Category Archives: MIXES

CHIPTUNE, CONVENTIONS, DANCE MUSIC, EVENTS, Features, FESTIVALS, GAME MUSIC, GAMING, MIXES, MUSIC, VIDEOS

Dj CUTMAN’s MAGFest 2014 Recap

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MAGFest, for the uninitiated, is the best place on the planet. It’s an acronym for Music and Gaming Festival, held just outside of Washington, DC in Maryland. It’s the largest festival in the world that focuses on video game inspired bands and musicians.

This year was my fifth consecutive year attending MAGFest. The music directors offered me an incredible opportunity; to forego my usual hour-long DJ set to program up my own three hour electronic music event on the main stage. For months we bounced ideas back and forth, ultimately landing on a modern spin on a classic format, the DJ Battle.

The battle format is simple enough, each DJ sets up their  equipment beforehand and creates a short set that exemplifies their style. While this format has existed in hiphop for decades, it’s rarely seen in Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and had never been attempted in the video game music community. With the help of my record label, GameChops, I combed through the MAGFest DJ applicants to create an ensemble lineup that would best represent the diversity of EDM / VGM performers.

Benjamin Briggs – Electro house producer with a tendency towards chiptunes. Streams video games on Twitch.tv and takes fan-requests for remixes.
bLiNd – Video game trance remixer with pumping beats and exceptional mixes, bLiNd has been producing for sixteen years.
Grimecraft – Futuristic trap and bass music producer and a video game developer for Square Enix
Flexstyle – Overclocked Remixer who’s contributed to countless projects on OCRemix
Totentanz – World-touring DJ of hardstyle with a classical video game influence.
Dj CUTMAN – That’s me.

Video Game DJ Battle at MAGfest
Video Game DJ Battle at MAGfest final poster design

So I had found the DJs, but preparation didn’t end there. I reached out to renown comic artist Thor Thorvaldson to create illustrated versions of each DJ in the style of a Mega Man character. I used Thor’s artwork to create a quick design like a fighting game’s Character Select screen. There was an incredible response to our artwork, so I adapted it into the poster design you see here. We printed a limited run and hung them up around MAGFest the day of the show.

Taking inspiration from the Chiptune community, which features live circuit-bent visuals, I reached out to Baltimore-based Pixel Seed to create live visuals for each DJ.

Pixel Seed's live visual rig
Pixel Seed’s live visual rig

I sent him Thor’s artwork, along with Soundcloud links for each performer. The day of the show, he came backstage with a suitcase. When he opened it up, I was in awe. Video mixers, a hacked nintendo, custom controllers and feedback monitors  were meticulously arranged in this unsuspecting container. He threw up up on a table, plugged in his powercord and the entire rig illuminated.

As the DJ battle approached, my heart pounded through my chest. Thankfully,  MAGFest has a brilliant stage-manager affectionally referred to as “Angel” and an on-point security team who kept everything running smoothly. With low-light and a restless crowd, we hooked up all six DJs.

DJs set up for the Video Game DJ Battle
Dj CUTMAN, bLiNd, Ben Briggs, Grimecraft, Totentanz and Flexstyle set up their rigs with help from the stage-hands.

Pixel Seed was hooked into the massive 31ft projector screen, testing his glittering visuals and super-imposing Thor’s artwork. We had only a few minutes to perform what I call the “DJ Soundcheck”, where everyone gets about ten seconds of sound while the crowd cheered and egged us on to begin. Once we were all sound-checked, Pixel Seed was in position, we all went back stage to get ready to roll.

Once the Video Game DJ Battle began, it was a flash. bLiNd performed with guest MC A_Rival, a talented rapper and veteran remixer from San Francisco. Grimecraft also brought some surprises, a character MC known as DJ Dr Wily, 50 inflatable dolphins, and an eight foot long Orca whale were unleashed on the crowd. The DJ battle was streamed live on Twitch.tv, but during the night the convention center’s network crashed and the stream was cut off. Thanks to Will Strouse and Robert Swackhamer of 8BitX Radio Network, we were able to recover nearly all the footage and upload it to YouTube.

The Video Game DJ Battle ended up being the highest attended event of MAGFest 2014, with 2,200 attendees at the concert and over 1,500 people streaming on Twitch.

Watch the entire Video Game DJ Battle from MAGFest 2014

Each DJ uploaded a clean “studio” version of their set onto Soundcloud for posterity.

MAGFest is a hive of positive energy, from their 24-hour a day free-play arcade, to the multitude of blogs and game studios covering the event, doing interviews, and producing content in and around MAGFest. I was happy to see my Philly friends from J1 Studios conducting interviews of some of the GameChops members and other radical personalities attending MAGFest.

One of the beautiful things about MAGFest is it straddles the line between all-out 4-day long party, and a serious reflective space for those who choose to dedicate their life to the things that they love. I had an opportunity to talk candidly with a young radio DJ by the name of Game Boy about my experiences running a label and putting together the DJ battle.

Lastly, I have an archived version of the four GameChops’ DJs battle sets recorded live, complete with the tremendous energy of the room.

Thanks for reading my recap, Let me know what you think in the comments!

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, FUSION, GAME MUSIC, GAMING, MIXES, MUSIC, RETRO GAMES

A Video Game Music Tribute Field Trip …or, A Review of Joshua Morse’s Indie B-Side, Vol. 1

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Joshua Morse's Indie B-Side Vol 1Joshua Morse takes us on a half hour sonic romp through virtual worlds with his album Indie B-Side, Vol. 1. A tribute to the indie games and composers who originally created these tracks, this album is full of thoughtful, as well as delightful, reinterpretations sure to please anyone who’s either listening to these arrangements for the first time or who might be familiar with the originals.

The album opens up with “Onward Via Rotation,” an homage to the 2D platforming game FEZ, with music composed by Disasterpeace. Referencing FEZ’s “Adventure,” Morse’s choice to open with this song was a fantastic decision. With its added funky grooves and beats, “Onward Via Rotation” makes you feel as if you’re flying above the horizon, peeking through layers of clouds to the land beneath you. Before I cheated and looked to the bottom of the page to see which game the song came from, I really did feel as if I were embarking upon a listening adventure; the track starts off quickly, with lots of energy, and after a series of encounters with additional layers of synths, gradually slows down, granting the listener a dose of blissful release and satisfaction in the song’s smooth ending.

Ranging from playful riffs to more serious tributes, this album truly showcases Morse’s talent as a composer, as he adds his own unique flair to songs from virtually every genre. For instance, the title of the fifth song “Packaging and Shipping,” is an apt name for this fun reimagining of Melvin’s Madness from the game Cardboard Box Assembler. “Healing Places,” the sixth song of the collection, is a beautiful tribute to “EliasPalace,” from online game La Tale. The song remains relatively simple and slow throughout, but with the sweeping sounds of strings and echoes of quivering piano synths, the emotional punch is huge. Hopefully my readers won’t hate me for this next reference, but it brought to my mind the anime adaptation(s) of the visual novel Kanon, particularly the song “Last Regrets.” (I challenge anyone who thinks I’m crazy to listen to both and compare, then get back to me)

Admittedly, I’d only ever heard of a handful of these games before listening, and the rest were completely foreign to me. But while I may have missed out on the nostalgic attachment that a more experienced gamer might have brought to the songs, the songs that Morse picked were striking and evocative. As I continued to listen to them, over and over again, I found myself becoming increasingly hooked. It was like the aural equivalent of going to a craft brewery, getting a 2 oz. sampling glass of various kinds of beers, and then going home with a eight-pack of all my favorites. Except instead of beer, I’ll have to buy and play all of these games now! This album is only volume 1 of what is sure to be many more tribute compilations to various indie games, and I can’t wait to see what more awaits us in the future.

Intrigued? Hungry for more? Just want some beer? (if yes, grab some, then come back and listen) You can learn more about Joshua Morse and his music by checking out his website, Facebook page, and bandcamp.

ALBUMS, DANCE MUSIC, Features, GAME MUSIC, MIXES, MUSIC

Triple Triad: BOOSTER PACK Delayed, Grimecraft to Join GameChops Roster

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Triple Triad: Booster Pack delayed The Final Fantasy follow up album to Mykah’s Triple Triad,
“Booster Pack” has been delayed.  It contains more remixes from Final Fantasy VI, VII and VIII by other GameChops artists, including edits and alternate mixes by Mykah

Originally planned for release on August 6th via Loudr.fm, the album has been pushed back to incorporate new remixes by Boston based DJ and electronic musician Grimecraft.

Those who attended PAX-East this year had the opportunity to catch a secret DJ set between Grimecraft and the mysterious Dj Dr Wily in the MAGFest JamSpace. Grimecraft’s potion of the set is embedded below.

 

While it’s never fun to hear about an exciting new album getting delayed, the folks at GameChops have been working hard this summer and have already released a tremendous amount of new music. Stay tuned to this blog, or follow GameChops on Facebook and Twitter for updates. I’ll leave you with this gif from PAX-East:

ALBUMS, MIXES

Of Atoms and Stardust (Remix) by Auxcide ~ A Lost in the Music Review

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TC

Compilation albums rock. Through them, you gain exposure to other musicians and genre’s that you may not have heard of. OCReMix is wonderful at that as I have discovered several different genres and artist through them. It is because of OCReMix I have discovered my love for rock game covers, as well as classical piano work. Another example of a great compilation album is the remix version of one of Auxcide’s earlier albums, Of Atoms and Stardust, which I will be looking at today.

Before getting into the review itself, I would like to first commend Auxcide in using a Gameboy while making the album. Using a 20 some odd year old console to make music, and make it sound good is quite a talent, and this isn’t just limited to Auxcide. There are plenty of artists out there who use the Gameboy as an instrument which gives the old brick a new lease on life. I commend these artists for utilizing an important piece of gaming history in new ways.

Reading up on Of Atoms and Stardust, I can appreciate the love and kindness that went into these remixes. The performers here didn’t just remix the songs for fun, they did it to show appreciation to Auxcide’s first album, which is an example of how close knit the indie music scene can be.

So how is this album? It is a solid remix project. The artists keep it safe which can be a mixed blessing. They keep the music simple, but it lacks innovation. I do believe they didn’t try to innovate because they wouldn’t want to overshadow Auxcide’s original album, while commendable, does in the end make it sound somewhat average. Don’t get em wrong, the album is great, but it is also sadly predictable.

I never had a chance to listen to the original Of Atoms and Stardust as I came across Auxcide through word of mouth, but listening to this remix album makes me want to listen to the original. Also, it is because of this remix album that I would like to listen to the other chiptune artists on this album and check out their work.

Should you purchase this album? Even though they played it safe, I would still say yes as the album exposes you to new chip artists. These guys are good, and if they start experimenting more, then they could be great.

You can find Of Atoms and Stardust (Remix) on Auxcide’s Bandcamp page.

This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.