Founded in 2012, GameChops has become the world’s largest video game remix label. GameChops was started by Chris Davidson, a.k.a. Dj CUTMAN, in an effort to create a platform for licensed video game remixes.
Continue reading Label Spotlight: GameChops – Video Game Remixes
Cosmo Canyon is the new single from GameChops. It features a collaboration between Grimecraft and Dj CUTMAN. Download it now from iTunes and Loudr.
Cutman tells us a bit about his experience with the song:
I wrote this song on my Game Boy while I was visiting in Germany several years ago. I sat in a public park around sunset and something reminded me of the scene from Final Fantasy VII, so I programmed it on my LSDj cart.
I hadn’t recorded the song until recently. Grimecraft and I were Skyping one day, and I had my Gameboy in front of me and was toying around with another idea. I decided to load up my old save file and when he heard it, he asked me to send it to him. I recorded each channel separately, warped it in Ableton, and send him the project file. Over the next few weeks, we put together the single. If you download it from Loudr, you’ll get a recording of the original Gameboy chiptune.
Download Cosmo Canyon
Download on Loudr
Download on iTunes
Follow Dj CUTMAN
djcutman.com
twitter.com/videogamedj
facebook.com/djcutman
soundcloud.com/djcutman
Follow Grimecraft
grimecraft.com
twitter.com/grimecraft
facebook.com/grimecraft
soundcloud.com/grimecraft
Six DJs, all leaders in their genre, will battle it out on the MAGFest main stage. Each DJ will be granted 25 minutes to showcase the best of what their style has to offer, all while incorporating the best music from video games. The winner will be forever remembered as a Video Game DJ Champion.
Show starts at midnight. Doors open at 11:30PM on Friday Night. All ages, MAGfest badge is required for entry. Register at MAGfest.org
– – – THE DJs – – –
Dj CUTMAN – Chiptune
First up is the original video game DJ, and founder of the GameChops game music record label. After a year of touring the continent, Dj CUTMAN returns to MAGFest to bring you the best in chiptunes and video game music.
bLiNd – Trance
A veteran trance and house producer, bLiNd has been contributing to the VGM remix scene since 2002. He is hailed as one of the best video game remixers of all time.
Ben Briggs – Electro
Ben is a powerhouse producer, releasing over 10 albums in only three years. Taking inspiration from chiptune video game music, he wields the funkiest soundfonts and dirtiest basslines.
Grimecraft – Future Bass
From a digital world beyond your monitor, Grimecraft will twist your insides with body moving bass music. Don’t let your guard down, his meticulous made melodies will strike feels into the heart of even the coldest robot.
Flexstyle – Drum n Bass
Mind-bending energy and flexibility is what Flexstyle brings to the table. He’s an OverClocked ReMix producer who’s contributed to epic projects like Balance and Ruin and BadAss: Boss Themes.
DJ Totentanz – Hard Dance
The world-touring hard dance DJ stations herself between Philadelphia and Berlin. Never without a gig, Totentanz is an arsenal of hardsyle, hard dance and hardcore music.
– – – VISUALS – – –
Live 8-bit and circuit bent visuals by Pixel Seed.
Sponsored by GameChops, the video game remix label.
Nearly a year of work, dozens of mixes, a handful of awkward titles and here we are. MeowMeow & BowWow a Link’s Awakening tribute written and produced by Spamtron and myself.
What can I say that hasn’t been said on our Bandcamp, press release, or Facebook page… This album was both a challenge and wonderful fun to work on. Spamtron is an incredible composer and I began to love his covers of the Link’s Awakening OST almost more than the originals. The level of detail and commitment in his programming is astounding, it was nothing short of a delight to mix. The medleys he programming in Sword Search and The Woods are so fluid, I almost don’t notice when he transitions the source material.
Certain songs, like Ballad of the Wind Fish, were a serious challenge. This is a very emotional track in the game, a repeating motif that serves as both congratulations for completing a dungeon and the heartbreaking finale of the story. Spamtron re-wrote this song three times, in an effort to capture the subtly and emotion of original. I went through nine distinct mixes of the ballad before the version that made it on the album.
I created a mini-game within the album’s music, playing off the title. Hidden in each song on the album is a Meow and a Woof. This was my attempt at personifying the NPCs Madam MeowMeow and BowWow (her “dog”). These samples can be heard clearly on the introduction of Mabe Village. Can you find Madam MeowMeow and BowWow in each track?
This album went through a very serious mixing and mastering process. At the beginning of August (when Spamtron and I had believed the album was done) I found myself researching some of the most technical areas of sound engineering. I made discoveries that blew my mind, so much that I purchased new plug-ins and re-mixed every track in MeowMeow & BowWow. For the sound engineers out there, I discovered the benefits of linear-phase EQ, 32-bit floating-point renders and the limitations of mixing at 44.1khz.
The excitement culminated last weekend at our release party, 8-Bit Lounge, held at the historic PhilaMOCA, originally owned by world-renown music producer Diplo. To extend some of the celebration online, I’m selling the remaining commemorative badges from the event, each containing a download of the album thats set to last ten years.
The album is available on music.GameChops.com, streaming it its entirety on YouTube, and will be available soon on iTunes and Loudr. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience working on MeowMeow & BowWow. This album serves as a spiritual successor to Bagu and the Riverman, the Zelda II tribute Spamtron and I completed in 2011, which later became the seed for The Triforce of Bass, our first #1 album on Bandcamp.
I hope you enjoy MeowMeow & BowWow as much as we enjoyed making it. And to anyone who buys the album or shares it with their friends, thank you for your support. This would not be possible without you.
>B]
