Luckily for nervous parents of children with a budding interest in violent video games, the infamous Grand Theft Auto series isn’t all heists, girls and fast cars. The games’ soundtracks have long been a key part of the experience, too, occupying a niche where alternative music and gaming culture collide. Here, music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich and his team curate a selection of songs pulled from GTAV’s 15 bespoke radio stations. This is driving music revved up to its limits, with tracks from the likes of jazzy electronic producer Flying Lotus, 70s LA punks the Weirdos and rapper A$AP Rocky serving as soundtracks to breathless crime getaways in the game. The 59-song box set spans boom-bap rap, swells of ambient electro, languid reggae and raucous punk and surfer rock – all meant to conjure up imagery of a semi-fictional California city in decay. It’s inaccessibly trendy at points, but varied enough to excuse the music blog fodder. Pro tip: just press play and drive.
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