Chipmusic

Chip Music, Reviews

NES Classics Revived In Style: Shnabubula’s NES Jams (Review)

April 1, 2012 | Taylor Brown | Comments Off on NES Classics Revived In Style: Shnabubula’s NES Jams (Review) Share this

Many know the name Shnabubula. His virtuosic piano skills coupled with his talent for chip music have been explored in the past in releases such as Free Play and Game Genie, respectively. Now the two come together in NES Jams. This album’s story picks up immediately where Game Genie’s leaves off. A young boy, Tommy, has just defeated his Game Genie, and in its place is a mysterious NES cartridge. Upon placing it in his NES, something wondrous occurs; the message “PREPARE TO JAM” appears and Tommy approaches his brother’s keyboard. Suddenly, the game and his fingers begin to play music together! Now, this is just a brief summation of the album’s story; the real beauty is the album itself.

Join us on an aural tour through the album’s 11 tracks after the jump. (more…)
Chip Music

Noisewaves Debut EP Now Available On Pterodactyl Squad

May 31, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | Comments Off on Noisewaves Debut EP Now Available On Pterodactyl Squad Share this

Michigan-based chip/post-rock duo Noisewaves are making a strong first impression with their debut EP, recently released for free on chiptune netlabel Pterodactyl Squad. Combining the NES’s 2A03 sound chip with soaring guitars and ambience, Noisewaves’ hybrid sound swells with tender euphoria. Highly recommended to anyone who has ever spent an evening sitting in an empty room listening to Do Make Say Think and Explosions in the Sky (I know I have).

Download: Noisewaves – Self-Titled

Also Recommended: Depreciation Guild • Failotron • Anamanaguchi
Chip Music

Animal Style Goes Deep Sea Diving In a Sega Genesis

April 19, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 1 Comment Share this

No matter what instruments or chipsets he uses, Philadelphia’s Joey Mariano (aka Animal Style) always manages to craft catchy, funk-flavored tunes in a style that’s uniquely his own. Earlier this year, he released Teletime, an album composed entirely using NES sound font and sold briefly in the form of actual functioning NES cartridges. Now, Mariano expands his repertoire once more with Trenchvent, a brand-new EP that explores the murky depths of the Sega Genesis’ YM2612 sound chip.

The album contains 5 tracks of crunchy FM synth goodness and is available free via New York netlabel 8bitpeoples. Check the video below to see Joey explain how he went about producing the album using the Genesis hardware.

Download: Animal Style – Trenchvent (8BP)
Chip Music, Featured

OSV’s Top 5 Chipmusic Albums of 2009

February 18, 2010 | Joshua Kopstein | 10 Comments Share this OSV’s Top 5 Chipmusic Albums of 2009

A lot of people have been calling 2009 chipmusic’s biggest year ever. With the growing success of Blip Festival, the sudden blossoming of scenes in cities across the United States and a small but noticeable infiltration into mainstream and indie music, 2010 could be the year that truly takes chipmusic to the next level, both in terms of implementation and mainstream appeal. Whether or not this will be entirely a good thing, we can’t rightly say. But what we can do is give you a rundown of our favorite chipmusic releases from 2009.

Hit the jump and join us as we list some of the year’s most notable chiptune albums. (more…)