Hang On To Your Hat Review
Buy Hang On To Your Hat
This tweet from Sebastian Wolff (Materia Collective’s founder) summarizes Hang on to Your Hat much better than I ever could, but if I had to describe the album, I would simply call it ambitious.
Unlike Materia’s first big budget project, Hero of Time, Hang on to Your Hat didn’t have the financial backing or built-in hype from a Kickstarter campaign. The album teaser dropped, and the VGM community watched in awe. Everything from the audio production to the art deco aesthetic indicated that this album would be something special. Now that the album has released, I’ve spent the last few days soaking up every note, trying to collect my thoughts on this unique album.
Here’s what I’ve decided—this is the finest VGM cover album to date.
On my first listen, I was overwhelmed by the quality of the production, the performers, and the arrangements. Every instrument shines, and the mix could not crisper or clearer. Each track was a delight, and the album resonated with me strongly, especially since Super Mario 64 was my first console game ever. Yes, I even felt like a kid again, thanks to that most potent drug, nostalgia.
Upon subsequent listens, though, I noticed something interesting: two tracks from Super Mario 64 were covered twice on the album. I began to wonder if this was an oversight or if this was intentional, so I went to the album’s information page on Materia Collective’s website, and I was shocked to find there were nine arrangers on the album. Nine.
I listened to the album a few more times, still uncertain about my feelings for it. I began to pay more attention to the arrangements, noting the differences and similarities that weren’t apparent at first listen. At times, the arrangements strayed a little far for my taste, but I was determined to uncover all that this album had to offer. Each time I listened, I discovered something different, and my perspective on the album changed.
Truth be told, I’m still learning more about this album both through the music and the people that created it. In fact, I reached out to one of the arrangers, Sean Schafianski, to ask if the album producers were concerned about repeating tracks on the album. He said that it happened quite by accident, but the album producers were fine with it. To me, it’s a risky move to allow two covers of the same track twice on a smaller album, but I began to think of this in context of the rest of the album, i.e. what is Hang on to Your Hat trying to say?
Well, it’s right there in the title—hang on to your hat. In other words, prepare for the unexpected. This album will take you places that you’ve never been because there’s never been a VGM cover album quite like this. Even if you’ve played Super Mario 64, and have memorized every song as I have, I can guarantee you that you’ve never heard it like this. Even if you’ve heard a jazz arrangement of the same song on the same album, you haven’t heard this jazz arrangement.
With this album, Materia Collective has proven that they want to invest in the future of video game music. I tip my hat to Sebastian and the rest of the people responsible for Hang on to Your Hat, and I fully intend to learn more about this album in the coming weeks and months, because this is art, and it’s worth exploring.
RATING: MUST-HAVE
(All VGM Fans Should Enjoy)