Old composers like Spencer Nilsen, Alexander Brandon, etc?

[Xeogred]

This is a pretty broad and obscure request, but maybe you guys can help me out. I finally got around to playing the original Unreal (Gold) last summer and the soundtrack has already become one of the greatest things I've ever heard, and one I go back to all the time... I see it being one of those immortal OST's from here on that I will never forget. This was done mostly by Alexander Brandon, whom also did the soundtrack for the original Deus Ex. Very epic, synth driven stuff that is both melodic and utterly atmospheric, powerful stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glnpnifV4Fk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtjNUQ3-XNY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xMp0fZiJaM (love how progressive most Unreal songs are! Just wait until the second half)

Deus Ex:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBPK_oXeJgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2h53Yg-AQo

So recently I've been on a SegaCD kick again emulating some stuff, and I hadn't heard the Ecco game OST's from those versions in probably 10 some years. They completely blew my mind, and stuff like this I can't get enough of. Spencer Nilsen composed for it, also did Ecco 2, Sonic CD US (which I personally love), and some other SegaCD games before disappearing after his solo album apparently.

The darker tracks Nilsen did are incredible to me, some of my favorites:
Ecco's Marble Sea - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEiroXceWtU
Sonic CD's Tidal Tempest Bad Future - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qBScpdwoqg

Mark Morgan from the original Fallout's might be another good comparison, although his stuff is a lot more straight up atmospheric I'd say. To me, I'd say Brandon and Nilsen's kind of style includes a lot more melody in their stuff, so it's like you're almost listening to 8-16bit kind of VGM but with way more instruments and all, if that makes sense at all. I guess I like the in between, songs that have both a lot of melody and atmosphere, if I had to choose a favorite Fallout song it'd be Beyond the Canyon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_rii4KE4pQ

Basically I guess what I'm searching for is more stuff like this, great VGM that's very synth driven, games I may have missed or game OST's, or maybe modern stuff in the vein of 90's CD quality VG kind of music.

I can't help but think of Unreal when I listen to Bloodsport's OST now, and Vangelis' work on Blade Runner is another one of my favorites. Just can't get enough of this kind of stuff!

[Scooter]

Spencer Nilsen didn't just compose the music for Ecco, he also played all the instruments. And he didn't disappear, he just went into other endeavors. He's the president of Expression College now:

http://www.expression.edu/

http://www.spencernilsen.com/

There is also a nice interview with him posted on Sega-16:

http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=374&title=Interview:%20Spencer%20Nilsen

I traded a few e-mails with him about a year ago, he is a very nice person. I was looking for a copy of the CD of the Ecco music just to have one (I had already ripped the music from the game CD to my MP3 player) and I ended up getting this in the mail!

[Xeogred]

I knew about him and the college thing, have not seen that interview though and that was a great read. He almost sounded a bit ignorant at first like, if he would've just composed music without understanding games (I think that'd be a bit shallow, eh?) but him stating he was interested in learning about games and all says enough. Maybe I should shoot him an email sometime, definitely seems like a cool guy.

[BoringSupreez]

Since when is Spencer Nilsen "old"?!

[Xeogred]

Old, as in 80/90's VG composers that don't do much anymore thesedays.

[Ivo]

I really enjoyed reading that interview, thanks for the link.

Ivo.

[Scooter]

I really enjoyed reading that interview, thanks for the link.

Ivo.

There are a LOT of really great interviews with people involved in the heyday of Sega and specifically the Genesis/Mega Drive on Sega-16. Some are somewhat obscure people who had imporant roles to play and others are very prominent people who have incredibly interesting insights into the history of the 16-bit era.

[Xeogred]

I really enjoyed reading that interview, thanks for the link.

Ivo.

There are a LOT of really great interviews with people involved in the heyday of Sega and specifically the Genesis/Mega Drive on Sega-16. Some are somewhat obscure people who had imporant roles to play and others are very prominent people who have incredibly interesting insights into the history of the 16-bit era.

Have anymore links to share?

And maybe my music request is a lost cause? lol

[Ivo]

The best I can suggest is put Kohina playing and if you hear any interesting ones note them down.

http://www.kohina.com/

I learned about the site here in Racketboy, and it is basically streaming 8-bit and 16-bit music.

Ivo.