Music: PPPPPP (Magnus P�lsson)

Earlier this month indie platformer VVVVVV by game designer Terry Cavanagh was released on Steam. It seemed like an opportune time to catch up with musician Magnus P�lsson, whose soundtrack album for the game is called PPPPPP. The album title stands for things that in the opinion of the composer are good to have in life: persistence, power, positivity, passion, potential and purpose. Incidentally, pretty much every track on the album begins with the letter "P."

According to the the game composer, he counts among his most valued precursors Olof Gustafsson, who supplied the music for Amiga titles Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies for the company Digital Illusions. "He has made some really nice tracks that I am still in awe of, even after all these years." More recently, he found a kindred spirit in G87, the Spanish musician behind Hydorah. "We differ in some technical skills and the choices of instrumentation and such, but there?s an underlying camaraderie that we share."

The soundtrack album, inspired in parts by the Amiga demoscene, comes with several surprises. "Popular potpourri" is a medley of numerous tracks from the game. ?Presenting V? features the composer saying ?V? a bunch of times, while ?Pressure Cooker? features a similar refrain, this time spoken by Terry Cavanagh. "Pushing onwards" and "Positive force" were the first tracks completed, and inspired the game designer to broaden the scope of the platformer. "The game grew because of it, so our work fed into each other. Suddenly he was sitting on new levels and needed new songs."

PPPPPP can be downloaded with a $4 donation through Paypal. Soundtrack previews come courtesy of Souleye Digital Music.

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