A_Rival

• Chip Music

  PAX East 2010: JamSpace Chiptune Concert Recap

  March 30, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 5 Comments Share this PAX East 2010: JamSpace Chiptune Concert Recap

  

  As one might expect, there were plenty of games to play and panels to attend this weekend at PAX East. But  for attendees with an insatiable appetite for live music, the JamSpace was most definitely the place to be. Organized by Dom Cerquetti and the rest of his crew from MAGFest, JamSpace acted as both the perfect hangout spot and an awesome concert setting. Throughout the weekend, a large variety of musicians pro and amateur alike grabbed instruments and took the stage, playing everything from chipmusic to videogame music jam sessions and original compositions. Even one of PAX East’s musicial guests, The Protomen, took time out to rock the JamSpace stage. But the main reason I hung around, as you may have already guessed, was the chiptune concerts that took place on Saturday and Sunday.

  Read on for our full recap of everything chiptune that went down at PAX East.

  (more…)

• Chip Music

  Throw Your Hands Up High: A_Rival’s ‘8-Bit Pimp’ now on sale

  March 15, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 4 Comments Share this Throw Your Hands Up High: A_Rival’s ‘8-Bit Pimp’ now on sale

  

  Of all the performers in the worldwide chipmusic scene, very few can match the flair and spectacle of San Francisco’s chip-hop king, A_Rival (aka Wave Theory, AE, Planet Skill, etc). In his latest album, 8-Bit Pimp, Rival stages a 2A03-powered assault on your ear drums, spitting rapid-fire rhymes with impeccable cadence atop some of the dopest 8-bit beats you’ve ever heard. And while I’ve never been a huge fan of chipmusic that defaults to videogames as a unifying theme, jams like ‘Cybernetic Mariachi’ and ‘Show Me Girl’ tell entertaining and humorous stories while showcasing a masterful mix of chip sounds, guitars, synth and vocals. The production quality is top-notch and so are the rhymes; an exceptional release that West Coast chip fans can take pride in.

  If you’re just hearing Rival’s stuff for the first time and you’re not going to be at PAX East later this month, you’re missing out, as this fella puts on one heck of live show. Fortunately, 8-Bit Pimp should give you a pretty solid idea of the fresh sound A_Rival brings to the stage. And if you were at MAGFest this year, you can join me in interjecting with that bad-ass Colossus roar during the title track’s chorus. I’m telling you, that meme never gets old.

  Available at: A_Rival’s Bandcamp page

• Game Music

  MAGFest 8: Night 3 (Feat. A_Rival and The Smash Brothers!)

  January 4, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this MAGFest 8: Night 3 (Feat. A_Rival and The Smash Brothers!)

  

  I can’t believe four days and three nights have already come and gone. MAGFest has been a blast. We’ve heard numerous amazing performances from a variety of bands, played a bunch of awesome games with friends and strangers alike (Super Bomberman and Typing of the Dead, I’m looking at you!), and reconnected with old friends and made new ones. MAGFest is a really amazing experience.

  But for those of you who couldn’t make it out, you’re likely wondering what the last evening of concerts here at MAGFest held. It was a great roster last night with The Megas, Entertainment System, A_Rival, and the act I was looking forward to the most: The Smash Brothers, a band featuring Jake Kaufman, Sean “Ailsean” Stone, and many other guys that we like a whole lot.

  So, did the final evening’s show close out MAGFest on a high note? Not quite, but more about that after the jump in our review of MAGFest 8 Night 3! (more…)

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