Columns (Genesis) - 'Clotho' EWI Multitrack

I feel like this is one of the tracks that really helped to codify what we have in mind when we think of 'puzzle game music'. Driving but never overbearing, it's a track I've got a lot of affection for.
This was one of those pieces that I thought would be relatively simple, but ended up being a bit more complex. While the Genesis only has support for simultaneous playback of 6 main sound channels, some of the patches used in this track sound like three notes at once due to the interesting way they fan out over the harmonic series. That's why I split one of the tracks I transcribed here into a fundamental line and an overtone a 12th above. I love the slightly vague dissonances this extra 5th sometimes makes!
If you ever get the chance, check out the version of Columns that was released in the Sega Classics Collection for PS2 - it features one of the best adversarial multiplayer modes of anything I've ever played.
All parts of this use patch no. 21 of the inbuilt sounds of the Akai EWI 4000s.
Special thanks to my Patreon donors who helped to support the creation of this video:
Philip Smith
Troy Thompson
Allen Brasch
schaden-freunde
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[@Bro-cx2jc]

This is so close to the original that I feel it could be used in a modern remake.

[@Soundole]

Cheers! I usually try to follow original structures pretty closely in my covers.

[@G3toiy]

@@Soundole very good!!!

[@Utubesuxmycock]

And no obnoxious techno drums

[@Punkanova]

Couldn’t agree more!

[@truthofdsp]

Every time I hear this incredible song, I am immediately reminded of some of the best years of my childhood. Even though I no longer live in that same house or talk to my old friends, I can still be reminded of that time whenever I listen to this music. Thank so much for covering this song.

[@Soundole]

I'm glad it could elicit that effect! A lot of megadrive music takes my right back to 25 years ago :)

[@robertellwood8601]

I'm right there with you stranger

[@harukatakahashi8822]

This music in this video game is like the gate keep of vintage video games, should be a very cold crystal room glowing with the music playing

[@verysleepywolf3951]

this is a completely organic evolution of the original track. Soothing and haunting at the same time. Thanks for the Columns love!!

[@Soundole]

Thanks so much mate! It's still something I pull out to play from time to time :)

[@bigdaddyjh2002]

MY GOSH! Your description is perfect! Soothing and haunting!!! Thank you!!

[@Neifourth]

Strangely appropriate for the subject manner. Columns has a very ethereal quality to it's music

[@Soundole]

Glad you think it works! :)

[@AcidZero]

I love the musics in Columns because of its ethereal quality. Nice rendition!

[@Soundole]

Thanks heaps! I agree, the soundtrack does something unique that isn't really found anywhere else!

[@MadCircle01]

yes, i find myself whistling this track all the time.....that's why i'm here actually.

[@RoysGamingGarret]

I'm aware that this comment is 4+ years old but yeah. I can agree with this and ngl, the other 2 in Columns (Lathesis and Atropos) can be desynced because some of it's main composition is on a different music channel lol

[@jakek.1028]

This game was my entire summer in 1996. This brings back HEAVY nostalgia. Thank you for that.

[@Soundole]

Cheers mate, glad you appreciated it! To me, this is the sound of visiting a random friend's house in primary school, around a similar date!

[@Anony1200]

Never thought I'd see a cover of this song that really does it justice, but this one really made it work. Well done.

[@Soundole]

Thanks so much mate! I feel like this soundtrack deserves a bit more attention from cover artists; there's something magical about it!

[@Anony1200]

I think it's just that it goes with the whole "greco-roman nobility" aesthetic the game's got going for it. For some reason, Columns games are always about rich dudes in the ancient eras...

[@Soundole]

It's a really cool aesthetic for sure! I think the early titles played up that sort of mystique, which I really loved. Made something magical out of relatively banal (but polished!) mechanics.

[@nimblenavigator9520]

@@Anony1200 Surely being rich would account for the jewels?

[@Anony1200]

@@nimblenavigator9520 The strange thing is less the rich dudes and more the ancient eras.

[@thefitgeeks]

Wow! Beautifully played! Because of this piece I grew up to like baroque music! Used to play Columns for hours non-stop as a kid!

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much! I never played it much as a kid, but I got into it years later as a competitive experience with my brother :)

[@dantefloressq]

That chord at 2:05 is so overwhelmingly beautiful

[@Soundole]

I agree, there's some wonderful sonorities in the original track :)

[@Bro-cx2jc]

It's my favorite part of this track.

[@GerardoArcaLópez]

My phone incoming calls sounds like this,thanks for submit this chill performance and well executed.

[@Soundole]

Cheers mate, I'm glad you appreciated it! :)

[@Revenge328]

it's bringing me almost to tears to hear it like this ;w; nothing short of absolutely beautiful, i cant thank you enough for this work of art. godspeed to ya dude

[@Soundole]

Thanks so much, I'm very glad you appreciated it! :)

[@TroutButter]

I'd really love to see the other songs in Columns remade like this. This rendition was just incredible.

[@Soundole]

Thank you! I wouldn't mind returning to this soundtrack in the future :)

[@mnmlst1]

This game and its soundtrack are the highlight of the best part of my childhood. Thank you for recreating it so well!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! I've got a strong nostalgic connection to it, too!

[@alleygh0st]

Happy to see many people appreciating this beautiful piece. Nice playing too!

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! :)

[@thevampiregirl7529]

I've always preferred Columns to Tetris, and this cover really does it justice! It's beautifully haunting! 💛

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you think so! :)

[@JustinWoodsMusic]

Man, this is a blast from the past. I used to play this game all the time and the music was always so hauntingly beautiful. The Genesis' sounds are underrated.

[@Soundole]

+Strings of the Woods I love everything that little FM chip produced. It may be the reason I have such an affection for 1980s pop! By the way, Columns III, competitive multiplayer? Definitely in my Top 3 competitive multiplayer games of all time.

[@releeddev]

This is my fav song in all of gaming and you got it perfect +1 to you

[@Soundole]

+Dodgetgo Thanks so much mate! I was pretty paranoid about how this would turn out so I'm glad you think so :)

[@DeLeon36553]

So peaceful. Thanks alot man.

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much, I'm glad you appreciated it!

[@matthewdbickel]

Excellent! A classic favorite of mine that rarely gets the attention its worthy of. Thank you!

[@Soundole]

Thank you for checking it out, I'm glad you appreciated it! :)

[@Punkanova]

This is the video that brought me to your channel! Loved the trivia about the game along with a phenomenal recreation of the music! Truly spot on!

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you've been enjoying the tunes, I hope you enjoy the covers to come in the future, too! :)

[@Punkanova]

@@Soundole i have 💜

[@marcosweht9062]

This is too dope, man... THE HARMONICS ARE UNBELIEVABLE!

[@Soundole]

+Marcos Weht Thanks heaps mate! That's something I've always enjoyed about a lot of early vgm music - the way some sounds would naturally emphasise upper harmonics massively!

[@blind9058]

The songs from collemns were named after the 3 greek sisters of fate!

[@SyrianShred]

Amazing! The long notes at 1:15 are filled with awe, as previous comment said beautiful yet haunting.

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much mate! I'm very glad you liked it :)

[@elliecleary6062]

This was so nicely done. Thank you for sharing your playing with us!

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much, I'm glad you appreciated it! :)

[@monkmonk1132]

Man, that's an awesome work and it sounds so beautiful !!! This plus I have to add that I can hear the gems combos breaking appart :).

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much mate! :)

[@michaeldwhitehouse]

Had this song in my head driving me bonkers all day. Then I search it up and get this! Awesome!

[@Soundole]

Thanks mate! I agree that it's one that sticks with you :)

[@ChaosRayZero]

The composer who wrote the music for Columns was a sound designer for Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Cool! Now that's a neat, random trivia fact I won't soon forget! ^~^

[@bigdaddyjh2002]

This song is absolutely beautiful and you have perfectly captured it, as well as adding to its beauty. It's downright incredible what you have done here and that you have decided to share it with us. I love it.

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much for the kind words, I'm very glad you liked it!

[@GT2OOO]

This is so awesome! I love it!! I don't know if it's just nostalgia, but I think Columns is so underrated. And I don't use that word a lot...

[@Soundole]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Columns certainly doesn't get anywhere near the same recognition as Tetris, and I'm not sure that's entirely fair...

[@ikagura]

I have an even bigger nostalgia for this theme than Tetris' Theme A. Great Cover!

[@Soundole]

Sounds like you grew up in a Sega household then! Thanks heaps mate :)

[@Agentflit]

Finally you've appeased the aspect ratio gods ;) Superb musicianship, only getting better and better! I had forgotten columns had such a great composer attached.

[@Soundole]

Agentflit Forgive me aspect ratio gods! I'll probably go back to a stretch for some of the other 3-5 part videos because I kind of prefer it to borders, but for these bigger arrangements (6-7 parts and up) I'll use this layout. Hope the deities involved are satisfied by that compromise :) As for the composer, yeah, he really took me by surprise; apparently a really big name in the Master System era, and he must have been an amazingly experienced supervisor to have on staff in the latter part of the 16-bit generation.

[@Agentflit]

Soundole VGM Covers To be honest I don't mind the stretched videos at all when there's such great music attached :)

[@fernandosantiago.]

Magnifice!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! :)

[@HatchuneMiku01]

ahhh all my memories are coming back with this lovely tune :3 well played! It's perfect

[@Soundole]

HatchuneMiku01 Thanks so much! I've been surprised by how many people have memories of this game, I thought it would be relatively obscure!

[@Dogmohh]

this sounds so good

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much mate! :)

[@erinharrison-smith8828]

Wonderful as always, Peter :) You're the only other person I know who played Columns growing up (albeit far more competitively than I ever played!)

[@Soundole]

Erin Harrison-Smith Thanks honey :) To be honest, I knew a guy with this game but I never had it at home growing up. My main time was spent with the PS2 collection (which I consider to be the definitive version)

[@Aeroprism]

Now this is awesome! I was recently asked to remix this track and I'm gonna binge-listen to yours so it's drilled deep in my head. Awesome results! Definitely subscribed!

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the covers to come in the future :)

[@subversiveasset]

I'm at work, so I can't listen yet, but as soon as I got a notification on my phone for this upload and saw the title, I was ecstatic. One of my favorite pieces of the genre.

[@subversiveasset]

+subversiveasset haha, who am i kidding. I can totally listen to this non-stop at work all day.

[@Soundole]

subversiveasset :) I'm glad! It's one of my favourites too. In retrospect, I really hear the puzzle music from the Professor Layton games taking some influence from it.

[@victortheguitarnerd]

Really nice! This piece really works well with that sound. Well done as always!

[@Soundole]

VictorTheGuitarNerd Thanks a lot mate! I tried to capture some of the subtleties of the original Genesis sounds :)

[@ACfan99]

Up the playback speed to x1.25 and I'm sure the track will sound even more familiar. So many gems...

[@Sandlot1992]

that was Beautiful!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! :)

[@GW_01]

Columns wouldn't be the same without this music.

[@Soundole]

Right? It added so much to the aesthetic.

[@GW_01]

@@Soundole It helped concentration

[@voldo492002]

That was fire 🔥 nice job!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! :)

[@TheNostalgiaDudeOfficial]

Ahhh man, the memories!! Great job dude! The timbres/patches you used match the original track as far as the feel. I mean it doesn't sound exactly like the original but pretty close, in a different way. Lol i dunno how to explain it but it made me feel happy so good job lol

[@Soundole]

***** Thanks very much! I tried my best to replicate the feel of some of these patches - for instance, the line that enters first is doubled three octaves up, and both those lines are then delayed by a semiquaver. Granted the end result is much heavier sounding than the original!

[@donutdrums]

This is the perfect song choice for you!!! You are seriously talented my friend!

[@Soundole]

DonutDrums Thanks so much mate! Not nearly as much as you :)

[@yuberemo]

たくさんの動画の中から大好きな曲を見つけました！ あなたの演奏を応援します。

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! :)

[@ConsoleWars]

YES!!!! That was perfect.

[@Soundole]

Console Wars Thanks heaps guys! 'Columns' vs 'Tetris Attack'? :)

[@thatretrocattt]

6 year old comment lmao, both of all of you are amazing

[@alangabrieldayan8277]

Beautiful work! Greetings from Argentina

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! :)

[@AndinCamargos]

I started doing the cover of this song 2 times and gave up. I had this game with my Mega Drive (Brazilian Genesis). I love this song and this is so hard to cover and you do an amazing job! One day i'm cover this too! Thanks for share!

[@Soundole]

andersongs87 Thanks so much mate, that's really flattering! I know what you mean, it can be a bit hard to make work. Once I had all the parts on paper I was still kind of looking at it like 'what's going on here'? By the way, the Genesis is a Megadrive in Australia, where I come from, too :)

[@xretrobox4203]

great musician man.. good articulation and balance!!!!

[@Soundole]

+redsn0w95 Thanks a lot mate, glad you appreciated it :)

[@Soundole]

Hey mate, they refer to musical intervals (distances) above a fundamental pitch. For more info, see the wikipedia page on the harmonic series! They're present in this video from the very beginning, I think, but faintly!

[@robgoins3672]

Let’s be honest, we loved columns for sound track more than the game play.

[@Soundole]

Maybe the original, but two-player Columns III is still a staple for me :)

[@robgoins3672]

Soundole VGM Covers your right. Two player is a blast when you find your equal.

[@IronReef77]

Beautiful

[@Soundole]

Thank you!

[@gtgt8564]

Great cover, thank you

[@Soundole]

Thanks, I'm glad you think so :)

[@MarimbaMaurice]

Got me down from the long day :-) Thank you! ;)

[@Soundole]

***** Glad to hear it mate! :)

[@Acix303]

Wow awesome performance!

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much! :)

[@romicornelisz8239]

Nostalgic!!!

[@Reynsoon]

This cover is a very comfy place for me.

[@netoantonio]

great game, great song, great performance!

[@Soundole]

Cheers mate, glad you appreciated it! :)

[@DemetrisLeptos]

I kept trying to notice if this is the original or not - I just could not believe my eyes.. or my ears! :D

[@Soundole]

Cheers mate! :)

[@alicepetyablackburn1498]

Awesome!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! :)

[@JulioDesigndeProduto]

Amazing!!!

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much!

[@tunefulcathodic]

amazing

[@Soundole]

Thank you!

[@GDM245]

The cover's great and so are the fun facts.

[@Soundole]

Thanks mate, I'm glad you liked it! :)

[@AmieWaters]

thnks fr th mmrs

[@Soundole]

Ace Waters Thanks for listening! It's always really cool when I cover something that I think no one's heard and I'm proved wrong :)

[@ahmadzamasu6603]

you are a champion very good playng keep it up

[@Soundole]

Thanks so much mate! :)

[@yoji0]

Suddenly reminded of the Commodore 64 soundtrack for Tetris. Kind of funny there; I only found out about that one about a year ago, but I remember playing Columns on the Game Gear (and getting this song wedged firmly into my brain)

[@Soundole]

I played a lot of Columns on the Game Gear too - as part of that 4 in 1 game that came with it!

[@5TUN]

I reminds me so much of Wendy Carlos' work for Clockwork Orange. Very baroque with synthesized sounds.

[@Soundole]

I definitely think of her work as an inspiration!

[@紅-v9o]

小さい頃お父さんがしょっちゅうしてたなーなんだろこの懐かしい気持ち

[@tiag0736]

Perfect!!!!!

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much! :)

[@sampsonraysimon]

I'm finna jam this the next time I get dripped up in new jewelry.

[@KarlDAngelo-xw1gf]

That's cool.

[@Soundole]

Glad you think so mate! :)

[@Brunovttt]

Great thanks you !

[@Soundole]

Thanks very much!

[@SlyHikari03]

This is so good. Reminds me of old Wendy Carlos records.

[@Soundole]

Thank you, that's a very flattering comparison! :)

[@Tclbmx_]

This song is sad and uplifting at the same time... I wonder if it was the itention of the composer.

[@Soundole]

I think he knew what he was doing :) That's one of the nice effects of the vague modes this composition uses, but I think the main intention was to just musically reference classical antiquity.

[@augustocaie]

10/10

[@Soundole]

Cheers mate! :)

[@carlosenrique4180]

You can change the game difficulty by speeding up the video

[@ahmadzamasu6603]

original tune is good but your music is better i can see its not easy well done

[@Soundole]

Thanks mate, that's very kind of you to say! :)

[@marcusmicksch]

Very well done! I like to play the melody line on my recorder by ear but it would be lovely to have the sheet music ready to play it in an ensemble. Any chance that you publish your transcription? I would pay in gemstones, if I had any, but can only offer the coin and paper stuff. :)

[@Soundole]

Thank you very much! I normally offer sheets as a perk on patreon, but if you're only interested in a one-off, email me and I'll send it through.

[@marcusmicksch]

@@Soundole Oh, that's very kind! Thank you. :)

[@aalex2606]

Great

[@Soundole]

Thanks! :)

[@beowulfiow]

i've never seen or heard this instrument before. it sound beautiful! what is it? forgive what might be a dumb question

[@Soundole]

It's an EWI, or Electric Wind Instrument! This particular model is the Akai EWI 4000s. You can find a ton more information about them all over youtube :)

[@SCC_Herring]

Is there any way to get the individual parts of this? I'm learning ableton and I'd love more than anything to make a dub version of clotho.

[@Soundole]

Probably! I offer access to my source stems as a perk for patrons :)

[@lipotiqutem]

❤️🥰👏

[@killerkalleausmkiez1676]

Psychodelic since I was 12

[@GW_01]

You should do Lathesis and Atropos as well.

[@Soundole]

Eventually! :)

[@carlosroberto366]

where's that part where the music speeds up? :(

[@Soundole]

The columns mustn't be high enough yet ;)

[@Bro-cx2jc]

That part can be found in Audacity after you edit the music to loop and then use the sliding time scale function XD

[@InerciaAmplificada]

fuckin awesome

[@Soundole]

Thanks mate! :)

[@sgogo]

Nice!!!!!!! ;) ;) ;)

[@Soundole]

Thanks! :)

[@darley88]

Já passei horas jogando 🧔

[@MaiHarinesumi]

danger mode speed x1.5

[@gitsurfer27]

That was great! What instrument is that?

[@Soundole]

Thanks! It's an Akai EWI 4000s, which is basically a breath controlled synthesizer with fingering that most closely resembles a saxophone.

[@jerryseinfeld4473]

Hey im a couple years late to the party, but killer cover!

[@Soundole]

Glad you appreciated it! :)

[@cruisetheautisticboy994]

The music sounds like you're entering a church

[@Soundole]

It does have a solemn and sacred vibe!

[@lemmingscanfly5]

You look like Mike from Redlettermedia.

[@Soundole]

+lemmingscanfly5 Sure, I see that :)

[@Ziko577]

Bless the Greek Goddesses for this wonderful cover!

[@Soundole]

Thank you! :)

[@mcjtls7]

Have a blessed year everyone 😊 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)