Full disclosure: I can’t write this review and try to hide my bias. The fact is I share some similarities to Jay Tholen. Tholen is a chiptune artist, a man who appreciates the waveforms of the 8-bit era. Though I don’t make that music, I too appreciate it.
Jay Tholen is also pretty serious about his Christian faith. And though I am, perhaps, less expressive or devout, I share the basic tenets of faith expressed by Mr. Tholen.
I didn’t even realize Tholen had a serious stance on faith/spirituality until the album “Control Me” was released last week (via Russian label Ubiktune). I had known of his previous work thanks to the Songs For the Cure project, and I recognize that he’s a respected artist in the chiptune community. That he would write an album whose music is so niche but whose lyrics belong somewhere between an art house and a Christian radio station…? I couldn’t have dreamt up such a combination.
If you’re willing to read along, though, I think you’ll see why this album can appeal to anyone that likes chiptune music: Christian, atheist, indifferent, or of a different religious tradition entirely. We’ll cover the music and the lyrics in-depth after the jump. (more…)
