The soundtracks that defined a generation. Chris Hülsbeck's compositions for the Turrican series are among the most celebrated in video game music history - from the SID chip's electric crackle to full orchestral performance at the Symphonic Shades concert.
Christopher Hülsbeck (born 2 March 1968, Kassel, West Germany) is one of the most celebrated composers in the history of video game music. His career began with the Commodore 64 - a machine he acquired in 1982 at the age of 14 - and whose SID chip he taught himself to program through relentless experimentation.
In February 1986, at the age of 17, Hülsbeck entered a computer music competition run by German magazine 64'er with a composition called "Shades." He won first prize and 1,500 DM. The same year he released SoundMonitor, a music editor for the C64. Hearing the software's quality, the director of Rainbow Arts contacted Hülsbeck and offered him a job.
For the Amiga, Hülsbeck developed the TFMX (The Final Musicsystem eXtended) audio engine, enabling seven simultaneous audio channels on hardware designed for four - a technical achievement that gave Turrican's Amiga soundtracks a richness unmatched by contemporaries.
Hülsbeck's Turrican music experienced a second flowering through orchestral recordings, the Turrican Soundtrack Anthology (a Kickstarter that raised over $175,000), and multiple concert performances. The 2016 Turrican II - The Orchestral Album, performed by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, stands as a definitive modern presentation of his Turrican compositions.
The SID chip's three voices and ring modulation created a score that was simultaneously driving and atmospheric. The title theme remains one of the most instantly recognisable pieces of C64 music ever written.
The C64 conversion has its own distinct score, centred on the game's three shoot-'em-up glider stages and the boss fights - a punchy, propulsive counterpart to Hülsbeck's Amiga work.
The original Turrican soundtrack established the template for everything that followed - a fuller, sample-driven score than the C64 could manage.
Turrican II's Amiga soundtrack is widely regarded as Chris Hülsbeck's greatest achievement - an orchestral tapestry of extraordinary scope, including the famous "The Wall" theme and the closing "Freedom" theme.
Mega Turrican (1994, Mega Drive) - Hülsbeck adapted his style to the Yamaha YM2612 FM synthesizer chip, producing a soundtrack many fans consider his best console work.
Super Turrican (1993, SNES) - The SNES's SPC700 audio processor gave Hülsbeck access to 8-voice sample playback for faithful adaptations of his Turrican themes alongside new material.
Super Turrican 2 (1995, SNES) - Widely cited as Hülsbeck's finest SNES work, featuring new cinematic compositions that accompany Factor 5's most polished Turrican production.
In 2013, Chris Hülsbeck launched a Kickstarter campaign for a comprehensive studio recording of the Turrican music catalogue. The campaign raised over $175,500 from fans worldwide. The four-volume anthology covers the complete Turrican series with updated studio recordings.
huelsbeck.comOn 23 August 2008, two sell-out performances of Symphonic Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert took place at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne, Germany. The 120-musician WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne performed under conductor Arnie Roth. Both performances sold out within six days.
The concert was the first European video game music concert broadcast live on radio, transmitted by WDR4. Turrican II and Turrican 3 music featured prominently in the programme.
♪ SID PLAYER
Turrican II - Main Theme