Level with Emily Reese

Level 148: Brad Gentle (No Way Home)

Enjoy a deep dive into music from No Way Home by composer Brad Gentle. I loved the variety in the music and I was drawn to the ambient tracks where Brad used recordings of planets from NASA. No Way Home is a space shooter on Apple Arcade by SMG Studio out of Australia. Support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 146: Jack Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War)

This episode features a chat with Jack Wall about his music for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. The score features live orchestra and live choir, which posed quite a challenge during the pandemic, but you wouldn’t know it because it all sounds great. The score is a bit of a family affair for Jack, with lyrics written by his wife, Cindy Shapiro, and vocals by their daughter, Gracie. Jack also wrote lyrics for the soundtrack. It is always a pleasure to have Jack on Level and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music he wrote for Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War.

Level 145: Gordy Haab (Star Wars: Squadrons)

Gordy Haab's music in the Star Wars gaming universe is fantastic. His new addition is Star Wars: Squadrons, a space combat game that fulfills most Star Wars fans' dream of flying X-wings and TIE Fighters. The music is so great. Enjoy! Support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Level 144: Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman(Metamorphosis)

Composers Mikolai Stroinski (The Witcher 3) and Garry Schyman (BioShock series, Torn) teamed up to write music for Metamorphosis, a 3D platformer based on Franz Kafka's 1915 novella. Find a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 143: Rob Kovacs / 88bit

Pianist Rob Kovacs talks about his amazing and difficult arrangements of 8-bit music for piano! See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level Bit 22: Patron Nicole Zalles

Nicole Zalles is in her final year of medical school, she's a gamer, and she's a patron of Level. I talk with her about some of her favorite game music. See a playlist and support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level Bit 21: Inon Zur (Syberia: The World Before)

Here are two tracks from Inon Zur's upcoming score to Syberia: The World Before. The music is performed by the Budapest Film Orchestra and I can't wait to hear the rest of the soundtrack! You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 142: Steve Pardo (Signs of the Sojourner)

Signs of the Sojourner is a narrative deck-building card game about communication. This is easily one of my favorite soundtracks of 2020 and one I know I’ll return to for years to come. It was a suuuuuuuch a pleasure to talk with Steve about his music!! You can support Level with Emily Reese on Patreon.

Level 141: Tim Wright/CoLD SToRAGE (Pacer, Wipeout)

Tim Wright -- aka CoLD SToRAGE -- composed music for the game Pacer, which is an anti-gravity racing game with elements of combat. It’s a spiritual successor to the Wipeout series which started in the mid-90s, and Tim wrote the music for 3 of the Wipeout games. It was a pleasure to speak with Tim! He has an extensive catalog available on Bandcamp that includes his Wipeout music, be sure to check it out. You can support Level with Emily on Patreon.

Level 140: Jesse Harlin (Mafia: Definitive Edition)

Hear composer Jesse Harlin talk about his music for Mafia: Definitive Edition. The game is a remake of the first Mafia game, which came out in 2002, but with completely new music written by Jesse. We’ve had Jesse on the show twice before; once was for Yoku’s Island Express in 2018 and in 2016, Jesse was on Level to talk about his work on Mafia 3. That was mostly a blues score, but the score for Mafia: Definitive Edition is entirely orchestral. Support Level with Emily Reese and see a playlist on Patreon.