A concert celebrating soundtracks from iconic video games during this year’s BBC Proms is available to stream from the BBC iPlayer. The annual concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall marks the first time the concert has hosted a show to celebrate video game music. The event – officially titled Gaming Prom – From 8-Bit to Infinity – was hosted by BBC reporter Steffan Powell and Louise Blain (best known for hosting the Sound of Gaming podcast on BBC Sounds.
In a statement from the BBC, Robert Ames, the co-Founder, Artistic Director and Principle Conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted the show, and led “the electronically enhanced Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in this specially curated programme that takes audiences on a sonic journey from 8-bit to infinity.”
The concert further teases “nostalgia for millennials as the concert opens with two newly commissioned compositions that weave together 1980s and 1990s gaming music, from Chronos to Pokémon Red, as well as instantly recognisable digital sound effects.”
Had a blast presenting the first ever video game music @bbcproms concert at the Albert Hall. It’s moving, dramatic, full of nostalgia – and on the telly later 👇🏻
BBC 4 📺 | 8pm 🕗
Big shout to @shiny_demon my onstage partner and @moods_jpg for the #PressXtoContinue take over 😊 pic.twitter.com/wmakmvTc6G
— Steffan Powell (@SteffanPowell) August 5, 2022
The music selection is arguably just as special as the occasion itself. “The lush orchestral scoring of Final Fantasy VIII and Kingdom Hearts form the centre of the programme,” the statement continues. The event culminates with special performances from Hildur Guðnadóttir and Sam Slater for their “experimental score for Battlefield 2042.”
Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic musician best known for her work on the HBO miniseries Chernobyl and Joker. Slater, a two-time Grammy Award-winning musician, served as a score producer and musical sound designer for Joker and Chernobyl.
Other notable acts performing at the event – as listed in the official programme on the BBC website, include music from Koji Kondo (The Legend of Zelda), Kow Otani (Shadow of the Colossus), and Austin Wintory (Traveller – A Journey Symphony), and Jessica Curry (So Let Us Melt).
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