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Minecraft – Volume Beta

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Minecraft – Volume Beta
A dark model of a block of grass from Minecraft, surrounded on the edges by a much larger black and orange cube, with a black background.
Soundtrack album by
C418
Released9 November 2013
Genre
Length140:48
LabelSelf-released
C418 chronology
One
(2012) 		Minecraft – Volume Beta
(2013) 		0x10c
(2014)
Alternative cover
A highlighted and more vibrant model of the same grass block from the original cover.
Lenticular cover as seen on vinyl pressings
Minecraft soundtrack chronology
Minecraft – Volume Alpha
(2011) 		Minecraft – Volume Beta
(2013) 		Minecraft: Battle & Tumble
(2016)

Minecraft – Volume Beta is the fourth soundtrack album by German electronic musician Daniel Rosenfeld, known by his pseudonym C418. It was independently released on 9 November 2013 as the second installment of the soundtrack for the video game Minecraft, and has been physically released by record label Ghostly.[3][4] The album peaked twice at number 14 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart in 2013 and 2023.[5][6]

Like the album's predecessor Minecraft – Volume Alpha (2011), Volume Beta comprises most of the music featured in the game, including dedicated music for the game's nether and main menu. It also features music from trailers, and instrumentals not in the game's final release.[7] A completed third installment remains unreleased due to licensing issues with Mojang Studios parent Microsoft.

Composition and release

[edit]

In 2011, Rosenfeld released Minecraft – Volume Alpha.[8] For this next release, Rosenfeld was again given complete creative control on the soundtrack that would be implemented as part of Minecraft's November 2013 "Music Update".[9]

The mostly ambient album has a generally darker tone than its precursor. Rosenfeld described the track "Alpha" as a medley and "a celebration of past music from Volume Alpha." The first song he had composed with the clear intent for the game's "creative mode" to have a distinct soundtrack was "Blind Spots".[7] The track "Taswell" was created as a tribute to Rosenfeld's friend, the late Ryan "Taswell" Davis, co-founder of American gaming website Giant Bomb.[10] Rosenfeld stated he "didn’t want to remember them for their death, but the happiness they showed every day of their life."[7] Rosenfeld admits that the record is "extremely varied", being "much more percussive, melodic, and progressive" than Volume Alpha.[11] Several songs on the album are remakes of themes from the prior soundtrack album Volume Alpha; "Ki", "Moog City 2", "Mutation", and "Beginning 2" are remakes of the songs "Key", "Moog City", "Minecraft", and "Beginning", respectively. The average song on Volume Beta is far longer than its predecessor[4] – at the time of the album's release, it was Rosenfeld's longest ever work.[12]

Volume Beta also contains the music of nine collectable discs within Minecraft.[13] A stark sonic departure from the rest of the soundtrack, these discs often rely on synthesisers and percussion instruments.[14] Among these records includes "Stal", a smooth jazz composition reminiscent of the 1930s, "Ward", which begins with a sample of "Chopin's Funeral March" and transitions into an eerie electronic melody, and "Far", a fantasy-based composition resembling The Legend of Zelda music.[15]

In August 2020, record label Ghostly released the first physical versions of the album, in CD and LP formats.[16] The album's artwork features an extremely dark 3D model of a block of grass from Minecraft, surrounded on the edges by a larger black and orange cube. On some vinyl pressings, lenticular printing is used to give depth to the blocks in the image and highlight the inner grass block.[17]

In October 2020, Monstercat producer Protostar released a drum and bass remix of the track "Aria Math", which marked the first official remix of a Minecraft song. Protostar remarked on his work, "It's an honour to be able to remix any song from Minecraft's iconic soundtrack, and I hope I did this one justice."[18]

Critical reception

[edit]

The staff teams of several news outlets have considered the Minecraft soundtrack, including Volume Beta, to be among the best video game soundtracks of all time. These include the editorial teams of NME,[19] Digital Trends,[20] GamesRadar+,[21] and VG247.[22]

Online publication Digital Trends specifically praised the album for moving "beyond pieces that are simply 'peaceful' or 'sad' and creates tracks like 'Taswell' and 'Kyoto' that feel like distinct performances", and believed that Minecraft might not have been as successful as it was if it were not for the work of Rosenfeld, including Volume Beta.[20] Richard McDonald of music blog Original Sound Version called the album "an amazing achievement".[23] The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album "showcases C418’s ability to make grander, more sonically diverse ambience".[24] Jack Moeser of The Michigan Daily felt the closing track, "Intro", imparts a "somber yet hopeful feeling [...] reminiscent of how I felt the first few times I played Minecraft, which I think I can now describe: the feeling that the next chapter of my life is about to begin".[25]

In the book Four Ways of Hearing Video Game Music, Michiel Kamp wrote that the sandbox nature of Minecraft also applied to its music, believing the randomness of how the soundtrack is presented would lead to what he viewed as the game creating unique, personalized moments that weren't intentional.[26] Writing for Game Rant, Cameron Pippin ranked the track "Taswell" as the best theme in Minecraft, feeling that it "instills a feeling of power and euphoria that is incredibly motivating", and praising it as "one of the most relaxing themes in the game". He opined that its "memorable [and] heartfelt" nature owed to its context of being a memorial to Ryan "Taswell" Davis, Rosenfeld's late friend, editor for GameSpot and co-founder of Giant Bomb.[10]

Track listing

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
2013 chart performance for Minecraft – Volume Beta
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[5] 14
2020 chart performance for Minecraft – Volume Beta
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Official Record Store (OCC)[27] 39
Official Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[27] 15
2023–2024 chart performance for Minecraft – Volume Beta
Chart (2023–2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 68
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 10
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[30] 49
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[31] 78
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[6] 14
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[32] 23

Release history

[edit]
Release history for Minecraft – Volume Beta
Region Year Format Catalogue Label Ref.
Various 2013 Digital download, streaming – Independent [7]
United States, Europe 2020 2×LP GI-360LP Ghostly [33]
2×CD GI-360 [34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "C418 – Minecraft Volume Beta". Boomkat. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  2. ^ Moeser, Jack (6 February 2022). "'Minecraft' gave us the soundtrack to a generation". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  3. ^ Patston, Manning (18 June 2020). "Minecraft fans alert: C418's legendary soundtrack is getting a physical release". Happy Mag. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Rosenfeld, Daniel. "Minecraft Volume Beta". C418. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b "C418". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b "C418 Is No. 1 on Emerging Artists Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Minecraft – Volume Beta, by C418". C418. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  8. ^ C418 – Minecraft Volume Alpha Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 20 September 2022
  9. ^ Adams, Nathan (16 November 2013). "If you restart Minecraft, it'll become a whole bunch more awesome thanks to C418's latest works :)". Twitter. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  10. ^ a b Pippin, Cameron (18 September 2023). "10 Best Minecraft Themes". Game Rant. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  11. ^ Callwood, Brett (1 July 2020). "C418 Offers Block-Rocking Beats". LA Weekly. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Who Is Minecraft's C418?". Lifewire. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Minecraft Soundtrack Review from Katy and Ian". NSULA Gamers' Guild. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  14. ^ "How To Get All Music Discs Minecraft & Full Rank From Best To Worst". GuruGamer.com. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  15. ^ Coles, jason (23 December 2020). "The best songs in Minecraft". PC Gamer. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  16. ^ C418 – Minecraft Volume Beta, 14 August 2020, retrieved 23 September 2022
  17. ^ Ghostly (18 June 2020). "Announcing the first-ever pressing of C418's Minecraft Volume Beta..." Twitter. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  18. ^ Scilippa, Phil (1 October 2020). "Listen To Protostar's Drum & Bass Rework Of "Aria Math," The First-Ever Official Remix Of a Minecraft Song". EDM. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  19. ^ Barker, Emily (20 July 2015). "23 of the coolest ever video game soundtracks". NME. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  20. ^ a b Gurwin, Gabe; Michael, Hicks (24 October 2021). "The best video game soundtracks of all time". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  21. ^ Bentley, James; West, Josh (25 June 2022). "The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  22. ^ Raynor, Kelsey (22 April 2022). "The best video game soundtracks to revisit in 2024". VG247. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  23. ^ McDonald, Richard (28 May 2014). "Minecraft - Volume Beta (Review)". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  24. ^ Tsai, Raymond (17 May 2019). "Review: German musician known for Minecraft soundtrack C418's latest, 'Sweden'". HS Insider. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  25. ^ Moeser, Jack (6 February 2024). "'Minecraft' gave us the soundtrack to a generation". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  26. ^ Kamp, Michiel (14 December 2023). Four Ways of Hearing Video Game Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 68–71. ISBN 9780197651254.
  27. ^ a b "MINECRAFT VOLUME BETA". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  28. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 3 July 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1739. Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 July 2023. p. 6.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – C418 – Minecraft - Volume Beta" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  31. ^ "C418 Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  32. ^ "C418 Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Minecraft Volume Beta". ghostly.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  34. ^ C418 - Minecraft - Volume Beta, retrieved 21 September 2022

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Although there is a music disc titled "11" found in game, the track "Eleven" is different from the in-game music disc. On the track, the start of the music disc can be heard, but this is then interrupted by a record scratching sound; the track then switches to a calm piano piece not found in the game.
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