There were “loads” of releases this year, but it seems that for every great one, there where 12 “eps” of questionable quality. A truly great release must withstand repeated listening, have overall top grade quality, and be presented in a cool manner. Here are some of the best releases of the year.
minusbaby – Saudade for Beginners
Lowbit renaissance minusbaby started what seems to be an ambitious cycle of records with Saudade for Beginners. Playful melodies intertwine with complex voicing and awesome artwork in one of the more personal and heartfelt releases of the year.
Disasterpeace – Level
II music label head Disaterpeace maintained a consistent vision and artful composition and pulled it all together with thoughtful sound design and masterful use of the limitations inherent in the genre.
Trash80 – Icarus
Trash80 similarly transcended the restraints of the chip sound, and used studio production to enhance, not overwhelm the glorious chip sounds. “Missing You” was perhaps the breakup track of the summer, but all the songs were great tracks of their own, and could’ve carried any release by their own accord.
stu – atari solo
Is there any artist in chip music who is synonymous with the chip they use as much as stu? Pushing the chip to its limits, then forcing it farther, stu redefines the concept of what exactly these limitations are, and how they are no barrier in the hands of a masterful musician.
Chromelodeon – The Final Recordings
Its initial release was so small, and sold out the only night it was on sale, II should be thanked heartily for giving the rest of our saps a chance to hear the biggest band you never knew. Dino Lionetti’s awesome compositions are matched by a bevvy of talented musicians and masterful production in a great blend of chip rock hybrid sounds. The band is sorely missed, but this impressive document will live on.
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Slow monday is slow… but here I am presenting another nominee for the Live Visuals category. Hailing from New York, our next nominee’s game (no pun intended) is coding software for handheld consoles (and Pure Data) to get his vision across. A balanced blend of minimal shapes, all tinted by the laws of mathematics, is his forte. This guy has also that always needed good sense for music, making all the situations on-screen tightly in sync with what’s going on on the screens. On this year’s Blipfest, he was one of the most tight visual performances, and I can also see how he’s rapidly growing int the field. Giant steps! Having said somewhere else in this blog that he got kind of kickstarted by a talk given by The C-Men some time ago, he’s been into the chipmusic scene of New York ever since, being a frequent figure on the Pulsewave monthly night at New York as well as other events in the area, like all 3 Blip Festivals up until 2008. Another regular lecturer in the US and Europe, “he was awarded a residency at the Experimental Television Center and created a series of video podcasts for the pioneering composer William Duckworth”. Man, all these VJ guys are serious business. People, please give it up for: Paris Trentafeles
Getting this list down to five worthy tracks was a nearly futile effort. First there was the impossibly hubristic act of saying that only five songs where good enough to be considered, then the consideration of what effect time had on older tracks and will have on younger ones. But then I just let go and picked the songs that “I” liked and said damn the torpedoes. And now, with surely a great flurry of controversy, here are the nominees for Best Track. 8bit What – Bud Melvin w/ gwEm Dis tracks are great when done right, and this tracks deliberate dismantling of a certain Best Label nominees vetting process is wickedly funny and well executed with next level sound design, catchy hooks and lyrics and an over all high quality we’ve come to expect from both these artists seperately, and now together. In a year of “me too” dance beats, and hackneyed use of basic chip sound design, this track from Huoratron was a breath of fresh air. Yes the gameboy is heavily processed, but the spirit of its use is still intact and the track shows excellence on all measurable levels of ass kicking. Long considered one of the Ambassadors of the US chip scene, this track may be Nullsleep’s magnum opus. A great blend of complexity and simplicity the track performs the rare feat of making you forget the device being used, and focus soley on the song. Animal Style – DMG Guitar Animal Style – DMG Guitar An even more difficult effort for chipspotters is this track which rocks both Animal Styles compositional skill and his guitar abilities. A live powerhouse, the track has withstood repeated listenings and still kicks my ass every time I hear it. Cheap Dinosaurs – Hot Plate Having come late to the Chromelodeon party, One definiatly does not have to settle for this solo project. This krush groove esque synth jam seemlsly blends chip sounds and enhanced synthesis into an organic brew that foretells of a stunning chip future, where the composition is never overshadowed by the platform, and the artist is always amazing without an “for a chipmusican” qualifier. When I was making my first steps in VJing, around the early 2000s, I was looking around for information and stumbled upon these two mystic guys who were using Amigas to make their VJing while saying they were “the worst, and getting better at it”, a phrase that certainly denoted the kind of humour handled by them. With 10 years in the game and no sign of stagnation, our next nominee is definitely the most experienced of the bunch, and the one with the heftiest trajectory. Today existing as a one-man workforce, after performing and lecturing all across the world (from the USA to most all Europe, passing through Russia and even China) and being one of the leaders of the project C64 Orchestra, our eyes are still rocked by this marvelous artist. Ladies and gentleman, a warm welcome to… The C-Men
VJs are a core element in today’s music shows. For certain they yield big power: they can enhance or destroy a performance. Many times I have remained in awe gasping at a screen on a music show, and many times I wanted to yell “turn off the fucking screen”… Having being a “full time VJ” (that means, this being my main and only means of income) for about 8 years, and having curated many a VJ events and exhibitions in that time, I am pretty certain of what makes or break a good one and some times believe me, for the sake of conserving the good name of live visualists, it would be best to shut the screen off :P The task is a complex one. In my view, the VJ is a bit of a “Swiss Army Knife” in the electronic music business. He or she has to have a grasp of visual aesthetics, obvious dominance of the video field (be it live motion video or animation), a bit of layout/design skills, music sense or, better, more advanced music knowledge and last, but not least, notions of scenography and stage setup, as well as all the tech know-how that makes each of these possible. They usually have to provide, as well, all the gear that makes their set possible, with no such thing as a “house backline” for VJs existing in many places (sometimes, venues will not even have a projector). It makes you think a lot each time you think that shoving images on-screen is an easy task. I’ll cut the babble short now and present you with our first nominee in the Live Visuals Award. Hailing from Philly in the United States, he is a very regular VJ at the monthly Pulsewave events at NYC, as well as other events around the area and abroad. Frequent workshop lecturer and fine 6502 coder, please welcome him: NO CARRIER
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