By Michael Guy Bowman
Lyrically, this is the wittiest song on Mobius Trip & Hadron Kaleido, in my opinion. The recurring intro hook works really well to tie together the verses.
By Michael Guy Bowman
Lyrically, this is the wittiest song on Mobius Trip & Hadron Kaleido, in my opinion. The recurring intro hook works really well to tie together the verses.
By William Ascenzo
I can’t get enough of the mix of instrumentation used on this album. The roaring, apocalyptic baritones behind the distorted guitar make for a really powerful piece. This song, in particular, has a great alternating pace to it: calm plucked interludes framed by crushing, epic brass.
William Ascenzo’s album Rust Apocalypse is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
By Christian Michael Poynter
A rockin’ synth anthem. It’s surprising how catchy a tune that features a bit of softened dot matrix printer as one of its lead voices can be.
The album From Beta to Alpha can be downloaded for free from the Skaianet Download Database.
By Kris “Astartus” Flacke
Two totally different sides to this track, and both of them are solid. The first part’s a futuristic, upbeat synth jam. The second part (about the last 90 seconds or so) is more of an anthem. For a song ostensibly about the death of a civilization, this one’s pretty uplifting.
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
A little bit of action-oriented chiptune. Reminds me of a Mega Man level soundtrack.
Radiation’s soundtrack Undertale Demo OST is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
By Seth “Beatfox” Peelle and Alexander Rosetti
Exotic. The choice of instrumentation establishes setting well enough, but I think the melody shines brighter in a later remix (the very next track on the album, as it happens).
By Mai Yishan
The intro track for Land of Fans and Music, and a good choice for that spot. It’s mostly a medley of many of the most popular Homestuck tunes, and I especially like the increase in pace from beginning to end.
By Christian Michael Poynter
My top track for the newly released fan album, From Beta to Alpha. It’s a synth jam through and through, and the choice of instrumentation for this original track is pretty familiar. Almost as though the insurrection were triggered by some kind of coolkid.
The album From Beta to Alpha can be downloaded for free from the Skaianet Download Database.
By The Black Curtain
A bit of easy listening, with a melodic lead guitar that flirts with a surf sound. That lasts up until the second half, when a deep chiptune bassline takes over the lead.
By Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri, original (Skies of Skaia) by Mark Hadley.
The original version of this song sort of jumps right into the action without much fanfare: the longer introduction in this remix is a big improvement. Kick in some percussion and some high-voltage synth, and the pastoral ‘Skies of Skaia’ turns into a jam. The piano that wanders around the main melody is a nice touch.
Written, performed, and produced by Michael Guy Bowman. Featuring Thomas Ferkol (guitar solo) and Tavia Morra (backup vocals).
It’s far simpler in composition than most of Bowman’s tunes, but I like it all the better for it. The pacing carries a pretty serious Tom Petty vibe to it. This might be my favorite vocal performance of his, too: it’s a little more subdued and he really nails it (same goes for the duet). This one’s a rocker.
Bowman’s album Ithaca is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
By Clark Powell
All strings, and the growly, note-bending cello at the bottom gives this one some extra character.
Clark Powell’s album Namesake is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
By Nick Smalley
The last official track on Homestuck Vol 9 closes things out with a bit of slow, soft piano. Sort of a relaxing lullaby quality to it.
By VeritasUnae
A simple, enticing melody serves as the title track to the fan album Loftlocked. It’s a little plain, but I’m kind of a sucker for austere piano solos.
The album Loftlocked Vol. 1 can be downloaded for free from the Skaianet Download Database.
By Kevin “UWBW” Grant
Okay, it’s not exactly tyrannical in tone, but I’ve got a soft spot for NES-vintage chiptune, and this one’s got an awfully catchy melody going for it.
By Team Paradox
A little bit simplistic, and it flirts with that ‘uncanny valley’ of sampled instrumentation, but there’s a pretty cool combination of energetic melodies throughout in this one.
The album Team Paradox can be downloaded for free from the Skaianet Download Database.
By Thomas Ferkol. Featuring production by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell and percussion by Toby “Radiation” Fox.
The reverent faux-choir pulls off that ‘as big as two universes’ sound. But it’s the very end that does it for me: there’s a kickin’ metal cut of Atomyk Ebonpyre that caps off the song.
By Astro Kid. Original ‘Crystalmethequins’ by Astro Kid and Clark Powell.
Crystalmanthequins, off of Volume 5, has proven to be fertile material for remixes. First Crystalmethequins (one of my all-time favorites), which hammered forward with a lockstep beat, and now this one, which has a little more frenetic flow to it.
By Erik “Jit” Scheele
Wow. Hard to put a finger on the genre for this one. It’s like a weird combination of chiptune, funk, and old-timey muzak. That’s one of the things I like most about this entire catalog: there’s no genre left untouched or uncombined.
By Clark Powell. Featuring vocals by Astro Kid.
This one grew on me. The main hook’s ridiculously catchy, and the auto-tuned vocals give it a little more of that pop music feel.
Clark Powell’s album Namesake is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
There’s a couple of remixes of this one that Plazmataz and Astro Kid released as a single, as well. Check it out.
Crab Waltz, by Toby “Radiation” Fox, is featured in one of the OpenBound Flash animations in Homestuck. It’s one of the few tracks so featured that has not yet been released on an official album.
I really like the direction of this one. It’s as though Karkat burned up all of his energetic vitriol too fast, and now he’s just moping around the meteor, looking for people to bother.