FOR RELEASE MAY 2nd, 2025
Album Title: Gotta Go Brass
Artist: The Game Brass
Album release date: May 2, 2025
ABOUT GOTTA GO BRASS:
Ten albums in, The Game Brass returns to the 16-bit era with a blazingly-fast new release. Yes, it’s what fans have been clamoring for: Gotta Go Brass – a complete track-for-track, note-for-note cover album of Masato Nakamura’s iconic scores for Sonic The Hedgehog 1 & 2.
Based on the groundbreaking work they did on 2021’s A Link to the Brass, The Game Brass has finely crafted a fully-live realization of every legendary track (yes, even “Drowning”) with their core brass quintet joined by three virtuosic percussionists to bring the trademark energy of the Blue Blur to life.
From the rolling melodies of “Green Hill Zone”, to the acrid funk of “Chemical Plant Zone”, to the elegant grace of “Sky Chase Zone”, you’ll thrill to over 34 tracks (because there are 35) of breathtaking, brassy reimaginings of Sonic’s classic musical accompaniment.
But wait – there’s more!
Following in the footsteps of their previous full soundtrack replacement project, every Bandcamp purchase of Gotta Go Brass includes a special bonus: An MSU-MD audio enhancement package that allows the use of The Game Brass soundtrack while playing Sonic 1 & 2 on actual Sega hardware (via Mega EverDrive), as well as a PC and Steam Deck-compatible audio mod for Sonic Origins.
Experience classic gaming in a whole new light with this lush brass orchestration of one of gaming’s most revered soundtracks!
ABOUT THE GAME BRASS:
The Game Brass is a video game music ensemble made of a core quintet of regular performers and an extensive network of friends. For this album, the core group has gone back to basics for a focused, but rich performance. The album features:
John Robert Matz: Trumpet
Robby Duguay: Trumpet
JohnStacy: Horn
Daniel Romberger: Trombone
Alex Hill: Tuba
Rahul Vanamali: Drum Set
Doug Perry: Percussion
Evan Carville: Timpani
Emma Embur: Album Art
Johan Vinet: Pixel Art
Thomas Kresge: Arranger, Producer, Mix Engineer
For this project, arranger Thomas Kresge embraced his lifelong love of Sonic and painstakingly adapted those favorite tunes of his youth to the strengths of The Game Brass, leaning into the cool, wild, and groovy sounds that define the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtracks.
The album is available on most major streaming platforms, as well as the Bandcamp page for The Game Brass:
https://thegamebrass.bandcamp.com/album/gotta-go-brass
TRACK LISTING:
- Green Hill Zone (1:38)
- Marble Zone (1:21)
- Spring Yard Zone (1:30)
- Labyrinth Zone (1:20)
- Star Light Zone (1:38)
- Scrap Brain Zone (2:33)
- Final Zone (0:51)
- Stage Clear (0:30)
- Special Stage – Sonic 1 (1:13)
- Boss – Sonic 1 (0:51)
- Staff Roll – Sonic 1 (2:03)
- Drowning (0:30)
- Title Theme (2:26)
- Emerald Hill Zone (1:34)
- Chemical Plant Zone (1:59)
- Aquatic Ruin Zone (1:22)
- Casino Night Zone (1:55)
- Hill Top Zone (1:36)
- Mystic Cave Zone (2:01)
- Oil Ocean Zone (1:38)
- Metropolis Zone (1:39)
- Sky Chase Zone (1:27)
- Wing Fortress Zone (1:41)
- Death Egg Zone (1:52)
- Unused Song from Sonic 2 (1:46)
- Options (0:31)
- Emerald Hill Zone – 2P (1:24)
- Casino Night Zone – 2P 1:31
- Mystic Cave Zone – 2P (1:52)
- Game Results (1:32)
- Special Stage – Sonic 2 (1:36)
- Boss – Sonic 2 (1:21)
- Death Egg Robot (2:03)
- Ending Theme – Sweet, Sweet, Sweet (1:17)
- Staff Roll – Sonic 2 (2:43)
All tracks by Masato Nakamura except “Drowning,” which is by Yukifumi Makino.