Jimmy Hinson, also known as Big Giant Circles, is an American musician and composer in the video games industry. Originally adopting the name as a hobbyist submitting video game music remixes/rearrangements to OverClocked ReMix, Hinson now actively composes video game soundtracks. He has contributed to the soundtracks of Borderlands 2, Threes!, There Came an Echo, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Mass Effect 2. Hinson is credited with his work on several independent games including Pocket Mine and Extreme Roadtrip 2,[1] and has contributed to OverClocked ReMix.[2] His style has garnered him praise from Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits and Anthony and Ashly Burch of Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?,[3] as well as positive press from Kotaku and GameTrailers.[4][5][6][7]
Big Giant Circles | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jimmy Hinson |
| Origin | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Genres | IDM, chiptune, electronic, ambient |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Website | biggiantcircles |
Video game music
editHinson has composed original soundtracks for several video games including The Haunting of Magnolia Manor, Puzzlejuice, Extreme Road Trip 2, Pocket Mine, Zombocalypse 2, Threes!, There Came an Echo, Journey of 1000 Stars, Hive Jump, and Octogeddon.
He has also made contributions to the soundtracks of Just Shapes & Beats, Borderlands 2, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (the latter four under lead composer Jack Wall). Mass Effect 2 was nominated for a BAFTA Game award for Best Original Music.[8]
Independent work
editHinson additionally composes chiptune-styled music as an independent musician. His debut independent album, Impostor Nostalgia, was released for digital distribution on September 12, 2011.[9]
Hinson's latest project is his second album, The Glory Days, released on February 14, 2014, after being successfully funded on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter, raising $62,778 from an intended goal of $5,000.[3][10] A remix album, The Glory Days Remixed, was released on August 27, 2014, and includes music from Disasterpeace (composer for Fez), Austin Wintory (composer for Journey), C418 (composer for Minecraft), Danny Baranowsky, and others.[11]
More recently, one of Hinson's songs for There Came an Echo was reused as thematic music in the second season of Netflix original TV series Stranger Things.[12]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- Impostor Nostalgia (2011)
- The Glory Days (2014)
Compilation albums
edit- Contingency (2011)
- Legacy (2012)
- Official Video Game Music Demo Reel (2014)
- The Glory Days Remixed (2014)
Soundtrack albums
edit- The Haunting of Magnolia Manor Soundtrack (2011)
- Puzzlejuice Soundtrack (2012)
- Max Effect (2012)
- Extreme Road Trip 2 Soundtrack (2012)
- Pocket Mine Soundtrack (2013)
- Zombocalypse 2 Soundtrack (2013)
- Extreme Bike Trip OST (2014)
- Threes OST (2014)
- There Came an Echo (2015)
- Journey of 1000 Stars OST (2016)
- Hive Jump (2017)
- Octogeddon (2018)
- Road Quest (2020)[13]
Extended plays
edit- Big Giant Christmas EP (2011)
Singles
edit- 2011: "You Can Have Mine"
- 2012: "Nerd Appropriate Theme"
- 2013: "Bionic Commando – At Arm's Length"
Remixes
edit- 2011: Danny Baranowsky – "The Clubbing of Isaac"[14] – The Binding of Isaac
- 2011: Josh Whelchel – "Scourge of Estellion"[15] – Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion
Guest appearances
edit- 2014: "Infinity" (Alexander Brandon featuring Big Giant Circles) – Just Fun
- 2015: "Jimtention" (C418 and Big Giant Circles) – 148
References
edit- ^ "Big Giant Circles – Credits". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ Artist: Big Giant Circles – Composer, ReMixer
- ^ a b http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1207722957/big-giant-circles-the-glory-days-impostor-nostalgi Big Giant Circles – "The Glory Days" (Impostor Nostalgia 2)
- ^ Mass Effect Music-Maker Remixes Mass Effect 1 Music, It Is Rad at Kotaku
- ^ The Fantastic Mass Effect 2 Music That Didn't Make The Cut at Kotaku
- ^ The Best Game Music of 2011: The Binding of Isaac at Kotaku
- ^ Composing Mass Effect: Episode 2 at GameTrailers
- ^ "BAFTA 2011 Winners & Nominees". Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ Impostor Nostalgia Archived May 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine on Bandcamp
- ^ The Glory Days Archived May 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at Bandcamp
- ^ The Glory Days Remixed Archived May 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at Bandcamp
- ^ Wood, Austin (November 2, 2017). "Stranger Things season two features a song from this voice-controlled indie strategy game". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Road Quest, by Big Giant Circles". Big Giant Circles. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ "The Clubbing of Isaac (Remix), by Big Giant Circles".
- ^ "Scourge of Estellion (BGC Reprise), by Big Giant Circles".