The Chiptune Alliance Tour, the biggest chiptune/video game style music event ever to hit the UK is set to rock this month. The tour will feature USK (Japan), Maru (Japan), Sabrepulse (UK) and Calis (Sweden), with additional support from Firebrand Boy and Spheres of Chaos and Henry Homesweet.
23rd September - O’Henrys, Glasgow (with support from Firebrand Boy)
24th September - The Cooperage, Newcastle
25th September - The Cellar, Oxford
26th September - Frog & Parrot, Sheffield (with support from Spheres of Chaos)
27th September - Chinnerys, Southend-on-Sea (with support from Henry Homesweet)
28th September - TJ’s, Newport
29th September - The Hat Factory, Luton
30th September - (Monto) Water Rats, London
If you’re in the UK make sure to get to at least one of these dates and see some of the world’s greatest chiptune talent. For more information, including how to buy tickets, visit myspace.com/chiptunealliance.
VGM netlabel II have just launched with the release of albums by both Norrin Radd and Disasterpeace.
From the site, Norrin Radd’s Melodia di Infinità is “A relentless collection of most of Norrin’s prolific 8-bit work to date, including the infamous 18-minute super medley “Unfinished Symphony , the City Smasher collection, and a handful of brand new chips. Norrin Radd’s first full length release throws the verse/chorus system out the window in favor of a non-stop whirlwind of ever changing melodies and harmonies. These meticulously crafted songs move at a swift pace and demand multiple listens to fully understand and hear all of the intertwining melodies.”
Disasterpeace’s NEUTRALITE is “A story untold in the times of the Warring Nations. This is the narrative of Neutralite, a young hero chosen by elders of
Neutral Town to protect their village from the unfolding conflict between the Plaid and Argyle nations prominent in Atebite and the Warring Nations.”
I was somewhat shocked upon learning today that Rockstar is porting Canis Canem Edit to the Wii and XBox 360. Having never played the game, I am something of a fervent enthusiast of the audio portion of the boarding school sim, called Bully on my side of the pond. Sharing news of Canis Canem Edit: Scholarship Edition’s Winter release and my fanboyish adoration of the game’s original soundtrack with 8bit Hero! seemed only too appropriate, as the title’s music composer Shawn Lee grew up in Wichita, Kansas and currently makes his living in the UK. Mr. Lee shanghai’d my last.fm somewhere around December of last year and I still get unbelievable mileage out of Bully. Check out this audio sample and hear for yourself. You can also read an interview with the composer from January on Square Haven.
It’s looking like I might just enroll in this scholarship edition thingermajig.
One of the VGM scene’s most prolific and creative talents, alex mauer is an artist constantly implementing new and exciting ideas. A brief glance over his website shows the various sound chips he has programmed music for, including chips from the NES, Sega Master System and Commodore 64. Mauer has made releases through 8bitpeoples, II and File Freakout, but perhaps his most impressive project so far is vegavox. Apparently the first music album programmed to a NES cartridge, vegavox can be purchased through Mauer’s website and works like any other NES cart, apart from this one just plays music with tracks selected using an on-screen menu. Another release of note is blast, available at 8bitpeoples. This album uses the concept of creating a soundtrack for an imaginary video game, although tracks are introduced by Alex, using audio recorded during his childhood. Make sure to check this guy out!
If this doesn’t get you all excited for the 4 player insanity, then you can just be the expendable drummer in the 8bit Hero band - just please don’t self combust on our first worldwide tour.
With Singstar potentially being the first PS3 killer app with a release date just round the corner. It was about time that Sony unveiled the track listing for their latest PS2 itteration ‘Singstar 90s’.
By far the most intriguing game in the series so far, it focuses primarily on popular 90s hits such as Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’ and ‘Two Princes’ by the Spin Doctors.
My only problem with the game is, if the PS3 edition of Singstar is to become a iTunes service of sorts, i’m sure it’d be much better to wait until its release and simply purchase the songs for that off the Playstation Network instead.
For those without a PS3 though, you can buy the game from stores in August - shame about the distinct lack of KLF tunes though. Hit the jump for the full on track listing.
Sadly, I myself didn’t get a chance to speak to the legend, but Ellie from GamesIndustry.biz certainly did.
The interview gives us an insight into ‘the now’ with Matsuura, focusing on his future projects as well as opinions on the current musical game ‘boom’ in the west with things like Singstar and Guitar Hero becoming all the rage.
Although he makes a good point that the Japanese have been playing games like these since the nineties, it’s interesting to note that they are mostly in an arcade setting. Sure, they have had Guitar Freaks, Pop’n'Music, Beatmania, Taiko Drum Master etc for a very long time but it isn’t in a home setting which allows things like Guitar Hero to have full length songs instead of having to cut them down to shorter samples to give everyone a fair turn.
Matsuura also says that he believes many modern game studios neglect working with music for the graphics aspect of game development and with the growing loss in CD sales he believes the two will come together in some way as time goes on.
The Gamewave Podcast and VGM Megacast have joined forces to bring the internet the Gamewave Megacast #1! This show is a must-listen for all fans of video game music, combining the “best in original video game style music” with “only the most awesome video game covers”. Join Joe, Mike, Tim and Tony as they discuss UK and American culture and play music from artists such as Anamanaguchi, The Advantage, Ozma, Metroid Metal, Spheres of Chaos and Year 200X. Check out the VGM Megacast site and feed or betamodradio.com.
Named fondly after Mega Man’s flying dog, RushJet1 is a pure chiptune artist, composing works using the 2A03 sound chip. RushJet1 has made two releases so far on the netlabel 8bitpeoples as well as offering a cornucopia of NSF files (the native sound format of the Nintendo Entertainment System) and MP3s through his website. His first release, Sounds of the 2A03, contains eight fast-paced, Konami-inspired chiptunes, written in the MCK and MML languages. His second release, Out There, is a space-themed work with all ten tracks being recorded direct from a NES for total chiptune authenticity. RushJet1 is also an active member of the ever popular forums over at 2A03.org.
The awesome netlabel Mega Twerp have just released their first compilation featuring 17 tracks covering many of the sounds and styles within the VGM scene. If you’re new to the video game music scene this is the perfect place to start, with tracks from loads of great artists. These include Year 200X, Disasterpeace, Temp Sound Solutions and goto80.
“That’s right, it’s offical. We are back, and we are rocking harder than ever. Spanning the many different styles that make up the video game style music scene, this compilation contains 17 tracks that are proper atari and essential to your music collection. And this is just the tip of the Iceberg of what’s to come here at the new Mega Twerp! *urp* ohok bye!”
