So it turns out they DID make a Solstice 2 (Equinox) which is funny because I used a tune from that in the background music during the ZX Spectrum section. My mistake, I completely missed that. Also the drums in Solstice/Silver Surfer are apparently NOT sample channel, but instead clever triangle/noise magic. Thank you to the people who pointed this out and I'm very very very sad that I missed this because that's much more technically impressive than DPCM samples. Will try my best to deliver higher quality of research in the future👍
One more relatively minor thing. There were two types of sound on the ZX Spectrum: the 1-bit beeper speaker, which is what that "crunchy" sound is, and the later 3-voice AY-3 chip used on later, slightly higher-spec versions of the computer. I would include more details but I need to sleep as I write this
As @@bouncypear_net partially pointed out, 1-bit music on the ZX Spectrum is not 3 voiced. Technically, it actually has 0 voices! Any "channels" for 1-bit music have to be coded by hand using the CPU, often using hardware timers. People still make 1-bit music for the ZX Spectrum, and it can have up to 8 - 9 channels, depending on how you count. In fact, some of Tim Follin's sound engines had up to 6: 5 for pitch and 1 percussion channel that interrupted the others. "Chronos" and "Agent X1/2" are excellent examples of this. Edit: "Agent X2", while also having many channels, used an audio expansion for percussion. The AY-3-8910 warrants a separate discussion, though One reason why many of 1-bit songs sound like they only have 3 voices is because many of the channels are playing in unison with a slight detune, which gives a phasing effect to each duplicated note. Without this effect, each voice would just be an extremely thin pulse wave Another note about DPCM, SMB3 is also using that channel for the wood block sound, not just the steel drum. Kirby's Adventure is another track that uses the DPCM very well. One thing that's especially impressive about SNES music is that while samples are present, there is only 64k of RAM for all music, which is also used by the music player for multiple other things, including the sound driver state and an optional echo buffer. So, composers had to be very careful in what samples they used, with many often only being a single wavelength in size to afford more space. What's especially impressive about "Plok!", is that most of the OST only uses 5 of the 8 channels the SNES has to offer. Because of this, multi-note samples were used to achieve greater polyphony, which is not easily done with the SNES's limited sample memory. Also, if you're interested, I would highly recommend GST Channel's Artist Feature on Tim Follin, it does a great job covering the full scope of Follin's work. Also also, please cover more chiptune stuff! It's great to hear chiptune like this being discussed by music theorists 😁 Rest in peace, Mr. Follin 😌
I have a question about Pokemon Suite , the main theme after the intro part , I am trying to transcibe the theme to piano but can't seem to identify the last chord . I found the orchestral vers. on musescore . So , Can you help me please ?? at .5:30:54 / .5:43:26
Equinox is actually one of my favorites. It creates ambient soundscapes unlike anything else I've heard on the snes. Plus the boss music is an insane banger.
Solstice doesn't even use the DPCM (sample) channel, Follin brothers never used it in any tunes. All drums are made using a clever use of the triangle and noise channel, the triangle doing a quick swipe down to simulate a drum sound.
yeah there needs to be a pinned corrections comment for this and the "Spectrum speaker has 3 voices", which actually depends on software. What does have three voices is the sound chip in the 128K model of the ZX Spectrum, which isn't what was used for the Tim Follin speaker tunes.
Just wanna point out, the reason the ZX spectrum music sounds so crunchy is because the 3 channels are generated using software. The ZX only had a single output pin that you could either set high or low. Only makes the achievement more impressive!
Tim was a technical wizard, even as a teenager. How did he managed to figure out to create more than 3 voices in the ZX Spectrum is nothing but a miracle. The chip was rudimentary, it had no hardware sound support at all. The only thing it had was a single channel beeper that was controlled directly by the machine's main CPU, making synchronous music and gameplay should be near impossible. Yet Tim not only managed to do that, but also creating music that are polyphonic as well??? How much this man disregard and downplay his works baffles me sometimes, he was heck of a genius and a revolutionary!!!
Yep, it's like the Apple II's sound, just a speaker connected to a single bit of control. You must push and pull the speaker with timed code to make a sound. Even the IBM PC speaker is more advanced since it can hold a tone.
Yeah there were a lot of technical inaccuracies in this video. The author got confused because a later iteration of the ZX had three SQUARE WAVE channels to tap, and Tim Follin did do some music with said chip, but the 1-bit music is what he's really known for. For the record, he didn't invent the technique per se. It was a common way of getting more out of a simple beeper speaker than a single square wave. Games on the Apple II had been doing it for years. The tradition met its climax, I would say, when the Sega Genesis was forced to play 4-voice digital music through its lone digital voice-the CPU was mixing all four voices. Could only be done for title or other non-intensive moments, as usual. But again, this is something that had already been done on the Amiga.
The Follins' work shown in this video sounds like modern music emulating retro-style tunes. Hard to believe these were ACTUALLY composed on those retro consoles.
@@MaxOakland Absolutely, it seems to me that a lot of the techniques that define chiptune as a genre, like grandiose arpeggiating chords, triangle snares, and so on, were pioneered by the brothers Follin, or at least were popularized by them. That in mind, I'm fully comfortable saying they invented/pioneered/whatever verb you wanna use the music genre, even if at the time *all* game music was "chiptune."
As a kid playing Solstice required patience because you just had to listen to at least 3 playthroughs of the theme tune before you could start the game haha.
@@danh945 I got that game as a young kid from my Dad's friend, which came with a couple area maps and a nice little "infinite lives" cheat (spoiler, it did in fact not grant infinite lives) which helped me immensely with playing that game - even with all those lives, learning that game entirely by myself, I burnt through all of them several times over, and it was still a few years before I ever saw the end of the game at all. Good times. Even the main game's music loop was somehow enchanting to me. Both that, and the colors on an old CRT. Definitely no other game experience like it.
Holy crap I'm so sorry to hear of Geoff's passing. I love that the retro game music community has really rallied around Plok's beach theme as a SNES masterpiece - making that one song more famous than the game itself. Thanks for going through some of the brothers' lesser known work!
The fact that I learned of Geoff's passing from a freaking Othello gameboy game, aka Spot, feels kind of criminal tbh, the game is as garbage as anyone can imagine, but the track that goes when you don't make a move, is insanely good.
The beach theme is good but overhyped. I don't think it's fair that it overshadows several other memorable and fun tunes in Plok. Nearly every song in that game is noteworthy in some fashion. For example, the boss theme is a banger. Let's rally around the WHOLE game and not just a fraction of it.
I think the ultimate bow to the brothers talents are the mistakes in this video. The ZX spectrum didnt have 3 channels. It had 1. Tim programmed his own music routine (at 14 years old mind you) that was able to interlace several channels in software, and then output it to the 1-bit beeper. This is why it sounds as tim himself put it "nails in a vacuum". Since any other waveform would be unnecessarily taxing on the cpu. But also, the brothers nes games didnt use samples, they used a rare technique of combining the triangle and noise channel to create the drums, which not only sounds great due to their clarity compared to the sample channel but also acts as a natural sidechain on the bass since only one sound can be played per channel at once. This made them clearer and louder than they would have been had they simply been stacked with the sample channel like most games did. They never cease to amaze.
Worth noting that the ZX Spectrum 128, released at the tail end of 1985, and most models released after did have a built-in 3-channel PSG (AY-3-8910, same as the MSX standard and Amstrad CPC line), so that's not entirely incorrect. Tim's earliest soundtracks were only made for the beeper, but he also used the PSG in most of his later games. Agent X II and Raw Recruit's title screens even used the beeper and PSG noise at the same time on models that supported it - this video just shows the pure beeper for the latter though.
The Follin brothers pushed the limits of what was possible and broke new ground in places no one thought to break, which is why I love their work. Everything they make is absolutely insane. R.I.P. to Geoff.
Had no idea who these guys were and thought "oh a bunch of soundtracks from games I've never heard of might find something new and cool" only to realise I knew almost every song transcribed. My respect for the work that goes into this stuff has skyrocketed, thanks for making this video, it's really well made and can see how much effort it took.
There's never gonna be enough words in the English dictionary to describe just how hard the Silver Surfer music goes. There's something about it that just makes the game feel so much more action packed than it is. It's a shame that the Follin brothers never quite got that big impactful game to put their stamp on, but they absolutely elevated every game they composed for. By far the greatest chiptune tracks of all time. Rest in peace Geoff, may your legacy shine ever bright
13:32 - Actually, I’m pretty sure there actually IS a Solstice 2. It’s just that it doesn’t the exact name being known as Equinox on the SNES. And yes, Tim/Geoff Follin return to compose for that game which overall sounds way more immersive than their usual straight-up bangers.
i used to listen to tim follin on the way to my college classes every single morning. i'd think, "maybe i should listen to another album today", and then i'd pull up the plok ost. so happy to see this video
If sega hired that duo to work on sonic 3 and knuckles michael jackson wouldn't have been ashamed to be credited as he described that his music can't be replicated on it as he thought it could
Tim did make a soundtrack for the Genesis, it was for a game that never got released, he also stated that he regrets not making more music for the Genesis
having never heard of these fine lads or solstice before, going from "oh this is a nice little tune!-" to "-HERE WE F-ING GOOOOOOOOO" in 2 seconds flat was a lifechanging experience, and i thank you for it
Go check out his interviews, Charles Cornells video on Pictionary, and compilations of Tim and Geoff’s music. Every single song they put out was a banger
"The [...] Duo You've Never Heard Of" The first sentence in the video: "[...] you've probably heard of Tim and Geoff Follin" I jest of course. This was a lovely video! The news of Geoff's passing came out of nowhere and I didn't know it would affect me this much. The soundtracks mentioned here are almost exactly the ones I went to listen to after hearing the news.
The ZX spectrum beeper had only 1 channel, it could simply be switched between two states and nothing more; that makes what Tim Follin did with it even more astonishing…
Great vid, I love the Follins' work. Minor nitpick, though - they did actually make a Solstice 2! Equinox for the SNES, music also composed by the Follins. RIP Geoff.
And how was cadence hira supposed to know that equinox is the sequel to solstice? It doesn't even sound like a sequel name, something like "Solstice II" or "The second solstice" would make sense. Or better yet, even "iceloss" would've made more sense since it's an anagram.
@@-originalLemon- Both are terms for specific parts of the year, the solstice is when the sun is the highest or lowest in the sky, the equinoxes are the midpoint between those two
@@-originalLemon- I mean solstices and equinoxes are directly connected moments. In summer and winter, you have solstices. Their equivalents in spring and fall are equinoxes. Also, when you boot up the game, it does say "Solstice II", which was its official title in Japan.
You should listen to the "Ghouls n' Ghosts" (for the Commodore 64) theme Tim made. There's an oscilloscope view of it on youtube. In that song he emulates the sounds of rain, wind, bells, clavichords, footsteps, heart beats, etc. using only three channels!
12:56 OKAY CADENCE Love how well-edited these videos have gotten. From the short memes spawning here and there to that little stereo jumpscare. Great stuff!
idk how but that last "rest in peace, Geoff" was one of the most emotional and soft condolences I have ever heard. this comment does not take away the magnificence of their work, only serves to amplify that subtle detail
I was really hoping to hear you talk about the boss theme from Plok. Regardless, fantastic video! I love the Follin brother's music and your breakdowns so this was something I'd hoped to see at some point.
when i was recording gameplay the plok boss theme jumpscared me with the laugh sample lmao great tune though i would have probably talked about that if i talked about a second plok tune
@@CadenceHira I randomly came across the Plok soundtrack the other day, and the tune which stood out for me, as well as the Beach theme, was Back Home. Plenty of amazing chord progressions there! th-cam.com/video/YRemn5PVQok/w-d-xo.html
I love the way your videos highlight how much care and love went into making these compositions. Your passion for the music really shines through the videos and brings me a deeper appreciation for the music even though I have no music theory background. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.
What's it called in music theory when a tune has a beginning where it implies it is far less dynamic and energetic than it is? Solstice, Pokey means business. Outside video game music, Deja Vu from Initial D (which also has a very interesting key change). Raining Blood starts as thrash then gets unusually and unexpectedly fast. Anyway it's my favourite thing in music
Follin brothers mentioned, let's go! I remember stumbling with Solstice's theme back then a few years ago, listened to it out of morbid curiosity, and BOY what a pleasant surprise, then began searching through TH-cam more about the composer's works and holy shit, the Follin brothers deserved way more than what they got
This was a great vid. I had no idea that so many of my favorite tracks in games when I was a kid were made by the same guys. Bubble Bobble, Rock 'n Roll Racing, Solstice... all made by the same dudes. Who knew?
The Follin Brothers pushed the sound of each respective hardware to their absolute limits, it doesn't sound like anything else I've heard! RIP Geoff, your contribution to video game music will live on forever!
The ZX Spectrum only had ONE 1-bit voice.. Or more bluntly, it just had one speaker whose membrane you could push to one side or the other - a total of two choices which amounts to one bit and nothing else. Squeezing more voices into it was Tim Follin's magic.
the beeper didn't have three channels. thats all in software. The 128k also had a three channel AY sound chip in addition to the beeper, but the 48K only has the beeper.
Also, I'm surprised you never heard about Tim Follin's involvement in the soundtrack for the unreleased Genesis version of Time Trax, which was the only time he ever worked with the Genesis hardware.
Thanks for the video, i got an education i needed but wasn't looking for. I own the game solstice but not a working NES, and the game was way too difficult to get into. Never heard of these guys but I'm glad I did.
The recent surge of musicians discovering the genius of the Follin Brothers warms my heart, never thought you would make a video on them as well, what a pleasant surprise! Also, rest in peace Geoff Follin, it is a shame that one of the most incredible and underrated chiptune composers had passed away. P/S: The drums in Solstice, Silver Surfer are actually produced by the triangle channel! A common technique chiptune composers often utilized is to have constantly switching between the drums and the bass produced by the triangle channel. The drums are created by quickly pitching downwards the triangle, while simultaneously played with the drums created by noise channel, giving it a more realistic feel while saving space, as the DPCM would often take too much space!
great video I love watching video game music theory videos (even though I know squat about music theory) But I never would have guessed that composers making tracks from that far back would be so ahead of their time
Its crazy to me that nobody has mentioned yet in one of this style of videos diving into the Follin brothers works the Ghouls n Ghosts title theme for the C64, genuinely one of the most atmospheric tracks i have ever heard from a system from that era, it emulates somebody knocking on a door, wind, breathing and a realistc heartbeat, crazy stuff Great video! You gained a new sub
Very good tribute to the Follin brothers. R.I.P Geoff. They continue to be one of the best composers for video games. The first time I heard the Solstice soundtrack it blew my mind. Good video!
Hey, nice video! Great breakdowns of the tracks, and overall very good editing throughout. Definitely subscribed! The Follin brothers' music is very inspiring. To work with the limitations you have and embrace them, really showing that it isn't about the gear. Any piece of equipment is just a tool. Hats off to the Follin brothers and RIP to Geoff.
Cadence please do a spotlight on Jake Kaufman’s illustrious and colorful compositions!!! I’d love to see a music theory breakdown because that dude does some CRAZY stuff in a lot of his tracks :))))
Two soundtracks that deserve to be mentioned: Bionic Commando and Ghouls'n'Ghosts, both for the C64, and both of which kinda flips the bird at the original versions they're covering and just does their own thing. The Bionic Commando soundtrack was good enough that Capcom included it (along with Rob Hubbard's legendary Commando track) on their Commando/Bionic Commando soundtrack collection CD, and Japanese game companies never seem to acknowledge Western home computer ports at all.
Tim's been a personal hero of mine for 35 years, and is my fave VGM composer. I was so fascinated by these really crappy games that were my favourites because of Tim's magical melodies.
I’d feel like there needs to be more people who dissect the interesting music from more underrated classics. Some of mine are Mr. Nutz (SNES) & The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis) which truly have their spark.
While I am not musically trained, when I was a kid, I wanted to take piano and drum lessons, but it never happened, but over the years I learned how much I love percussion and tones due to it. While I don't fully UNDERSTAND sheet music, or how musical composition works, I get it. I programmed a couple of NES songs on a tracker, so i have that skill in my pocket.
Solstice 2's (AKA Equinox) boss theme is an underrated banger from the Follin brothers. My favorite part of it is how the main beat is generated by just rapidly pitching up and down a single layered string(?) sample in such a way that it produces a popping sound, which makes for an instantly memorable techno beat. Would've been interesting to hear you talk about it and the sequel's overall change in music genre, being one of the few primarily ambient soundtracks on the system, alongside Jeremy Soule's work on Secret of Evermore. Another thing that could've been interesting to bring up would be the unreleased Genesis version of Time Trax, which was the only time the brothers worked on the Genesis hardware. Oh well.
Gosh, ive been really enjoying your videos, it makes me want to get back into music and try to learn a few instruments again while studying music theory properly.
Every time I hear the Solstice theme song I get full body reaction. My hair stands on end, shake my head in disbelief. Amazing that a composition like that could be programmed into an NES game
When you took home a game featuring these guys, you weren't just taking home a game, you were taking home something impossible. You were taking home pure magic. If NileRed is the scientific equivalent of a modern alchemist, Tim and Geoff Folin were the video game equivalent of modern alchemy. Their work is beyond stunning.
I love that Tim famously hated composing for the older hardware because of the limitations. He's done some real funk with Starsky & Hutch for PS2 once limitations were no more (and unfortunately, stopped composing for video games after its release). Thanks for your video, and thanks to the Follin brothers for all the inspiration. RIP Geoff
Nah, it's the opposite: Tim enjoyed the older platforms more. He wasn't so much a fan of sample-based composition. After the SNES and Megadrive, he was spending more of his time in DAWs, which didn't afford the same kind of control and wizardry FM and subtractive synthesis afforded him. It's one of the major reasons he left the industry.
Tim and Jeff where the masters of making systems make sounds that they buy all means shouldn’t have been able to make. There aren’t many other game composers I can think of who if done what they did for their system of choice. Jeff will be missed. RIP.
the plok's beach theme is the one song i've heard in YTPMV community but never knew where it was coming from, just hearing it came from SNES game made my mind blow nice video!
Now that Cadence has talked about the Follin brothers, is just a matter of time until she talks about the OST from Sunsoft NES games and other who use audio expansion chips on the Famicom, I would love a video about Gimmick! and Lagrange Point soundtrack :D
When I first listen to silver surfer I never fully realized how the nes can do so much more, and even more shock when listening to beach level, the Follin brothers are absolutely cracked in making music
There's a bit more to that legend about Plok: Mr Miyamoto first took apart the system they used, originally believing it to be a modded system, before going over the game code because he was amazed by finding the system to be completely stock. He 100% didn't believe the SNES was even capable of getting remotely close to what they achieved. Apart from the title theme to Plok, the OST left a couple channels free for sound effects during the gameplay so they could add the sound effects without interrupting the music.
Those NES tracks sound like modern chiptune and yet they were made with extremely limited audio channels, that's absolutely nutty. Like that Silver Surfer track sounds right out of the Just Shapes & Beats soundtrack but it was made in the 90s.
Now is a good time to mention that 1. the last half of the Chronos theme blows my mind, I don't know how he does that on a beeper, and 2. for some reason when Plok's beach theme loops, it doesn't return to the original tempo, it stays slowed down. Even the best among us make mistakes.
Oh wow! When i heard the silver surfer music it reminded me of Rock n Roll racing! I had no idea it was arranged by the same folks! Nobody did chip tunes electric guitar the way they did.
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So it turns out they DID make a Solstice 2 (Equinox) which is funny because I used a tune from that in the background music during the ZX Spectrum section. My mistake, I completely missed that.
Also the drums in Solstice/Silver Surfer are apparently NOT sample channel, but instead clever triangle/noise magic. Thank you to the people who pointed this out and I'm very very very sad that I missed this because that's much more technically impressive than DPCM samples. Will try my best to deliver higher quality of research in the future👍
One more relatively minor thing. There were two types of sound on the ZX Spectrum: the 1-bit beeper speaker, which is what that "crunchy" sound is, and the later 3-voice AY-3 chip used on later, slightly higher-spec versions of the computer. I would include more details but I need to sleep as I write this
I legit thought you were sarcastically building to the no DPCM reveal
As @@bouncypear_net partially pointed out, 1-bit music on the ZX Spectrum is not 3 voiced. Technically, it actually has 0 voices!
Any "channels" for 1-bit music have to be coded by hand using the CPU, often using hardware timers. People still make 1-bit music for the ZX Spectrum, and it can have up to 8 - 9 channels, depending on how you count. In fact, some of Tim Follin's sound engines had up to 6: 5 for pitch and 1 percussion channel that interrupted the others. "Chronos" and "Agent X1/2" are excellent examples of this.
Edit: "Agent X2", while also having many channels, used an audio expansion for percussion. The AY-3-8910 warrants a separate discussion, though
One reason why many of 1-bit songs sound like they only have 3 voices is because many of the channels are playing in unison with a slight detune, which gives a phasing effect to each duplicated note. Without this effect, each voice would just be an extremely thin pulse wave
Another note about DPCM, SMB3 is also using that channel for the wood block sound, not just the steel drum. Kirby's Adventure is another track that uses the DPCM very well.
One thing that's especially impressive about SNES music is that while samples are present, there is only 64k of RAM for all music, which is also used by the music player for multiple other things, including the sound driver state and an optional echo buffer. So, composers had to be very careful in what samples they used, with many often only being a single wavelength in size to afford more space.
What's especially impressive about "Plok!", is that most of the OST only uses 5 of the 8 channels the SNES has to offer. Because of this, multi-note samples were used to achieve greater polyphony, which is not easily done with the SNES's limited sample memory.
Also, if you're interested, I would highly recommend GST Channel's Artist Feature on Tim Follin, it does a great job covering the full scope of Follin's work.
Also also, please cover more chiptune stuff! It's great to hear chiptune like this being discussed by music theorists 😁
Rest in peace, Mr. Follin 😌
I have a question about Pokemon Suite , the main theme after the intro part , I am trying to transcibe the theme to piano but can't seem to identify the last chord . I found the orchestral vers. on musescore . So , Can you help me please ?? at .5:30:54 / .5:43:26
Equinox is actually one of my favorites. It creates ambient soundscapes unlike anything else I've heard on the snes. Plus the boss music is an insane banger.
Geoff Folin and Tim Follin always put any soundchip on the brink of death.
Rip Geoff.
Solstice doesn't even use the DPCM (sample) channel, Follin brothers never used it in any tunes. All drums are made using a clever use of the triangle and noise channel, the triangle doing a quick swipe down to simulate a drum sound.
was confused why she said they used the sample channel!!
i just accepted it n thought "oh ig they did use samples" lol
yeah there needs to be a pinned corrections comment for this and the "Spectrum speaker has 3 voices", which actually depends on software. What does have three voices is the sound chip in the 128K model of the ZX Spectrum, which isn't what was used for the Tim Follin speaker tunes.
ok that's crazy, i was trying to figure that out and ended up on the sample channel explanation. triangle kick is insane
solstice has Triangle Kick *and* Noise Triangle (on the in game music track) @@CadenceHira
@@CadenceHira This is actually a very common technique within the chiptune scene.
PLOK MENTIONED
It is a great day for the PLOK! fandom, rejoice Plokaholics!!! (All three of us)
Plok!
Do this day, I name my Monk or equivalent class characters Plok, 'cause they're throwing fists...
PLOK , AKA the original Rayman
RAHH!!!
" TIM IT WAS JUST PICTIONARY "
Bless your heart, I had almost forgotten about this comment. XD
IT'S JUST A PUZZLE GAME TIM! CALM DOWN!
Just wanna point out, the reason the ZX spectrum music sounds so crunchy is because the 3 channels are generated using software. The ZX only had a single output pin that you could either set high or low. Only makes the achievement more impressive!
Tim was a technical wizard, even as a teenager. How did he managed to figure out to create more than 3 voices in the ZX Spectrum is nothing but a miracle.
The chip was rudimentary, it had no hardware sound support at all. The only thing it had was a single channel beeper that was controlled directly by the machine's main CPU, making synchronous music and gameplay should be near impossible.
Yet Tim not only managed to do that, but also creating music that are polyphonic as well???
How much this man disregard and downplay his works baffles me sometimes, he was heck of a genius and a revolutionary!!!
Many Speccy Follin songs also used 6 channels, like Chronos or Agent X II
Yep, it's like the Apple II's sound, just a speaker connected to a single bit of control. You must push and pull the speaker with timed code to make a sound. Even the IBM PC speaker is more advanced since it can hold a tone.
This comment should be also pinned.
Yeah there were a lot of technical inaccuracies in this video. The author got confused because a later iteration of the ZX had three SQUARE WAVE channels to tap, and Tim Follin did do some music with said chip, but the 1-bit music is what he's really known for.
For the record, he didn't invent the technique per se. It was a common way of getting more out of a simple beeper speaker than a single square wave. Games on the Apple II had been doing it for years. The tradition met its climax, I would say, when the Sega Genesis was forced to play 4-voice digital music through its lone digital voice-the CPU was mixing all four voices. Could only be done for title or other non-intensive moments, as usual. But again, this is something that had already been done on the Amiga.
The Follins' work shown in this video sounds like modern music emulating retro-style tunes. Hard to believe these were ACTUALLY composed on those retro consoles.
YES. They must have been extremely influential on modern indie 8-bit composers. You can really hear it
@@MaxOakland Absolutely, it seems to me that a lot of the techniques that define chiptune as a genre, like grandiose arpeggiating chords, triangle snares, and so on, were pioneered by the brothers Follin, or at least were popularized by them. That in mind, I'm fully comfortable saying they invented/pioneered/whatever verb you wanna use the music genre, even if at the time *all* game music was "chiptune."
Talk about ahead of the curve.
That Bad to the Bone arrangement sounds like it came from the Pokémon Black and White sound font, and it’s honestly impressive
waot i just realized
is gear station just bad to the bone?????
@@flophawkno, gear station is just bluesy and bad to the bone uses a blues riff.
Glad I'm not the only one whose brain brought up gear station from the depths of memory, for whatever reason.
The whole soundtrack is so, so impressive. Even the Genesis version sounds good (though a lot different obviously)
When the big drop in the Solstice theme hit I audibly went "WHOA"
Man there is so much more to come in that track. You’re in for a treat!
When you love Prog Bands like Yes and Renaissance you will fall in love on the spot.
First heard it as a kid on the NES and it blew both my TVs speakers and my mind
As a kid playing Solstice required patience because you just had to listen to at least 3 playthroughs of the theme tune before you could start the game haha.
@@danh945 I got that game as a young kid from my Dad's friend, which came with a couple area maps and a nice little "infinite lives" cheat (spoiler, it did in fact not grant infinite lives) which helped me immensely with playing that game - even with all those lives, learning that game entirely by myself, I burnt through all of them several times over, and it was still a few years before I ever saw the end of the game at all. Good times. Even the main game's music loop was somehow enchanting to me. Both that, and the colors on an old CRT. Definitely no other game experience like it.
Holy crap I'm so sorry to hear of Geoff's passing. I love that the retro game music community has really rallied around Plok's beach theme as a SNES masterpiece - making that one song more famous than the game itself. Thanks for going through some of the brothers' lesser known work!
The fact that I learned of Geoff's passing from a freaking Othello gameboy game, aka Spot, feels kind of criminal tbh, the game is as garbage as anyone can imagine, but the track that goes when you don't make a move, is insanely good.
The beach theme is good but overhyped. I don't think it's fair that it overshadows several other memorable and fun tunes in Plok. Nearly every song in that game is noteworthy in some fashion. For example, the boss theme is a banger.
Let's rally around the WHOLE game and not just a fraction of it.
I think the ultimate bow to the brothers talents are the mistakes in this video.
The ZX spectrum didnt have 3 channels. It had 1. Tim programmed his own music routine (at 14 years old mind you) that was able to interlace several channels in software, and then output it to the 1-bit beeper. This is why it sounds as tim himself put it "nails in a vacuum". Since any other waveform would be unnecessarily taxing on the cpu.
But also, the brothers nes games didnt use samples, they used a rare technique of combining the triangle and noise channel to create the drums, which not only sounds great due to their clarity compared to the sample channel but also acts as a natural sidechain on the bass since only one sound can be played per channel at once. This made them clearer and louder than they would have been had they simply been stacked with the sample channel like most games did.
They never cease to amaze.
i thought he was 14 when he was making music for the Spectrum?
@@cool3865 indeed he was, my bad!
Worth noting that the ZX Spectrum 128, released at the tail end of 1985, and most models released after did have a built-in 3-channel PSG (AY-3-8910, same as the MSX standard and Amstrad CPC line), so that's not entirely incorrect. Tim's earliest soundtracks were only made for the beeper, but he also used the PSG in most of his later games. Agent X II and Raw Recruit's title screens even used the beeper and PSG noise at the same time on models that supported it - this video just shows the pure beeper for the latter though.
The Follin brothers pushed the limits of what was possible and broke new ground in places no one thought to break, which is why I love their work. Everything they make is absolutely insane. R.I.P. to Geoff.
Had no idea who these guys were and thought "oh a bunch of soundtracks from games I've never heard of might find something new and cool" only to realise I knew almost every song transcribed. My respect for the work that goes into this stuff has skyrocketed, thanks for making this video, it's really well made and can see how much effort it took.
PLOKKERS FOR LIFE WE STAND BY PLOK TILL THE DAY WE DIE OORAH🫡🫡🫡
PLOK FOR LIFE
I never expected Cadence to cover my favourite game OST ever but I'm so glad she did. More people need to know about Plok!!!!!
i LOVE my GRANDPAPPY and i HATE FLEAS!!!!!!
boss makes a dollar, i make a dime. that's why i plok on company time
There's never gonna be enough words in the English dictionary to describe just how hard the Silver Surfer music goes. There's something about it that just makes the game feel so much more action packed than it is. It's a shame that the Follin brothers never quite got that big impactful game to put their stamp on, but they absolutely elevated every game they composed for. By far the greatest chiptune tracks of all time.
Rest in peace Geoff, may your legacy shine ever bright
13:32 - Actually, I’m pretty sure there actually IS a Solstice 2. It’s just that it doesn’t the exact name being known as Equinox on the SNES. And yes, Tim/Geoff Follin return to compose for that game which overall sounds way more immersive than their usual straight-up bangers.
Equinox is in fact called "Solstice II" for the Japanese release.
no flak for the overlooking hira, but you literally put equinox music in the 2nd section of the video. how
gwimbly saying "ooh ooh ooh" out of shitty wiimote speakers is exactly what I needed to hear today
i used to listen to tim follin on the way to my college classes every single morning. i'd think, "maybe i should listen to another album today", and then i'd pull up the plok ost. so happy to see this video
If sega hired that duo to work on sonic 3 and knuckles
michael jackson wouldn't have been ashamed to be credited as he described that his music can't be replicated on it as he thought it could
Tim did make a soundtrack for the Genesis, it was for a game that never got released, he also stated that he regrets not making more music for the Genesis
@@cool3865time trax.
@@cool3865 I believe it was Time Trax?
having never heard of these fine lads or solstice before, going from "oh this is a nice little tune!-" to "-HERE WE F-ING GOOOOOOOOO" in 2 seconds flat was a lifechanging experience, and i thank you for it
Go check out his interviews, Charles Cornells video on Pictionary, and compilations of Tim and Geoff’s music. Every single song they put out was a banger
"The [...] Duo You've Never Heard Of"
The first sentence in the video: "[...] you've probably heard of Tim and Geoff Follin"
I jest of course. This was a lovely video! The news of Geoff's passing came out of nowhere and I didn't know it would affect me this much. The soundtracks mentioned here are almost exactly the ones I went to listen to after hearing the news.
unironically my fav composer: Tim "ITS JUST PICTIONARY" Follin
The ZX spectrum beeper had only 1 channel, it could simply be switched between two states and nothing more; that makes what Tim Follin did with it even more astonishing…
Equinox is technically Soulstice 2, or maybe just a spiritual successor I dunno
It says "Solstice 2" on the title screen, and that was its official title in Japan.
Great vid, I love the Follins' work. Minor nitpick, though - they did actually make a Solstice 2! Equinox for the SNES, music also composed by the Follins. RIP Geoff.
oh dang i didn't know that! i even used the equinox ost in the first bit and never noticed that. thanks for the correction!
And how was cadence hira supposed to know that equinox is the sequel to solstice? It doesn't even sound like a sequel name, something like "Solstice II" or "The second solstice" would make sense. Or better yet, even "iceloss" would've made more sense since it's an anagram.
@@-originalLemon- Both are terms for specific parts of the year, the solstice is when the sun is the highest or lowest in the sky, the equinoxes are the midpoint between those two
@@-originalLemon- I mean solstices and equinoxes are directly connected moments. In summer and winter, you have solstices. Their equivalents in spring and fall are equinoxes. Also, when you boot up the game, it does say "Solstice II", which was its official title in Japan.
Geoff passed away in April.
Rest in peace ):
RIP 😢
That Steel Drummy sound is called a Timbale !
You should listen to the "Ghouls n' Ghosts" (for the Commodore 64) theme Tim made. There's an oscilloscope view of it on youtube.
In that song he emulates the sounds of rain, wind, bells, clavichords, footsteps, heart beats, etc. using only three channels!
12:56 OKAY CADENCE
Love how well-edited these videos have gotten. From the short memes spawning here and there to that little stereo jumpscare. Great stuff!
There are so many beat drops made by the Follin brothers that I wish I could experience for the first time again.
I'm convinced that hearing the bass kick in on the Plok boss theme for the first time permanently changes your brain chemistry.
idk how but that last "rest in peace, Geoff" was one of the most emotional and soft condolences I have ever heard.
this comment does not take away the magnificence of their work, only serves to amplify that subtle detail
we found them. they're literally the soundtrack brothers
I was really hoping to hear you talk about the boss theme from Plok. Regardless, fantastic video! I love the Follin brother's music and your breakdowns so this was something I'd hoped to see at some point.
when i was recording gameplay the plok boss theme jumpscared me with the laugh sample lmao
great tune though i would have probably talked about that if i talked about a second plok tune
@@CadenceHira I randomly came across the Plok soundtrack the other day, and the tune which stood out for me, as well as the Beach theme, was Back Home. Plenty of amazing chord progressions there! th-cam.com/video/YRemn5PVQok/w-d-xo.html
Wild turtlebro spotted 🌞
TIM FOLLIN LESGOOOOO
Plok my beloved ❤
And rip Geoff :(
Tim Follin rocks on EVERY System (especially on the C=64!)!!
R.I.P. Geoff Follin(I ♥️ your SlySpy-Tune on the C=64!)
I love the way your videos highlight how much care and love went into making these compositions. Your passion for the music really shines through the videos and brings me a deeper appreciation for the music even though I have no music theory background. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.
What's it called in music theory when a tune has a beginning where it implies it is far less dynamic and energetic than it is? Solstice, Pokey means business. Outside video game music, Deja Vu from Initial D (which also has a very interesting key change). Raining Blood starts as thrash then gets unusually and unexpectedly fast. Anyway it's my favourite thing in music
Never heard of these two before, but you can be sure that everyone I know will soon.
It's so funny that this tribute to 2 talented composers also includes that clip of DJ Khaled pretending to play a guitar.
Follin brothers mentioned, let's go!
I remember stumbling with Solstice's theme back then a few years ago, listened to it out of morbid curiosity, and BOY what a pleasant surprise, then began searching through TH-cam more about the composer's works and holy shit, the Follin brothers deserved way more than what they got
This was a great vid. I had no idea that so many of my favorite tracks in games when I was a kid were made by the same guys. Bubble Bobble, Rock 'n Roll Racing, Solstice... all made by the same dudes. Who knew?
The Follin Brothers pushed the sound of each respective hardware to their absolute limits, it doesn't sound like anything else I've heard!
RIP Geoff, your contribution to video game music will live on forever!
12:24 "...was intended to invoke a Stevie Wonder kinda vibe, and I can totally see that."
My stoopid a$$: "Well, HE _did not..."_
Boooooo hisssssss
The ZX Spectrum only had ONE 1-bit voice.. Or more bluntly, it just had one speaker whose membrane you could push to one side or the other - a total of two choices which amounts to one bit and nothing else. Squeezing more voices into it was Tim Follin's magic.
the beeper didn't have three channels. thats all in software.
The 128k also had a three channel AY sound chip in addition to the beeper, but the 48K only has the beeper.
Also, I'm surprised you never heard about Tim Follin's involvement in the soundtrack for the unreleased Genesis version of Time Trax, which was the only time he ever worked with the Genesis hardware.
I always hear it as "fallen brothers" and its just as epic as their music.
RIP Geoff. I didn't realize he died! Both Tim and Geoff were some of my favorite game composers.
Thanks for the video, i got an education i needed but wasn't looking for. I own the game solstice but not a working NES, and the game was way too difficult to get into. Never heard of these guys but I'm glad I did.
Okay I'm subbing af - just from how INTO the music you are, I know I'm gonna enjoy your work :)
8:23 YOU CANT JUST HIT ME WITH THIS OUT OF NOWHERE SJFJMDJFJDJG
Ill always be a villian..
RUHEHEHEHE
the c64 ghouls and ghosts soundtrack by tim is also incredible
rip geoff :(((
I love your style of videos. You seem so passionate about these topics and it's really contagious. Keep up the great stuff! :)
RIP Geoff. You made some wonderful music. You brightened my world.
Their C64 tracks sound more raw and organic than most of the nes/snes tunes due to the nature of the SID chip. Be sure to check it out.
I love the consistent thumbnails! (Oh, and the video's not bad either, I guess)
gotta milk the algo
The recent surge of musicians discovering the genius of the Follin Brothers warms my heart, never thought you would make a video on them as well, what a pleasant surprise!
Also, rest in peace Geoff Follin, it is a shame that one of the most incredible and underrated chiptune composers had passed away.
P/S: The drums in Solstice, Silver Surfer are actually produced by the triangle channel! A common technique chiptune composers often utilized is to have constantly switching between the drums and the bass produced by the triangle channel. The drums are created by quickly pitching downwards the triangle, while simultaneously played with the drums created by noise channel, giving it a more realistic feel while saving space, as the DPCM would often take too much space!
great video
I love watching video game music theory videos (even though I know squat about music theory)
But I never would have guessed that composers making tracks from that far back would be so ahead of their time
Its crazy to me that nobody has mentioned yet in one of this style of videos diving into the Follin brothers works the Ghouls n Ghosts title theme for the C64, genuinely one of the most atmospheric tracks i have ever heard from a system from that era, it emulates somebody knocking on a door, wind, breathing and a realistc heartbeat, crazy stuff
Great video! You gained a new sub
Very good tribute to the Follin brothers. R.I.P Geoff.
They continue to be one of the best composers for video games. The first time I heard the Solstice soundtrack it blew my mind. Good video!
Hey, nice video! Great breakdowns of the tracks, and overall very good editing throughout. Definitely subscribed!
The Follin brothers' music is very inspiring. To work with the limitations you have and embrace them, really showing that it isn't about the gear. Any piece of equipment is just a tool. Hats off to the Follin brothers and RIP to Geoff.
Cadence please do a spotlight on Jake Kaufman’s illustrious and colorful compositions!!! I’d love to see a music theory breakdown because that dude does some CRAZY stuff in a lot of his tracks :))))
Two soundtracks that deserve to be mentioned: Bionic Commando and Ghouls'n'Ghosts, both for the C64, and both of which kinda flips the bird at the original versions they're covering and just does their own thing. The Bionic Commando soundtrack was good enough that Capcom included it (along with Rob Hubbard's legendary Commando track) on their Commando/Bionic Commando soundtrack collection CD, and Japanese game companies never seem to acknowledge Western home computer ports at all.
That was really cool. Thank you! And congrats for the transcriptions!!!
Tim's been a personal hero of mine for 35 years, and is my fave VGM composer. I was so fascinated by these really crappy games that were my favourites because of Tim's magical melodies.
This was Fearofdark before Fearofdark
What fearofdark track is even comparable to the Follin brother's work
@@ssg-eggunner the entirety of Exit Plan
Love fearofdark and yes, he surely draws inspiration from these guys
The fact that you transcribed their original music and even added your own "left to right stereo effect" is beautiful
I like the way you break apart the songs and show the chords and also the way you show the sheet music. That’s really cool and informative!
I’d feel like there needs to be more people who dissect the interesting music from more underrated classics. Some of mine are Mr. Nutz (SNES) & The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Genesis) which truly have their spark.
Masters of their craft, the world is already a less soulful place without Geoff, RIP
Immediately bought Solstice and may be streaming it soon
Soltice was my jam !
I still hear that music in my head randomly sometimes 😂
While I am not musically trained, when I was a kid, I wanted to take piano and drum lessons, but it never happened, but over the years I learned how much I love percussion and tones due to it. While I don't fully UNDERSTAND sheet music, or how musical composition works, I get it. I programmed a couple of NES songs on a tracker, so i have that skill in my pocket.
Solstice 2's (AKA Equinox) boss theme is an underrated banger from the Follin brothers. My favorite part of it is how the main beat is generated by just rapidly pitching up and down a single layered string(?) sample in such a way that it produces a popping sound, which makes for an instantly memorable techno beat.
Would've been interesting to hear you talk about it and the sequel's overall change in music genre, being one of the few primarily ambient soundtracks on the system, alongside Jeremy Soule's work on Secret of Evermore.
Another thing that could've been interesting to bring up would be the unreleased Genesis version of Time Trax, which was the only time the brothers worked on the Genesis hardware. Oh well.
I CANT even begin to say how much I love your videos.
Gosh, ive been really enjoying your videos, it makes me want to get back into music and try to learn a few instruments again while studying music theory properly.
Mentioning plok without that insane boss music track is criminal! Great video though, thanks for explaining some of these crazy sounds
the minute i saw the title i knew who it was and i love them so much
Every time I hear the Solstice theme song I get full body reaction. My hair stands on end, shake my head in disbelief. Amazing that a composition like that could be programmed into an NES game
When you took home a game featuring these guys, you weren't just taking home a game, you were taking home something impossible. You were taking home pure magic. If NileRed is the scientific equivalent of a modern alchemist, Tim and Geoff Folin were the video game equivalent of modern alchemy. Their work is beyond stunning.
You mention David Wise, you get me interested!
I love that Tim famously hated composing for the older hardware because of the limitations. He's done some real funk with Starsky & Hutch for PS2 once limitations were no more (and unfortunately, stopped composing for video games after its release).
Thanks for your video, and thanks to the Follin brothers for all the inspiration. RIP Geoff
Nah, it's the opposite: Tim enjoyed the older platforms more. He wasn't so much a fan of sample-based composition. After the SNES and Megadrive, he was spending more of his time in DAWs, which didn't afford the same kind of control and wizardry FM and subtractive synthesis afforded him. It's one of the major reasons he left the industry.
Tim and Jeff where the masters of making systems make sounds that they buy all means shouldn’t have been able to make. There aren’t many other game composers I can think of who if done what they did for their system of choice. Jeff will be missed. RIP.
As time goes by, I'm hoping more and more people discover the follin brothers.
RIP Geoff.
Great video highlighting two of video game's most innovative composers!
Ploks music is peak by TODAYS video game standards, but for the time? Holy crap!
This is how I find out Geoff passed away. Smh and Rip my talented friend. Thank you for the great video.
the plok's beach theme is the one song i've heard in YTPMV community but never knew where it was coming from, just hearing it came from SNES game made my mind blow
nice video!
Now that Cadence has talked about the Follin brothers, is just a matter of time until she talks about the OST from Sunsoft NES games and other who use audio expansion chips on the Famicom, I would love a video about Gimmick! and Lagrange Point soundtrack :D
Not to mention the unique use of DPCM
And a few epic C64 soundtracks you probably missed
Ghouls n Ghosts
LED Storm
Black Lamp
Bionic Commando
and Geoff's Sly Spy tracks.
When I first listen to silver surfer I never fully realized how the nes can do so much more, and even more shock when listening to beach level, the Follin brothers are absolutely cracked in making music
Shame you didn't talk about the boss theme from Plok, AKA the time the Follins made a whole Carpenter Brut song on the SNES.
MOM! TIM AND GEOFF FOLLIN ARE COMPOSING THE GAME!
13:32 they actually DID make a Solstice 2. It's called Equinox, for the SNES. The Follin brothers are also credited as the composers.
There's a bit more to that legend about Plok:
Mr Miyamoto first took apart the system they used, originally believing it to be a modded system, before going over the game code because he was amazed by finding the system to be completely stock. He 100% didn't believe the SNES was even capable of getting remotely close to what they achieved.
Apart from the title theme to Plok, the OST left a couple channels free for sound effects during the gameplay so they could add the sound effects without interrupting the music.
Those NES tracks sound like modern chiptune and yet they were made with extremely limited audio channels, that's absolutely nutty. Like that Silver Surfer track sounds right out of the Just Shapes & Beats soundtrack but it was made in the 90s.
Now is a good time to mention that
1. the last half of the Chronos theme blows my mind, I don't know how he does that on a beeper, and
2. for some reason when Plok's beach theme loops, it doesn't return to the original tempo, it stays slowed down. Even the best among us make mistakes.
I feel like that's part of the song's charm and was in fact intended
Amusingly, the reverse occurs with Equinox's boss theme: It stays increased in tempo when looping.
@@LucasRCD that's also intended
@@Plasmariel I'm aware. I just find it amusing.
TIM FOLLIN MENTIONED
r.i.p geoff
Plok deserves all the love. One of my childhood favorites that no one has heard of. And the soundtrack was always my favorite.
Oh wow! When i heard the silver surfer music it reminded me of Rock n Roll racing! I had no idea it was arranged by the same folks! Nobody did chip tunes electric guitar the way they did.