Tim Follin - "Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (C64)" Soundtrack [Oscilloscope View]

[@MechanicalRabbits]

This didn't even feel like the soundtrack for a game, I felt like I was listening to a fully fledged album. Tim made me gain a whole new level of respect for the C64's chip.

[@FukiMakai]

Tim's whole catalog sounds like prog rock albums or demos for movie animated soundtracks

[@DMARrecords]

More like an EP, but still correct. It slams.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Probably the best C64 soundtrack!

[@poudink5791]

You're getting the wrong idea. The C64 sound chip is utter trash and deserves no respect. Folllin deserves respect for managing to make it sound good.

[@traumatizedgeworth]

@@poudink5791 hey guys i found a non-chiptunist

[@MaxBrains]

Only Tim Follin can make a C64 play like an orchestra.

[@dava_arvarabi]

Martin Galway says hi

[@mypkamax]

@@dava_arvarabi So does Jeroen Tel.

[@dava_arvarabi]

@@mypkamax well, every popular SID composer back in 80s had their signature style. Both Tel and Tim seems to more replicate real instruments and made a three members progrock band. Martin Galway, Matt Gray, and some others, instead focuses on more synthetic sound, replicating orchestrated and synthesised soundtrack of 70s movie. Like John Carpenter, Gershon Kingsley, etc. It's just that in this soundtrack, Tim drifts away from his usual style. He looked for more orchestrated sounds while also imitating real sounds.

[@LunaOfTheStarsMusic]

@@mypkamax don’t forget Rob Hubbard

[@fogvarious2478]

i would say JT's "supremacy" does a better trick at making you hear instruments that aren't there.. follin is decent obviously.. but his brother mike.. legend.. and polite to boot... don't forget Ste Ruddy did the music driver being used also :)

[@DerpDerp3001]

Instruments and sounds he tries to emulate: Rain, Heavy Wind, Dripping, Detuned Triangle, Tuned Drum (I don't know which), Harpsichord, Woman Screaming, Bass Drum, Kalimba, Wolf Howling, Upright Bass, Low Triangle, Heavy Breathing, Heart Beat, Electric Bass, Unknown Plucked String #1, Penny Whistle, High Triangle, Metal Sheet, Unknown Plucked String #2, Flute, Harmonica, Bells, Vibraphone, Organ, Strings, Violin, Muffled Bass Drum, and Many Synths.

[@Frog_Puppet]

Theremin

[@Contrarian-C]

And he did all of them right.

[@planetxsurveillance.dinkwi5766]

@@Contrarian-C he sure did.

[@cleverhardy5230]

The title music reminds me of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in its heyday, especially the works of Delia Derbyshire. I imagine that could be done with tape loops of glass bottles, piano strings, the wobbulator, hit lampshades and the gun emulator (white noise machine). And real instruments of course, including harpsichord and early synthesisers.

[@Mnnvint]

Detuned Triangle, Low Triangle and High Triangle are hardly emulated, they're as real as they come. In general it isn't emulating synth noises... it IS a synth, and a fine one!

[@quadpad_music]

An absolute masterpiece of chiptune. The sound design, the melodies, the harmonies, the counterpoint, the ambience, the sound effects, how Tim expands the original tunes in ways that seem so natural yet so new, the ways in wich he develops his own new themes, everything is just out of this world. Tim truly is one of the very few people that actually deserve to be called a genius.

[@veeenjoyer24]

IT ISNT EVEN CHIPTUNE AT THIS POINT

[@bitcrushed-thing]

wait its you i saw ur arpeggios chiptune it was amazing!

[@quadpad_music]

@@bitcrushed-thing Thank you! Nowadays I would've had the lead an octave above but I'm glad you liked it. :)

[@ImperatorGrausam]

The stage one music makes me think Tim Follin definitely loved progressive rock.

[@ImperatorGrausam]

@Aleksandar Milović Especially the title screen to Solstice he did; that was definitely inspired by symphonic prog bands like Yes, Camel and Genesis. A beautiful neoclassical kind of feel and a ton of time signature changes.

[@cy-bernet-ix]

he was actually primarily a prog rock musician before he did chiptune

[@Xxzzertt]

​@@cy-bernet-ixat age 13 mind you

[@kvon2108]

Watching the music is so entertaining

[@santiagoiurissevich6618]

yeah, it's kinda hypnotic

[@dukdukproductions6294]

waves

[@hundvd_7]

Lines go brrr

[@Plasmariel]

To anyone who really wants to know who composed what, here's a music credits list: Title Screen - Composer: Tim Follin Alternate Theme (Unreleased) - Composer: Tim Follin The Haunted Graveyard (Stage One) - Composer: Tim Follin The Village of Decay (Stage Two) - Composer: Tamayo Kawamoto, Arranger: Tim Follin Baron Rankle's Tower (Stage Three) - Composer: Tim Follin The Crystal Forest (Stage Four) - Composer: Tamayo Kawamoto, Arranger: Tim Follin Lucifer's Castle (Stage Five) - Composer: Tim Follin Ending - Composer: Tim Follin Name Entry - Composer: Tim Follin

[@Studeb]

Was the Stage 2 track in the arcade? That is by far my favourite here.

[@Studeb]

It was, sounds a bit different, think I prefer the Follin versions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4eokpd_rM2Dpcksi=Fnb1RkysgVmhrt8p Also had no idea that it was originally composed by a woman.

[@Studeb]

Stage four was way more different, definitively Follin's version wins here.

[@JTF544]

Ghouls n Ghosts is arguably Tim's best work all around. Solstice is good, his work on Plok is excellent but god damn there's not a single miss here. It fits the mood, sounds amazing, just all around amazing work.

[@Sh-hg8kf]

You haven't seen rock and roll racing, or Ecco dream cast, or equinox boss theme.

[@kosmokat111]

Or Time trax, holy fuck Time trax was incredible

[@inphanta]

Nah, that would be Bionic Commando. :)

[@mattwo7]

@@Sh-hg8kf Ecco DotF isn't fair, it was one of the few disc-based games he did music for.

[@Plasmariel]

@@inphanta As much as I love Spider Man X Men Arcade Revenge I agree with this statement

[@jenjenparibou3995]

Just here to say that while his work on this game was excellent and I actually like his renditions more, the original composer for the stage 2 and 4 theme songs was Tamayo Kawamoto, and Tim simply adapted these songs from the orignal arcade version while adding his own flair. Had to precise that cause those two tracks are my favourite tracks for this game. Along with Stage 1, the alternative main theme, and the high score song.

[@NEStalgia]

The "adapted songs" are what we call a musical arrangement

[@LucasTigy2]

yeah, i was super happy to hear those 2 songs remade for this soundtrack

[@Delta225]

Tim Follin always makes songs that are absolutely amazing on games that don't deserve them. This is Ghouls 'n Ghosts, not... Honestly I can't think of any really good scary video game that isn't heavily reliant on jump scares worthy of this, it's that good!

[@matthewcannon9699]

I'm confident that Tim didn't mind at all. I worked with him in the early 90s during which his MO was "Music and laughs first, game ...somewhere over there!". Happy days.

[@Delta225]

I wonder how he feels about people who managed to replicate his style on programs like Famitracker, which let you make music on the NES

[@ancientapparition1638]

What a cool dude

[@joao6688]

@@matthewcannon9699 That's a very interesting information, thanks for sharing

[@doodledangernoodle2517]

@@Delta225 I would think he wouldn't really give a shit. He doesn't care about composing video games anymore

[@bitset3741]

The original SID chip, the 6581 has, on it's die a couple interesting things inscribed, including "MOS" for the company, and "B.Y." for Bob Yannes, the designer of the chip, but it also has "TIM" inscribed as well, and no one seems to know why. I used to joke that it was for me (my name is Tim) But I think I am the wrong Tim, Mr. Follin, is arguably one of the most capable SID musicians ever, and the chip quite literally has his name on it.

[@doubleoof7907]

everybody talking about tim follin’s work on this but nobody mentioning tamayo kawamoto who also worked on the music for this game

[@jamiewilliamson9829]

She did work on the original Arcade version and not the C64 version, but yeah, some of the compositions are SID arrangement from her work and Follin did his thing also.

[@team56th]

Cos this is definitely not where we talk about the original composition. As is the case with most Tim Follin C64 covers, there are tracks not heard in any other versions and representations unique to C64. Any appreciation of the original needs to go to arcade, NES, etc.

[@imonly1man_]

he made rain. RAIN. on the C64. i didn't think i could respect tim follin any harder but here we are

[@nabman11]

The bass tones in this game are absolutely superb. I'm always impressed by Follin's work. He makes the music breathe personality in every track.

[@syniekos]

The stage 2 theme is amazing, i like the fact that there’s a slight bit of recomposition that makes it sound much better than the theme on the arcade game.

[@KristerNielsen]

This is some serious wizardry. Some of the sounds he creates work really well within the dark theme of G&G. It's also fun to see how a song comes alive through an oscilloscope. ^^

[@isaacphillips9844]

Tim Follin is a mastermind when it comes to utilizing these primitive sound chips to their fullest. Oddly, the C64 has less channels to work with than the NES, but he produced such a more amazing variety of sounds and textures on it (much of that attribution, though, is to each of the C64's channels' capability to change type. The NES had 3 fixed wave form channels, a noise channel, and a PCM sample channel). I love his NES work as well (Terminator 2, Target Renegade, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Silver Surfer, Pictionary, Treasure Master, & Solstice, to name a few). Shoot, he and Geoff did amazing work on the SNES as well (Spider-man and the X-Men, Plok, Super Off Road). I agree that his music, more often than not, was insurmountably better than the garbage games they were for. I'm a video game chip-tune composer nerd and Tim (and Geoff) are in my top 5 if not in the #1 slot.

[@doodoostickstain]

oh he did Solstice? enough said.

[@OriruBastard]

Less channels yes, however C64 sound channels are more versatile than what NES allows to do, which made more complex sounding themes possible and even make it sound like there's more instruments than there actually are.

[@bangerbangerbro]

The SID isn't exactly "primitive".

[@porcorosso81]

@@bangerbangerbro From architecture POV, the SID is actually a faithful recreation of a typical subtractive synthesizer architecture of the 70's. It's practically a minimoog put inside a single chip. This puts it in a different cathegory than other contemporary sound chips (AY-3-8910, SN76489...), which were designed primarily as tone and SFX generators, not really as a musical instrument.

[@asdaf3397]

can't believe you forgot plok's sond track! the beach track in particular is pretty great

[@Vhryce]

the songs are just as beautiful visually

[@PrimitiveBaroque]

jaw-dropping skill. I love how personal he gets with his music.

[@TheWingless]

5:52 When you are so excited to use the P-Wing in Super Mario Bros. 3 as soon as you get it

[@Fattydeposit]

This is a revelation to me, this particular soundtrack and the visualisation too. I'm lost for words.

[@tehpickle1250]

I was brought up on the Spectrum so the Commodore's sound chip is largely foreign to my ears. I'm beyond impressed by this. The atmospherics are absolutely marvelous. What a wizard Tim Follin is!

[@f.k.b.16]

4:23 I'm watching how smooth the waves are... How calming... then... JUMP SCARE! LOL!

[@_ponkachonka]

That breathing sound effect is amazing...

[@rommix0]

It's also not the only game that Tim Follin did that effect too. He had a bunch of atmospheric soundtracks for other games that included breathing sounds. This is one of the most impressive ones.

[@zenithquasar9623]

This whole OST is a masterpiece and perfect for Halloween.

[@zenithquasar9623]

I keep coming back to this! Like, if this hasn't won some sort of award, I'd be very disappointed!

[@flyinyoku3543]

Phenomenal work from Tim as always. The waveforms are so expressive and I can tell he used a lot of crazy techniques like quickly switching out instruments in between notes to add more voices in the same channel! Insane!! Plus it still has this distinct feeling of being a cheery medieval soundtrack while being made up of obviously electronic sounds.

[@iwanttocomplain]

Follin: now I know you made this game, Capcom, and that’s just swell. But Follin is in charge of this here C64 port and there’s gonna be some changes. Capcom: Why are you talking like your from southern USA we thought you were from the north of England. Anyway whatever, we don’t give a shit about the C64, do what you want. Follin: Cool because there’s gonna be some freeform jazz with chromatic scales and Gregorian chords.

[@aaronmicalowe]

This is Tubular Bells levels of creativity.

[@scotttirf]

This is one of the best soundtracks ever made. Epic and innovative.

[@billyhw99]

The original compositions are magnificent. The rearrangement of Stage 4 is utter brilliance.

[@DrTune]

Insane. What a talent. As the years go by I find it's Follin and Galway's works that really pass the test of time; Tim Follin probably my #1, he was so diverse, intricate and playful with his styles..

[@jasonwhigham335]

The beginning of stage five really reminds me of that sound that a lot of those dark synthwave songs go for nowadays

[@notNyxiann]

yeah

[@SpongeMagic]

Thank you so much for uploading this. Stage 2's music will always be my favorite.

[@ruby_R53]

same! for some reason it reminds me of ievan polkka in some parts, mainly the bassline lol

[@gamezvideos2]

I haven't seen so many triangle waves in my whole life.

[@negative1up]

That's good old Triangle Tim for ya

[@zenithquasar9623]

That Stage 4 track! Omg, this whole thing is like a film soundtrack!

[@fghsgh]

I have been trying to replicate those waves at 1:48 for ages. What is it? Ring modulation? Sync? Both? How exactly? I can't figure it out. I think it has something to do with a triangle wave, and then at 1:20 it is sawtooth? Help please. EDIT: nevermind, I found the answer in the comments of kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKDak56MZtiKfa8. Apparently, you can enable multiple waveforms at the same time and this is the result... Quote from the datasheet: NOTE: The oscillator output waveforms are NOT additive. If more than one output waveform is selected simultaneously, the result will be a logical ANDing of the waveforms. Although this technique can be used to generate additional waveforms beyond the four listed above, it must be used with care. If any other waveform is selected while Noise is on, the Noise output can “lock up” . If this occurs, the Noise output will remain silent until reset by the TEST bit or by bringing RES (pin 5) low.

[@basuradovgm]

Another thing to add, this is a mix of the pulse and triangle channel.

[@michaelquigley3889]

3 voices can do so much ❤❤❤

[@1ucasvb]

I love the alternate theme so much, totally underrated.

[@darkbee2359]

Tim Follin was/is an absolute boss! I think I first heard his stuff on a Speccy, Light-Gun game (I wanna say it was called Solar Invasion or something like). Later on, I got an Atari ST and absolutely loved playing Ghouls and Ghosts. The game was ok but the music was absolutely banging; some of his best stuff. Even mediocre games like, I think LED Storm it was, had great soundtracks. Found memories... the pinnacle of chiptune!

[@McRcFly]

Haunting. Beautiful. Genius.

[@saulcross9690]

Probably my favourite game soundtrack of all time if I could ever narrow it down to a single soundtrack. Just awe inspiring.

[@zenithquasar9623]

This is a unique C64 sound OST, honestly! I love it!

[@kronusaerospace8872]

7:40 excuse me _what_ This is amazing

[@barriewilson3052]

Used to load this just to listten to the title and level one tune. Loved it then, love it now.

[@KingLich451]

the oscilloscope looks so cool on stage 1 x)

[@ancientapparition1638]

Love the wolves in the background at 1:23

[@aotmr1604]

Huh, I always took that sound to be a person screaming.

[@CrazyGaming-ig6qq]

Could definitely be both I think; creepy and scary!

[@conradkai9705]

Even the soundwaves look spooky sometimes.

[@carstenmaul7220]

Triangle waves pushed to their limits :-) Impressive work.

[@mimisaiko]

man you are amazing Tim Follin is amazing

[@DemonTomatoDave]

WOW, the oscilloscope just after 1:05 is something to behold

[@minastaros]

Wow, except of a few sequences, this music does *not* sound as if it was from a C64, but from something much more advanced... Usually, you can immediately recognize the typical SID, but here? Awesome!

[@veeenjoyer24]

it sounds straight up OPL

[@segaking5846]

Its weird looking at the triangle pulse waveforms.... I like it

[@DrTune]

Such talent, the composition is fantastic

[@taylordiclemente5163]

As in the title theme to Solstice, there are riffs lifted from Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans.

[@ravenhill_the_crusader_1968]

a magical soundtrack.

[@Foxhood]

I can't believe this is a PSID! That means he managed to get such sounds out of the SID without using any fancy tricks that only a full C64 could pull off.

[@leonardotakanashi333]

6:54 This eletric guitar is so smooth!

[@Naomiarchive]

So insane how he was able to create like a cinematic sound with 3 channels on something less powerful than like a calculator Tim is an actual god

[@lazytomakeaname4676]

3 channels only thats i so limited but tim follin make a great track man he is a god of soundchips

[@cracklelacquer5602]

the c64 soundchip (sid) isnt that limited actually, it only have 3 voice but you can change waveform on the fly at any time you want, plus it have so many features to offer than nes or other chips that have more voice channels

[@chinossynthesizer705]

@@cracklelacquer5602 pc engine huc6280 can make music too it's a modified 8 bit microprocessor

[@Oceloto999]

Tim Follin’s music has me thinking that I need to get into prog rock

[@Oceloto999]

Autocorrect wanted me to say programming instead of prog rock which is also true

[@KERBEROS-yr6hg]

MASTERPIECE !!!

[@playing_some_stuff9302]

I'm getting some vibes of the Zelda Oracle games for GBC. Methinks the composer for those games had some Follin inspiration.

[@Then00bhunt3r]

15:02 is magical

[@CrazyGaming-ig6qq]

this is so mesmerising

[@billyhw99]

This is brilliant.

[@zenithquasar9623]

This is so masterful!

[@alexthompson5275]

A masterpiece

[@jacekschneider4686]

Masterpiece

[@alfredostilo2830]

masterpiece

[@IS_CBR_2763]

Thanks for posting this

[@xoen6]

Awesome, thank you. He's a genius, imho. btw, nice channel!

[@nordgeit]

I love the triangle waves in stage 3, especially the pulses and when Tim has the bottom and top waves harmonize, I absolutely want to learn how to do that on the C128.

[@Leonardo-iz4qu]

tim follin es el goat del chiptune

[@Peepimus]

Where true creativity lies…!

[@Ambipie]

The only thing chiptune about this is that chiptune sounds were manipulated into becoming this. This rainbow of ambience. It feels more immersive than games twenty years after

[@Wflash00]

People can say what they want about the screaming at 0:47 sounding real, but there's something to be said about the pitched down scream at 1:24. It sounds better on a real C64; I went from going from hearing it here/on an emulator to how it sounds on a real SID (which is probably backwards to how most people here went)

[@veeenjoyer24]

I honestly think the game itself doesn't deserve this soundtrack

[@TheTartKnight]

I see how Tim took the liberty to redo Tamayo Kawamoto's OST... Not that that's bad, the quality is pretty good, nor that Tamayo is bad either, both are good in their own ways!

[@Atombender]

Mark Cooksey's GnG tune sounds nothing like the original either (the first two levels anyway) but either tunes are excellent.

[@TheTartKnight]

Agree. But if I have to choose between Tamayo and Follin, I prefer Tamayo's ost for a couple of reasons: 1) The soundtrack fits better. 2) There are boss themes. 3) The level 5 music sounds way more heroic. 4) C'mon, Tim can do better. I still like this ost and I think it's a sample of what Tim can do.

[@Wflash00]

@@TheTartKnight Yeah I prefer this version's Stage 1 2 and 4 and the arcade's 3 and 5. Plus like you said the boss music is pretty key too

[@TheTartKnight]

@@Wflash00 I do understand stage 2 and 4, but for me stage 1 is iconic and shouldn't be replaced. Still Tim's stage 1 sounds good tho.

[@turrican3839]

Sure, it's missing boss themes, but Tim's music absolutely blows it, I bet half of players can even recall the 2nd half of stage 4, I think Tim's stage 3 is vastly superior imo, the music is shorter in the original, and every other G 'N G reuses the same first level theme, would it not hurt for something different, and I don't even have to say anything about stage 5.

[@jippyjester]

Stage 2 is masterful

[@d4t4b4s3f4c3]

Some of the finest work that Western Culture has offered thus far. Able to be enjoyed by the entire spectrum of conscious beings. From any type of neo-plasmic trivial-brained creature to the socially encumbered and cranially-mutated "nerd" of the current tomorrowyear.

[@rommix0]

Sounds like the kind of thing Tim would later do with Equinox with the atmospheric sounds.

[@halowaffle25]

This might not be one of Tim's more listenable albums, but god damn if it isn't one of his most impressive.

[@InternetTAB]

The literal GOAT

[@LuwiigiMaster]

Tim Follin is honoring the age old Bri'ish tradition of 'porting a game to a microcomputer, but using none of the original music'.

[@DynamicDina]

The C64 was such a musical computer...

[@nialltracey2599]

I'm curious... in a lot of your videos, square/pulse waveforms have a sort of saw-tooth like slope on them. Is this just an artefact in the video, or does the chip emulator do this to mimic how the chip works in reality (as opposed to a theoretical ideal)?

[@modology]

well, the C64 port shares not common music with arcade version which has iconic music tune. However I think the C64 music rendition is quite good on its own as well

[@zenithquasar9623]

This is the perfect Halloween soundtrack!

[@mchwalek89]

Stage one theme is a treat

[@goldengamer6115]

Nice piece. Thanks

[@amigaalive6266]

comeoooon....! really? i think i've played the game a couple of times, but these oscilloscope views make me listen to the music much more closely. it's just stunning, it sounds like an actual movie soundtrack. e.g. 2:35 - 3:55 :-)

[@birdfanboi]

@02:06 sounds like the American dub dbz Cell theme. Or vice versa the American dubbed DBZ Cell theme from the year 2000 sounds like this

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

maybe a coincidence

[@GiammarcoZacheo]

I can hear a lot of Yes and Genesis in his music

[@victorha9923]

lol I was going to say the same, for me, I heard Emerson Lake and Palmer, and early Moog music

[@mythenkanacke2105]

@@victorha9923 It isn't that surprising considering the SID chip is similar to a mini moog, but with its own filter quirks and extra waveforms. And the fact that you can change several things and control on the fly. Makes it closer to a "computer controlled semi-modular mini moog" .

[@genericfirstnamegenericlas6490]

Wow, very cool.

[@notbugberry202]

stage 2 is also the title theme for the zx spectrum and amstrad ports, both of which tim also composed for

[@KungKras]

0:36. What IS that instrument? How is it made?

[@ruby_R53]

sounds like a synthetized harpsichord. this waveform's produced by enabling both triangle and pulse waveforms, resulting in a logical and of the waveforms.

[@LavaCreeperPeople]

somehow goes hard

[@PunkMonster]

Stage Two is a timeless classic. As in, not just among video games, but among all music.

[@obtainedmetatron4050]

First touches of LIMBO. Still amazing!

[@l1305]

The title theme is how I want every Halloween to sound like it