Off the streets and onto the dancefloor: the lasting impact of Streets of Rage's soundtrack
It's 2018, I'm in a packed club in Paris' 3rd arrondissement, and it is kicking off. Two DJs stand ahead of the crowd, throwing out snippets of FM synth stabs and effects, and people can't get enough of it; next to me, one fan keeps screaming 'grraaaaand upppppppperrrr'. By the time the night is through, he shouts it as loud as he can at least 30 times over.
We've all been brought together here - all thousand or more of us - to see two famed composers performing perhaps their most celebrated work; Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, along with the pulsing, hi-NRG soundtrack to 1992's Streets of Rage 2. For over an hour, the nostalgic embrace of their melodies takes us on a journey covering everything from beautiful beaches and beaten-up bridges to rowdy elevator ascents and bulldozer chases.
What is it that makes Streets of Rage's soundtrack so special? Their pulsing beats and melodies were more than just the backing to a series of scrolling beat 'em-ups. This music managed to encapsulate an entire decade of various dance genres across just three video games. They covered everything from 90s house, trance and techno to intense drum 'n' bass, jungle and gabba music, and the impact on a young, impressionable audience has been profound.
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