It takes a special kind of person who can organize a community album. Today, I talk with one of those special people, Dewey Newt, who coordinated his first community album, Mavericks of Destruction: A Mega Man X Tribute Album for Pixel Mixers.

Brass quintet, The Game Brass, caught the VGM world by storm with their winter-themed album Snowtopia which released at the end of 2018. For their follow-up album, they decided to expand their roster and pay tribute to the video game macabre with Brasslevania.

Lacey Johnson does it all—she plays in a VGM metal band, creates her own cosplay costumes, and produces high-quality music both on YouTube and Twitch.

Qumu is a bit of an anomaly, even in the VGM community. Their style defies description and their identity is shrouded in mystery, but their music is undeniably engaging and their audience is growing.

In many ways, Field of Hopes and Strings is the spiritual successor to String Player Gamer’s Undertale album series Strings of Determination.

Let’s get something straight. Ro Panuganti’s Pokémon tribute album, Metal Trainer, is one of the best VGM releases of 2019.

Banjo Guy Ollie is a Renaissance man. Not content to make incredible folk music covers, he also surfs, trains in Judo, paints, and restores retro consoles and arcades.

With over 20 collaborations together, it’s no surprise that Kain White and Psamathes have developed a friendship that extends beyond their music.

Celeste’s final piece of DLC, appropriately titled Farewell, released this past Monday. As with the original game, the music was composed by Lena Raine.

Two weeks ago, I had no idea who Trey Hodge was. I didn’t know that he is a studio guitarist of 15 years, that he has collaborated with several artists from Materia Collective, or that he rocks a cowboy hat (see below).

This past weekend, Pixel Mixers released their 26th community album, Timeless Ocean, a celebration of the Ecco the Dolphin series. All four games were represented on the album which featured 30 different musicians and 28 tracks.

Hashel is a man that wears many hats—arranger, producer, fan, community leader. Most likely, you know him as the fearless leader of Pixel Mixers, but whatever the case, you know that he has passion for video game music and the community that surrounds it.

I always thought that a medley was a collection of songs, but now I realize that a medley can transform tracks into something greater than the sum of their parts. In the hands of an expert, a medley is a narrative that guides a listener through a satisfying emotional journey.

The Jazz Video Game Medley by insaneintherainmusic is more than a tribute to video game music—it’s a testament to the collaborative nature of VGM covers and remixes and to the talent of Carlos Eiene (who I like to call the Jacob Collier of VGM).

I’m happy to say that Eric L completed Marathon Mode, and of course, the first thing that he wanted to do was to talk about his experience with yours truly.