Level with Emily

02/17/2026

Anna Ahnlund talks about her solo albums Lackmuspapper (2018) and Omnejd (2014). You can hear her talk about the band Dina Ögon in Part 1. Music in the episode comes from Lackmuspapper, Omnejd and År, although there’s an excerpt of Dina Ögon’s remake of ‘År’ from the Dina Ögon album Oas...

02/16/2026

Anna Ahnlund talks about the band Dina Ögon, whose new album Människobarn is out on 6 Feb 2026; in Part 2, she talks about her solo albums Lackmuspapper (2018) and Omnejd (2014). The music in Part 1 is from Dina Ögon’s new album Människobarn unless noted otherwise. 00:00 Margaretas sång 04:11...

04/26/2024

Composer Lennie Moore wrote such gorgeous music for Outcast – A New Beginning that it made me mad, no exaggeration. It’s so pleasing harmonically with fantastic melodies and transitions, and outstanding musicianship from the soloists and performers.

Live choir, live soloists, live orchestra – and you can tell. The music has breath and life.

Composer Lennie Moore wrote such gorgeous music for Outcast – A New Beginning that it made me mad, no exaggeration. It’s so pleasing harmonically with fantastic melodies and transitions, and outstanding musicianship from the soloists and performers. Live choir, live soloists, live orchestra – ...

04/12/2024

We’re so happy to have Zac Tiessen back on Level to talk about a new project he worked on with his fine artist brother, Josh Tiessen!

Zac wrote music for a series of paintings called Vanitas + Viriditas. You can hear the music here (and elsewhere). It’s really gorgeous music, with outstanding live performers like singer Julie Elven, the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and more.

Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Zac on the Level with Emily YouTube channel. Find Level with Emily on Patreon.

We’re so happy to have Zac Tiessen back on Level to talk about a new project he worked on with his fine artist brother, Josh Tiessen! Zac wrote music for a series of paintings called Vanitas + Viriditas. You can hear the music here (and elsewhere). It’s really gorgeous music, with outstanding li...

03/29/2024

We loved having bandleader and drummer/percussionist Dom Palombi back to talk about his new album, Dom Palombi’s Game Night! Vol. 2. There are about twice as many musicians on this album than on Vol. 1, with what Dom describes as more personal track choices than before.

The musicianship is just beyond measure, and it’s a fun, adventurous, delightful, funky romp through some great tunes. The three originals are fantastic. ENJOY!

Join us on Discord for free. Find this conversation on YouTube.

We loved having bandleader and drummer/percussionist Dom Palombi back to talk about his new album, Dom Palombi’s Game Night! Vol. 2. There are about twice as many musicians on this album than on Vol. 1, with what Dom describes as more personal track choices than before. The musicianship is just be...

03/23/2024

Composer Chase Bethea talks about his music for Stardander: School for Witches, a Harry potter-esque narrative turn-based battle adventure game where you learn spells and solve mysteries.

The music is mysterious at times, with winding melodies and unexpected instrumentation. His mom sings too, which is great!

You can support Level with Emily on Patreon. Join us on Discord. Find this conversation on YouTube.

Composer Chase Bethea talks about his music for Stardander: School for Witches, a Harry potter-esque narrative turn-based battle adventure game where you learn spells and solve mysteries. The music is mysterious at times, with winding melodies and unexpected instrumentation. His mom sings too, which...

03/01/2024

Composer Thomas Brunet talks about his absolutely stunning music for Chants of Sennaar in this episode.

We love how spontaneous the music sounds, and the colorful, creative instrument palette.

In addition to the wonderful music, Thomas and I talk about a new graduate program he’s created for music and sound design in Bordeaux, France, as well as his love for and knowledge of French literature.

Composer Thomas Brunet talks about his absolutely stunning music for Chants of Sennaar in this episode.

We love how spontaneous the music sounds, and the colorful, creative instrument palette.

In addition to the wonderful music, Thomas and I talk about a new graduate program he’s created for music and sound design in Bordeaux, France, as well as his love for and knowledge of French literature.

Composer Thomas Brunet talks about his absolutely stunning music for Chants of Sennaar in this episode. We love how spontaneous the music sounds, and the colorful, creative instrument palette. In addition to the wonderful music, Thomas and I talk about a new graduate program he’s created for music...

02/18/2024

A little more than two years ago, Erik Desiderio was on Level to talk about music he’d written for Last Epoch, which was in early access at the time.

Erik is back to talk about all of the music he’s written for the game since we spoke in 2022. Also, Last Epoch is about to get its official release, and the Game Music Ensemble of UCLA is going to play Erik’s music from the game live, with Erik conducting.

This gave us many reasons to chat! That concert, by the way, will apparently be streamed? Unsure, check here and here! The concert is on Saturday, February 24th at 7 PM PST (UTC-8).

A little more than two years ago, Erik Desiderio was on Level to talk about music he’d written for Last Epoch, which was in early access at the time. Erik is back to talk about all of the music he’s written for the game since we spoke in 2022. Also, Last Epoch is about to…

02/02/2024

This is such gorgeous music by Dale North for Astral Ascent. Fully orchestral (a mix of real and samples), lush and full – and sometimes it ascends! Like the game!

Definitely check out the conversation Sam and I had about it on Next Level.

Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see the video of my conversation with Dale North on the Level with Emily YouTube channel.

This is such gorgeous music by Dale North for Astral Ascent. Fully orchestral (a mix of real and samples), lush and full – and sometimes it ascends! Like the game! Definitely check out the conversation Sam and I had about it on Next Level. Come chat with us on Discord about game music, and see…

01/19/2024

I loved talking with Terence and Janice so much about their wonderful music for such a fabulous game. The music for Tunic is a glorious blend of synths and acoustic piano, with waves of (often) consonant sound. Plus, you get to play as an adorable fox!

Terence and Janice live in Taiwan so I got to learn a bit about that tropical island too, and got to meet some cats which always brings a smile! You get to see them in the YouTube video…

I loved talking with Terence and Janice so much about their wonderful music for such a fabulous game. The music for Tunic is a glorious blend of synths and acoustic piano, with waves of (often) consonant sound. Plus, you get to play as an adorable fox! Terence and Janice live in Taiwan so I got…

01/05/2024

Composer Jon Everist‘s music for The Lamplighters League is a great blend of noir and adventure. The soundtrack paints such a perfect picture of the vibe of the game (which is a turn-based tactics game).

So many wonderful solos and soloists, with an orchestra recorded live at Abbey Road Studios, and they all sound fantastic! Also, I swear I know what a trombone sounds like. Or I used to think I did.

Composer Jon Everist‘s music for The Lamplighters League is a great blend of noir and adventure. The soundtrack paints such a perfect picture of the vibe of the game (which is a turn-based tactics game). So many wonderful solos and soloists, with an orchestra recorded live at Abbey Road Studios, a...

12/15/2023

It’s always a joy catching up with composer Cris Velasco! This time around, we chat about his epic music for Lords of the Fallen, a souls-like action RPG with plenty of boss battles. He also clues me into another one of his recent scores, for a game called Fae Farm, He and I will talk more about that in a future episode, because it’s delightful. Also couldn’t be more different than his music for Lords.

It’s always a joy catching up with composer Cris Velasco! This time around, we chat about his epic music for Lords of the Fallen, a souls-like action RPG with plenty of boss battles. He also clues me into another one of his recent scores, for a game called Fae Farm, He and I will talk…