MUSIC
Unfinished symphony
As Game Music Foundation brings its festival – and mission – to London, it also considers its future
Whatever misgivings you might have about The Game Awards, one thing the show does well is giving game music its moment in the limelight, be it renditions by the show’s own Game Awards Orchestra or the show-stopping musical number that preceded the trailer for Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. For the scores and soundtracks which can define our gaming experiences in the moment, and stir memories long after, this kind of appreciation is all too rare.
The sentiment is shared by Mateusz Pawlak, co-founder and chairman of Game Music Foundation, who along with a few like-minded individuals – including his wife and vice chair Marta Pawlak – have been on a mission to celebrate the music of videogames. This began modestly in 2006 with the website Gamemusic (there are two iterations, one in English and the other in their native Polish), but has grown to encompass a boutique vinyl label, a magazine dedicated to game music (see ‘Sheet music’) and the Game Music Festival.