Image Credit: Castlemania Games
Yes, you read that title correctly, the Sega Genesis is home to its very own techno album from Music Producer and Techno DJ, Remute! Remute is notable for using interesting tech to bring music out, including a floppy disk back in 2017 for the album Limited! This latest offering, though, has to take the friggin’ cake with a whole 16 track album, dubbed Technoptimistic, being packed into a Sega Genesis cart! The tracks were built specifically to take advantage of the Genesis’s Yamaha YM2612 sound chip. The unique sound of the YM2612 is a perfect fit for a techno album with it’s unique sound, and the idea is just so brilliant!
Technoptimistic released back in March of this year on Remute’s Band Camp page where you can preview all 16 of the albums tracks. The recommended way to listen to the album is on a Model 1 Genesis with its superior audio processing. A model 2 or 3 genesis will also provide an acceptable listening experience if you don’t happen to have the model 1. Technoptimistic can also be enjoyed on a Sega Nomad if you want to take your tunes on the go! FPGA-based clone consoles can also provide an ideal listening experience. It is highly recommended to avoid using an emulation-based clone console due to the quality of sound emulation usually being on the sub par side.
The track list for Technoptimistic is as follows:
Eine Demokratie 01:56
A Warm Feeling Of Total Immersion 03:19
Instant 03:04
Obsolete (Trust) 03:19
Master And Sync 03:27
The Right To Be Forgotten 01:09
Knuddelz 03:19
Red Eyes 02:49
Jo Coin 02:33
Market Research 02:18
Robo Knife 03:04
Microworld 02:49
Controlled Meltdown 01:55
When You're Down 02:34
Deepfake 02:37
Debug 02:29
“In times where the term ‘digitization’ triggers dystopian fears and worries, I wanted to provide a soundtrack for an optimistic vision of a technologic future with man and machine in unison.”
If you are curious about picking up your own copy of Technoptimistic, you can do so directly from Remute through Band Camp for 33 Euros. Or if you live in the states like myself, you can now pick up the album from Castlemania Games for $39.99! The cartridges are region free, so regardless of where you get it you can play it on any Genesis console.
What do you all think about a music album being released for a 30 year old gaming console?!
