Music to Game to: Abominations of Yondo - That Remote and Awful Twilight

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

ABOMINATIONS OF YONDO – THAT REMOTE AND AWFUL TWILIGHT

Originally recommended by Warren Ellis, this is an excellent free album of eerie ambience draws inspiration from the penultimate chapter of ‘The Time Machine’ by H.G. Wells. The minimal and atmospheric soundscapes provide a fantastic backdrop for your players’ fertile imaginations to feast upon as they remain tense and slightly sinister without relying on bombast. A terrific addition to the sonic arsenal of any game master, especially one running a Cthulhu mythos inspired game.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Ambient, Electronic Experimental
• Perfect for… Sci-fi and horror games where you want to add an understated, unsettling and otherworldly tension.
• If you only grab one track, make it...All of them, you’ve got no excuse not to grab this excellent FREE album.

Music to Game To: Free Nelson Mandoomjazz - Awakening of a Capital

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

FREE NELSON MANDOOMJAZZ – AWAKENING OF A CAPITAL

It’s easy to see a bit of Lovecraftian influence from the song titles on Awakening of a Capital, The Stars Unseen, The Pillars of Dagon, Erich Zann and Beneath the Sea all fit, but undoubtedly Howie would find the free jazz, doom metal inflected stylings degenerate and unpleasant – which, when you think about it, is probably what you want to serve as a soundtrack for a cosmic horror story. But another song title is the most evocative for me, and sometimes I think would serve well for as a theme song for certain D&D PC’s… “Poking the Bear” which stands out as the most playful of the album. Overall the album would serve well to bring a slightly discordant and jazzy background to any game of 20th or 21st century horror, balancing melancholic doom with a more propulsive free jazz style.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)… Doom jazz, free jazz
• Perfect for… 20th century games of cosmic horror.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The spasmodic and squawking “Poking the Bear”, where a yawping and frantic sax melody flies fitfully over a driving and insistent bass line and steady drumming and could serve well as the theme song for the more impulsive PCs of many a gaming table.