Odyssey will know of my love for the Amiga. The singularly impressive sound chip and sheer creativity from artists of the time mean that there’s a really special moment and nostalgia for me when I get lost in the Amiga soundscape.
I’d say I spend more time listening to the music of various Amiga games than actually playing the games themselves because the audio is so evocative and transportive.
I’m sure that the music that a lot of people from that time would remember would be the crack screens and music from the demoscene, I’m a huge fan of TDK’s (Mark Knight’s) work as it so accurately captures the essence of the time, and that electric violin acts as fireworks to my ears, not to mention the stellar -and continuing! - work of Matt Gray.
I adore my Mega Drive, but when it comes to the system that I believe had the best presence and ability in terms of audio….it’s the Amiga, hands down.
And so, when I caught wind that Odyssey was being released by WRWTFWW Records - We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records– a bold name!*), I couldn’t help but cover it in an article, and when it arrived the presentation and design completely blew me away,
The cover of Odyssey is an extremely ‘Amiga’ font that is surrounded by floating asteroids in space. The blue ‘ODYSSEY’ against the mostly black background calls to mind sweeping space epics, a certain vastness and mood. This is also one of the few records that I’ve kept in the cellophane, as there’s a sticker from the label in the left-hand top corner that states:
First-ever release of the soundtrack for the sci-fi demoscene wonder, Odyssey by the Alcatraz Amiga group. Music by Swiss composer Greg. This special limited edition vinyl features the complete soundtrack of the demo sourced from the original masters and comes with a 24v x 24-inch double-sided poster with extensive liner notes on one side and a floppy disk print on the other. Also included is an exclusive WRWTFWW sticker sheet.
And so I’ve kept the cellophane on the record, as that sticker feels somehow part of the whole package, and what a package it is, I don’t think I’ve ever pulled so much gold out of a single-sleeve record!
Flipping the record over to see the back, it’s a pixelated space station as viewed from a third-person perspective, that is passing by an asteroid, on a journey to a distant, glowing planet. Combined with the cover, it conjures up images of emptiness, loneliness and vastness, a great mood-setting artwork for what is contained in the grooves within.
The sticker sheet is wonderful, featuring a series of ‘Workbench loading hands’** replaced by multi-coloured demon hands, and also a WRWTFWW duo set of stickers, these will very much be going on both mine and my son’s guitars. I’m a total sucker for a good sticker, as my laptop lid and Fender Jaguars will attest!
The enormous sheet reveals the backstory behind the creation of the demo as well as facts and figures regarding the history of Odyssey and Alcatraz, the group themselves. As well as all this, there are screenshots that capture moments from the demo scattered throughout. It was at this point that reviewing Odyssey suddenly seemed very important to me, the Amiga was such a key component in gaming, and the clear passion that led to the creation and release of this record was almost vibrating through the vinyl itself – how often does a perfectly-pressed vinyl release from the historic Amiga demoscene appear? This was very cool stuff.
There’s a lot to take in here, and after reading about the Odyssey demo, it felt unfair to cover the record without watching the original creation from which the music was taken, to have a fuller understanding of the soundtrack. The full 40+ minute demo is available freely on YouTube, the main demo itself is around 35 minutes with several subsequent minutes of credits. Odyssey tells the story of Zork, a hero that is on a mission to obtain a bomb to destroy the home planet of a race of aliens that are slowly taking over the universe, a journey that takes him through several planets and alien races.
It’s a straightforward plot told through a combination of text, images and short animated sequences, and whilst the wording is riddled with grammatical errors and comes across quite bluntly – it appears English may have been a second language for the author- the visuals, artwork and of course audio are impressive, and it does feel like a mini space movie on the Amiga. Odyssey is something that I certainly would have been captivated by, had I come across it at the time of release. In a way, it was interesting that I was approaching this – an incredibly niche release, in some regards – with absolutely no nostalgia for the original demo.
I’ve spoken at length about the presentation, history and design of Odyssey, and now it’s time to get hips deep into the music itself.
Track-by-Track
Side A
Odyssey Parts 1 – 6: The music wastes no time in getting into the thick of the action, an initially ominous opening soon breaks out into heroic fanfare, peppered with moments of threat and bombastic audio story-telling. After a minute or so, a three-note repeated melody really opens the song up and it’s hard not to get swept up in the synth glory, especially having viewed the demo, the simplicity of the story and the various beats play out in your mind, taking on a much more grand scale than the video suggests, that ignition of the imagination, of course, being what the heart of gaming is about.
Airy synth and electronic bleats soon settle into a solid drum beat with a bassline that pulses alongside some tasty keyboard work, it’s upbeat and features an incredibly catchy bridge sequence. Echoing bass notes, roomy snare and a section of music that wouldn’t feel out of place in Lemmings kicks in, I’m already getting the vibe that the music feels quite universal and would feel at home in several genres. If I was in the ‘ye olde’ situation of having to choose between music and sound effects…. I know exactly what my choice would be!
Growling sub-bass and sampled crunchy guitar over snappy drums kick off here, moving away from the synth to give a wonderfully dated 16-bit take on moody rock. As the guitar drops, the synth returns, alongside sampled trumpet. These tracks stop and start with only a brief gap between them, so the energy levels keep right up, considering this is ‘a space demo’, there’s very little ambient cyberpunk minimalism, Greg is throwing a lot at us and it really keeps the ear locked in!
A bubbly bass riff rips in, again with that snappy kick/snare rhythm tied up with a simple keyboard melody, this track gets the horn section back and is somehow spicier, before a slow three-note centre that just bleeeeeeeds ‘Amiga’. The drums drop out in an ‘audience holding lighters aloft’ moment in a section that threatens to let the ambience take over, but the melodies keep popping up, the layering is key here, it’s more emotive than thoughtful, and the mournful lead lines that ring out solidified the fact that this track was an early standout for me. The drums creep back in alongside rich bass, with the first kick and then snare at half-speed. This track covers a surprising amount of ground – and genres! - then circles back on itself. Again, I don’t feel like I’m listening to the accompanying soundtrack of a space-themed demo, I feel like I’m listening to great Amiga music. Good. This track is also the lengthiest and most expressive thus far. Again – good.
Digital sparse raindrops and a rising crescendo hint at more cyberpunk fare here, as ambient work shines over the busier tunes we've heard. There’s a deep, melodic bassy synth that plays alongside the lead line in beautiful symmetry. Following this, minimalist drums join the track. It’s a mellow and melancholic track that really hits the mark, and fits perfectly in terms of sequencing after several more energetic tracks.
Punchy synth combined with low-slung bass notes and waves of deep synth ring out, the tail end of the previous track reached up in terms of energy but this one drops slightly, more scene-setting than dance-floor filling - until the synth drops out, drums and bass kick back in to give the music an oddly modern kick up the ass. This feels like music that would play in an Amiga racing game, there’s a cleanliness and vibe that comes from the distorted guitar samples that remove it from the synth-heavy preceding tracks, again – this is an album that isn’t afraid to shift gears on the listener, and I’m completely for it because it just means a wider span of Amiga audio gold. This features a sneaky keyboard solo that I wouldn’t have minded exploring for a further minute or so, but no...Greg yanks the rug out from under us, and we land on a bed of nanites, as clean, the single-note piano gives way to the more jittering synth as an unexpected outro, what an A-side!
Side B
Analogic – We are entering full-on dance territory here, a solid beat swirls and the pulses of high-pitches notes hark back to the 8-bit era, but the open hi-hat, huge snare and melodic lines continue to feel almost liquid as they change from the aforementioned dance tune to something that wouldn’t be amiss in The Last Ninja series of games. By this point, I’ve kind of forgotten that this is from a 1991 Amiga demo, and I’m completely rolling with Greg’s musical journey. It’s like the listener is following his moment-to-moment muse, there’s an instancy to the stylistic choices made as the tracks play out.
Bassboot – A Robotic, three-note melody is warmed by climbing synth and eventually crisp bass, keys and drums. Just as you think you have a handle on this track, it again takes off in different directions, although it’s always anchored to an ‘80s heart - which is absolutely fine. This also features the first track with what could be considered a sampled guitar solo, brief as it is! Soon afterwards, we are off into the cosmos, with drums and bass again grabbing centre stage….until a runaway synth solos to the end of the track, all behind that catchy melodic structure.
Crystal – WHAT. AN. INTRO. Down-tuned bass and swelling synth that leads to a wandering synth line, gorgeous stuff! The track soon takes another turn out of this darker mood to a more squelchy, retro vibe, but the various versions of basslines are always peppering the track, keeping a sense of groove, warmth and instancy. That squelch, though – it’s like a shotgun blast of nostalgia, it’s very clear that Greg knows what he is doing here, and the emotions that will be conjured.
Rainday2 – The penultimate track of the album takes a more industrial vibe, with the sense of a machine behind the more percussive elements, and several layers of synth adding the emotional core. A piano line comes in, adding the more human element, and it’s then that the song comes alive, a huge snare, distortion and a bubbly bass line alongside sparse piano, there is so much going on here – in an incredibly subtle manner – that it’s clear that this is a track that will be one that continually rewards the listener upon subsequent spins. Those half-speed drums though, combined with the bass and other lead lines….trousers off. This is also one of the longest tracks on the album, so there’s a lot of room for the melodies to breathe and settle in.
Technik – The final track wraps up Zork’s story, and is a sunlit celebration. Bubbling keys and rich synth weave a tapestry of heroism before saucy bass and solid drums come in, in an almost overly-positive wave of triumph. I was especially taken with the bass lines here, there’s just a huge sense of feel-good coming through in the track. The looped sensibility feels like a credits roll, a great ender to the album that feels like the good guys won. Of course, that doesn’t stop composer Greg from having a half-speed section that genuinely called Terraria to mind. As the song progresses, it continues to evolve and morph, so there’s never a boring moment. If anything - it feels like it ends too suddenly, stripping back as it does to mainly synth and bass. That said, the fade-out works really well, I’m just greedy for more music!
WRWTFWW Records and composer Greg have released something that both should be proud of. The music itself is an absolute celebration of the capabilities of the Amiga, and covers so much sonic ground that there’s always something for the ear to lock on to – it outlives its already impressive history as part of such a celebrated demo. In terms of WRWTFWW Records, the pressings and packaging is top-notch, and is a great way of driving home the history of the release and those behind it.
SUMMARY
If you are a fan of Amiga audio, I heartily recommend that you grab this, and let's hope that more Amiga action is on its way!
*aside from this video game-related record, WRWTFWW Records have some amazing records from folks such as John Carpenter, and so I implore you to check out their site – WRWTFWW Records
** a band name waiting to happen
Thank you for this great review :-)
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