The soundtrack of the 2009 Mojang 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]
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][10] In 2018, The Boar described the soundtrack's composition as "nostalgia in its purest form".[11]
Release
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.[12] On 9 November 2013, Rosenfeld released the second soundtrack album, Minecraft – Volume Beta.[13][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.[14][15]
In 2014, console editions of Minecraft received downloadable content containing holiday themed music, which was also composed by Rosenfeld.[16]
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.[10]
The album was met with positive reviews, with Andy Kellman from AllMusic praising its replay value, stating that "none of the recurring elements are pronounced or simple enough to become fatiguing with repeated play"[17]
On 9 November 2013, German musician C418 released Minecraft – Volume Beta, the second Minecraft soundtrack album, and his thirteenth album overall.[13] 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".[20]
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 "Update Aquatic" update of 2018, three new songs were added to the game as underwater music.[22]These songs - "Dragon Fish", "Shuniji", "Axolotl" were released by Rosenfeld respectively on August 9, November 10, December 12 of 2018 on Spotify as singles.[23] All of them are to be included in the third album.[23] 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).[24]
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.[25] An EP containing all five tracks (containing distinct mixes of Pigstep) has been released digitally.
Release history
Minecraft – Volume Alpha was first released on Rosenfeld's Bandcamp account, and later released on other digital download services.[12] On 21 August 2015, a physical release of the album, consisting CD and vinyl, was issued by Ghostly International.[14]Minecraft – Volume Beta was completely self-released by Rosenfeld, released on his Bandcamp account and other digital download services on 9 November 2013.[26]
"Droopy Likes Your Face" is the only song to contain lyrics.[28] The track contains samples from a children’s book called "The Droopy Dragon".[28]
"Droopy Likes Ricochet" and "Droopy Likes Your face" are the only song to be used in C418's two albums without any changes.[29] They were in the album "life changing moments seem minor in pictures"(2010). The album also contains a mash-up of various songs of the then unreleased Volume Alpha album called "Minecraft is acid".[30]
^ abcd"Minecraft - Volume Alpha - C418 Wiki". c418wiki.absolutelywhizzer.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-01. Cite error: The named reference ":1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
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