Chris Hülsbeck
Encyclopedia
Chris Hülsbeck is a video game music composer from Germany
.
He has written soundtracks for more than 70 titles, the latest being Star Wars: Rebel Strike for Nintendo GameCube
. Many of his scores for the Commodore 64
are regarded as classics among enthusiasts today, most notably The Great Giana Sisters. He is best known for the soundtracks to the Turrican
series of games. Chris's initial recognition arrived at age 17 when his composition "Shades" won first place in a music competition for the German 64'er magazine.
He also created a music replay routine for the Amiga
called TFMX -- "The Final Musicsystem eXtended", which featured far more musically-oriented features than rival Soundtracker
, such as logarithmic pitch-bends, sound macros and individual tempos for each track.
His music from Apidya
, Turrican 2
, Turrican 3 and The Great Giana Sisters was performed live at the Symphonic Game Music Concert
series in Leipzig, Germany between 2003–2007, conducted by Andy Brick
. On August 23, 2008 his music was performed at Symphonic Shades, a concert dedicated to his work exclusively. The WDR Radio Orchestra and a choir performed classics such as The Great Giana Sisters, Turrican
, R-Type
and others in Cologne
, Germany conducted by Arnie Roth
. On March 19, 2009 it was announced that Arnie Roth will conduct the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
at the concert Sinfonia Drammatica in the Konserthuset Stockholm. Taking place on August 4, 2009, the concert will combine performances of Chris Hülsbeck's Symphonic Shades with selections from drammatica by Yoko Shimomura
.
He is fluent in German and English. He was married to his girlfriend, Tracy Sheppard in 2008.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
He has written soundtracks for more than 70 titles, the latest being Star Wars: Rebel Strike for Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. Many of his scores for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
are regarded as classics among enthusiasts today, most notably The Great Giana Sisters. He is best known for the soundtracks to the Turrican
Turrican
Turrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
series of games. Chris's initial recognition arrived at age 17 when his composition "Shades" won first place in a music competition for the German 64'er magazine.
He also created a music replay routine for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
called TFMX -- "The Final Musicsystem eXtended", which featured far more musically-oriented features than rival Soundtracker
Ultimate Soundtracker
Ultimate Soundtracker, or Soundtracker for short, is a music tracker program for the Commodore Amiga. It is the creation of Karsten Obarski, a German software developer and composer at a game development company; sources differ as to the name of the company, recorded it as reLINE, whereas ...
, such as logarithmic pitch-bends, sound macros and individual tempos for each track.
His music from Apidya
Apidya
Apidya is a horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up computer game developed by Kaiko and released by Play Byte in 1992 for the Amiga An unofficial GBA Apidya technical demo followed years later and an unofficial Windows remake of the first level was released in 2002 but both were never completed.The...
, Turrican 2
Turrican 2
Turrican II: The Final Fight is the second game of the Turrican series. The game by Factor 5 was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64 version, but Manfred Trenz cites the C64 version as the original design...
, Turrican 3 and The Great Giana Sisters was performed live at the Symphonic Game Music Concert
Symphonic Game Music Concert
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts are a series of award-winning, annual German video game music concerts initiated in 2003, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan...
series in Leipzig, Germany between 2003–2007, conducted by Andy Brick
Andy Brick
Andy Brick is an American composer, conductor and symphonist.A native of suburban Chicago, Brick studied composition under Leslie Bassett at the University of Michigan. He then completed graduate studies in composition at the Mannes School of Music in Manhattan. In 1990 he arranged music for Sesame...
. On August 23, 2008 his music was performed at Symphonic Shades, a concert dedicated to his work exclusively. The WDR Radio Orchestra and a choir performed classics such as The Great Giana Sisters, Turrican
Turrican
Turrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
, R-Type
R-Type
is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named R-9a "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin...
and others in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany conducted by Arnie Roth
Arnie Roth
Arnold "Arnie" Roth is an American, Chicago-based Grammy Award-winning conductor, composer, and record producer, best known for conducting numerous video game concerts. He is also a classically-trained violinist and a member of the Grammy Award-winning music group Mannheim Steamroller...
. On March 19, 2009 it was announced that Arnie Roth will conduct the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm.The orchestra was founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society . The orchestra became a permanent ensemble in 1914. Since 1926, it has been based in the Stockholm Concert Hall...
at the concert Sinfonia Drammatica in the Konserthuset Stockholm. Taking place on August 4, 2009, the concert will combine performances of Chris Hülsbeck's Symphonic Shades with selections from drammatica by Yoko Shimomura
Yoko Shimomura
is a Japanese video game composer. She has been described as "the most famous female video game music composer in the world". She has worked in the video game music industry since graduating from Osaka College of Music in 1988...
.
He is fluent in German and English. He was married to his girlfriend, Tracy Sheppard in 2008.
Discography - Audio CDs
- 1991 Shades
- 1992 To be on Top
- 1992 Apidya
- 1993 TurricanTurricanTurrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
Soundtrack - 1994 Native Vision - Easy life (single)
- 1994 Rainbows
- 1995 Sound Factory (This also features a data track with Hülsbeck sound samples and TFMX-format songs)
- 1997 Tunnel B1Tunnel B1Tunnel B1 is a sci-fi first person shooter developed by NEON Software and published by Ocean in 1996. It features a soundtrack by Chris Hülsbeck of Turrican fame....
Soundtrack - 1997 Extreme AssaultExtreme AssaultExtreme Assault was a personal computer game developed by Blue Byte Software. It was released in 1997. The games revolves around the player assuming control of the fictitious Sioux AH-23 helicopter to battle space aliens....
soundtrack - 1998 Peanuts feat. Doc. Schneider - Leben betrügt (single)
- 2000 Bridge from the past to the future (released at MP3.comMP3.comMP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
) - 2000 Collage (released at MP3.comMP3.comMP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
) - 2000 MerregnonMerregnonMerregnon is a soundtrack CD project for which video game music composers contribute new titles. By writing orchestral music the artists tell a story taking place in a newly created fantasy-universe....
Soundtrack, Volume 1 - 2001 Chris Hülsbeck in the Mix (released by ZYX Music)
- 2004 Merregnon Soundtrack, Volume 2 (English and Japanese edition)
- 2007 Number NineNumber Nine (album)Number Nine is the ninth studio album from electronic music composer Chris Hülsbeck. It was released by Synsoniq Records in August 2007, which is ten years after the predecessor album Extreme Assault Soundtrack was released...
- 2008 Symphonic Shades
Notable music for home computers
- ApidyaApidyaApidya is a horizontally-scrolling shoot 'em up computer game developed by Kaiko and released by Play Byte in 1992 for the Amiga An unofficial GBA Apidya technical demo followed years later and an unofficial Windows remake of the first level was released in 2002 but both were never completed.The...
(Amiga) - The Baby of Can Guru (C64)
- Dulcedo Cogitationis (C64)
- The Great Giana Sisters (C64)
- Jim Power in Mutant PlanetJim Power in Mutant PlanetJim Power in Mutant Planet is a platform game designed by Digital Concept and published by Loriciel for the Amiga, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC in 1992. The game features several contrasting modes of gameplay, including side-view platforming, top-view, and horizontal shoot 'em up...
(Amiga) - R-TypeR-Typeis a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. The player controls a space fighter named R-9a "Arrowhead" to defend humanity against a mysterious but powerful alien life-form known as "Bydo", which was later discovered to be not entirely alien in origin...
intro music (C64, Amiga) - Starball intro music (C64)
- Shades (C64 demo)
- To be on Top (C64)
- TurricanTurricanTurrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
1-3 soundtracks (Amiga) - M.U.D.S. – Mean Ugly Dirty Sport (Amiga)
- X-Out (Amiga)
- Z-OutZ-OutZ-Out is a 1990 side-scrolling shoot 'em up released for the Amiga and Atari ST by Rainbow Arts. It is the sequel to X-Out. Unlike its predecessor, the game features a co-operative two-player component. While its critical reception was positive—particular praise went to its graphics—many reviewers...
(Amiga)
General
- Homepage of Chris Hülsbeck
- Homepage of gamemusic concerts
- "Merregnon" Fantasy Musical Project
- synSONIQ Records: Chris Hülsbeck record labelRecord labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Profiles
- Artist profile at OverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
- ElectronicScene.com profile
TFMX & Soundmonitor
- CHIPtune (about the soundchip sid and related links)ChiptuneA chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...