💿📀 HAVEN (vinyl) Original Soundtrack by Danger Label: G4F Records 💿📀 @G4F_Records @TheGameBakers #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM

Purchase Link - 

https://www.g4f-records.com/en/produit/haven-edition-vinyl/

(From the G4F Records website)

"Haven Original Soundtrack Double Vinyl

A double vinyl album (180g) of the Haven soundtrack, the new RPG adventure game from The Game Bakers (Furi, Squids Odyssey, etc.).

This edition includes a selection of 17 tracks (including some LP Edits) from the game’s original soundtrack, composed by Danger.

This edition includes two vinyl records (yellow and red) in a “pastel grain” textured gatefold cover designed by Yukio Takatsu (Japanese animator and director). The inner sleeves also feature their own design in the game’s colors.

Each order includes a digital download of the Haven soundtrack in the format of your choice (MP3, WAV, FLAC…)."

Back in May, I had the chance to write about G4F records’ exceptional Road ’96 soundtrack, an eclectic mix of songs from several artists placed together under the guise of being a road trip mix tape. 

The strength of songwriting – and production – saw the blends of genres coming together to create a great summer album. The first release we at GF had covered from the French label G4F Records, the packaging, design and delivery service were all top-notch, and so the opportunity to cover another of their releases, this – the soundtrack to The Game Bakers’ 2020 role-playing title, Haven – was a no-brainer.

A double vinyl release, Haven comes in a matte gatefold featuring pastel-coloured artwork created with a watercolour sensibility, the main cover features the two primary characters – Yu and Kay – in a profile view, in a close-up of their faces. 

Their red-eyed gazes give off a mix of both passion and intensity, making it a hazy read as to whether we have captured them in a prelude to a kiss, or perhaps something deeper and more unreadable. 

Below the background swirl of soft colours, there is a slightly embossed logo for the game, as well as the title. Opening up the gatefold shows that this image continues to the rear of Yu’s head, with his blue hair blending into a wash of colours, at the top of which is the track listing in both English and Japanese, as well as the bottom of the image stating general information about the release, such as the album art being courtesy of Yukio Takatsu, and the album mastering and distribution being handled by G4F Records.

Opening the inner gatefold reveals a striking image of Yu and Kay in their birthday suits, locked in each other's arms in an embrace. A mostly gentle yellow backdrop surrounds this central illustration and behind them are clouds of colour, as well as Kay’s ribbon floating away, again in that soft watercolour style, making the artwork bold and also cohesive. 

The inner sleeves that hold the records themselves are also bright and colourful, with each featuring portions of the duo’s visages, as well as really evocative character portraits in a stylised fashion. 

The overall visual aesthetic of the design puts the viewer in the mind of gentleness, softness and yet a passion-fuelled intensity in an almost whimsical and fantastical landscape that – in its expressiveness here – makes the environment that the couple inhabit feels secondary to their feelings for each other, their bond, relationship and personal narrative are the true focus of this aural tale.

Track-by-track breakdown

1A:

Still Free – An electronic melody kicks the album off, joined by scattered drum shots and a solid kick beat that soon has several rhythms running under each other, the track utilises bass swell, and those percussive, very ‘woody’ and organic sounding stick hits add a natural touch to the synth-heavy track that also features sounds that almost hit like vocalisations. A half-speed middle-eight adds grandeur before the song once again builds to the initial crescendo set down. This is an energetic, feel-good blast of summer that acts a great mood-setter for the album.

The Beginning of Something – a slightly more sombre start here, with glass-like percussion over that thick, swelling bass that is overlaid with mournful and lightly sweeping melodies. The album is mastered quite loudly, which means that there’s a lot of volume room to pump things up, and the roundness of the production - as well as the epic grandeur that runs through each track - begs you to ramp up the volume to allow the weight and scale of the production to wash over you. There are hints of Imagine Dragons in the production style - without the irritating lyrics and vocals, though.

Home – A tinkling piano brings this in, alongside a steady 4/4 hi-hat beat, and some daintier percussion. However, those synth melodies lurk in the background and are soon brought to the fore alongside some seriously trebly guitar. With a funkier groove than the previous tracks, the drums here are classic synth backbeat and drop in and out to give variety to the song, which beats with the heart of Nile Rodgers. Handclaps, groovy bass, tight guitar chord work and an absolute sense of feel-good vibes make this a track that stood out early in the listening for me. The latter half of the track has a great drop that adds intensity to the finale, which throws even more into the mix with brief blasts of violin and the like, the disco of the future!

Appledew Stew (LP Edit) –  Leaning more towards the ‘80s in terms of the electronica, the start of this feels like the music that would play over a melancholic sequence in Miami Vice. As the track progresses, however, there’s that unshiftable sense of funk and strutting that keeps the album rocking on a solid foundation, always keeping a positive slant, and pulling back the album from being too maudlin or self-conscious. Keep your ears open for one of the most beautiful moments on the album here, in the gorgeous climb at the centre of the song. Achingly lovely stuff.

Move it Muffin! (LP Edit) – A jaunty piano melody and tight electronic beats – with ‘chika-chika’ guitar, natch – keep the funkiness bleeding through, it’s been an opening side of belters, quite frankly, I’ve listened through the album quite a few times now, and it never ceases to lift my mood and put me in a similar place to the phenomenal Paradise Killer soundtrack. There’s definitely a vibe link between them in the glossy, slick, polished presentation and unshakeable positivity.

1B:

Source – A simple, melodic piano run is accompanied by slower, heavier drums and a really saucy synth riff that leads into glitchy, more techno-styled hi-hat work and a synthesised, distant, discordant guitar effect. Slower than a lot of the other tracks, but a hell of a hook and very, very pretty. These more emotive tracks pack a punch in the tracklist.

Ready When You Are! – A building wall of percussion and synth soon opens up into a track that doesn’t quite have the impact of some of the stronger songs leading up to it. Ready When You Are! Was the first time on the album that I wasn’t drawn in and it struck me as one of the weaker selections. The production is there, and it has a real drive to its propulsion, but it felt like I had nothing to hold onto. The song gives the sense that it’s just rolling to its inevitable conclusion, not a song that gripped me, sadly. 

Bloating Hornets – high-energy ambient sounds mixed with slower piano and more synth stabs, and it’s not long before a harder edge enters the fray. Combined with the previous track, it’s the first time that there’s a sense of ‘all is not well’ with our protagonists’ situation. There’s still an air of grandiosity to the soundtrack, but it’s being punctuated with unease, a turning point in their story.  The emotional weight of the piano playing here, and those wonderful ambient effects drive home a sense of both passion and panic.

I Can’t Stay Mad at You – An ethereal start to the final track of the first record brings back the huge bass and quick hi-hat rhythms that add so much flavour and character when blended with the cavernous production. There’s a swooping prettiness to the song that also features the gentlest touch of Hotline Miami’s ‘shimmering drugginess’ in small doses, amidst keening hope and celebration.

2C:

Kusa Makura – A chiming, music box-like sound leads this track in, ethereal, dusty ambience progresses until tom-heavy drums fill out the track. Lines of violin and booming bass wash through as overlaid melodies run across each other, before the drums take centre stage and add a dance factor taking it from being a haunting track to a floor filler, and back again. It’s a juxtaposition that works and gives the track depth and resonance, the lightly buzzing synth melodies wavering throughout.

Millions of Lumsecs Away – Oddly enough, the music box-like beginning returns, albeit it this time as if it’s some sort of futuristic approach - but those sparse, chiming notes still capture the essence of innocence. A skiffle drum beat with an electronic heart gives foundations to this quite roomy track. The intertwining of melodies and touches of effects that call to mind funk guitar hint at pulling away from the emotional core, but the music always returns to that innocent, slightly melancholic centre. I was a big fan of the push and pull of this, with the brief and watery middle section of the track feeling like a ‘70s keyboard jam, adding a human element to the robotic underscore.

Until the End of Time (LP Edit) – Continuing the theme of gentle, melodic runs beginning all of the tracks on this side of the record, the ambient effects, hefty, punchy bass and melodies here really stand out, and when the snare/kick beat launches, whilst the mood shifts temporarily to power, it’s soon replaced by delicate playing, again – that push / pull giving the songs personality. By the mid-point, the track changes again and leans more towards raw power as it reaches its climax, with restrained, muted builds leading inevitably towards a growling release, with the coda again returning to the delicacy of the intro before rising up for one final crescendo.

2D:

Do We Glow Too? (LP Edit) – The final side of the second record begins with quiet, simple percussion, stabs of synth and swirling atmospherics, it gave me the vibe of standing in a huge, underground, and alien cave system filled with pulsing rocks and neon water. One of the few tracks on the LP that doesn’t ramp up, but instead stays in a mellow headspace for its whole duration. 

Nothing but Rust – A busier and more frenetic start here gives the sense of a panicked chase sequence. Doom-laden distorted downscales over ominously heavy bass and the contorted synth really alter the mood of the album. Buzzsaw-like guitar cuts through the tribal drums, as the whole song feels like the soundtrack to impending doom…with a touch of dance, natch.

Now or Never – The intensity laid down in the preceding Nothing but Rust carries on here, this is a dark disco through and through - a solid, pounding beat with metallic overtones and descending, buzzing synth evokes epic, world-changing events at hand. Danger never lets the music get overbearing or extreme though, just when you think you’ll get pulverised, shots of light, grooviness or release will punch through, keeping that balance. That said, from the way that the music is building song-on-song, it’s clear that the final moments are coming, in terms of the narrative conclusion.

Free Fall – The penultimate song really caught me off guard upon first listen, a shuffling snare beat and shimmering guitar chords lead to a jungle drum beat with a sort of synth horn section, it’s completely unexpected and makes quite an impact. The way the music all sits together, tasty titbits of melodies darting in and out, it calls back to the ‘80s neon mindset of the first side of the first record, the lightness returning to the fold. The melodies are so, so strong here.

Space Caress – A delicate, sparse, and pretty coda to the tale. Stringed instruments play a brief, melancholy tune to end the album.

Danger works some real magic with the Haven soundtrack, it feels like it pulls from all recent decades of contemporary music; the classic beats of the ‘70s, aesthetics of the ‘80s, the loud / quiet / loud dynamic of the ‘90s and incredibly powerful, crisp and modern production – all with a lightly fantastical twist on things that shifts from ambient space to cyberpunk.