C418 | Minecraft Volume Alpha Cassette

Minecraft is a dreamscape, a limitless world where anything is possible. Minecraft is a tool, a means of bringing the imagination to life. Minecraft is a community, a platform on which inventive minds of all ages can share their creations and ideas. Minecraft, of course, is also a game, the most popular and best-selling video game of all time. Created in 2009 by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson, this cultural phenomenon speaks volumes of our current zeitgeist's love for virtual spaces, but it's unprecedented success couldn't be pinned on one factor alone. Countless layers of thoughtful artistry flow through Minecraft's singular experience, not the least of which is it's transportive soundtrack by C418, the project of German composer and musician Daniel Rosenfeld. Minecraft Volume Alpha, the first installment of a two-part OST, helped breathe life into the game's voxel-based universe. Upon release, fans and critics were universally enamored with C418's beatless, nuanced electronic pieces. Popular gaming site Kotaku named it among The Best Game Music of 2011, calling the music "remarkably soothing." The Guardian compared Rosenfeld's delicate piano and sparse ambient motifs to legendary artists Erik Satie and Brian Eno. Polygon distilled Volume Alpha to it's essence: "It's not bound by the retro aesthetic of Minecraft's graphics. It transcends them. The album is an attempt to uplift the combined game/music experience into the sublime."

    1 Key
    2 Door
    3 Subwoofer Lullaby
    4 Death
    5 Living Mice
    6 Moog City
    7 Haggstrom
    8 Minecraft
    9 Oxygene
    10 Equinoxe
    11 Mice on Venus
    12 Dry Hands
    13 Wet Hands
    14 Clark
    15 Chris
    16 Thirteen
    17 Excuse
    18 Sweden
    19 Cat
    20 Dog
    21 Danny
    22 Beginning
    23 Droopy Likes Ricochet
    24 Droopy Likes Your Face