The final recording was distributed to backers in August, and is now available for preorder by the general public through BandCamp? and iTunes (see below for the links). The String Arcade will be available for digital download and on CD on February 11.
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p>About The String Arcade -- http://www.thestringarcade.com
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p>The String Arcade is a meticulously curated collection of music composed for string quartet by Dren McDonald (Ghost Recon Commander, Ravenwood Fair) and Jason Poss (Lord of the Rings film trilogy, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King). https://minecraft-servers.xyz/ The arrangements go far beyond chamber music emulations of the original themes and each piece is altered, embellished, and reimagined to capture emotions evoked by the games. McDonald's was inspired to create the project by John Lurie's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) soundtrack that featured a dark string quartet score.
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p>Besides giving gamers a new way to enjoy beloved classics, The String Arcade is also set to inspire youngsters to take up the violin, viola or cello. Several tracks were specifically chosen from games popular among kids, and all album proceeds will be donated to the Alameda Music Project (http://www.alamedamusicproject.org), a tuition-free K-5 after-school program launching in September.
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p>About The Music
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p>The String Arcade's 15 original arrangements (plus two bonus tracks on CD) were inspired by games ranging from Galaga to Minecraft and performed by local musicians, with the Boston-based Videri String Quartet. One preview track, Plants Vs. Zombies' "Grasswalk," has been released as a free digital download: https://soundcloud.com/dren-mcdonald/plants-vs-zombies-from-the
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p>The String Arcade is a collection of decades of video game history, ranging from stand-up arcade classics (Galaga, TRON), through the 16-bit and 8-bit eras (Legend of Zelda Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin) and the golden age of 1990s adventures (Monkey Island 2, Outlaws), to more recent hits (Portal 2, Minecraft), indie favorite (FTL -- Faster Than Light, Scurvy Scallywags) and games that are mobile and social (graBLOX, Pettington Park, Ravenshire Castle). For a full track list, visit http://www.thestringarcade.com/#!about/c10fk.
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p>Preorder Details
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p>Until the album's February 11 release, The String Arcade digital download can be preordered from iTunes for $7.99, a 20% savings over the normal $9.99 price: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-string-arcade/id805763356
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p>The CD version, which includes two bonus tracks not included with the digital download, can be preordered from BandCamp? for $9.99 (regularly $11.99): http://thestringarcade.bandcamp.com
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p>Classic game themes get a touch more sophisticated in string quartet album The String Arcade
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