Music Spotlight - The Consouls
Continuing along with another music, and once again video game-related, blog post for today. Am I accidentally becoming a video game culture blog? I should probably do something about that. But for today...
The Consouls are probably most known as a video game music jazz band, with their arrangements available to enjoy on music platforms alongside videos and livestreamed performances on their longtime YouTube channel. However, they have expanded to plenty of other musical genres beyond strictly jazz, like funk and fusion, as well. They've done covers from many iconic video game soundtracks, including an impressively wide range of games from beloved popular franchises (pretty much every major one, I'd say) to deeper cuts from indie game hits. It's really fun hearing their lively interpretations, sometimes in wildly different styles from the original track, and especially their incredibly skilled improvisation throughout their live performances.
Their livestreamed shows appear to be on hiatus for now, but I really loved their Consouls Radio series of livestreamed shows that would include them playing a themed setlist of their existing arrangements alongside debuting brand new ones. Some of those arrangement choices were determined by their supporters on Patreon, resulting in really fresh and interesting picks from lesser-known games. Their show themes have been delightful showcases of things like music from crossover games, vocal songs from video games, and video game villain themes. I often revisit their playlist of Consouls Radio shows for some quality background music listening. They also do a great job of organizing and releasing breakout versions of many of the songs covered during their live shows, which I also love to revisit in their own videos, like their cover of Midnight Rendezvous from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Another thing that strikes me about this band (and similarly to the also video game music-friendly band, Meine Meinung, that I wrote about yesterday) is just how long they've been doing this, playing video game music arrangements, together. You can see the growth from their earliest videos back in 2014 of playing with all their instruments crammed into a living room, and now all the way through to the bigger productions and live performance shows they've since been able to do. It is heartening to think that they've continued to find a way to practice, grow, and play music as something they clearly love doing together. I think having those kinds of relationships, where you can witness each other and grow together over time, is a valuable experience.
Much appreciation to The Consouls for all the years of excellent music, and I hope to continue staying tuned to whatever they're playing!