Music of Minecraft

The music of video game Minecraft was primarily composed by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418.[1] In the legacy console editions of the game, there are 12 additional songs available in DLC for the game, composed by Gareth Coker. Later on in the game's history, Lena Raine composed 4 tracks for the game. The game's soundtrack is mostly instrumental ambient music. It has been praised by critics;[2] in 2011, the video game blog Kotaku chose the soundtrack as one of the best video game soundtracks of that year.[3] Minecraft's soundtrack was released across two soundtrack albums, Minecraft - Volume Alpha (2011), and Minecraft - Volume Beta (2013). Both albums include music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals that were not included in the game's final release.[4] In 2015, Rosenfeld hinted at a potential upcoming third album for Minecraft's soundtrack.[5] In 2017, Rosenfeld confirmed the future release, claiming the album "is still far from done".[6]

Background

In a panel at MineCon in 2012, Rosenfeld stated that he has had a long-term interest in video games, and was involved with several video game communities.[7] He met Markus Persson in an Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and began composing music for Minecraft when the game was in its very early stages as a tech demo.[8] The two shared interest in Aphex Twin, and exchanged each other's projects. Both were impressed by each other's work, and eventually, Persson chose to pair Rosenfeld's music with his game.[9]


Releases

Danny Baranowsky had previously suggested that Rosenfeld upload his music to the online music platform Bandcamp.[7] On 4 March 2011, Rosenfeld released the game's first soundtrack album, Minecraft - Volume Alpha, on his Bandcamp account.[4] The album was later released on other digital download services.[10] On 9 November 2013, Rosenfeld released the second soundtrack album, Minecraft - Volume Beta.[11][8] On 21 August 2015, a physical release of Minecraft - Volume Alpha, consisting of CDs, black vinyl, and limited-edition transparent green vinyl LPs, was issued by acclaimed indie electronic label Ghostly International.[12][13]

In 2014, console editions of Minecraft received downloadable content containing holiday themed music, which was also composed by Rosenfeld.[14]

Minecraft - Volume Alpha
Minecraft - Volume Alpha
Soundtrack album by
C418
Released4 March 2011
Recorded2008–2011
Genre
Length59:32
Label
ProducerDaniel Rosenfeld
C418 chronology
Life Changing Moments Seem Minor in Pictures
(2010)		 Minecraft - Volume Alpha
(2011)		 72 Minutes of Fame
(2011)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]

On 4 March 2011, German musician C418 released Minecraft - Volume Alpha, the first Minecraft soundtrack album, and his eighth album overall.[4] The album comprises most of the music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals that were not included in the game's final release. On the topic of the songs in Minecraft - Volume Alpha, Rosenfeld stated:

I like to add more stuff to the songs that are in the game because I feel that players are probably not as interested in buying music that's already in the game. So, extending the album into a more cohesive piece that can be played on its own feels better than just taking all of the sound files and slapping them onto an album.[16]

The album was met with positive reviews, with Andy Kellman from AllMusic praising its replay value, stating that "none of the recurring elements is pronounced or simple enough to become fatiguing with repeated play"[15]

Digital download[4] and CD
No.TitleLength
1."Key"1:05
2."Door"1:51
3."Subwoofer Lullaby"3:28
4."Death"0:41
5."Living Mice"2:57
6."Moog City"2:40
7."Haggstrom"3:24
8."Minecraft"4:14
9."Oxygène"1:05
10."Équinoxe"1:54
11."Mice on Venus"4:41
12."Dry Hands"1:08
13."Wet Hands"1:30
14."Clark"3:11
15."Chris"1:27
16."Thirteen"2:56
17."Excuse"2:04
18."Sweden"3:35
19."Cat"3:06
20."Dog"2:25
21."Danny"4:14
22."Beginning"1:42
23."Droopy Likes Ricochet"1:36
24."Droopy Likes Your Face"1:56
Total length:59:31
Vinyl - Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Subwoofer Lullaby"3:28
2."Living Mice"2:57
3."Moog City"2:40
4."Haggstrom"3:24
5."Minecraft"4:14
6."Clark"3:11
Vinyl - Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Mice on Venus"4:41
2."Dry Hands"1:08
3."Wet Hands"1:30
4."Sweden"3:35
5."Cat"3:06
6."Danny"4:14

Minecraft - Volume Beta
Minecraft - Volume Beta
Soundtrack album by
C418
Released9 November 2013
Recorded2011–13
Genre
Length139:33
LabelNone (self-released)
ProducerDaniel Rosenfeld
C418 chronology
One
(2012)		 Minecraft - Volume Beta
(2013)		 0x10c
(2014)

On 9 November 2013, German musician C418 released Minecraft - Volume Beta, the second Minecraft soundtrack album, and his thirteenth album overall.[11] The album includes newer music that was added into the game after the release of Minecraft - Volume Alpha, as well as other music exclusive to the album. Tracks 20 to 29 consist of the audio from 10 of the 13 in-game "music discs" that can be found by players of the game. The album has a generally darker tone than its precursor; Rosenfeld claims that "the tone [of the album] is both more positive and at times very dark".[17]

The album was completely self-released by Rosenfeld, and appeared on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, peaking at number 14.[18]

Digital download[11]
No.TitleLength
1."Ki"1:32
2."Alpha"10:03
3."Dead Voxel"4:56
4."Blind Spots"5:32
5."Flake"2:50
6."Moog City 2"3:00
7."Concrete Halls"4:14
8."Biome Fest"6:18
9."Mutation"3:05
10."Haunt Muskie"6:01
11."Warmth"3:59
12."Floating Trees"4:04
13."Aria Math"5:10
14."Kyoto"4:09
15."Ballad of the Cats"4:35
16."Taswell"8:35
17."Beginning 2"2:56
18."Dreiton"8:17
19."The End"15:04
20."Chirp"3:06
21."Wait"3:54
22."Mellohi"1:38
23."Stal"2:32
24."Strad"3:08
25."Eleven"1:11
26."Ward"4:10
27."Mall"3:18
28."Blocks"5:43
29."Far"3:12
30."Intro"4:36
Total length:139:33
Vinyl - Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Ki"1:27
2."Alpha"9:49
3."Blind Spots"5:28
4."Mutation"2:56
Vinyl - Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Biome Fest"6:09
2."Aria Math"5:09
3."Taswell"8:35
Vinyl - Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Beginning 2"2:48
2."Moog City 2"2:52
3."The End"15:04
Vinyl - Side D
No.TitleLength
1."Kyoto"4:03
2."Chirp"3:03
3."Mellohi"1:36
4."Stal"2:32
5."Eleven"1:05
6."Far"3:12
7."Intro"4:36

Minecraft Nether Update
Minecraft Nether Update
EP by
Lena Raine
Released14 June 2020
Genre
Length21:40
LabelNone (self-released)
ProducerLena Raine
Lena Raine chronology
Spin Rhythm XD Beyond The Heart (Broken Heart Mix)
(2020)		 Minecraft Nether Update
(2020)		 Chicory: A Colorful Tale
(N/A)
No.TitleLength
1."Chrysopoeia"5:03
2."Rubedo"5:12
3."So Below"5:19
4."Pigstep - Mono Mix"2:28
5."Pigstep - Stereo Mix"2:30

Upcoming C418 album

In 2015, Rosenfeld hinted at a potential upcoming third album for Minecraft's soundtrack, stating "I'll still work on Minecraft, so there’ll probably be another album".[5] In 2017, Rosenfeld confirmed the future release, claiming the album "is still far from done".[6]

After the "Update Aquatic" update of 2018, three new songs were added to the game as underwater music. These songs – "Dragon Fish", "Shuniji", "Axolotl" – were released by Rosenfeld respectively on August 9, November 10, and December 12, 2018 on Spotify as singles. All of them are to be included in the third album. Rosen has confirmed that the third album won't be called "Volume Gamma" and it will be longer than the previous two albums combined (which in total is over three hours and 18 minutes).

Lena Raine composed the tracks "Rubedo", "Chrysopoeia", and "So Below" for the Nether Update (1.16, June 23rd 2020), as well as the music in “Pigstep”, the thirteenth music disc.

Discography

Minecraft - Volume Alpha was first released on Rosenfeld's Bandcamp account, and later released on other digital download services.[10] On 21 August 2015, a physical release of the album, consisting CD and vinyl, was issued by Ghostly International.[12] Minecraft – Volume Beta was completely self-released by Rosenfeld, released on his Bandcamp account and other digital download services on 9 November 2013.[19]


AlbumRegionDateFormatLabelRef.
Minecraft - Volume AlphaWorldwide4 March 2011 (2011-03-04)Digital download (Bandcamp)None (self-released)[4]
Digital download[10]
21 August 2015 (2015-08-21)CDGhostly International
Vinyl (Standard)
Vinyl (Green)
Minecraft - Volume Beta9 November 2013 (2013-11-09)Digital download (Bandcamp)None (self-released)[11]
Digital download[19]
14 August 2020 (2020-08-14)CDGhostly International
Vinyl

Reception

The soundtrack's minimalistic and melancholic composition has been praised by critics.[2] On the topic of the music's minimalism, Rosenfeld has stated that it was "unavoidable", as "Minecraft has a terrible sound engine".[8] The ambient music style of the soundtrack has been compared to the works of Brian Eno, Erik Satie, Aphex Twin, and Vangelis.[8][16] In 2018, The Boar described the soundtrack's composition as "nostalgia in its purest form".[20]

Charts
Chart Peak
position
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[18] 14

References
  1. "Who Is Minecraft's C418?". Lifewire. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  2. "The quiet importance of the Minecraft soundtrack". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  3. Hamilton, Kirk. "All of the Best Video Game Music of 2011". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  4. "Minecraft Volume Alpha on Bandcamp". 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  5. "Can You Dig It: FACT meets Minecraft composer C418". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  6. Daniel Rosenfeld [@C418] (Feb 9, 2017). "I'm still far from done, but I tallied up a few numbers, and the third Minecraft soundtrack is gonna be longer than Alpha and Beta combined" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 March 2018 – via Twitter.
  7. "Minecon 2012 - The Music of Minecraft & Minecraft Documentary". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  8. Stuart, Keith (7 November 2014). "How Daniel Rosenfeld wrote Minecraft's music". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017.
  9. "We Spoke to the Minecraft Composer Who Makes A Living Off the Gaming Community". Thump (Vice). Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  10. C418. "Minecraft - Volume Alpha". iTunes. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  11. "Minecraft Volume Beta on Bandcamp". 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  12. "Minecraft soundtrack to receive vinyl release this summer". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  13. "C418 presents Minecraft Volume Alpha". Ghostly International. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  14. Mahardy, Mike (9 December 2014). "Celebrate the Holidays With Minecraft Mash-Up DLC". IGN. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  15. Kellman, Andy "Minecraft - Volume Alpha Review", AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 21 March 2018
  16. "Minecraft's Composer Explains Why the Music Is 'So Weird'". Motherboard (Vice). Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  17. Rosenfeld, Daniel. "Minecraft Volume Beta - C418". C418.org. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  18. "C418 Chart History". Billboard Charts. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  19. C418. "Minecraft - Volume Beta by C418". iTunes. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  20. "The lasting power of Minecraft's procedurally-generated music". The Boar. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
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