Tag Archives: chiptune

Midnight Music: Rakohus – Biggie + Sonic = Win

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I don’t know how I missed this the last time I was in Philly, but Rakohus officially needs to do everything ever. Not only is Sonic 3 one of my favorite games EVER, but the Biggie usage was appropriate and excellently mixed in. Rakohus has a bunch of these videos on his YouTube channel. Not only are the mashups made of win, but there’s dozens of chiptune remixes there too. Just in case you don’t believe me, check out the 8bit remix of Royals. Yes, that Royals. AND because I’m feeling generous, the 8bit remix of Get Lucky.


Midnight Music: TWD Industries – ARTifractal Decay [Chippy Synth]

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A good friend will get infinite props from me forever because of his willingness to constrict his vast creative vision to the 3ds workspacewhen it comes to music production. The complexity & awareness brought to a track made by a heavily modified gameboy surpasses most Pro Tools/Ableton producers by a noticeable margin. Interestingly, it still reminds me of video games (namely some ill Mega Man cut scenes), even though it’s definitely not a melody ripped from a game. Enjoy it, and here comes Friday!

Midnight Music: 8-Bit Renditions – Classic Rock Redone in Chip

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Someone over at Metafilter shouted out this new YouTube Channel and its various hep renditions of classic rock & roll, alt rock & whatever else they feel like. A serious chiptune movement exists, that I’ve discussed often on the blerg. I believe tunes like this can remind others that chip is a legit genre and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in that space to make EDM stronger as a whole. Can’t wait to see who does it and pushes the genre into the big room for the first time. (via Metafilter)

Ten Questions with Terry Gotham: Ready Steady Ghost

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(This month, for Old Timey Hedgehog, I was sent out to interview one of the freshest group of younglings I’ve seen with a sound a dream and a bunch of bad ass band members. Their mixture of pop punk & chiptune is just waiting to explode. Check out the interview and more in Issue 6: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPUYHN8/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk)

1. How did you guys come together around this combination of punk & chiptune?

Will: Before this band, me our drummer Andrew & our bassist Chris, we were in a band called Later Can Wait. It was a pop-punk/alternative, and that band didn’t really go anywhere. We kinda went on a 2 year hiatus, I actually started doing a lot of chiptune music myself, like my side project. I was listening to a lot of I Fight Dragons, an alternative chiptune band. I was like, you know what, I want to try to put chiptune into pop punk, not pop punk like it is nowadays. I’m talking old school pop punk like New Found Glory, Blink 182. What it used to be. That’s how this band came together. I came up with the first EP, Chris helped me out with it.
Chris: We have to give Will credit as far as the chiptune goes, because, believe it or not, he has a solo project called Pixel Perfect. Some of our songs are really, those songs in which we all put our spin on, and they’re all on the record. The chiptune aspect was masterminded by Will, but now it’s more of a family & everything is really collaborative.

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EP of the Week: “Gone, But Not Forgotten” by IniPhiles

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(Another one of my reviews for Old Timey Hedgehog, which can be found in this brand spanking new iMag that you can get right here: http://www.amazon.com/Hedgy-Times-Issue-Magazine-ebook/dp/B00CLEMFTC/ Get at it, as it costs less than your cup of coffee. Or your Red Bull if you live in Manhattani interestingly.)

I’ve got a recently released chiptune phoenix for you this month. The eight track EP that was done to avenge the tragic fall of TWD Industries’ data cart has arrived. And you know, it’s pretty cool. While some chip-related producers are staying well within the borders of an increasingly crowded body of work, TWD Industries is consistently bored enough with it to go in some funky & inventive kinda ways. King Photon lends some support because obviously a 2 man party gets much farther into the dungeon than a solo adventurer.

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DJ Cutman’s Lost Beats & Found Friends (Album Review for Old Timey Hedgehog, Vol. 1 Issue 3)

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(This is a post containing the article I was comissioned to write for Old Timey Hedgehog in their third issue, purchasable here: http://www.amazon.com/Hedgy-Times-Issue-Magazine-ebook/dp/B00C5J0MJI. They’ve decided they want me around a bit more often, so make sure you peep the full magazine, show them some love if you’ve got a kindle and check out their tumblr & other social media offerings. Quite a bit of nerdy goodness going on up in there.)

DJ Cutman has been on my radar for a while now but I’ve never just listened to a full EP. The chiptune jedi recently had a birthday and for this issue, the powers that be in the Old Timey Hedgehog world sent me this 6 track drop that he put out. A compilation of collaboration, there’s a bunch of teamwork going on here and considering what it sounds like, I support these forces joining together as often as possible.

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Mix of the Week – 8bitpeoples Sampler by TWD Industries

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I, like many of my geeky Gotham cohort, can get down pretty hard to some chiptune. Whether it’s Blip Festival, the nerdier end of Baltimore DIY, the errant anime/comic convention I find myself at hitting their dance parties, or my own secret stash of chippy goodness that no one but me ever gets to hear, I’m a big fan of the bleeps and boops. This week, I was turned onto a really fun 8bit secret here in Gotham. TWD Industries was put into my face by two of the loveliest ladies I know so it was given the benefit of all the doubts. However, upon actual review, there was no need, as the work stands on its own quite well.

I do get annoyed with poor chiptune quickly, so it was very reassuring how quickly the mix picked up and kept me going with it. If you can drop both a compelling beat and enough ambient FX that I stay entertained you’ll keep my attention, but otherwise, I’m outtie in a big way. However, the mix rolls through a bunch of fun grooves in the first 4 minutes, solidly remaining chiptune throughout, but oscillating between heavy and light/airy bleeps & bloops.

The remix at 5:19 is amazing. A chip-tune remix of the “Ecstasy of Gold,” the theme to “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.” Yes you heard me right. And it could not work more. Watching the mix evolve from there is a delightful pleasure and it’s a fun way to ride out a Saturday I wager. Get at it chip-peeps, you won’t regret it.

EP of the Week: DJ RoboRob’s “An Aria Electronic” – Old Hedgy Times Review

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(This is a review I did for the second issue of the Old Hedgy Times, which can be acquired here http://www.amazon.com/Hedgy-Times-Issue-Magazine-ebook/dp/B00BMWNDA4. They may or may not want me to write for them regularly, so show them some love so they’ll think I’m cool! http://oldtimeyhedgehog.com)

A bandcamp link landed in my inbox with the forwarding information of “I’d spin this.” Knowing my editor’s superior taste, I grabbed it, expecting some fun, up-beat chiptune. Instead, I got a reminder that chiptune can be anything, including modern, relevant and awesome. I’ve started calling the genre it approximates “Swedish Chip Mafia.” There is an almost commercial house sound to the beats that, weirdly, isn’t a bad thing. This flexibility in the chords and beats chosen gave me a heavy dose of “oh right…you can do everything with Chiptune if you try hard enough.”

“Alive Again” needs to be remixed by Sebastian Ingrosso, or slipped into one of David Guetta’s not-live sets. There’s enough good deep notes of big room in the track that it should instantly remind everyone who thinks of commercial house as simplistic, that yes, not only is it is simplistic, but it’s so simplistic that it can be run in chiptune format. The elements that are at the base of the tracks on this EP are solid and they make for a surprisingly effective dance floor I’d wager, especially if mixed in with non-chip tracks.

“The Mothersound” is a ridiculously named track that satisfies ridiculously. It’s priceless in  what it attempts & how it succeeds.  1:10 in, any fears that DJ Roborob can’t supply the tug and pull of an over the top mega-club vibe disintegrate. The crashing beats and the chippy groove give it some muscle and I’d love to hear this on some serious speakers. “Clockwork”  is where my label of Swedish Chip Mafia came from. There’s just something to hearing progressive, anthemic house being dropped using an 8/16bit beat/sound structure. There is this “I’ve heard this at a big room show” feel to the track that is inescapable, especially at around 2:15. And the chip sample usage is poignant and super-effective!

“Delectro” breaks down into this super-fun little groove 90 seconds in that will get you dancing. Around your house, on the subway, in your chair at work, the location doesn’t matter. A delightful synthy sonata that gets at the core of what some of the melodies we’re dancing to at mega clubs are about. “Paragon” features a second contributor, First Touch, and I applaud the collab. The track starts a bit more punchy & traditionally chip-tuney . And at 2:50, you’re flung into a realm of old school rave, which, for a lot of us, is the last time we heard chiptune dropped anywhere with more than fifty people at it. There is this victorious nature to the chord progression that just makes you want to rock it out.

“Plug ‘n Play” (with vocal work by SuperPowerless I assume) closes out the EP in an almost pop-punky way, bringing the chippy goodness to a close. There’s a distinct “Robot Rock” feel to the set of tracks, as it seems to be a core of deeply synthesized work that can be consumed on its own or layered in delightful additional goodness. My editor was right. I’d spin it too.

http://djroborob.bandcamp.com/album/an-aria-electronic