On NTS Radio this Sunday: Sacred Music from Inside the Circuit Board

A survey of sacred and spiritual music in videogames - tune in Sun 23 June

Extremely excited to be making my NTS Radio debut this Sunday, with a guest mix as part of their Songs of Praise special – a series taking a closer look at religious and spiritual music from around the globe.

My contribution, Sacred Music from Inside the Circuit Board, takes a deep dive into the use of sacred music in videogames, from soundtracks inspired by traditions like Gregorian chant, Shinto music or Gamelan, to pieces with more secular influences that still inspire a sense of the divine.

It’s a subject that’s interested me for almost as long as I can remember – how videogame music can create a surprisingly “real” feeling of holiness in a purely virtual space. A lot of the soundtracks referenced in Sacred Music from Inside the Circuit Board were completely formative for me, and probably some of my earliest (or at least important) experiences with music and spirituality – especially classic titles like Final Fantasy VII and Ocarina of Time. It’s not all nostalgia though – while pulling together tracks for the mix, I made a conscious effort to search for new(er) videogame composers working with sacred music traditions, from Jessica Curry’s incredible soundtrack for Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, to Salil Bhayani’s transcendent work for Indian indie developer Studio Oleomingus. There’s even a VIP from my forthcoming debut EP as Temple (!).

I’ll write more extensively on the topic of sacred music in videogames and the mix itself once the episode is up to listen back, but for now, please tune in on Sunday from 12:00 - 19:00 BST for the Songs of Praise broadcast if you’re so inclined. I’m in good company too, alongside mixes by folks like Beatrice Dillon and Nailah Hunter. See you in the chat.