10 Years of Hyde209
Thomas aka Hyde209 is a dedicated, passionate artist who seeks to share his love of VGM with the world. There is no greater proof of this than the album releasing today, Hyde209 Vol. 10, which collects 35 of his tracks from 2010 to 2020. I was fortunate enough to listen to the album early, and I was amazed not only at his growth as a musician, but also at the variety of video game music on display. There aren’t many VGM artists who bring attention to obscure or retro game soundtracks, but I’m thankful that Hyde209 is one of them. To me, Hyde209 Vol. 10 is more than a celebration of single artist—it’s a celebration of VGM. That being said, let’s hear what the album means to the artist himself:
If you've been active in the VGM community over the past ten years, there's a good chance that you've come across the name "Hyde209" here and there. I've remixed/arranged VGM tracks on YouTube under that alias for ten years this year. It all started back in January 2010 when I uploaded a cover from the Game Boy game Shantae. I was excited, but I had little hope that anyone would take notice. Ten years later, and I've been on this huge rollercoaster ride that is YouTube. I've met so many cool people and made friends all over the world in the process.
I grew up in a home with a father that played drums and a mother who knew a bit of guitar so making music has always been something I've enjoyed. In the late 80s, we got a Yamaha keyboard, and in the 90s, I begun tinkering with tracker programs, first on the Amiga 500 and later on PC. I remember how my older brother Tobias asked me when we were kids: "Wouldn't it be cool if you could listen to game music outside games?". Today, my compilation album Hyde209 Vol 10 is available on Bandcamp, and it features 35 tracks from my 10 years of VGM remixes/arrangements/covers on YouTube. It feels great to look back at such an accomplishment and feel proud over all the hard work and good times that this compilation contains. So, to answer my brother Tobias, yes—to be able to listen to game music outside games would be cool...very cool.
-Hyde209
Join Hyde209 today for his album stream at 1 pm EST or support him on Bandcamp!