David Javelosa’s ’31st Century Lounge Music’ captures computer music on the cusp of a new age
Back in the mid-90s, the Internet may have been in its infancy, but the video game market was in overdrive, with Nintendo and Sega laying the foundations for an industry on the up.
Among those soundtracking this output was David Javelosa, formerly of new wave group Los Microwaves, who held the role of Audio Director at Sega of America and Game Industry Specialist for the Yamaha Corporation among his many roles within the sector.
That period was also one in which the quirky, synth-led instrumental pop of the late 1950s and early 1960s was enjoying a Renaissance, with this so-called Space Age Bachelor Pad music providing an audio backdrop to many a trendy Los Angeles cocktail bar.
With that in mind, Javelosa has released one of the more left-field electronica compilations of the year – 31st Century Lounge Music – a collection of compositions created in 1995, originally intended for games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, but not released until now.
An internal demo cartridge featuring unused tracks from Sonic 2 nicknamed "The Sonic Cabaret” composed by Los Microwaves founder David Javelosa. We’ve got copies of his ‘31st Centrury Lounge Music’ LP unreleased virtual game music recorded in 1995 👾 https://t.co/xs8aRXPVI2 pic.twitter.com/mLILWdTj37
— Dark Entries Records (@darkentriesrecs) April 16, 2021
Self-released by Javelosa himself, and available through Dark Entries Records (as well as a number of other platforms), the tracks on 31st Century Lounge Music were ‘made in a tiny Santa Monica studio, surrounded by bits and pieces of torn-apart game consoles, trashed Casios and forgotten keyboards, inventing this set of ephemeral computer-generated sounds’.
And in terms of the influences behind them? ‘Thrasher in the Fast Lane, inspired by driving on Bay Area freeways, fast, after hours, an Astor Piazzolla melody blowing with the wind, a party in Mexico City, an exotic perfume, Chet Baker in the background’. Sounds like a heady mix if you ask us.
David Javelosa’s 31st Century Lounge Music is available now.
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