Tag Archives: 9bit

DDRKirby(ISQ) – The Ecstasy of Life [Interview]

Long time chiptune artist, DDRKirby(ISQ) gives us his first full album: The Ecstasy of Life. This massive 21-track album is packed with delightful chiptune dance hits and lush, introspective  and features remixes by Flexstyle, WillRock, johnfn, dekune, and EL. Continue reading DDRKirby(ISQ) – The Ecstasy of Life [Interview]

halc & Miearth: When Late Becomes Early

When Late Becomes Early

I enjoy Chiptunes. From Anamanaguchi’s work to Jake Kaufman to the crew over Chiptunes = Win, Chiptunes are a great music genre and like dubstep there are good and bad examples of the genre. halc is an example of an artist who knows how the genre works. Today on Lost in the Music, I will be taking a listen to halc and Miearth’s latest album, When Late Becomes Early.

I feel if music makes you think, then it is doing its job and doing it well. I enjoy it when an album has you become more introspective, thinking about life and the universe. Although the answers I get aren’t what I am looking for, the journey to find the answer is fulfilling. That is what halc and Miearth did with When Late Becomes Early. It has me think, but it also tells a story in its way. The music seems to be something out of a cyberpunk story, except the main character is an average salaryman, not some angst filled hero, bent on toppling some corrupt corporation or government.

When Late Becomes Early does what I feel many Chiptune artist omit from their work and that is making the music atmospheric. Don’t get me wrong, groups like Anamanaguchi and Jake Kaufman are fantastic at their craft, but they don’t have me feel as if I am in the music. With them, I am merely experiencing it while halc and Miearth, draw me into the music. They have me feel as if I am drawn into this cyberpunk world.

It is rare that i get drawn into an album in such a way. While other artists have me visualize a story, it is rare for me to feel as if I am part of the actual world. The last time this has happened was back in 2003 when I first heard the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Through Howard Shore’s work, I felt I was actually in Middle Earth. Ten years later halc would provide the same feeling. 

That is the mark of a great artist.

I have said that in the past that there have been individual songs that have brought me into the world that the artists have made, but that is it. With When Late Becomes Early, it was the entire album that made me feel apart of the world, not just a single song.

Is When the late Becomes Early worth picking up? Yes it is. When the Late Becomes Early is a great album to pick up. halc and Miearth did a fantastic job with this album, successfully weaving both Chiptune and Dubstep together. Very few artists can do that without making the song sound like a distorted mess, but halc is talented enough to know how to make the songs mesh and make them sound good.

I know there are people out there who are getting tired of Chiptunes, but before they give up on the entire genre, I would like to suggest that they give this album a listen to. It draws you into the world and has you become lost within the music.

You can find When the Late Becomes Early over at Bandcamp. I strongly suggest you pick it up.

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

Also, Dj CUTMAN has an IndieGoGo campaign going on now for some sweet GameChops Merch. Donate for some awesome gear from GameChops.

Tutorial: Pick Apart a Gameboy Song with an Emulator / Recreate in LSDJ: Metroid II Return of Samus

It's not the perfect sequel to the original, but it's a solid and atmospheric game that continued the traditions of Metroid.
It’s not the perfect sequel to the original, but it’s a solid and atmospheric game that continued the traditions of Metroid.

The Metroid series is known for its awesome music. I think I fell in love with NES music after hearing the Brinstar theme for the first time. I’ve also never been so terrified as the first time I entered a Chozo Room area and heard that creepy, alien noise start playing. It only got better as time went on; Super Metroid and Metroid Prime are two of the most amazing game soundtracks ever.

Metroid II: Return of Samus, for the most part, does not measure up to the rest of the series. However, it does have an AWESOME song in the first area. Surface of  SR388 is one of the most uplifting and exciting songs I’ve ever hard on the Gameboy.

I decided I’d try my hand at building it in LSDJ just to get a handle on how it was composed. This video will walk you though it if you’d like to give it a shot. You’ll learn a lot of core concepts of LSDJ in the process. This video isn’t meant to be a full blown tutorial but it will help you look at the composing element of creating music with the Gameboy.

Sadly, the rest of Metroid II has pretty irritating music. I get that they wanted to make erie alien noises but most of it is just annoying screeches and random bits of music that just get annoying. Even with its faults, though, this is one of the best Gameboy games out there. I think it feels more alien and claustrophobic than the other Metroid titles due to the limited palette and graphics on the Gameboy.

BeatScribeFaceBeatscribe 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.

Fancy Jacket Weather

A bit late on this post, but this season is just getting started. I released a new mix recently, a progressive set of chiptune, trap, electro and house music. I thought of the changing weather, starting out the mix with hot tracks from the end of summer, gradulating moving up in tempo and down in energy. It kind of reminds me of the cold fronts of air blowing in. Some of the chiptune tracks are from none other than Brandon L Hood’s Chiptunes=WIN compilations, which I mastered, so I had the good fortune of working with the uncompressed tracks. Truth be told, the Electric Children and Skip Cloud tracks contained within this mix are exclusive, i remastered them to specificly suit their place in the mix.

Fancy Jacket Weather is downloadable on Soundcloud and streamable on Mixcloud. Remember to follow if you have an account.

Time to bust out your favorite coat, it’s Fancy Jacket Weather.

Stream on Mixcloud |
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