Chip Music
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Chip Music, Game Music, Reviews
Chiptunes and Chiptars – Marshall Art Timeline EP (Review)
December 20, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Chiptunes and Chiptars – Marshall Art Timeline EP (Review) Share this
The combination of chiptunes and live instruments may not be a new thing these days, but the duo of Jeffrey “jmr” Roberts and Mikhail “streifig” Ivanov that make up the band Marshall Art helped to master the the concept in the past handful of years. Having released albums of both original compositions as well as arrangements of game music and even live performances at MAGFest, the chiprock team has created a synergy that sounds both retro and fresh at the same time.
With the recent release of their newest EP, Timeline, Marshall Art continues that trend while also bringing in the talents of post-rock musician Cory Johnson to craft a small tribute to old and new game music. The four-track album features arrangements of tracks from The Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and Undertale that take a low-key progressive rock flavor interlaced with chip music that does homage to the roots of the track’s origins as 8 and 16-bit soundtracks while also keeping things sounding modern.
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Chip Music, Demoscene, Game Music
Avant-garde, Metal, Chiptune: Master Boot Record and VirtuaVerse
December 13, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Avant-garde, Metal, Chiptune: Master Boot Record and VirtuaVerse Share this
MASTER BOOT RECORD, who claims to be an old 486 PC “processing avant-garde chiptune, synthesized heavy metal & classical symphonic music” has revealed that he’s also responsible for the upcoming cyberpunk adventure game, VirtuaVerse. The game is from the three-man studio Theta Division, with MBR behind the story and music, and also marks record label Blood Music’s first foray into game publishing.
“The soundtrack of VirtuaVerse is in fact how the MBR project spawned in [the] first place. After writing it, and inspired by demoscene vibes and the cyberpunk worlds of our game, I added more synthesized metal and classical music and then ultimately created the sound of MASTER BOOT RECORD.”
To celebrate the announcement, the team have released the first glimpse of the game in the trailer above. VirtuaVerse isn’t expected until sometime in 2019 but if you like the sound of MASTER BOOT RECORD’s tinny, synthesized metal I’m happy to tell you there’s loads more to hear while you wait. Over the last year he’s released seven albums of original synthesized, chiptune metal music on Bandcamp as well as a growing collection of similarly styled video game covers.
You can listen to his treatment of classics including DOOM, Mega Man, Ultima, Flashback, LOOM, Duke Nukem, and many others on SoundCloud. You might even score a download of the album, titled WAREZ, if you buy some of his music or add it to your Bandcamp wishlist.
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Chip Music, Experimental, Indie Music
Brave Wave Announces First Solo Album by Mega Man Composer Manami Matsumae
December 12, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Brave Wave Announces First Solo Album by Mega Man Composer Manami Matsumae Share this
Sometimes our favorite game composers release little original treats for us to chew on inbetween games or after a long hiatus, such as Hip Tanaka’s recent release of his original chiptune album. Now it’s Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae’s turn to release her own original tunes.
Matsumae, in collaboration with music label Brave Wave Productions, unveils her first-ever original solo album THREE MOVEMENTS, which celebrates her thirty years of working as a composer in the video game industry. Matsumae’s career began in 1987 when she graduated from the Osaka University of Arts and joined Capcom’s Sound Production Department that same year. With THREE MOVEMENTS, she ventures into a new batch of chiptunes, trance and orchestral compositions, all stretched across three distinctive parts.
“By this point, I’ve created music for a number of video games. These songs come in a variety of genres, and I want everyone to listen to the different styles I’ve experienced throughout the years, which is why I ended up creating my album in this fashion.” – Manami Matsumae
The album is also inspired by a trip Matsumae and Brave Wave producer Mohammed Taher took to the Swiss Alps, using imagery captures by photographer Bao Hgo during the trip to influence the segments of the album itself.
“Unlike the typical solo album, this isn’t a genre album. Manami crosses chiptunes with everything from classical piano and SNES-inspired beats to melodically vague soundscapes and orchestral numbers. The music influenced our photography, and we toured around the Swiss Alps looking for the perfect shots.” – Mohammed Taher, Album Director
The solo album will be released on December 17th, thirty years after the release of the original Mega Man, and is currently available for pre-order on Bandcamp. The CD and vinyl will also be available to purchase on December 17th from the Brave Wave stores at Fangamer and Big Wax. The 2xLP vinyl gatefold is limited and individually signed by Manami Matsumae, and will include three exclusive tracks.
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Chip Music, Game Music
Dj Cutman’s ‘This Week in Chiptune’ Bundle offers a ton of Chiptune, Duh
December 7, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Dj Cutman’s ‘This Week in Chiptune’ Bundle offers a ton of Chiptune, Duh Share this
To commemorate the 200th episode of his Soundcloud/YouTube series, This Week in Chiptune, Dj Cutman has joined up with Groupees to offer a hand-picked bundle of chiptune albums and OSTs. The This Week in Chiptune 200th Episode Mega Bundle is available until December 16th and it’s already hit almost all of its extra unlocks.
Some of the highlights include recent GameChops releases like Mother 4 Soundtraaaack!! By Shane Mesa and The Streets (of Rage) by Doni, Chipzel’s Chipped of the Necrodancer, Shiroban’s latest EP, Reject, and a whole lot more. Including the unlocked content, the $2 minimum asking price will get you all of this:
• Beat Street OST by Maxo
• The Arrival by Warez Waldo
• The Streets (of Rage) by Doni
• Chiptune + Charity X EP by Dj CUTMAN
• GAMEWAVE by FLOOR BABA
• Mobile Swarming by Chrome Cobra
• Chipped of the Necrodancer by Chipzel
• The Original Sounds of Action Button Entertainment’s VIDEOBALL by coda
• The Masquerade by Doomcloud
• Exclusive Backer Mix by Dj CUTMANWhile the next tier up at $4 will get you everything above as well as:
• Monolith by Graz
• Mother 4 Soundtraaaack!! by Shane Mesa
• Enjoy the Weather by Oxygenstar
• Alola (A Pokémon Tribute) by CG5
• Theia by Trash80
• NEON DEATH by FLOOR BABA
• Reject by Shirobon
• Supa Pawa by Bitonal LandscapeIt looks like the bundle will easily make its next unlock, a live Q&A stream with DJ Cutman for those who purchased the bundle. After that there’s only one more mystery bonus to reveal. One note, the Exclusive Backer Mix is indeed exclusive to those who support Dj Cutman through Patreon.
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Chip Music, Indie Music
Chip Tanaka’s Original Album Django out Now
November 22, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Chip Tanaka’s Original Album Django out Now Share this
Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka has been producing and pioneering the sounds of chiptune music since he first started on with Nintendo in the 80’s. But even after creating the memorable sounds of Metroid, Dr. Mario, Earthbound, and Pokemon this new album marks a first for the composer. Django is Tanaka’s first full-length album released under his stage name Chip Tanaka and on his own personal music label.
“If my music can be divided into ʻfor adultsʼ and ʻfor kids,ʼ then this is the culmination of my harder side,” Tanaka explains before adding, “[it’s] the kind of game music you hear in EarthBoundʼs battle tracks.”
The 13-track album is available to download on iTunes and Bandcamp. Physical copies on a digipak CD are also available for around $30 US from Bandcamp while supplies last. A music video for the track “Beaver” was also released alongside the album featuring art and animation by renowned illustrator Jun Oson. Check it out above and give the album a listen on Bandcamp or Apple Music.
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Chip Music, Game Music
River City Ransom: Underground Updates with New Soundtrack
November 17, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on River City Ransom: Underground Updates with New Soundtrack Share this
Back in July of this year, the game River City Ransom: Underground was hit with DMCA strikes due to issues regarding its soundtrack and music. One of the subcontracted composers, Alex Mauer, stated Conatus Creative used Mauer’s music without fair compensation or permission, and thus issued the DMCA strikes against the game, which temporarily took it off Steam. Conatus Creative has affirmed consistently that Mauer’s claims have zero legal basis, but decided to make a completely clean break from Mauer and have an entirely new soundtrack composed for the game.Yesterday, Conatus issued an update on the River City Ransom: Underground Kickstarter that stated that the new soundtrack had been completed, and that the game has been updated on Steam to include the new music.
We’re excited to release Dino Lionetti’s new soundtrack for River City Ransom: Underground! Dino, one of the talents behind Cheap Dinosaurs, co-composed the original soundtrack for the game. Now he’s back with an all new rendition, blending hints of classic Technōs groove with subtle, catchy, and cohesive tunes we think you’ll love.
Lionetti was also a subcontracted composer on the original soundtrack with Mauer and Rich “Distasterpeace” Vreeland. Dino confirmed the updated via Twitter as well.
now it can be told: i spent the last few months working on a new soundtrack for river city ransom underground, and now it’s out.
— ✨✈ (@cheapdinosaurs) November 16, 2017
To celebrate both the holidays and the update to the game, River City Ransom: Underground will be on sale at 50% off on Steam until this coming Monday, the 20th. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, you can now do so on the cheap and check out the brand new chiptune soundtrack by Dino!
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Chip Music, Game Music
Tiny Barbarian DX Releases Chiptune Soundtrack Compilation
The 2D hack n’ slash action platformer Tiny Barbarian DX is seeing the music for all four of it’s episodes released in one large chiptune compilation, courtesy of Materia Collective and the game’s composer, Jeff Ball (Mass Effect 3, Monkey Island 2: Special Edition).
With the recent update that added Episodes 3 and 4 to the main game, Tiny Barbarian DX is now officially complete with bonus zones included and 2-player co-op added to the final build. As such, Materia Collective and Jeff Ball teamed up to release an album consisting of all of the music from the game in a massive 76-track compilation album of 8-bit chiptune goodness.
“Tiny Barbarian DX was the first time I tackled a large scale chiptune soundtrack. It was a rush to channel all the nostalgia from old NES games like Mega Man and Castlevania into a project like this.” – Jeff Ball,Composer
The Tiny Barbarian DX: The Ultimate Chiptune Compilation is available for purchase now on Bandcamp, iTunes and streaming on Spotify.
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