inFAMOUS Soundtrack Review plus G.A.N.G. Awards Wrap Up

Congratulations are in order for inFAMOUS, which won for Best Original Soundtrack Album at this week’s G.A.N.G. Awards. (G.A.N.G. is the Game Audio Network Guild, in case you are unfamiliar with them). So, to celebrate, let’s take the inFAMOUS soundtrack for a spin and we’ll give you the rundown on all the G.A.N.G. Award winners after the jump.

There is a very good reason why inFAMOUS took the soundtrack album award. It is an immensely enjoyable listen top to bottom and features the talents of Amon Tobin, composers Mel Wesson and Jim Dooley along with cellist Martin Tillman (more on him later). Overall, the sound is heavily percussive and perfectly fits the futuristic urban decay/post-disaster setting of Empire City. As a stand alone listening experience, the album is definitely top notch and succeeds in being a worthy listen, even if you’ve never heard it while wielding the electricity-based weapons of the game. The opening music on the album is the high energy throb of “Rabble Rouser” which is an excellent example of the composers’ use of non-traditional instrumentation and found sounds.

By comparison, this next piece is considerably more mellow, at least in terms of its pacing, but it features the unique sounds of Martin Tillman’s electric cello. Oh, wait. You don’t know who Martin Tillman is? Ahem. Ever seen a movie called "The Dark Knight?" How about "Pirates of the Caribbean?" "The Ring?" "Transformers" maybe? Yep, Tillman is the featured solo cellist in all of those movies, along with the upcoming "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" film. The low tones of Tillman’s cello attack are backed by an ambient electronic pulse and offset by bursts of rock drums to make an all-around enticing listen clocking in over four minutes in length.

Now the soundtrack album for inFAMOUS has been out for just shy of a year now, since May of 09 in fact, so even if you haven’t played the game (but really, you should have!) it is available right now from Sumthing Digital or as a physical disc from Amazon. As promised, here is a look at the complete list of winners from the 8th annual G.A.N.G Awards.

AUDIO OF THE YEAR

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

MUSIC OF THE YEAR (TIE)

Assassin's Creed II

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK ALBUM

inFAMOUS

BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE

Flower

BEST HANDHELD AUDIO

The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition (iPhone)

BEST AUDIO. OTHER

A Day in Pompeii (museum installation)

BEST CINEMATIC/CUT-SCENE AUDIO

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST DIALOGUE

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL

"Reunion" - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL - CHORAL

"Halls of Iron" - World of Warcraft: Secrets of Ulduar

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL - POP

"Plants vs. Zombies" - Plants vs. Zombies

BEST USE OF MULTI-CHANNEL SURROUND IN A GAME

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC

Rock Band: The Beatles

BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE, PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST

"The Future of Game Audio / The Game Audio Mixing Revolution" – Gamasutra.com

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Charles Deenen

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (TIE)

Dave Johnson

Camden Stoddard

G.A.N.G. RECOGNITION AWARD

Brian Schmidt

G.A.N.G. SERVICE AWARDS

Rob Bridgett

Morla Gorrondona

Chip Beeman

Alexander Brandon

David Chan

STUDENT/APPRENTICE COMPETITION WINNERS

Music – Courtney Johns

Sound Design – Jeff Schmidt

Source: g4tv