Category: Chipmusic

Toons from various consoles.

  • Block Rocking Atari XL Beats

    This is fresh fresh fresh from Berlin, you mothathumpers!

    Computadora Ø version 0.5beta

    Shake your booty to these block rocking Atari XL beats (with a bit of C64 percussion help :))

    Herr Galatran of COMPUTADORA brings us this megamix made with some tunes from the ASMA Collection. He certainly has chosen some of the most dancefloor-blasting tunes I have heard in the last days and all coming from a “lowly” Atari 8-bit computer. “Using sounds no one else can get”? Suck on that, Crystal Castles, and shove it up your ass.

    COMPUTADORA is part of the crew of the new wave of Bleep Street Records, Johan Kotlinski-founded label, now based in Berlin. The roster includes superstars like Stu, Goto80 and new additions are to be announced soon, as well as more exciting news. STAY TUNED.

    Now no more talk, enjoy this amazing megamix:

    Computadora – ASMA Alphamegabetamix Part 2 – Computadora – ASMA Alphamegabetamix Part2

  • While We Were Gone Mega Dump

    Ed: If There is anything we missed, let us know!

    Releases

    Blazar – TetraKinesis

    New Ak47 Mix Tape

    Blip Fest DVDs now on Sale

    Alex Mauer- Low Gear

    Leaves by mattisson

    Software

    Goto80 on Zerocycle Music

    “What kind of music do you make when the coder has used almost all the computing power, the designer had his/her go, and there is not even enough CPU-power left to play sounds? You make zero cycle music!”

    Port LittlePiggytracker to PSP Fundraiser

    Hardware

    4bit Synths
    4bitsynth is a MIDI-controlled digital synthesizer that uses the Atmel AVR ATMega48. Inspired by the NES, the sound is 4-bit. The digital output is put through an R-2R resistor ladder to get the analog waveform.

    Preorder Ultrasatan for your AtariST

    News

    Dutycycle with A_Rival magfest footage

    Syphus

    Relaunched his blog with a menifesto to only release on music disks.. COOL!

    More Chiptheft

    Unicorn Kid on NME and the inevitable Flamewar

    Role Model Interview Translated and Translated again

    Withering and Hilarious Dissection of Sonic Soundtrack

  • Artist of the Year

    Oh my god! Its here for all the beans! Let’s DO IT!

    The Best Artist is an incredibly subjective category.  Being proficient on multiple levels is good, being synonymous with a  style, or simply executing at a high level, all important things.  Here are the innovators, the dominators, and the taste makers that are 2008’s Best Artists.

    minusbaby

    A multidimensional talent equally at home in art as in music, minusbaby had one of his most fruitful years with his various releases in music, art directing the Blip Festival, and taking his live performance to the next level. Always interesting, and ever moving,  he could be a candidate in this category for years to come.

    gwEm

    As a coder of Maxymiser and a tireless advocate for his platform, gwEm has justification enough to be here. But he is also an awesome musician and live performer who seems equally at home in the club as he would be behind a podium waxing philosophically about chip, and the worlds view thereof.

    Bud Melvin

    Mr. Melvin is one of those talented multi instrumentalists who has the ability to excel at whatever genre he is involved in, and we are lucky to have him in our scene. At times funny, profane, and groundbreaking, his style is laid back and deceptively simple at times, but still waters run deep. Able to blend many styles in his own unique voice, and a amazing live performer, Bud is one of my personal favorites, and one everyone should have at least a passing familiarity with.

    goto80

    goto80 is also one of the best voices in the scene, especially for his firm connection to chips demoscenes roots. As a musician, performer, or blogger, his style is a breath of fresh air, even on works that are now seemingly older than most musicians in the scene.  Able to bend and break the rules of chip composition with ease, he is perhaps most consistently inventive and fun musicians in the scene.

    stu

    No artist is better on his own platform (just ask him!) than stu. Atari Solo was a soliloquy to the decimation of expectations for the poor little atari sound chip and his live show straddled the line between absolution and obliteration. One of the most exciting and accomplished composers in the scene  shows signs of only getting better going into 2009.

  • Best Live Visuals IV

    All the way from my “madre Patria”, Spain, this crew which started as a  duo is now a one man force, much alike The C-men, but still packs a punch: even if one would suppose that two factors on their own wouldn’t sum up as much, it seems these guys are working independently in an even greater energy.

    A set by this guy contains a shit load of graphic content, all computer visual data, that is tinted by “glitches, ROM hacking, trash culture, machinima, visual algorithms, cyberpunk and random scripting”, all run by proprietary VJ software and, recently, triggered from his wireless device while he is rioting on stage or anywhere else. Oh yeah, he likes to perform in the truest sense of the word, many times doing life-defying stunts (he once almost dies in front of my eyes when performing together in Barcelona, when he missed teh border of a table he jumped on)

    Playing around Europe in a myriad of festivals and club venues, but always closely tied in to chip musicians, the collaborations with Goto80 and Meneo are the most notorious, the latter one being the focus of Raul’s current interests and one of his most interesting projects.

    I also cannot leave this text without mention of his former “partner in crime”, Raquel Meyers, since a lot of the work in the early days, like Goto80’s first AV presentations, were done with her in the team too, and as I said, she’s packing up some amazing visuals on her own as well, doing the Goto80 show now and performing solo for other musicians. This nomination is for her, too

    Ladies and gentleman, please welcome:

    ENTTER
    [Santander, Spain]

    BASIC - MENEO from Entter on Vimeo.
    Meneo – I Know Basic

    (more…)

  • Best Release

    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.