Tag Archives: MUSIC

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, GAMING, MUSIC

Friday Freakout: Yoann Turpin’s Rhythm ‘N’ Bits = FUNKALICIOUS

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I’ve said this before and I’m gonna say it again now:  one of my favorite things about chipmusic is how an *AWESOME* artist that I’ve never  heard of before can come out of nowhere with a *STELLAR*  release  and *COMPLETELY*  blow my mind. Today’s Friday Freakout artist does this yet again for me and in a *SPECTACULAR*  fashion:

Rhythm ‘N’ Bits

by Yoann Turpin

This Ubiktune release (that alone  should tell you something!!) is jammed full of funky  goodness with 19 tracks of mind blowing, hip moving, baby making AWWWW YEEEAAAH!  Yoann describes his fantastical release quite accurately as, “…the meeting of Chiptune with Funk, RnB and Epic Themes!!” While there’s a goodly amount of EPIC  in the chipscene, both funk and R&B are largely underrepresented genres. This release most definitely  helps fill that void and in a damn powerful way!  The overall level of musicianship displayed by Yoann on this album, along with the very high production value of it, is frighteningly amazing; even for the talent rich chipscene full of stand-out releases and artists, this one stands out like a 100 story unicorn made of disco balls and laser beams and EXPLOSIONS and sexy. 8)

There’s a bit more going on with the theme of this album than meets the eye as well. According to Dmitry at Ubiktune, “Rhythm’n’Bits is a tribute to the video game soundtracks that had a big impact on Yoann as a child. Yoann captured this fascinating music in this album, inspired by the RPGs from the 90’s as well as Sega Mega Drive and Super NES games.” Dmitry goes on to explain, “The story told with the album is about the gamer he (Yoann) was and still is. In every track, Yoann tried to show that chiptune has not aged and can be considered a contemporary medium or instrument.”

Snag this FUNKALICIOUS  album on iTunes, Bandcamp, or Amazon.mp3 (the latter currently having the lowest price for purchase in the states, as Yoann hails from France!). EASILY  worth the purchase price to obtain these EXCELLENT  jams, although if not you can always stream it at Bandcamp or Ubiktune. Whatever you have to do, GET THIS GOODNESS IN YOUR EARHOLES.  It’ll do your mind, body, heart, and  soul a world of good. Funk is magical like that. 8)

\m|♥|m/

CHIPTUNE, MUSIC

Ubiktune – Equilibrium

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I stumbled upon this album by way of Brandon L Hood and the Chiptunes=WIN facebook group, and I’m still in awe. Released in April of 2011 by netlabel Ubiktune, Equilibrium is a multiple artist comp of soothing, chilled out NES chiptune, unlike anything else I’ve heard. Original Sound Version writes:

“Equilibrium features 9 talented NES chip music artists, including FearofDark, Rushjet as well as surasshu who together create a soothing soundscape of tranquility, peace and a melodic balance inspired by the sea side and docks of Japan. The songs are ripe with inspiration and full of atmosphere, making use of ingenious sound effects to create a setting rarely heard from chiptunes, let alone NES based.”

Download from Equilibrium Ubiktune

ALBUMS, Features, GAME MUSIC, MUSIC

Ben Briggs – Aquarium Park

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I’m pleased to announce two new tracks from GameChops artist Benjamin Briggs. The Diddy Kong Racing champ turns his focus to Sonic the Hedgehog, creating unique remixes that blend multiple sonic tunes together. Both draw inspiration from Aquarium Park from Sonic Colors.

The first track, Trash FM, combines Aquarium Park from Sonic Colors with Hydrocity from Sonic The Hedgehog 3. The result is an electro-house banger unlike Sonic fans have ever heard! The second takes the same Aquarium Park theme and puts a dub spin on it, combining it with Rusty Ruin from Sonic 3D Blast.

These two tracks are part of an ongoing initiative by the team at GameChops to provide legally licensed video game remixes. San Francisco based company Joypad Records has been instrumental in obtaining compulsory licenses from Sega, as well as license from Nintendo for last month’s Triforce of Bass.

Follow Benjamin Briggs on Twitter, Soundcloud, and Facebook. Find more of his music on Bandcamp.

ALBUMS, CHIPTUNE, GAMING, MUSIC

Friday Freakout: *BEAUTIFUL* new Vince Kaichan EP released!!!

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THIS HAS BEEN A CRAZY COUPLE OF CHIPWEEKS. For reasons that I can mention (such as the INSAAAANE 17.5 hour chipmusic broadcast of AWESOME that I co-hosted on Geekbeat LeRadio earlier this week) and reasons that I can’t quite yet (hint: pay close attention to ChipWIN channels in the coming days ;). There’ve been a handful of extraordinarily awesome, completely unheralded chip releases that have contributed to this craziness as well. And boy do I have a damn good example of one of these right here for you:

On Thin Air
by Vince Kaichan

The chippy badass Vince Kaichan, formerly known as VCMG, dropped a 4 track surprise EP of PURE WIN last Friday. It’s a beautiful collection of very lush, atmospheric, ethereal, yet still quite powerful, driving tracks, which all but tell a story without a single word. It’s the way the tracks are composed and sequenced that denote this flow of story; like different movements of a classical piece that interweave together with perfect synergy. The meat of it is definitely “Binary Lake” (LOVE THAT TRACK~~), but the surrounding tracks are not to be overlooked! They’re what set it up so perfectly after all.

The funniest thing about this album is that its existence is due to nothing more than an unfortunate (or maybe fortunate in this case?) accident. To quote Vince’s words from his Bandcamp page, “These tracks happened only because Vince Kaichan was stupid enough to crack his Gameboy screen, rendering him sans-DMG for four weeks.” This EP was crafted with SunVox v1.6.4, Tweakybeat for iPhone, and a Korg Monotron. While I hesitate to wish damage to a viable Gameboy, I’m a bit thankful it happened this time. ;3 Although hopefully enough of you buy this album to see that it gets repaired! ;)

I also find it noteworthy to mention that while I often find EPs tend to be either somewhat lacking or give just enough of a taste to do the job, On Thin Air satisfies just as well as the most well put together full album release. Miss it at your own loss.

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