Melt away that winter chill at 8static on February 9th!! This month we will bring you four amazing performers; all debuting new material live at this show!!
Scene chameleon, Doomcloud, may perform under many different monikers, but this time he will be completely redefining an existing one! Presenting his live debut of all-live hardware, NES dance music, you could almost call this Doomcloud 2.0! Don’t let the name or platform change interrupt your perception of what will be an amazing groove session as we close out the night in style!
Local legend, Ro-Bear, will be bring us some all-new jams this time. Known for producing some of the most elegant and lyrical music on the Gameboy, we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us this show!
Ricky Brugal may be a new name to 8static, but he definitely isn’t a new face. Performing twice before in the past under Da Pantz, Ricky Brugal will making his 8static debut not only with a change in names, but also in style! His musical autobiography has changed pace to reflect his true-life experience and we look forward to seeing his performance!
Philadelphia’s Cutman may be better known for his chiptune and VGM remix work as Dj CUTMAN, but at this show he will be debuting his set of all-original music for the first time at 8static! Don’t be late as he will be opening the performance with his new jams!
Coming all the out from Seattle, we welcome demoscene player, Guybrush on visuals!! Formerly of Northern Dragons demo group, we are honored to have him make his east coast performance debut at 8static!! Aside from visuals, Guybrush will also be hosting our workshop, giving us a demoscene rundown and some examples of his work!
Our after-party upstairs at The Institute Bar down the block will be a special performance by, Dj CUTMAN, temporarily suspending his hiatus to hang with us!! Also don’t forget, as an 8static patron your bill will be 10% off!
Admission will be a sliding scale of $7-$10 & doors are at 7pm. Those that support 8static with a $10 admission fee will receive a special sticker exclusive to this month’s show! Spread the word and get your friends to join us at another amazing 8static at PhilaMOCA!!!
Can’t make it out to Philly? Listen to the live stream on Arecibo Radio and experience the show as it happens!
The lists of the best NES and Gameboy soundtracks are filled with familiar hits from Megaman, Zelda and Metroid. But there were a lot of less-than-stellar games for these systems that had some killer music. Here’s some amazing 8-bit songs you might have never heard.
Journey To Sillius
Journey to Sillius was originally going to be a Terminator video game but somehow Sunsoft lost the liscence and slapped a generic Sci-Fi story on this super tough platform run-and-gun game. Sunsoft gets two games on the top of the list for the same reason: Killer bass! While the triangle wave bass sound is one of the defining sounds of the NES, it also lacks character and punch of more modern synthesizer basses. While the DPCM channel on the NES normally plays tiny drum samples, that’s not all it can do.
The composers of Journey To Sillius loaded up beefy synth samples and used the noise channel to make drums. That gives these songs a lot more punch than your standard NES song. The added static from these 1-bit crushed samples actually adds to the power of these tunes.
To be fair, this soundtrack has gotten some recognition, it breaks the top 100, 300 and even top 20 on some lists, but I think it should be much higher. Check out the mind-blowing echoing part around 2:12 too!
Gimmick!
Gimmick is another Sunsoft entry to the NES line of games from 1992. Its happy, bouncy tunes are propelled along by awesome slap bass and crunchy samples that set it apart from other NES songs with their subtle bass parts. This game has got to have the busiest DPCM channels of any game out there. If you listen carefully you’ll notice that in some songs drum samples are playing in between bass samples. The resulting full sound never got the recognition it deserverd, probably mostly due to the fact that the game came out so late in the NES’s development cycle.
M.C. Kids
An annoying thing from the 90’s was that there was a video game that game out for every product imaginable. Every Saturday morning cartoon, soda, action figure collection got their own second-rate NES game. McDonalds didn’t want to be left out so they released M.C. Kids. It was basically a Super Mario 3 clone and brought little innovation or excitement. It’s graphics were also pretty weak. All that said though, this track is one of the most catchy things I’ve heard on the NES. The way they use the triangle bass is just great! I am warning you right now, if you listen to this song more than twice, it will be in your head for weeks. You may even awake from a sudden daze sitting in McDonalds with a Big Mac in your hand and have no idea how you got there. True story.
Turok
The Turok franchise started up around the N64 days around 1997. The Gameboy games had some amazing music. This Asian-infused little groove is really great. It’s hard to imagine this song sounding any better with modern instrumentation.
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
Conquest of the Crystal Palace was a hard-as-Blaster-Master platformer filled with weird characters (Dogs wearing Samurai armor) and impossible jumps. It’s one of those games that’s hard even if you use save states to cheat! The first level, however, has some of the most memorable Asian-influenced music you’ll ever hear on the NES. It’s got some great drum work too.
S-11
Released by Sunsoft and Paragon 5 in 2001, S-11 boasts some of the most amazing music for the Gameboy Color. You’re ears will have a hard time accepting that you’re only listening to 4 simultaneous sounds here.
Uncle Fester’s Quest
This super whacky Adams Family game might not have been the best game ever, but it had some killer music. This track uses the sampled bass trick that Sunsoft later perfected. You gotta respect that gritty bass sound and head banging beat. It’s very hard to make anything that truly rocks on the NES but this hits the spot. The interior “3d” areas of the game also have some of the creepiest music you’ll ever hear. I remember being on the edge of my seat exploring dark empty hallways, expecting something to jump out at me.
This is by no means a complete list. Post in the comments the long-lost gems that I might have left out.
Beatscribe is a full time indie composer, musician and writer. By day he creates soundtracks for various mobile gaming companies, by night creates megaman-inspired chiptunes, in the afternoons he drinks tea. Check out his latest releases, tutorials and retro ruminations at www.beatscribe.com.
Megman recently celebrated his 25th birthday, but he probably wouldn’t have made it past 2 years of age if it weren’t for one important game; Megaman II. Most lists put Megaman II near the top of best Nintendo games of all time. For me, it’s definitely number one. Of the myriad of Nintendo games I played as a kid, none of them impacted me as much as Mega Man II. If you haven’t played this game, I plan to convince you to get an emulator or pick up the cartridge and check it out.
The Developers Were Passionate About Megaman II
There’s an interesting story around the development of Megaman II. Megaman I was financially a bomb. Capcom was ready to give up on the blue bomber and move on to other projects. However, the team that made the original Megaman didn’t want to give up. They decided to spend their own time developing the game, improving the graphics and making more music for it. They put in 20 hour days and completed the game in about four months. This type of dedication and passion is exhausting but often leads to enduring products. Megaman II simply exudes this kind of commitment to quality.
I think this is something that gets lost so often today in games. Arbitrary deadlines cause people to give up their vision to get something out there to start making a quick buck. In the end, passion and creativity sell a lot more than dropping your game in the holiday season.
It’s Hard, But Not Too Hard
Crazy cliffhanger moments like this made Megman II pretty addicting.
Megaman II is the first game I can remember that really made me tense up. In airman’s level there are some moments where you have to make blind jumps into the void and hope one of those big robo heads is going to appear under you. Once you land, the robo head starts launching an attack. This section of the game still gives me that feeling all these years later. It wasn’t until much later 3D games came out that I ever got a sense of vertigo or physical tension from being on the edge of a platform or taking a crazy blind jump. All this said, the game is never so hard that you want to throw the controller across the room, a common reaction to NES games.
It Has Depth
The premise of Megaman is not that different than many other games like Contra or even Super Mario Brothers. You run, avoid things, shoot robots, hop on platforms, etc. It’s nothing new, but the way it’s all put together is truly ingenius. The underwater sections require special diligence since gravity is altered there.
At this moment, I realized just how much thought went into the weapons in this game. .
I think the thing that stands out the most to me about the depth is the weapons. You can play through the whole game with the default blaster and it’s enjoyable. But the game gives you liberal weapon refills when you start using the other tools you earn from each boss. Play through the levels in the right order and you’ll have tools to take shortcuts, get extra powers or take out enemy bots before they become a threat. Particularly, the seemingly useless bubble gun has such a cool secondary purpose of helping you identify false floors in one of the difficult final stages of the game.
The MUSIC….Oh man, THE MUSIC!!
Megaman II’s music is perhaps some of the best NES music out there. The game’s 21 tracks remixed hundreds of times in varying styles. The catchy tunes were composed by Takashi Tateishi and Manami Matsumae and many would agree that they’re among the most catchy and genre-defining songs of that Nintendo era. The game’s level selecting setup means there’s no “first level” to impress users with. This was common in a lot of NES games, the first level looked awesome and had great sound, but past that, it just became monotonous and musically uninspired. No matter what level you start with, the music is amazing. I’d have to say Flash Man and Quick Man’s levels have some of the best tunes. I’ve heard from many that Dr Wily Stage 1 music is THE best 8-bit song ever.
The songs definitely have a rock music influence to them. I get the feeling these guys were listening to 80’s hair metal guitar solos and trying to convert them into 8-bit blips. The end result doesn’t sound like your average video game track or a heavy rock song but something completely new. It’s hard to believe there’s only four sounds playing at any one time when you listen to these complex and well-composed tunes. I’m always trying to capture those melodic components in my own music.
Megaman II spawned an entire series of successful games, but I don’t think any of them was ever quite as perfect as Megaman II. I strongly suggest you play this excellent game today.
Here’s an awesome song done Coheed and Cambria style based on the Dr Wily Stage 1 Theme music.
Beatscribe is a full time indie composer, musician and writer. By day he creates soundtracks for various mobile gaming companies, by night creates megaman-inspired chiptunes, in the afternoons he drinks tea. Check out his latest releases, tutorials and retro ruminations at www.beatscribe.com.
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MAGFest is infamous for its awesome three day weekend of video game rock concerts, but not quite as well known (and quickly gaining momentum) is the chip music showcase. The showcase ran on the main stage, beginning at noon on both Friday & Saturday of the festival. Many attendees are still in bed hung-over from the night before, leading to a slow build up, but by 2pm the room is filled with chip music fanatics from around the country to curious first-time listeners.
Br1ght Pr1mate – Photo by emfedex
The main goal of the chip music showcase is to increase awareness of the largely underground live chip music scene & develop synergy with the VGM community (many of whom could be lovers of the music and just not realize it yet). The live chip scene isn’t necessarily what it appears from what many see from the online presence, where a lot of misconceptions of the music revolve around it being gimmicky 8-bit versions of popular music to being 8-bit elevator music. The live scene can range from rockstar to rave; from fist pumping to performance art. The MAGFest chip show was curated to showcase that diversity; not only in musical style but also by geographic base of operations. Eight performers were assembled from eight of the main cities that the chip scene is prevalent in to showcase that talent.
Kris Keyser – Photo by emfedex
Another large element of the live chip music scene are live visualists. These people are performers too who don’t just work up a montage of video to play at the show. Using combinations of hacked console hardware, video mixers & computers; they provide a visual experience to accompany & enhance the musical performance & in many cases could be considered collaborators. Four veteran visualists were also invited to perform at MAGFest and showcase their talent on the huge three section screens on stage.
That all being said, the show this year was one of the most polished and highly produced live chip music experiences I have ever seen! A huge stage with the aforementioned video screens & a heavy-duty sound system gave the entire experience a total Rockstar feel! Dino Lionetti, professional sound engineer and co-organizer of Philadelphia’s 4-year running monthly chip music event, 8static, has an expert ear for how to mix live chip sound and was brought in to help make sure this show sounded the best it possibly could!
Cheap Dinosaurs – Photo by Chill Henson
Inverse Phase launched the event at about quarter past noon on Friday. The doors were opened to allow excited fans waiting in the hallways to burst through and catch the “Mr. MAGFest” himself perform. Opening up with “Head Like I/O“, his Commodore 64 cover of the popular nine inch nails song, was a great move! The ominous visuals of Invaderbacca were already setting the mood, perfectly complementing the choice of songs! Waves of people were still entering the room just as the heavy bass lead kicked in (sounding absolutely amazing) and I knew we were in for a great show! Following up with “Atarible Lie” (a POKEY track & one of my personal favorite NIN songs) was pretty much mandatory and thanks to the baddass sound system, I had never heard it sound so good! The rest of his set continued to impress sneaking in a cover of a_rival‘s “8-bit pimp” and ending with fan-favorite, NES version of Cee Lo’s “Fuck You“.
Currently living in Baltimore, Inverse Phase has been a long time supporter of increasing chip-scene awareness amongst the VGM and convention circuits. He uses a hacked version of Soundtracker NG on his laptop to emulate accurately represented characteristics of specific chips such has the 2A03 (NES), POKEY (Atari 800) & SID (C64). Best known for his recent nine inch nails tribute album, “pretty eight machine” he also has written original music for game soundtracks such as “shuttle scuttle” on iOS. Invaderbacca (NYC) uses a circuit-bent NES Console with special-made reactive gloves to provide a unique live visual experience by mixing signals with a “dirty” video feed.
Next up was D&D Sluggers from Wilmington, NC. This hybrid-chip duo is all about maxing their live performance with additional instrumentation by using live guitar and keyboards, vocals (often harmonized) and electronic backup gear including DS & Gameboys! Their music has a very accessible feel that would attract fans beyond either VGM or chip music scenes with danceable funk-rock moments and catchy vocal harmonies. This was their first time at MAGFest and not likely their last! Celebrating his second year, Batsly Adams provided his diverse visual style during their set as seen here during their intense performance of “level up” from their first album.
The duo, comprised of Tim “Soultron” White & Charles-Kirk Dustin Overcash, program their music on LSDJ for Gameboy and Korg DS-10 on DS. Check out their last release, “This Album is a Party” on bandcamp. Batsly Adams is an electrical engineer from Long Island, Batsly has done numerous electronic projects for events such as Blip Festival and regularly performs live visuals using modded hardware such as the Sega Genesis console.
Danimal Cannon is no stranger to MAGFest; debuting his first live chip performance 2 years ago at MAGFest 9, he has played every year since! Danimal is pretty much the ultimate chip/VGM crossover performer due to being a member of staple MAGFest VGM bands Metroid Metal & ArmCannon. This definitely didn’t hurt his popularity and it showed, as by this time the room was bustling with hundreds of both chip scene and Danimal fans! Opening with the title track from his highly successful debut album, “Roots“, he quickly jumped into some much anticipated new material (chronos & rhapsody) from his (at the time) upcoming collaboration with Zef, “Parallel Processing“! The fantastic energy from both Danimal & the crowd, amazing visuals by Pixelseed & the ridiculous stage setup really showcased this man’s talent as a performer. Having seen Danimal perform live more times than he has himself, I can safely say this was one of his best shows! As you can see from these videos one of the key elements about seeing him live is how he often improvises much of the guitar work, making each show a unique experience!
Danimal is from Buffalo, NY and has not only toured with the Protomen and played most major chip music shows on the east coast, including 8static and Rochester Chip, he has also performed at national shows such as Blip Festival and PAX East. Being a skilled guitar soloist he is able to improvise over pre-written LSDJ tracks on his Gameboys. His new material, a collaboration with Zef, shows a heavier influence into industrial and dubstep genres. He also is left-handed. Pixelseed is from Baltimore, MD and was the main force behind Baltimore’s chip show, Byte Nyte. Blending circuit-bent console hardware, mixers and live footage, Pixelseed likes to make more of a statement with his visuals rather than just use abstract imagery.
Crashfaster closed out Friday’s show with a bang. Having a full band on stage is the way to do it too. Live drums and guitar accompany the venerable stage presence of frontman, Morgan Tucker and backup vocalist Keiko Takamura. Performing a mix of new, yet to be released material & originally solo tracks arranged for the band, Crashfaster mesmerized the audience with their trademark vocoder processed-vocals & dark, but hopeful music. Batsly Adams returned with more live visuals. We got to hear the track from their upcoming split-vinyl with The Glowing Stars & a beautifully re-arranged version of “Time” with Keiko on vocals! The show ended appropriately with their cover of party favorite, “Say it ain’t so” by Weezer followed by the grand exodus outside for lunch.
Coming all the way from San Francsico, Crashfaster is a huge part of the west coast chip scene. Morgan is the main organizer of Pulsewave SF & 8bitSF and also composer for Muteki Corporation‘s Dragon Fantasy series. Clearly influenced by industrial & EBM music of the 90s, Morgan has created his own style using MidiNES & various other classic chip hardware . Check out his debut release, “disconnect” on monobomb records!
Saturday opened with one of the most energetic performers in the chip music scene, Kris Keyser from Hoboken, NJ. Kris has been a mainstay of the NYC scene and wins the hearts of every audience I have seen him play to. Using only a single Gameboy with LSDJ, Kris puts on a solo show like no other via pure energy and charisma! Famous for his energetic dancing, jump kicks, spins and unplugging his Gameboy in the process, (something that did not happen this show!) Kris Keyser did not disappoint!
As of this time, Kris still hasn’t released his new album, but many of us are excited for that moment. Until then enjoy the few tracks he’s released on bandcamp or this compilation of live performances. Long time collaborator, Batsly Adams, provided accompanying genesis visuals during his set. This was a great wakeup call for the audience flowing into the room as Kris’s amazing, melodic dance jams spread energy throughout the crowd. By the time he played his final song, “Only“, the entire crowd was pumped up, leaving us all wont for more!
More would be delivered by Boston’s inimitable Br1ght Pr1mate! This dynamic duo, fresh off the release of their fantastic “Night Animals” album delivered a solid mix of album tracks like “SOURCE CODE” & “Hibernate“, a cover of Disasterpeace’s “Adventure (from Fez) and a new unreleased song! The visuals by Invaderbacca changed with the mood, something diverse in Br1ght Pr1mate’s music; a hybrid of sultry female vocals and LSDJ. After welcoming guest, Mega Ran and collaborating on a song together along with longtime friend Rekcahdam, they finished out their set with one of my favorite songs, “Hypnotized“!
James & Lydia, also organizers of Boston8bit, have released several albums to date. The success of “Night Animals” being a testament to three years of developing songs and high production values. Lydia’s powerful voice is proof that vocals can be done well in chip music if done right and doesn’t necessarily need to to limit the complexity of the music; as demonstrated by some incredible instrumental arrangements and breakdowns! Their fantastic stage chemistry & dynamic sense of style coupled with their professional live performance execution has catapulted them into the spotlight, transcending the fringes of the chip scene. Never afraid to experiment across genres and platforms, we should continue to see great things in the future from the Primates.
What happened next was one of those magic moments we all hope to see at live shows. The show was 15 minutes ahead of schedule and, after quickly rallying Paul and Roger, we were treated to a surprise Chipocrite set with drum accompaniment by Reckahdam!! These two had never collaborated previously, but being highly skilled live musicians they were able to signal each other while performing to play a pretty amazing mini-set! Pixelseed even managed to get live visuals going after the first song as they performed fan-favorite, “Mr. Knight is in the Building” with live drums for the first time ever!
Rekcahdam played a drum solo while Chipocrite loaded his final song, “Little Computer People“, part of the soundtrack for upcoming indie game, Dragon Runner! The result was pure magic and the looks on everyone’s faces was absolutely priceless! People walking past the room were poking their heads in to check out what was happening and the crowd doubled in size over the next 15 minutes! Both these guys currently live near Richmond, VA so we can hope for future collaborations between these two. In the meantime check out Chipocrite’s debut album, “Hit & Run“.
After that Madness, established composer and long-time MAGFest celebrity, Virt took the stage! Accompanied by CODA, Virt played his trademark, upbeat and funky brand of chiptune both playing love keyboard accompaniment! Virt’s music tends to have an epic soundtrack feel to it and the crowd adored it. The pair up was perfect for the show as it added a more jammy feel to the performance which heightened the audience’s enthusiasm!
Pixelseed’s glitchy backgrounds with old 50’s footage reels blended in was a great juxtaposition to Virt’s positive dance grooves. Coming all the way from LA, it’s always a treat to get to see Virt perform out on the east coast. CODA was a fantastic pair up as well, something maybe we will see more of in the future…
The moment many had been waiting for had come, Cheap Dinosaurs was the final set of the show and favorite of many. Many of the Shizz had gathered near front for their dance pit to form and many others had flocked to see these giants play. Philadelphia chip scene’s, Cheap Dinosaurs are a cerebral, psychedelic, progressive rock group that tap into that sense of wonder that even the most jaded still have buried within; as evidenced by the giddy looks of many around. The music is what I can best describe as the magical realism soundtrack of life.
Dino Lionetti, previously of Chromelodeon (a VGM pioneer), began Cheap Dinosaurs solo in 2008 and slowly began to add members to flesh out the sound. Currently comprised of Animal Style (guitar), Chipocrite (bass), an0va (guitar), Bucky (drums), Dan Tarng (guitar) & Dino (keys); this was one or the rare times that all six current members of the group were assembled, making this performance even more special!! They began the set with Shizz favorite, “Stroll” and rolled into several of their newer songs like “Thirteen” and “Johnny 5” before playing the classic “Tagalog” with new freakout segment in the middle!
NO CARRIER‘s amazing visuals are always perfect for these guys and he honestly should be considered the seventh member of the band (later honored by providing visuals for special guest Yuzo Koshiro!). Cheap Dinosaurs only played one cover this time, not of Koshiro’s “beatnik on a ship” from streets of rage as many would expect, but the ominously beautiful “Crisis” from obscure, Japanese game, YU-NO. They finished their set by playing a couple newer songs, “Miami” & one of my personal favorites, the extremely unusual, timing mind-fuck “2w3nty“.
Overall the show was a huge success, everyone who performed was fantastic. This was definitely the best chip show MAGFest has had yet! While there wasn’t enough time for everyone significant in the scene to play it was definitely a lineup that celebrated the diversity in the chip music scene that I hope will get more people interested who weren’t already.
Check out more videos on Chip Music Chronicle;
documenting the live chip music scene since 2010!
Are you are interested in experiencing more live chip music in person? Check out 8static, philadelphia’s monthly chip music event; held the second saturday each month. Keep up to date with future 8static shows at: http://8static.com
If you were also at the show or enjoyed this recap, please share your experience or feelings in the comments below!
Admission will be a sliding scale of $7-$10 & doors are at 7pm. Those that support 8static with a $10 admission fee will receive a special sticker exclusive to this month’s show! Spread the word and get your friends to join us at another amazing 8static at PhilaMOCA!!!
Can’t make it out to Philly? Listen to the live stream on Arecibo Radio and experience the show as it happens!
