Britt caught up with Save Point and Patrick McBride, who were kind enough to answer some burning questions on how the album came to be, shine some light on their creative process – and tell us what the future holds.
Games Freezer:
Firstly, thank you for the music! Can you give a little background on the inception of the album?
Save Point:
I’ve been listening to and playing Jazz piano for 25 years and playing video games for even longer. Patrick and I have been friends and colleagues for over a decade, and always had plans to make music together but could never find the time. I shared my jazz hop cover of the classic standard ‘All the Things That You Are’ with Patrick one day, and he had the idea to rearrange the original jazz melody into a recognizable video game melody. We loved the result and went into pre-production with that very specific vibe for each track: Accompaniments inspired by our favourite jazz standards with recognizable video game melodies on the top line, then give it some lo-fi hip hop warmth and crunch with the drums and bass.
GF:
Is this the first time that Patrick McBride, Tabitha Louise, 88bit and SideQuest have been involved with Curaga?
Patrick McBride:
I’ve provided some session bass work for “Video Game LoFi: A Winter's Tale”, “Video Game LoFi: Deltarune Ch. 2”, and a single by Emunator - “Breezy (from Final Fantasy VIII)”.
Save Point:
Tabitha Louise played flute on my LoFi Zelda album, our first Curaga Record and Save Point release! She’s performed on tracks from “A Winter’s Tale”, “Video Game LoFi: Kingdom Hearts”, and several other albums. Tabitha is also my sister, so we go way back, ha ha! SideQuest provided some incredible sax soloing for the record, this was their first time working with Curaga and hopefully won’t be their last. 88bit is no stranger here, he and I collaborated on the album “Video Game LoFi: Super Mario 64” and he’s joined us on several releases including “A Winter's Tale” and more.
GF:
How did the collaborative process work, and how did you all decide on which tracks you’d choose to cover?
Patrick McBride:
SavePoint and I both started off with identifying Jazz Standards we both absolutely loved which acted as a pedal point to have the video game melody float over. When it was time to choose melodies and top lines, both SavePoint and I agreed we had to have played and connected to each game we were remixing. We needed it to have a connection to the game music for the process to feel genuine.
GF:
Are there any specific tracks or moments on the album that really shine for you, personally?
Save Point:
“Chemical Plant Zone” is a standout for me as well, but I’d have to say my personal favorite is “New Donk City: Cafe'' because it captures everything I love about jazz, music production, and video games. The melody is nostalgic on its own, and pulling out a dusty Wurlitzer to trade melodies with a lo-fi chiptune lead was magical. The tape saturated acoustic drums and Patrick’s killer bass lines are the perfect accompaniment, and when we mix the Super Mario World ‘game over theme’ in with the melody during the reprise, it all comes together for me.
Patrick McBride:
I am constantly coming back to “Chemical Plant Zone”. The majority of the tracks for the electric and upright Bass, I kept the lines in a traditional jazz style writing my own “walking” bass lines with inspiration from some of the greatest jazz bassists. But this track is completely different which really shines. I kept the bass line simple but still hooking the listener, and drawing them into the overall track.
GF:
In my review, I really tried to hammer home how vital the included booklet is, as it gives such great context to the musical choices, is this something that will feature in future Curaga releases?
Save Point:
I’m really happy you noticed the extra effort and I want to mention the incredible work that went into the layout and design from Isa Alcántara. Individual track details are not included in the digital release, CD or Tape. We felt adding the booklet to the vinyl release specifically would make the listening experience that much more unique and enjoyable. Plus, we got to showcase more artwork created by my good friend ArtByGalen and myself. This is definitely something I’m keen on doing more in the future.
GF:
Can we look forward to future collaborations? Is this a ‘volume one’ in your eyes?
Save Point:
Yes, and yes 🙂 I don't want to give too much away because we're still in the planning stage, but we're figuring out what we'd want a 'volume 2' to sound like.
GF:
The blending of jazz and VGM works so well here, can you suggest some jazz tunes for our readers to check out? Maybe some that influenced the band?
Patrick McBride:
Albums I would recommend exploring jazz would have to be: “The Trio” By Oscar Peterson, “Kind of Blue” By Miles Davis, and “Blue Train” By Jon Coltrane.
Each one of these albums have a wide variety of jazz tunes one could discover ranging from ballads, medium swing, and up-tempo swing. If I were to choose just one, “Blue Train” by Jon Coltrane - the track “Lazy bird" really influenced me to explore walking bass lines further on the upright, flying from multiple registers and octaves on the upright. Track 1 - Chemical Plant Zone - was inspired by "On Green Dolphin Street'' by Vince Guaraldi. The upright player had such an iconic bass line that really captured my attention that I wanted to explore in my writing.
GF:
This feels a genuinely different release from Curaga, can you let us know of any future projects or directions that the label will go in?
Save Point:
Yeah, we realize this is a departure from game specific focused releases, and I can’t put into words how much I appreciate everyone who is here for it. We’ve got quite a bit lined up in 2024 and beyond, including more Final Fantasy singles which may or may not be compiled together at some point for a vinyl release 😉 We’re focusing a few more of our upcoming releases on cozy games, a few indie game titles, as well as newer game titles. We’ve been busy, I’m excited for everyone to hear what’s been cooking at Curaga.
GF:
Finally, I have to ask - what are the favourite video games & soundtracks of the band members?
Patrick McBride:
It's tough to choose just 1 favorite video game or soundtrack. For me personally: Diablo II, Doom, Half-Life, Mighty Mike (On an old Macintosh PowerMac 8200), Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. As for Soundtracks this ranges from L.A. Noire, Resident Evil, Borderlands, Super Mario, Jetset Radio, and so much more!
Save Point:
I’m gonna go with my top 5 of each. Video games: Chrono Trigger, Starcraft 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Hades, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (R.I.P our remake 😭). Favourite soundtracks: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, DOOM (2016), Donkey Kong Country 2, and Super Mario 64.
A huge thank you to Save Point and Patrick McBride for their time, and thanks for the music!
BANDCAMP PAGE 🔗
Video Game LoFi: Jazz Hop Standards | Save Point & Patrick McBride | Save Point (bandcamp.com)
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