Two curated collections of particularly fine FM compositions

[yz1981]

Fellow VGM fans,

I like to share two collections I made of particularly fine FM tunes (MS-DOS, AdLib, Soundblaster, PC-88/98 and Sega Genesis/Megadrive)

My personal computer music history started with a Soundblaster 1.5 (and yes, I paid to have the two Philips CMS "Stereo" chips installed) and I've loved AdLib music ever since. Mainly for nostalgia but also for the clever frequency modulation technology used to make sound.

During my research for these playlists, I found that FM's flexibility may have been a bit of a double edged sword. Because it was difficult to compose directly in FM, most games used generic soundbanks to translate existing MIDI music and the result was not always that remarkable.

Now, thanks to many links shared in this, and other forums around the web I have gathered my personal favourites and notable compositions and made sure to mention the composers so the rest of their work may be searched for if you are so inspired.

Enjoy!

Ysbrand


Collection 1: (Downbeat)
135 minutes of the finest downbeat AdLib, Soundblaster & Sega Genesis tunes
https://youtu.be/5jMWnfdqRKc

Collection 2: (Upbeat)
I also made a smaller (43 min) compilation of my favourite up-tempo, rocking FM game beats:
https://youtu.be/Ou3XHlVM0HE

(Monkey Island I & II animations courtesy of LucasArts)