Music Monday: Humming The Bassline

Welcome to Music Monday, the best way to start off your week! Each week Jon or Jenny will profile a popular videogame-related musician/band to add to your music library.

Sometimes when I’m thinking for music to talk about in this column, I go over the mass library of game soundtracks I have peppered throughout iTunes. Soundtracks from beloved games from all over the gaming spectrum, and songs from games people outright detested. Whenever I go through these soundtracks, I always start out in one place: a soundtrack filled with the amazing work of Hideki Naganuma. His name might not be familiar, but his work should.

Any time spent with the stylish, funky, and generally amazing Jet Grind Radio is filled with Hideki’s sublime soundtrack. His the genre-blending tunes are something to behold, from the whining techno track that plays any time Professor K is on screen to the jazzy samples that play all around Shibuya-cho. The soundtrack also has performances from Rob Zombie, Jurassic 5, and Richard Jacques, but Naganuma’s tunes really make an impression in the game. I would suggest, as many others out there may, that the music of JGR is as integral to the game as the rollerblading is.

Over the hood, through the streets, and right into your brain, we’re riding high on a smooth stream of supersonic sounds this Monday morning. Enjoy this selection of music composed by Hideki Naganuma.

“Let Mom Sleep”

“Sweet Soul Brother”

“That’s Enough”