Bit of an unorthodox unboxing this one; our hard copy of Jim Guthrie’s soundtrack to the incredible Sword & Sworcery iPad (and now iPhone) game/audio-visual experience arrived in the post this morning. And so, we did what we normally do whenever we get something cool through the mail; opened it up and took pictures of what’s inside.
Yes, we know it’s not a phone. And no, we’re not going to start a music review column. But you have to admit this is pretty special and it is phone related, albeit a bit tenuously. Ok, iPhone/iPad related.
This will probably only be of interest if you’ve played Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and fallen in love with it’s beautiful pixellated dreamscapes. Or, “rustic 21st century minimalism,” as they put it. If you’ve not played the game yet then we suggest that you do so as soon as possible (App Store link here).
We understand that the original run of 1,000 copies of this vinyl edition of the soundtrack has sold out, but there’s a second run of 500 in the pipeline. Distribution of these LPs has also been handled by Mr. Guthrie himself, along with help from his wife and cat; it’s very much a DIY job distro-wise. We think that’s pretty amazing considering the coverage that S&S has received. Anyway, for those of you who loved the game and were thinking of buying one of the LPs, have a look through.
The vinyl version of the soundtrack has 14 tracks in total – the digital version of the Sworcery soundtrack features an extra 13 bonus tracks which you can get on iTunes or via Bandcamp. Buying the vinyl version also entitles you to a download code where you can get your hands on those bonus tracks in MP3 (320kpbs), Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, MP3 VBR and ALAC.
The big Ye Olde English style lettering here is embossed and looks awfully nice.
The more we think about it, having a vinyl version of the Sworcery soundtrack makes perfect sense. It’s totally in line with the feel of the game’s retro-modern mash up – 8-bit style graphics and Zelda-esque gameplay on an iPad. A retro-feeling game on a played on a thoroughly modern piece of technology. And of course, there’s that giant slab of in-game vinyl itself.
The packaging is really quite something. The artwork is done by Craig D. Adams, head honcho at Superbrothers Inc. The print over on the right is the work of artist Cory Schmitz, whose other work you can see here.
Logfella and Dogfella here, just hanging out here on the inner sleeve along with some Sylvan Sprites and the liner notes.
The reverse side features that nocturnal scene in Sworcery where you get to jam with a wandering minstrel called Jim Guthrie…
Just like the giant vinyl that appears in the game, the A-side of the soundtrack features the Trigon Trifecta in all its polygonal glory.
As you’d expect, the B-side features that same stag. We’ve given the soundtrack a breif spin and yes, that ‘hidden message’ (the one with all of the numbers) gets played towards the end of the second side.
That same print by Cory Schultz again in all its glory. Part Pink Floyd, part Legend of Zelda, part Justice, all awesome.
Ok, enough with the pics. We’re going to experiment with playing this thing in reverse, looking for backmasked messages and see if it syncs up with The Wizard of Oz or something.
Thanks again to Superbrothers Inc and Capybara Games for making the game in the first place and to Jim Guthrie for the sounds.
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