Alright there,
So I write this sitting on a German intercity train from Hannover to Frankfurt, gazing out the window at the beautiful German countryside. The sun sets, the full moon rises and I ponder about what I have experienced over the last years, the last weekend, and what is to come. I'm sure people don't really give too much of a shit about what I have to say, but its the internet so I will do it anyway 
The 8bit scene has really changed dramatically over time, we all know it and it indeed why shouldn't it be so? Although my own music style has changed, I still come from the European punk/DIY school of 8bit. We do it how we want, and fuck the industry, everyone is a superstar. I cry little when I see the stories of profit losses from the majors. People told me recently that the 8bit/micromusic time is over in Europe, and though I think they are wrong, in some way I can see what people mean by that. The large organised parties over here have become less certainly, people have moved on in their lives and tastes. But on the other hand I myself continue to play just as many gigs as ever, something which I am very grateful for.
The motivated people of the New York scene brought a very big spark with their Blip Festival and regular 8bit nights. I know from personal experience how hard it is to organise such events, especially with a not-for-profit attitude. For me, the biggest and most draining part of promoting a scene is not the excitement of playing, the creativity of writing new material, nor the technical challenge of building a tracker, but the stress and hard work of organising a night.
Since probably the 2nd Blip Festival in New York, the movement in NYC has taken over from Europe as the main driver of the 8bit scene worldwide. But this has brought changes, good and bad, in the scene. We could talk about that for some time, but theres nothing that needs to be said there now. Instead I've been wondering about what really happened to the scene in Europe.. as I mentioned a moment ago, the number of gigs I play still continues at more or less the same level. Rather than 8bit or the Electroclash parties I used to play at I find myself performing at DIY music nights, nu-raves, punk clubs, and hiphop venues. Usually the nights are in London or Germany and I find myself playing 20-30 shows a year. All this without PR, or managagement.. and I'm not the only one. Something I wake up every morning and am thankful for.
But this is the interesting thing, most people know 8bit now, and understand what it is. Few people are really amazed now by people performing on a Gameboy or mixing on two Ataris. People know that its not purely some nostalgic retro thing, and they accept it for what it is - a fun way to make music. In a way, we won that part of the battle. At the same time, the sounds of 8bit are everywhere, completely assimilated into pop culture.
This weekend I played at a rather large 8bit event in Hannover, Germany. Its certainly the largest purely 8bit night I've played at for a while, and I see other events going on in the UK - Superbyte for example. Could this be the start of a new European wave? I hope so, and I hope to be a part of it.
Certainly Blip signalled a changed in the scene from the old micromusic times, and now its ending will signal another change. I see alot of exciting music and new artists coming and I feel we more than ever have alot to say.
Part of what is missing is some kind of central organisation, but probably we are too big now for that. Micromusic, for its flaws, brought that magical element of community.. quite different from a conventional forum. I miss a really high quality platform for releasing our music. But does that idea of community even make sense any more in the context of the scene and how it is today? An open question, but everyone has a different take on what 8bit is.
What will happen in the future is hard to predict. I myself hope to see more European parties, a diversification of the platforms we use away from a certain handheld console, perhaps some new trackers and who knows, maybe some kind of chiptune-united superlabel.
