This is fresh fresh fresh from Berlin, you mothathumpers!
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Retinascan keeps up with its crazy 3″ CD-r series, so I thought I’d do a rundown of whats been released so far.
The Best.. etc
8gb‘s release sounds very good, even though he just has previews online. The pounding and techy drum programing and glitchy pulsewaves are crackhead addictive, so this sounds like a no brainer of a purchase. So far “Viking Line” might be my favorite chip song to flay alive my helpless victims. And “61b” is hard enough for the toughest of Techno Vikings. 8GB shows that a savvy ear can push the genre far enough you forget all about what hardware is doing what and just fucking dance.
Stunning, and blinding.
Another release is from Multifaros, the alter ego of young Swedish gameboy artist Bard Ericson. “Good Luck” is an mix of the Swedish hump style happy blip mania and really grungy almost rock like tones and how successful the blend came across was one of the biggest surprises for me. Following that with the mournful pause of “Legoman” and “Mr. Rai”, and closing out with the arcade funk of “Toffel” and the beautiful “Why Are You Floating” has added Ericson to my must listen list. Excellent stuff.
Minimally invasive procedures.
Finally is the first release in this series, Stu‘s “Atari Solo”. The release is simply a prolonged beat down of the Atari ST soundchip, especially the wife beating kick stomp of “Ready to Score” and the moaning lofi samples in “Fuck Machine”. Stu shows unwavering dedication to fucking shit up. The sound design alone would make this one of the top chip releases of the year, but Stu also has a number in tricks in store with amazing composition and intriguing mix choices. If you only get one (and hell they are cheap enough to get all three), you’d be hard pressed to ignore “Atari Solo”
I am unclear how many retinascan releases they intend to put out in this format, but this may be the hottest chip run of any label in years. Will be sure to keep an eye on it.
Comments