2014 was a great year for Chiptune music. Here’s two epic mixes spanning almost four hours of new chiptune music. First is by Gameboy legend Henry Homesweet with his Essential Chip Mix 2014.
Next is my This Week in Chiptune New Years Blowout mix! It’s nearly two hours of my favorite tracks and remixes I’ve played on TWiC:
This is a mixtape of pinball chiptune remixes I put together for a big pinball charity event in Brooklyn, Pinball Pinsgiving for Hurricane Sandy relief! The chiptunes were recorded from a collection of pinball machines, but unfortunately the raw recordings had no metadata, so I don’t know what machines these samples are from. A bunch of helpful pinball fans (and redditors :) have contributed the name of some of the tracks in the Soundcloud comments. If you can pick any of the machines out, please take a moment to post in the comments!
If you liked this mix, why not download an album,
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I recently had the oppertunity to create a unique mix for Complex Magazine’s Video Game section. Following their E3 coverage, Complex was looking for a way to showcase the classic chiptune video game sound. Being the old school hiphop head that I am, I rounded up some of the best mashup artists who had worked with my GameChops instrumentals.
With guys like OhhhREALY and BigGanga0 from YouTube, and DJ PsyQ from Soundcloud, and some beats DJ Grumble and I put together, I set off on a hectic week of mixing, mashing, and mastering. The end result can be heard right here on Complex magazine.
I hope you enjoy the mixtape! I’ve been wanting to do something like this for ages, and I’m happy I finally got the opportunity from Complex.
Instrumental versions of the mash-up tracks can be downloaded on my album GameChops Vol. 1
2/12/12 will mark the release of the next chapter in the ChipTuneMusic saga, which began almost two years ago. Chiptopia serves to be a new chapter in this musical journey, so let’s take a moment to reflect the past two volumes.
ChipTuneMusic is a free dj mix series by Dj CUTMAN, highlighting some of the best chiptune and chipmusic songs from around the world. The first installment, Sounds From 20XX, served as a primer for the world of fun, upbeat chiptune music. Featuing artists from the funk-oriented Mr Spastic, up through dance music marvels such as FantomenK, Sounds From 20XX was based on the breakthrough live shows of a young Cutman in upstate New York. The mix landed him a spot at Otakon 2010, which at the time was his largest show, with an attendance of almost 3,000.
Second in the series was Dubtropolis, released shortly after the Otakon performance in August 2010. It was the dawn of a new era for electronic dance music, a genre called Dubstep was just starting to crack the surface of America. Skrillex had just released his first EP via MySpace and, to most, the style was still unknown. Dubstep influence had penetrated Chiptune communities, and a wealth of dubby chipmusic fueled the production of a new mix from Cutman. Dubtropolis was a clear juxtaposition from 20XX, defined by syncopated wobbles, harsh bass and dripping atmosphere. With a focus on artists adept at creating space in their songs, tracks like Smiletron‘s Gemini and Superspink‘s Robot City set the tone, while ahead-of-their-game producers like Mizuki’s Last Chance blasted through with cutting edge dubstep and chiptune sounds.
Dubtropolis was a particularly significant mix, as it marked an era of collaboration between Cutman and other DJs. Underground dubstep and tech house DJ Doctor Z brought his unmistakable sound mixing talents in the form of a minimix. Doctor Z drew influence from Cutman’s track selection, and created a gritty and atmospheric interlude for Dubtropolis.
Next tuesday, Chiptopia will be released. As the third Volume in the series, it serves to provide yet another view of the world of ChipTuneMusic. Inspired by the place where Cutman first began producing electronic music; a town of infinite venues, shows, and opportunity known as Ithaca, New York.
“When I first came to Ithaca, it was unlike any place I had ever been before. There was music everywhere, nearly every venue and restaurant had a stage, there were performers on every street corner, in every gazebo. No matter where you went, there was new and different live music to be heard.”
Drawing from life experience and a wealth of Creative Commons music from composers around the world, Chiptopia is shaping up to be a promising new addition to Cutman’s repertoire.
