Kode9 remixed a bunch of old Japanese video game themes and you can hear one right now

By Reid McCarter  |  March 22, 2019 | 4:21pm
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Kode9 remixed a bunch of old Japanese video game themes and you can hear one right now
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Following up on a 2014 docuseries from Red Bull Music Academy, Scottish DJ Kode9 did a very good job shining a light on the composers responsible for scoring old Japanese video games with Diggin’ In The Carts, a 2017 compilation of relatively obscure, but foundational ‘80s and ‘90s tracks.

Now, perhaps in an effort to exorcise his mind of the assorted blipped and blooped melodies that surely took up prime cranial real estate after curating Carts, Kode9 is preparing an album of remixes called—wait for it—Diggin’ In The Carts Kode9 Remixes.


The EP consists of four tracks, remixed from the soundtracks to Actraiser, Xak II: Rising Of The Redmoon, The Mahjong Touhaiden, and Dazaemon. The last of these, a take on Koichi Ishibashi’s “Bad Data” is already available for streaming (and download for those who preorder the album).

Compared to the eerily militaristic original track, Kode9's “Bad Data” remix is somehow even more ominous, extending the source material into a longer, denser piece with a skittering jungle snare beat and a thudding 808. It seems like a good sign of what to expect from the other three: more elaborate explorations of some of the sounds that set the tone for an entire era of video games.

For now, you can listen to Diggin’ In The Carts on Spotify while passing the time waiting for the remix album’s May 3rd release. It pairs well with sitting cross-legged in front of the TV, wearing a day-glo baseball cap, and wiping away the occasional tear with a Ninja Turtles handkerchief while thinking of how much promise the future once held when these games were still new.

[via Pitchfork]

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