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Dot.AY wanted to be a paleontologist, instead he makes music on gameboys. This is an EP of dinosaur themed Chip Bass, an exploration in wonky beats, wobbly bass and all in all a LARGE sound. Created entirely using a single Gameboy to try and make the biggest fiercest least Video Game related sounds possible. 1. Bambiraptor Download now This is arguably the toughest category to decide upon, for a number of factors, the main one being lack of interest in people to do visuals specifically with low-fi hardware and/or for chipmusic shows. This reduces the options you can choose from and, since I want to keep it fresh every year, my chances to not repeat stuff are slim. Here’s hoping 2010 brings new talents to this activity in relation to chipmusic, and also new bars are set for quality by those who already are in the game. Being a VJ for 8 years and having done anything from ultra underground events to 100.000+ people megaevents, allowed me to see almost ANYTHING there is to see about live visuals in the context of a music show and I can, with confidence, agree with what most renowned VJs have adopted as a motto: CONTENT IS KING. And when content is the context, I have to say that I haven’t seen much development on this side of things regarding low fi visualists. As discussed last year, a VJ has to have a plethora of skills, all necessary to stand out from the rest, so here’s my advice to you all, neophyte or experienced: try to nurture them all in harmony to reach the next level! On the other hand what was really great about 2009 is that it has become the VJ+Musician collab explosion. Many artists have teamed up to deliver a solid show once onstage, musically and visually. This is the way to go, fellas, so keep it up. Enough babbling, let’s get to the nominees. Hate mail goes in the comments section, non-anonymous, please ;): Dan Winckler: Dan is a bit underrated among the chip scene. He does some interesting work mixing up old technology with new by means of OPENEMU, a tool he helped develop, where he can open an old platform to the ways of modern technology like Quartz Composer. ENTTER: Raúl’s work with Meneo has gone from strength to strength. Personally I can’t enjoy a Meneo show as much when Raul is not present, showing how much he is determinant to the power of the project him and Rigo Pex have created. He also is a king of the performatic presence of the VJ on stage, since he’s not just another nerd hidden behind a pile of hardware. Big ups for that. Paris Treantafeles:
Paris doesn’t seem to want to stand still. He has entered into many collaborations this year, among which we can remark the one with OUTPT (specifically doing visuals for Nullsleep, a mighty trio) and the one with NO CARRIER (where he jumps on the mic!). Like NO CARRIER, he also is fundamental to low-fi VJ software development.
Raquel Meyers:
Once part of ENTTER, Raquel has finally shown her “true form” since working alone and we love it. Her works are full of attitude and tell a good story. One of the pioneers along with Entter in collaborating with chipmusic artists, her work with Goto80, Bubblyfish, Glomag or Jellica is some of the most referential in the scene, and it perfectly illustrates the chipmusic attitude empowered by collaboration. The C-Men:
Last year’s winner is stalwart of the scene. Celebrating his 10th anniversary of VJing, Julian took it upon himself to re-invent his work: taking 10 years worth of material and repurposing it in a new form while VJing alongside his old team mate and organizing/promoting a party all around this celebration, The C-Men team shows that they didn’t get stuck in time and still can maintain the people (and colleagues) at the edge of their proverbial seats. 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  In the War Room Akira posted his impressions on 8BC of the Main 2008 Demo Party: YO yo yo! The night started early with Lithis closely followed by Psilodump, representing the swedish collective X-Dump. Those who know the work of these dudes know they can expect some heavy dancefloor smashers, with these guys’ particular style. It rocked (the soundsystem in the Espace Julien is amazing) After that I went to check out Dr. Von Pnok. Hailing from Rennes, this GB-powered drum and death dude has heavy shit going on. I can’t get tired of his tunes. Fucking amazing bass coupled with wicked syncopated beats. Just check out his profile and get some music if you never did (why?). But I am sorry to say the Doctor is to be experienced live (videos of yesterday soon) since most of his music is nowhere to be downloaded A quick refreshment session in the backstage with the swedish crazies, and then we went onto the main stage to get a load of Meneo. As always, the guys rocked the house, and managed to fit all the present audience into the stage at the end of the set (which also included some jamming with friends! What else ya want?). I have to make a special note on Entter’s visuals. This show I spent most of my time looking at the screen, and now that Raul has a wireless connection to his software (he’s controlling it with a portable device), he has more freedom to go crazy on the visuals, stage and audience. I managed to see visuals for lots of new songs (current favorite being “I KNOW BASIC”) and it was fucking kickass. So now the main space finished its programme, so we reared onto the café space, which is only smaller in size, because the soundsystem is out of this planet. I played a couple of new tunes before Je Deviens DJ en 3 Jours stormed the stage as always. His mix of nanoloop-powered, currently fashionable french electro/techno, is something that will get your ass shaking no matter how tired, shy or lame you are. The show is coupled by a very energetic performance by him, so it has all the elements of a powerful set. One of my current favourites. After him, Confipop took the stage with his techno mix and circuitbent toys. This guy knows how to rock a dancefloor. Massive dance anthems and amazing LSDJ skills for the local man. We just couldn’t keep dancing with Psilo and Lithis, while trying to take over all the computers spread around the partyplace (lots of Amstrads and Atari STs, a few Amigas, couple of C64s, one MSX, and more), infecting them with the GOVERNATOR VIRUS, which has only been defeated in one machine by, exactly, who else? A swedish hacker xD After this we decided to ponce around looking for the last drinks of the night. When we realized the party was over for the day, and it was 5 AM So that’s all for yesterday’s report, today we have my set and the Micromusic All Stars, which will be a massive jam of hours between all the chipmusic artists present at the partyplace. Suffice to say, if you are in France or close proximity, if you are not here, you are missing out big time! More reports in the 8BC thread |
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