The soundtrack of the 2009 Mojangvideo gameMinecraft was primarily composed by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418. Later on in the game's history, Lena Raine composed 4 tracks for the game. The game's soundtrack is mostly instrumental ambient music. It has been praised by critics; in 2011, the video game blog Kotaku chose the soundtrack as one of the bestvideo game soundtracks of that year. Minecraft soundtrack was released across two soundtrack albums, Minecraft – Volume Alpha, and Minecraft – Volume Beta. Both albums include music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals that were not included in the game's final release. In 2015, Rosenfeld hinted at a potential upcoming third album for Minecraft soundtrack. In 2017, Rosenfeld confirmed the future release, claiming the album "is still far from done".
Background
In a panel at MineCon in 2012, Rosenfeld stated that he has had a long-term interest in video games, and was involved with several video game communities. He met Markus Persson in an Internet Relay Chat, and began composing music for Minecraft when the game was in its very early stages as a tech demo. The two shared interest in Aphex Twin, and exchanged each other's projects. Both were impressed by each other's work, and eventually Persson chose to pair Rosenfeld's music with his game. The soundtrack's minimalistic and melancholic composition has been praised by critics. On the topic of the music's minimalism, Rosenfeld has stated that it was "unavoidable", as "Minecraft has a terrible sound engine". The ambient music style of the soundtrack has been compared to the works of Brian Eno, Erik Satie, Aphex Twin, and Vangelis. In 2018, The Boar described the soundtrack's composition as "nostalgia in its purest form".
Release
had previously suggested that Rosenfeld upload his music to the online music platform Bandcamp. On 4 March 2011, Rosenfeld released the game's first soundtrack album, Minecraft – Volume Alpha, on his Bandcamp account. The album was later released on other digital download services. On 9 November 2013, Rosenfeld released the second soundtrack album, Minecraft – Volume Beta. On 21 August 2015, a physical release of Minecraft – Volume Alpha, consisting of CDs, black vinyl, and limited-edition transparent green vinyl LPs, was issued by acclaimed indie electronic label Ghostly International. In 2014, console editions of Minecraft received downloadable content containing holiday themed music, which was also composed by Rosenfeld.
''Minecraft – Volume Alpha''
On 4 March 2011, German musician C418 released Minecraft – Volume Alpha, the first Minecraft soundtrack album, and his eighth album overall. The album comprises most of the music featured in the game, as well as other music included in trailers, and instrumentals that were not included in the game's final release. On the topic of the songs in Minecraft – Volume Alpha, Rosenfeld stated: The album was met with positive reviews, with Andy Kellman from AllMusic praising its replay value, stating that "none of the recurring elements are pronounced or simple enough to become fatiguing with repeated play"
Track listing
''Minecraft – Volume Beta''
On 9 November 2013, German musician C418 released Minecraft – Volume Beta, the second Minecraft soundtrack album, and his thirteenth album overall. The album includes newer music that was added into the game after the release of Minecraft – Volume Alpha, as well as other music exclusive to the album. Tracks 20 to 29 consist of the audio from 10 of the 13 in-game "music discs" that can be found by players of the game. The album has a generally darker tone than its precursor; Rosenfeld claims that "the tone is both more positive and at times very dark". The album was completely self-released by Rosenfeld, and appeared on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, peaking at number 14.
Track listing
Charts
Upcoming third album
In 2015, Rosenfeld hinted at a potential upcoming third album for Minecraft soundtrack, stating "I'll still work on Minecraft, so there’ll probably be another album". In 2017, Rosenfeld confirmed the future release, claiming the album "is still far from done"., three tracks have already been released as singles, which were added to Minecraft in a July 2018 update. Lena Raine composed the tracks "Rubedo", "Chrysopoeia", and "So Below" for the Nether Update , as well as the music in “Pigstep”, the thirteenth music disc.
Release history
Minecraft – Volume Alpha was first released on Rosenfeld's Bandcamp account, and later released on other digital download services. On 21 August 2015, a physical release of the album, consisting CD and vinyl, was issued by Ghostly International. Minecraft – Volume Beta was completely self-released by Rosenfeld, released on his Bandcamp account and other digital download services on 9 November 2013.
