atari 2600 • Chipmusic • software

Atari (2600) TIA Gets a Makeover

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Seb Tomczak, a.k.a. little-scale, has been and is currently working on an equal-tempered, MIDI-controlled TIA.

This is accomplished effectively by turning the TIA into a beeper; like the old ZX Spectrum.  A “beeper” is just a chip with audio out pins that can be software modulated.  It does not use or have any hardware logic for music.  In this case the TIA does, but the available logic is used to modulate a single beep into other waveforms by ascending or descending each sample manually; and then repeating that waveform at a specific rate to generate pitch.  The volume in this case instead of modulating the height of the waveform is actually controlled by the TIA hardware.

Where some TIA enthusiasts love the character and its unloved design, those who hadn’t liked the TIA before now have less of a reason.

Chipmusic • Labels

little-scale – Error Repeat

00-error-repeatNew release from the fine young cannibals over at CDK. Yay Little-Scale!

little-scale, Australian Chipmusician/free hosting philantrophist/inventor/avant garde jam session curator/all out antithesis of procrastination has been making music on the Sega Master System, and has let CDK host this short album of danceable ditties! The Wonder From Down Under used a Game Boy and a Master System on these tracks, and the class just seeps through your stereo! Another future classic from the man!

via CalmDownKidder Records » Blog Archive » [CDK 037] little-scale – Error Repeat.

Chipmusic

Hidden Village Interview

The flood of great chip coverage continues. from the Little-Scale blog:

LA: Do you perform as though playing a game, thus building a piece out of personal responses to unforeseeable dilemmas hidden from the audience, or do you largely compose pieces in advance with a focus on musical development in the more or less traditional sense?

HV: Our performances are a mix of through-composed music and improvisation in the sense that the structure and form of a work is not set but certain phrases and instrumentation are set beforehand. In our performance for the AFUM, we are combining aspects of chipmusic, live sampling, improvisation, and field recordings, with a healthy dose of humour and reflexivity, as well as some more serious minimalism.

Worth a read, especially for those with process and techniques obsessiveness.

Chipmusic • software

Little Scale on: All 4-bit waveforms with 512 samples

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I wrote a patch that will generate and then play all possible 4-bit waveforms that have 512 samples. After a little refinement, I plan to leave the patch running for an extended period of time.

More:

Chipmusic • Labels • Music Artists

Chipsters: Aussie Chip Comp out

00-cover_frontFrom comp organizer Little-Scale:

“Okay, so if you are interested in Australian chipmusic or chipmusic in general, this would be a great compilation to grab! Sixteen awesome artists, a bunch of cool gear and a really big variety of tracks – what more could you want from a free electronic music download?”

TRACKLISTING
1 . Derris-Kharlan: Mirrors
2 . Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families: Bitch-Whipped
3 . Maddest Kings Alive: Cagey Negotiators
4 . Astro Zombies: Code Blue
5 . AndyExpandy: supermegapowerup
6 . little-scale: Will You Remember Me?
7 . (alt)Bro: Franchise Fascination
8 . Vytantus: Melancholy Frivolity
9 . Jacko: Among The Gum Trees
10 . cTrix: WednesdayChip
11 . Dot.AY: Dirigible Spacecraft
12 . Ubey: swsh
13 . Celsius: Wi-Fry
14 . Godinpants: liphe
15 . Freezedream: Happy Sixty Four
16 . The LOLstralians: Botany

Grab it: