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Press Releases
GRAMMY®-Nominated Violist and Composer Nick Revel Releases The Hero Levels Original Soundtrack on Imaginary Animals
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GRAMMY®-Nominated Violist and Composer Nick Revel Releases The Hero Levels Original Soundtrack on Imaginary Animals
Creator of the Revolutionary Video Game-Inspired Collection of Etude Books for String Players, Featuring a Magical Adventure Fantasy with Play-Along Recordings
Linked Reading Companion, The Hero Levels: A Fantasy Novella, Also Available August 29 on Amazon
Out Digitally August 29, 2025 on Imaginary Animals
Pre-Order The Hero Levels Original Soundtrack: www.imaginaryanimals.ninja/the-hero-levels
First Single The Hero from Amberglade Out July 25
Second Single Moonlight Suite II. Intimate Out August 15
Focus Track, Dance Battle, and Album Release Out August 29
“...a truly multiplayer experience…well worth exploring.” – The Strad
"Revel's series… will transform how you teach and play. His mission, to make practice fun and enjoyable as well as education, comes to fruition in these resourceful and very imaginative books." – Strings Magazine
New York, NY (July 14, 2025) – On Friday, August 29, 2025, GRAMMY®-nominated violist and composer Nick Revel, a founding member of the PUBLIQuartet, releases his new album The Hero Levels Original Soundtrack. The Hero Levels is an epic musical journey through a mythical world, where each track brings to life a chapter of the hero’s quest. Featuring cinematic textures and virtuosic viola, the album conjures vivid scenes of adventure, mystery, and triumph. The album will be accompanied by a novella, released the same day as the album and also called The Hero Levels, as a linked companion so that the listener may read along during the adventure’s unfolding.
The album’s first single, The Hero from Amberglade, will be available on July 25, 2025, with the second single, Moonlight Suite II. Intimate, available on August 15, 2025, and the third single, Dance Battle, and full album out on August 29.
The album follows the release of Revel’s etude book, DragonScales: The Hero Levels, 25 Fantasy Etudes to Slay Evil, released via Amazon in July 2024. The innovative etude book, part of Revel’s video game-inspired DragonScales series, draws inspiration from role-playing games, leading players on a mystical journey filled with dragons and magical realms. The first etude is free for the public and can be experienced here. The complete book includes 25 etudes accompanied by audio play-along recordings, challenging players with technical passages, extended techniques, theory workbooks, and improvisation as the hero character battles to slay evil.
With grand cinematic textures, the album’s first single, The Hero from Amberglade, sets the stage for an epic fantasy tale. From quiet village life to the stirring call of destiny, this opening track captures the heart of a young hero shaped by loss, love, and fiery ambition. Revel states it’s “A bold beginning to a journey across realms unknown.”
The second single, Moonlight Suite, spins an intimate, neo-baroque dance of strings and pulsing percussion, echoing the heat of a night where anything feels possible. Amid unfolding secrets, scars, and the weight of destiny, a masked festival offers a rare reprieve during the hero’s journey.
Dance Battle, the focus track released the same day as the full album, lives up to its name. Trapped in a gothic dungeon by the sinister Count Funkula, the hero is thrust into a high-stakes dance battle where magic drives every move. As the vampire puppeteer pulls the strings, the player fights back with their own rhythm, locking into a fierce, synchronized showdown. In this pulse-pounding musical duel, only one will survive the beat.
The Hero Levels Track Listing
Nick Revel – The Hero Levels Original Soundtrack (2023)
1. The Hero from Amberglade [4:03]
2. Eldervale Wilds [2:49]
3. Monsters are Real [4:03]
4. Anchorstone Harbor [3:17]
5. Olde Baeworth's Tavern [2:59]
6. Training Grounds [1:46]
7. Night Market [4:38]
8.1. Churning Seas, Day 1: Open Seas [1:50]
8.2. Churning Seas, Day 2: Doldrums [3:57]
8.3. Churning Seas, Day 3: Tempest [1:32]
8.4. Churning Seas, Day 4: Nausea [2:01]
8.5. Churning Seas, Day 5: Battle [1:41]
9. Empire City Raeganthia [3:44]
10. Coliseum [2:37]
11.1. Moonlight Suite I. Gavottesque [2:14]
11.2. Moonlight Suite II. Intimate [2:50]
11.3. Moonlight Suite III. Tarantella [2:55]
12. Necros [3:08]
13. Haedus [3:03]
14. The Obsidian Cavern [7:48]
15. Nythrag [3:52]
16. Victory [5:30]
17. Troubadour Consort [3:27]
18. Soundbath [13:11]
19. Around the World [0:56]
20. Ancient Scroll [3:38]
21. Dance Battle [4:59]
22. God Realm [4:55]
23. The Hero Returns [1:48]
24. Void Realm [6:08]
25. Final Battle [3:31]
Total Time: [01:54:50]
Credits:
Catalogue No: IMGD-0218
All music composed and published by Nick Revel
Produced and Engineered by Nick Revel
Mastered by Jennifer Nulsen
Nick Revel: Violin, Viola, Mandolin, Electronics
Stephen Sas: Bass (Tracks 1, 4, 5, 7-17, 20, and 23)
Recorded at Revel Studio, Sunnyside NY, 11104 on March 10, 2023 (tr 24), September 25, 2023 (tr 31), October 25, 2023 (tr 19), February 10, 2024 (tr 15, 16, 17), March 13, 2024 (tr 20), April 20, 2024 (tr 21), May 6, 2024 (tr 26), May 10, 2024 (tr 27), July 9, 2024 (tr 1), August 20, 2024 (tr 2), August 30, 2024 (tr 3), September 5, 2024 (tr 4), September 14, 2024 (tr 5), September 30, 2024 (tr 22), October 21, 2024 (tr 13), October 23, 2024 (tr 28), October 30, 2024 (tr 29), November 10, 2024 (tr 7), November 15, 2024 (tr 23), November 16, 2024 (tr 25), January 18, 2025 (tr 14), January 23, 2025 (tr 18), February 7, 2025 (tr 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), March 15, 2025 (tr 30), May 15, 2025 (tr 6)
About Nick Revel
Nick Revel is a multi-GRAMMY® nominated violist, composer, producer, and educator based in New York City. He is a founding member of the acclaimed PUBLIQuartet, known for redefining the role of the string quartet through innovative programming, improvisation, and support of underrepresented living composers. With PUBLIQuartet, Revel has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, and international events including the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam.
Revel’s solo and collaborative audio work explores composition, improvisation, and sound design. He received the Silver Medal in Audio Engineering from the Global Music Awards for Eun-Hee Park’s solo piano album Korean Soundscapes. His work frequently incorporates extended techniques, alternative notation systems, and elements of live electronics.
As a composer, Revel has earned recognition from several prominent organizations. His recent awards include Catalyst Quartet’s CQ Minute selection, fivebyfive’s 2020 call for scores, shortlist status for the Red Jasper Award, and finalist placement in Golden Hornet’s Smackdown IV String Quartet Competition. His music has been performed across the U.S. by chamber ensembles, soloists, and youth orchestras.
Revel is the creator of DragonScales: The Hero Levels, a technical etude series for violin, viola, and cello inspired by role-playing video games. Each piece represents a new musical challenge within a fantasy-themed progression. The series includes original music, comic-style illustrations, and cinematic backing tracks. Teachers and conductors in the U.S. and abroad have adopted the method for its creative approach to technique building.
In Spring 2025, Revel completed a residency with the Marywood University String Project. Over multiple visits, he guided students in co-composing a new work using an alternative musical notation system. The project included workshops on notation traditions, improvisation, and collaborative composition, culminating in a premiere performance by all participating ensembles. The project was documented and shared with the school community. Revel plans to bring this model to other institutions nationwide.
As a teaching artist, Revel has led residencies, workshops, and masterclasses at organizations across the country, including Carnegie Hall’s PlayUSA Program, the Associated Chamber Music Players, Community MusicWorks, and the National Philharmonic. His teaching emphasizes composition, improvisation, and creative expression, encouraging students to engage music as a dynamic and personal language.
Revel is often invited to speak on the evolution of classical music and the expanding role of the modern string player. Whether performing, composing, producing, or teaching, he brings a forward-thinking approach that combines tradition with experimentation. Learn more at www.nickrevel.com.
About Imaginary Animals
Imaginary Animals aims to be for artists who see music as a playground for invention, offering listeners a catalog filled with unexpected sounds and fresh perspectives. As a sibling label to Bright Shiny Things, it continues the tradition of artistic excellence while carving out its own adventurous path.
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