Eternal worry of any New Year’s Eve party: the playlist. Indecision reigns supreme. What tracks for what mood? And while Spotify makes it all the easier to draw upon a world-sized history of phenomenal music, it’s also simpler for anyone to railroad your evening’s flow with a quick “add to” finger touch.
So we suggest you keep the game of digital musical chairs out of guests’ hands… and your own. Why not let the world’s leading PlayStation developers make the selection for you?
We asked creators worldwide for their personal recommendations that’d make the cut for a New Year Eve’s playlist of their design. Familiar names, new songs, chilled beats, unique dance floor fillers…find them all in the Spotify playlist* below (and the developers’ talk their choices after).
*Track choice may differ dependent on territory
“When I first heard [this], for me it was like a new type of music I just hadn’t heard before. And everytime I listen to it it blows me away.”
James Austin, Director, Boundless, Wonderstruck
“Arnalds is a very talented composer from Iceland (working among others on the soundtrack of Broadchurch). His soundtracks are calm, warm, atmospheric, they sound very modern while using real violins and horns, as well as incredible singers I have never heard of (sorry Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir… but I love your voice!). I think that in these troubled times, listening to atmospheric emotional soundtracks from a very talented guy can only do us some good and will maybe inspire us to make this world a better place in 2017…”
David Cage, Director, Detroit: Become Human, Quantic Dream
“The song that resonated with me the most this year is Youth, by Daughter. It sums up the whole year for me: Another year older, the earth has circled the sun once again. 2016 was a rough year, but we made it to the finish line. Youth is a reminder that things might not have panned out the way we hoped this year, but it’s no reason to stop trying. Basically, live in the moment and don’t rush, regret is a monster with sharp teeth that will chew you up. Happy 2017 friends!”
Jeff Shaw, Game Designer, Plants v Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, PopCap
“I first heard this song on the world’s number one PlayStation podcast – PS I Love XOXO – and it’s been on my playlist ever since. The upbeat tones and strong vocal presence make for a fantastic track.”
Scott Walters, Assistant Designer, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics
“When I started with games in the 80’s (Atari ST), developing games and playing electronic music were intertwined. I always keep a close ear to how sampling & electronic music is evolving. With De La Soul’s latest album (And the Anonymous Nobody), there’s lots of great songs from the guys who’ve seen it all, from sampling to live music. For instance listen to Royalty Capes.”
Nouredine Abboud, Senior Producer, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Ubisoft Paris
“For those in need of a bit of New Year’s motivation/kick up the arse.”
Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, Art Director, RIGS, Guerrilla Cambridge
“My New Year’s Eve song is going to have to be Starboy by The Weeknd. Daft Punk produced a great track that is highlighted by The Weeknd’s incredible vocals which at times give me some Michael Jackson vibes.”
Eric Jensen, Senior Game Designer, Days Gone, Bend Studio
“Childish Gambino – Boogieman.”
Brian Hayes, Creative Director, EA Sports UFC 2, EA Canada
“Lizzo’s ‘Good As Hell’ is one of my favorite songs to come out this past year. It’s an empowering piece of music that you can rock out to.”
Sarah Hebbler, Executive Producer, Rocket League, Psyonix
“Simple, hooky rock with belt-out vocals about going crazy despite what others say. This is a good one for just after midnight when you’re looking to peak the energy.”
Ian Milham, Game Director, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics
“While this depends on your New Year’s Eve plans, I figure it’s a good song to lose your mind to.”
Jake Solomon, Creative Director, Xcom 2, Firaxis Games
“While you’re asking me this I’m in California, so I’m going to have to go with Pixies, Hey, off Doolittle.”
Gavin McCarthy, Art Director, Way of the Passive Fist, Household Games Inc
“It’s a New Year’s essential for me. The almost primal, emotionally charged vocal lines of Eddie Vedder at the climax of that song are just incredible. Almost certain to blow away any cobwebs and get the room back into full on party mode.”
Andrew Wilans, Lead Designer, EVE: Valkyrie, CCP Games
“It makes me bounce my head and sing-a-long. Solid fun punk rock.”
Jason Schroeder, Senior Producer, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Ubisoft San Francisco
“I love the way this tune slams in! ‘So this is the New Year/and I don’t feel any different’ pretty much says it all. We all search for resolutions, get dressed up and celebrate the hope that next year will be better than the last. It’s an excuse to let go and reset.”
James “Jlo” Lopez, Producer, Borderlands, Gearbox Software
“It’s a little on the heavy side, so I don’t know if most people would call this a New Year’s Eve track. But I think it’s a good one about drinking with friends and having a good time, about togetherness.”
Richard Rouse, Director, Designer, Writer, The Church in the Darkness, Parnoid Productions
“I’ve been a fan of Blind Guardian since the 90s, and I finally got to see them perform live again after almost 20 years – this time in San Francisco instead of Germany.”
Matthias Worch, Design Director, Mafia III, Hangar 13
“I just love this powerful and unapologetic march forward that makes you feel invincible.”
Jean-François Dugas, Executive Game Director, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Eidos Montreal
“Ravenous Disease” by Impending Doom from the Killing Floor 2 soundtrack. The reason – it’s a brutal track that makes me want to hop into a game and fight hordes of monsters!”
John Gibson, President, Killing Floor 2, Tripwire Interactive
“Listen to the song and I think you’ll understand why it needs to be on every playlist, not just this one.”
Masachika Kawata, Producer, Resident Evil 7, Capcom
“It sounds epic.”
Brian Allanson, Programmer, 3D Artist, A Post Modern RPG Yiik, Y2K
“Awesome track from an awesome band, and for a NYE party… really a great song for extending out that midnight kiss…”
Michael Gamble, Producer, Mass Effect Andromeda, BioWare
“This song is from the Payday 2 soundtrack. It really enhances the gameplay, but would also be just as good for parties, or even many FPS games. Give it a listen!”
Katsuhiro Harada, Project Director, Tekken, Namco Bandai
“Magic Sword’s The Way Home, because hopefully you’ll have drank enough to need to be reminded.”
Dave Crooks, Game Designer, Enter the Gungeon, Dodge Roll
“We highly recommend Turbo Killer by Carpenter Brut. It’s the type of song that is best played while fixing these annoying last few bugs in your game or to kick the energy up a notch in the late hours of your party. Killer beats and punching bass with awesome synths build up to an epic finale!”
Guillaume Voghel, Producer, Mordheim: City of the Damned, Rogue Factor
“Definitely the music that plays when you finally get outside of jail in Furi. Make it Right from The Toxic Avenger. So uplifting and at the same time so intense. Perfect for a new beginning.”
Audrey Leprince, Co-founder, Furi, The Game Bakers
“Sia’s ‘Alive’ celebrates a spirit of survival while looking resiliently ahead to what’s to come – sort of like what I envision Lara’s attitude to be as she endures crumbling tombs, hostile wilderness, and attacks by relentless enemies while still remaining focused on a single objective to keep pushing forward so she can beat Trinity and save the world.
‘Alive’ isn’t the most upbeat tune, but reflecting on all the world events in 2016, the gritty vocals minced with the repetitive chants of ‘I’m still breathing’ and ‘I’m alive’ seem like the proper note to carry us into 2017. Alive is Sia’s lead single of her 2016 album (followed by ‘Cheap Thrills’ and ‘The Greatest’) and includes Adele as one of the co-writers. I can think of no better way to send off 2016 than belting ‘I’m Alive!’ while doing my best impression of Sia/Adele/Lara Croft…”
Robin Huey, Associate Community Specialist, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics
“I listen the BGM all the time and listen to the music according to the recommendation from the playlists. If it is New Year’s Party, I would recommend Bruno Mars, 24K Magic. It will move your body!”
Kazutoki Kono, Project Director, Ace Combat, Bandai Namco
“Oliver Heldens is one of my favorite DJ’s and his track with Tiësto, The Right Song featuring Natalie La Rose is such a great track to celebrate New Year’s Eve.”
Mathijs de Jonge, Game Director, Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games
“In solidarity with our Swiss headquarters I will pick DJ Bobo’s Everybody. Not sure if they will ever let me into their building now again though.”
Martin Rabl, PR Manager, Farming Simulator 17 Giants Software
“Don’t be down this New Year, jump around and be merry with this cheesy, dancefloor-inspired bouncer.”
Tim Wileman, Producer, Lego Star Wars, TT Games
“I’d make sure to turn on The Weeknd’s False Alarm for some good times!”
Paul Narducci, Lead Designer, The Crew, Ivory Tower
“I don’t really do holiday spirit specific songs. So I’ll propose something new that I am enjoying a lot right now and probably will be listening to through the holidays. Smoke & Retribution from flume. Great blend of genres. And Vince Staples.”
Dominic Guay, Senior Producer, Watch Dogs 2, Ubisoft Monteal
“This is a song just gets me every time I hear it. I’ll either play it to get me in the mood if I’m in the gym or I just want to chill out. It just takes me to a party atmosphere, and obviously that’s what you need come the stroke of midnight.”
Mark O’Connor, Producer, Wipeout Omega Collection, Sony XDev
“I’m a child of the 90s. Well, 70s, 80s and 90s – I’m a little older. But for me, the track that is guaranteed to get people on the dancefloor is Bell Biv DeVoe, Poison… those guys were part of New Edition, had been around for years, but when they went out on their own they had a very unique sound. So I just remember the summer of 1989, hearing that song over and over. It’s something that’s always stuck with me. And anytime I’ve been anywhere that song’s come on, people just flood the dance floor. So that’s a must-have on the playlist. Probably. Probably not a popular one with a lot of people, but I think it has surprising results.”
Dave Thatch, Senior Director, International Software Development & Special Operations for Worldwide Studios America
“I think a perfect tribute to a New Year Playlist would be to add an upbeat song from the late, great David Bowie.”
Phil Nightingale, Senior Designer, Tethered, Secret Sorcery
“Ok so I would say something by Memory Tapes but that would be too obscure I expect… I’ve recently delved back into my old CDs with the plan to clear them out i.e. get rid of them as I’ve accumulated so many over the years. Basically, that hasn’t worked out. I’m going to be really cheesy with this one but I’m going to say Erasure’s Love to Hate You.”
Michelle Ducker, Producer, Dreams, Media Molecule
“The Steep playlist is now available on Spotify! One of the songs I’d definitely recommend for a New Year’s Party is Freestyler by Bomfunk MC’s. It’s been out for a while now but it’s still as cool as the day it was first released.”
Sébastien Arnoult, Producer, Steep, Ubisoft Annecy
“Intergalactic is one of the tracks that I’ve listened to most throughout the development of our current in-development game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It helps me to get going in the mornings and is the perfect track for anyone to ‘try’ break dancing to at a New Year’s Party.”
Dominic Matthews, Product Development, Hellblade, Ninja Theory
“So…. I decided to ask my son Erik this question, since I figured that all of my music recommendations would be at least five years old, AND THAT’S NO GOOD. He said, “New Year’s Party? Well, hmmm. You want people to be able to dance to it, and also to know the song. You know what? Honestly? Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin'” WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD. But… you know what, kids? I’m gonna have to go ahead and add CL’s ‘Hello, Bitches’ as MY recommendation. Because if there’s one thing I learned this year about music it’s that CL is AMAZING.”
Jason Vandenberghe, Creative Director, For Honor, Ubisoft Monteal
“It’s the perfect uplifting party song!”
Spencer Yip, Director, Fallen Legion, YummyYummyTummy
“2016 was the year marking the end of the career of one of the greatest musical geniuses of a century.”
John Watson, Technical Director, The Banner Saga, Stoic
“The song’s soulful arrangement and message make up for its slower tempo. I would try to fit it in at the end of the night for a bit of reflection.”
Ken Chua, Associate Software Engineer, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics
The post PlayStation developers’ New Year’s Eve party Spotify playlist appeared first on PlayStation.Blog.Europe.
from PlayStation.Blog.Europe http://ift.tt/2iMYK52
via
