2021 was a busy year for Silen Audio, but we still found some downtime to enjoy various pieces of media.
We asked some of our employees to give us their favorites old and new that got them through this year.
Leah:
TV Shows:
- The Nevers: Victorian women protagonists, adventure-fantasy, gorgeous production – all drew me into another world.
- Arcane: Literally obsessed! The story is so moving and the whole thing is beautiful art *chef’s kiss*.
- The Wheel of Time: Kind of similar to Game of Thrones. They’re saving the world from dark forces and I’m all for it.
Indie Game:
- Unpacking: This cute pixel game is right up my alley. I loved the sound and story. It’s quite therapeutic. I also enjoyed unboxing my opinions writing about it in the Silen Audio blog.
Movies:
- Spider-man: No Way Home: This cute pixel game is right up my alley. I loved the sound and story. It’s quite therapeutic. I also enjoyed unboxing my opinions writing about it in the Silen Audio blog.
- Dune: Epic and immersive with amazing visuals! The whole thing was like a giant cliff-hanging trailer and I can’t wait for MORE!
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Such an artistic and beautiful story. I really enjoyed the fresh, captivating cultural perspectives and lots of humor!
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage: CGI is just getting better and better! Kept getting those deep belly laughs throughout watching Eddie and Venom co-exist.
Music:
- Amber Mark – Worth It: It’s been my anthem all year! I basically couldn’t have done it without Amber’s motivational song!
- Adele – Easy On Me: Come through with the comeback Adele! Her vocals are stunning as ever and I’m hooked by the melody.
- The Weeknd & Ariana Grande – Save Your Tears: An awesome remix with two of my favorite artists! I just kept replaying it in my head wherever I went.
Leah Sletzion is our Marketing Director, with years of experience, currently spearheading many campaigns for Silen Audio.
Nolan:
Video Games:
- Doom (2016) – SnapMap: In 2021, I dove into Doom’s (2016) Snapmap mode – basically a level creator. It’s a type of mode in video games I’ve always loved (since I was first playing InFamous 2 in middle school), and I was very impressed by the depth you’re able to create and the still-committed community around it.
Movies:
- Dune: Dune had a spectacular atmosphere – I really felt like a big part of that was Hans Zimmer expanding on his typical styles to make something more unique for this film.
Music:
- Loathe – The Things They Believe: Loathe’s The Things they Believe essentially takes the musical and conceptual ideas of 2020’s I Let it in and it Took Everything in an ambient direction, while still capturing much of the same feelings of its metal-based predecessor. It definitely feels like a pandemic album, even without any lyrics, and feels representative of the boredom, reflection, and odd passage of time in the last 2 years.
Nolan Vernon is our full-stack audio programmer with experience with C++/JUCE and many other languages for audio applications.
Adam:
Music:
- DENZEL CURRY – 13LOOD 1N + 13LOOD OUT MIXX: I probably relistened to this more than anything this year. What can I say? It’s tough and dark, and I can’t get enough.
- David Guillaume – Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus: One of the best game scores in recent memory. A great blend of synthesis and orchestral music.
- Alessandro Cortini – SCURO CHIARO: Known for working with Nine Inch Nails, Alessandro Cortini is one of our greatest living synthesists.
- Sepultura – Quadra: An unexpectedly great album. I will often check in on some new releases of musicians from my youth and I’ve gotten used to disappointment. Riding the line between innovating/experimenting, while also doing what you are best at doing, is tough. Sepultura pulled it off on this one.
- FRXXMAN – Spacephonk: I love the idea of “Phonk” music. Take a Three Six Mafia cassette tape, slow it down by 75% and run a magnet over it. The way other people relax to 90’s Jazz Rap inspired “Beats to Study To”, I listen to this type of stuff.
- Pharoahe Monch/Th1rt3eN – A Magnificent Day for an Exorcism: Pharoahe Monch is one of the best rappers of all time. As careers progress, there is an understandable desire to keep outdoing yourself, keep going bigger. This album scales itself back, allowing Monch to shine. Special shoutout to Daru Jones on drums: one of the best.
TV Shows:
- Succession: My favorite show right now. Nothing else combines this pitch perfect critique of Capitalism, with humor and great drama. Lightning in a bottle.
- City of Ghosts: Media always gets Los Angeles wrong. They either focus on the rich, or the aspirational. Of course that exists in the city, but 90% of people in this city have a much different existence. City of Ghosts shows my Los Angeles, one that I recognize, and if I ever move away, one that I’ll miss deeply.
- What We Do in the Shadows: Just great jokes. Best joke writing in the biz right now.
- Joe Pera Talks With You: A gentle, modern show. Combines sincerity with great jokes in a way that never comes off as overly saccharine. I feel that we are in an era that wants more heart from our media.
Video Games:
- Metroid Dread: It lived up to the hype and then some. I love the new gameplay mechanics, I feel that the designers really understood what we love out of a Metroid title. I did have some criticisms of the soundtrack, which I elaborate on in this video.
Movies:
- Bad Trip: I don’t think I can remember laughing this hard in a movie in years. I usually don’t like pranks or prank shows, because I don’t like when average people are manipulated to become fools. This is the rare example that does it right, because it brings out humanity in regular people. The fools are the comedians, the heroes are us.
- The Shining – I rewatched this over Halloween, and wow it held up. I underappreciated the slow tension that Kubrick is able to carefully ratchet up. Both through the amazing new and licensed music, but more through storytelling. Wendy Carlos’ music in the beginning is absolutely perfect.
- Uncut Gems – Another rewatch, I might have rewatched it twice this year? I guess I’m a sucker for extreme tension made by synthesizers… Great movie, great soundtrack.
Adam is a composer, as well as the founder/audio director of Silen Audio.
