Category: TCTD 2008 Awards

  • Best Demo Production I

    The demoscene, largely unknown to a lot of chip-people (specially those of the young/neophyte type), is in my regard, one of the biggest nurturers of today’s chipmusic. A lot of your nowadays inventions for “contemporary chipmusic” have come out of the minds and style of these (mostly) european whizzes, who hack at their keyboards marvelous code routines that try to get the most out of their hardware of choice.

    Of all the demoscene of today, the branch most related to us and, to me, the most interesting one, is the “oldschool demoscene”, where old computers are milked way, way past their original limitations, putting the old saying “teaching an old dog new tricks” to very good use.

    With no further to add, I present you to the first nomination in these series.

    Doctor, by Trilobit
    [Atari 2600]

    [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/63_nw-z2inQ" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

  • Best Live Performer V

    Our final nominee is: Animal Style

  • Best Hardware

    The majority of the chip community are able to do what they do by standing on the shoulders of giants. These tech wizards design hardware modifications that allow integration with modern equipment, allow them to play their compositions on actual hardware, and make the arcane and some times obtuse world of technology more immediate and useful.

    Your nominees are:

    Powerpak – Retrozones little cart that could is quickly becoming the lifeblood of NES/Famicom development. With support for various mappers, and now the ability to easily play NSF music files and support various expansion chips, many artists can now record songs off real hardware that but a few months ago where merely dreams. If 2009 finds a flood of NES related output, it will surely be in no small thanks to the Powerpak.


    arduinoboy/MGB     – By building a better mouse trap, Trash80 has created a great piece of hardware that is easy for the novice to build, yet provides a great way to interface your gameboy into a modern studio. Furthermore, mGB gives another option for the midi studio nerds who are looking to capture the true chip sound.

    MSSIAH – Similarly to the MGB, MSSIAH improves over existing software and makes it easier out of the box to integrate the awesome power of the SID chip with modern equipment. Tightly integrated with its software, and easily interchangeable with various models of c64 hardware, this is an elegant solution to a complicated need for getting your SID sounds into your existing work flow.

    Little-Scale – Perhaps more so than any hardware developer, Australia’s Little-Scale has been consistently blowing away the community with his projects for Atari, Sega, Nintendo and more. His thirst for innovation is often matched by his clean, detailed documentation process and his ability to explain things in a simple yet evocative manner belies the complexities of his achievements.

    Hardsid4U – If you must fake it, nothing beats using the actual chip, and no solution gives you more options to do so than the Hardsid4u. You are equally able to compose in a midi sequencer using the VST, in a windows program like Goattracker, in a traditional tracker using a Hardsid4u enabled Emulator, or simply enjoy SID files using a copy of Winamp. Along with its slightly more future proof usb interface, this is Perhaps the greatest combination of power, usability, and sound quality in its field, Hardsid4u is made with high standards and its developers provide top notch support.

  • Best Live Performer IV

    Graffiti Monsters

  • Best Label

    In a time of great upheaval in the music industry, many mainstream labels struggle to find a role in the fast changing media landscape. This proves even more so for the extremely niche market that is modern chip. The best labels have in common a love of the music they release, firm quality control,  and a strong ability to support and promote the artists on their roster.

    The nominees are:

    Kittenrock –  This label celebrates excellence as well as diversity with a flood of great and interesting releases in 2008. Tracks from Silreq, My Two Robodads, and uberkin Stevens were marked not only by a strong experimental leaning, but also superb composition.

    Retinascan – An anachronism and a sort of reaction against the glut of me too netlabels, Retinascan delivers hand made cd-rs chosen from some of the greats like Stu, Jellica, our own 8GB, and more. By making the runs short and the tracks great, they created a sort of unique excitement that gave a refreshing alternative to the free data flood that often overwhelms all but the most unique voices in the chip scene.

    II – Running roughshod over our collective mp3 devices, this label hit the ground running with an great Linde release and did not let up all year long. Highlights included Animal Style, Disasterpeace’s Level, The Final Chromeledeon reissues, EvilWeezil, Alex Mauer and more. II not only releases great chip music, but music that often transcends many genres, and often of very high quality both in composition, sound design, and overall presentation

    Shanshui – The unfortunate reality is most of the focus of the world is on on the western,  Caucasian, and American edges of the genre.  Shansui appears to be propping the entirety of the nascent Chinese chip community on their backs, organizing tours and releasing excellent records from the greats in theirs and the worldwide community. It seems a surety that if the community is to grow it must become far more diverse and this label is an exciting first step.

    8bitpeoples – The venerable (and maybe even stately?) netlabel chugged along with another excellent year of releases. As well as showcasing some of chip’s top artists (in a more or less timely manner), they hosted another Blip Festival and served as an excellent ambassador to the outside world and media time and time again.