Star Control II: Hyperspace Theme (2014 Update)

With specific credit to original composer Riku Nuottajärvi, this update of the epic spacefaring theme from Star Control II is not a “mix“ per se, but a thorough update of the original in honor of the franchise seeing new life in the not too distant future. Star Control II was a high watermark in PC gaming in the early 90’s, and its eclectic and innovative soundtrack was also far ahead of its time, becoming a hallmark in its own right. By using digital sound modules rather than MIDI hardware or FM synthesis software emulation, it brought a unique quality of sound to all gamers even without the use of dedicated sound cards. This music could even be played through a chintzy internal PC speaker using basic pulse modulation, which blew my mind even as a young kid. Up to that point, all I’d ever heard that speaker do was go beep boop. Combining this with the fact that the soundtrack was just flat out epic, it changed the way I saw music in games and ignited my interest and fascination in electronic music. Jump forward two decades and here I am, remastering this classic track originally used in the game while journeying amongst the stars. The arrangement is unaltered from the original but has some subtle homaging to the classic mid-century “pulp“ sci-fi sound that inspired the game’s story. The original version of the song suffered a bit from the technical limitations of its day, having only four distinct sound channels that could be played simultaneously, so there was not much polyphony, meaning that sounds could not overlap and that only four instruments could technically play during each beat. That is no longer a limitation today, so the sound space has been significantly widened, stereo panning effects added, sample clipping corrected, sound processing applied, and an updated rock drum line added to give this memorable classic a fresh new sound for the 21st century. Or should I say 23rd century?