This release sees the return of Kplecraft to 8bitpeoples four years after their previous EP. On L 012 you can expect all of the usual Kplecraft goodness: tunes written for NES accompanied by layers and layers of additional instrumentation played by the Kplecraft members. Kuske on saxophone, clarinet, ukulele, recorder and Andes 25F; with Eddie on congas, bongos, ukelele, trumpet and trombone. A sonic treat that destroys any divide that existed between chiptune and acoustic music.
Check out this dope compilation: at TGS and then for the rest of Japan on 10/15, Inti Creates is releasing a collection of Rockman/Mega Man music covered by a bunch of cool chiptune artists like virt, Hally, KPLECRAFT, and USK.There’s a sample at the site, but it sounds like a chunk of every track strung together, and is therefore a mess.
Their sets involved techno arrangements of classic videogame series like Gradius, accompanied by vocal performances and 8-bit console sounds. Both musicians work in chiptunes and their songs will be appearing in the XBox 360 port of the sidescrolling shooter Otomedius G.
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GSW: What is it that compels you to keep returning to chiptune music?
Kuske(kplecraft): That might take some time to answer. Everybody seems to have a different interpretation of what makes chiptunes special. Most people simply remember it from their youth and value it for that reason. In my case, I find it a challenge to make this music, because there are limits to the number of sounds you can use. That forces musicians to put a great deal of care into the melody and arpeggios. Those limitations can actually open the doors to a new appreciation for musical forms. I might be alone in that contention, but I find it to be a compelling way to arrange videogame music.