C418 MINECRAFT VOLUME ALPHA
2015-08-10Minecraft Volume Alpha, the first installment of a two-part OST, is the work of German composer and musician Daniel Rosenfeld. Using C418 as his moniker, Rosenfeld crafted the sweeping soundtrack and vibrant sound design which helped breathe life into Minecraft’s voxel-based universe. Fans and critics were universally enamored with his beatless, nuanced electronic pieces upon release. Popular gaming site Kotaku named it among The Best Game Music of 2011, calling the music “remarkably soothing,” and The Guardian has compared Rosenfeld’s delicate piano and sparse ambient motifs to legendary artists Erik Satie and Brian Eno. In an interview feature with C418, Polygon distilled Volume Alpha to its 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.”
For the soundtrack’s physical release, Ghostly has designed standard black vinyl and digipak CD packages around colorful artwork from the digital version. There’s also a limited-edition LP that brings some extra magic to the table. Record collectors and Minecraft completists take note: Only 1,000 copies of Volume Alpha will be pressed on transparent green vinyl, arriving complete with a lenticular-printed jacket which gives new depth and movement to the cover’s 3D-rendered image.
