The WipEout franchise has been around for almost as long as the slightly scruffy fella writing this new item. It’s been synonymous with the PlayStation brand ever since the series first kicked off on the PS One. The latest game in the beloved franchise was WipEout 2048 for the PS Vita. Unfortunately for WipEout fans, Sony decided to close down SCE Studio Liverpool, the developer responsible for the series, after the game’s release.
We’ve heard whispers of a new game being produced behind the scenes for the PlayStation VR, but nothing has been announced by Sony. This year is the 20th anniversary of the gravity-defying racer, and to celebrate, one of the game’s original musicians is releasing a new album of WipEout songs, albeit a little differently.
The compilation will be a mixture of some of the classic tunes from back in the series’ heyday, but they won’t sound quite the same. The album is actually a re-mix of the fast-paced electro music which sees the tempo get dialed back (among other things) to create a chilled out album. Strange, no?
Here’s what Tim Wright had to say:
“I was driving home earlier in the year, and I started whistling a tune. It seemed very familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. When I arrived at home, I happened to glance at my game collection and my eyes landed upon the Wipeout 2097 box.
It was then that I realised the melody was from ‘Operatique’, one of my music tracks from the original WipEout game. However… I’d been whistling it at a much slower pace, and that’s when the idea of a chilled or ambient mix took hold.
As an experiment, I took that very song and broke it down into its component parts, to develop a more moody piece. I was really pleased with the results, and decided to put it to my fan base for a reaction… thankfully it got the thumbs up!
Previously I’ve released everything digitally or on USB stick, so my first physical CD release is going to be something really quite special. It’s on 2 x CDs to accommodate all the music, and features artwork from some really talented ex.Psygnosis artists who worked on WipEout. We also have a free competition to win 3 x copies of ‘Strix Memoria’ – a very rare USB album in the shape of the Psygnosis Owl logo.”
Interested? Then you can pre-order a copy here. The website’s pre-order page states that there will only be a limited run that is dictated by pre-order numbers, so it’s probably best to get yourself on that list as soon as possible.
The album, titled Ch’illout, is due to release by March 31st. Pre-orders run until December 28th, so be quick.