Gameological posted a group article today of video game songs that feel like Winter to us. Unfortunately, one of the entries I wrote about had only one video on YouTube and it was region-blocked outside of the US, so we decided to cut it rather than exclude our non-American readers. I supported this decision, but I’m also rather fond of both the song and my write-up, so here it is for Tumblr to (hopefully) enjoy.
Most of Junkie XL’s original soundtrack for SSX Blur is full of high-adrenaline excitement and rousing beats. Makes sense, what with the game being a bright and colorful spin on the thrill-seeking sport of snowboarding. “Snow Park NZ” is different, though. Sure, there’s a beat, but it’s a slow burn, building one slim layer at a time, piling up like snowbanks on the hillside. Wave after wave of synthesized energy wash over the speakers as the pulsating core of the melody ping-pongs back-and-forth. It’s comforting in its coldness, and it hides the more aggressive beats as they begin to trickle in behind the walls of soft safe powder. This is a song about becoming comfortable with the cold, finding your place in it and rising above the frost. When the light finally shines, it reflects off the snow more brightly than the summer sun. The song glows the same way winter glows, by rising above, slowly.