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Two objects sit next to each other on a table. An odd couple, they couldn't be more different if they tried. On the left is a disc, opaque and crimson - made of polyvinyl chloride, grooves cut in circles. On the right, a black plastic box with a raised circular section on top on which an immortal phrase is embossed in gold: "16-BIT". A vinyl record and a video games console appear as polar opposites, emblematic of different generations; the record was invented in 1888, the Sega Mega Drive was released a hundred years later. Yet the pair are now intrinsically linked thanks to a small record label in West London."We aren't interested in producing souvenirs," says Jamie Crook, founder of Data Discs who pride themselves as, in their own words, the first record label solely dedicated to releasing video game soundtracks on vinyl. With the film soundtrack vinyl market exploding in recent years, the opportunity has opened up for all kinds of ventures, something which Crook has gleefully taken advantage of - Data Discs has just released their first two records, both iconic Sega titles: RPG Shenmue and Streets of Rage. This isn't the first time this has been done; Sega themselves have released compilations previously of music from Out Run and Space Harrier, Invada Records have pressed LPs of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Far Cry 4 (by Hollywood composer Cliff Martinez), and even this year Sony put out a gold vinyl edition of Jason Graves' score to The Order 1886.
"I've always been a fan of obscure and under-appreciated music and game soundtracks, for one reason or another, have always tended to fall into this category," Crook says, "which is strange considering how ingrained they are in people's subconscious." He's not wrong; within seconds of putting the needle down on Streets of Rage I was immediately transported back to my thirteen-year old self kicking pixellated ass on the, well, streets of rage. It's not surprising this is the company's inaguraul release, it has instant name recognition amongst hardcore fans and nostalgic thirtysomethings, but really it's because the music is really, really good. Aiming at the UK and US markets due to the Mega Drive's huge success there, composer Yuzo Koshiro took inspiration from dance music, namedropping Enigma and Technotronic as two of the primary influences.
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