Waterparks frontman Awsten Knight has launched a new solo project, inspired by classic video games.
Released via his own A.K. Art Projects brand, ‘Video Game Music’ features 24 instrumental tracks that take influence from the music of Spyro The Dragon and Crash Bandicoot.
The double album is currently only available on CD and will apparently not be released on streaming. Fans can purchase ‘Video Game Music’ here, though Knight has uploaded two tracks (‘The Complex’ and ‘Portal Town’) to YouTube.
Knight first teased the project back in January. “I wrote and recorded 26 instrumentals to be the score of a video game in the vein of ‘Spyro’/’Crash Bandicoot’ because I love that style. So if any game developers see this and need music for your project HMU.”
VIDEO GAME MUSIC ALBUMS 1 + 2 (********** SOUNDTRACK) BY AWSTEN KNIGHT
WRITTEN + PRODUCED BY ME
COVER ART BY ME
MIXED BY JARED POYTHRESS
INSIDE PANELS BY LUCAS HANDORDER THE ALBUMS NOW
VIA AK ART PROJECTS: https://t.co/AdHg3TpzRJ pic.twitter.com/rqFFIHEPc3— AWSTEN KNIGHT (@awsten) December 2, 2024
Knight announced A.K. Art Projects over the weekend as a place for him to share “special projects of mine outside” of Waterparks, with ‘Video Game Music 1 +2’ being the first releases.
“Buying physical media is a rarity in 2024 so as an extra thank you for rocking with me, I’m sending some of my old ‘Double Dare’ and ‘Entertainment’ show fits to people who picked up a signed CD bundle,” he added yesterday (November 3).
Since dropping the project, Knight has been asking fans to “describe the level” each track should soundtrack, with the likes of Mario Kart and Banjo-Kazooie both getting mentioned as inspirations.
Earlier this year, Waterparks were forced to cancel the release of their sister album to 2023’s ‘Intellectual Property’. Several tracks from ‘Intellectual Property 2: Lost In The Property’ had already been released but the band scrapped the project due to a number of “unprecedented mishaps, bureaucratic red tape, and bizarre things that have gone wrong”
“I truly believe the universe is working against this project and I’m tired of fighting it,” explained Knight. “It sounds dramatic but without going into every specific detail, this album feels haunted.”
In other news, fan-shot footage caught Sleep Token’s mysterious masked vocalist Vessel catching up on his gaming during a massive gig at London’s O2 Arena.