Congratulations to the HCL guys for their hard work!  (And yours truly for the lovely cover, natch.)

Hardcore Energy 2 – The Second Coming

For the latest round of Hardcore Lives! releases we’ve tried to update the look a bit; not that the old one was bad, but over 7 albums it’d had a good innings so we reckoned that a quick tidy was in order.  A couple of late nights later, and you have the new Hardcore Energy branding:

Combined with the back cover, I reckon it looks more like a “real” compilation you’d find in the (non-virtual) shops, and that can’t be a bad thing.  I haven’t heard the tracks in full yet, but when I do then it’s likely that a review will be in the offing.  In the meantime, those of you who love your old-skool beats could do a lot worse than heading over to Hardcore Lives! Records and pre-ordering yourself a copy at a knock-down price.

Kudos as ever to Pete and Richie for their sterling effort in pulling together the release itself.

Once again I’ll be producing the awards magazine/brochure (I’ve been doing it for years, and still I’ve never decided what to call it) that you’ll find on the tables to flick through, spill alcohol on, and hopefully take home on the night.  We’re pulling out lots of stops this year to make it an extra exciting souvenir, so please do spend some time having a good nose through – I guarantee it’ll be worth it.  I’m hoping that time and other factors to detail a bit of the production here on Shinypixel, so stay tuned for what promises to be an interesting annual excursion into the world of print design…

The competition’s on our Facebook page, so rifle through your camera, become a fan and upload a pic to donate £5 to charity with no extra effort required.

Applying a bit of creative licence (and whatever I had to hand), here’s a couple of my entries.  I might see if I can climb some trees* during lunchtime.

Santa’s Wish Kingdom @ Westfield Shopping Centre, Xmas

Disney Store, Oxford Street, a busy Saturday

* Unlikely, of course.

The moment of schoolboy mirth below is an excellent example of why you should read it.

(Couldn’t find the original strip, sadly.)

Though no-one really knew who they were, their manic cut/paste sound set them apart from not only the smooth pop of the time but even against their clear influences in breakbeat rave.

I’ve got a bunch of well-worn dubs of their old stuff that aren’t up on the site, so maybe I’ll be able to help flesh out the site’s collection, assuming I can rescue them from the dusty corner of my mind – and my parents house – where they must be by now…

(Click for bigger version)

Hopefully I can wibble enthusiastically about it upon my return.  In the meantime, have a nose at what you’re missing.

They’ve sampled Roger Miller, American sex-education films and John Peel, so you can imagine my glee when I saw this fantastic Brucie Bonus as I took an occasional surf to the weird end of town.  It could only be the Cuban Boys, doing their bit to beat the gloom and doom with a rousing rework of a national anthem from the 60s.

The formula’s pretty simple: Sample ancient song, add tubthumping beat, mix in some sampled guitars, stir and recover.  It’s similar stuff to Every Girl Has  A Volvo yet it manages to surpass even that in so-bad-it’s-good catchiness.  I’ve been stabbing repeat feverishly at the player on their website for the last fifteen minutes.

I’m Backing Britain isn’t yet available from their online store, so camp out until the relevant communicon arrives.  Chalk another up to the Cubans for being the silliest people in pop, or as they put it:

This is not flag-waving nationalism but tea-sipping eccentricity.

This time : The Graveyard by Tale of Tales.

You play an old woman visiting an unnamed, monochrome graveyard.  Falling blossom, and the sounds of distant birdsong and barking complete the tranquil atmosphere.

The old woman progresses through the graveyard.  She walks and turns very slowly, headed ponderously toward the distant chapel.

At the chapel there is a bench, upon which the woman may sit.  If and when she does, there is a distant sound of instruments in the wind.

The camera draws back as the woman remembers a song, as the world gradually fades away.  After listening for a few minutes, she remains, thinking.  You may now leave the graveyard.

This is almost all.  If you buy the full version of the game, the woman may die, which is one of the most interesting ways of getting you to shell out $5 for a game that I’ve heard.

In recent months, there’s been a surprising number of contemplative art games born.  Perhaps someday I’ll provide a full list, but in the meantime I recommend you check out Heart, one of the latest I’ve played.

There’s only one ending.

If you like that, and fancy a longer, more immersive adventure, then try out Judith by Increpare and Terry Kavanagh.  If you spend all day shooting zombies on Left 4 Dead, you’ll hate it.  On the other hand, if you have a soul, you won’t.