209

(16 replies, posted in General Discussion)

n00bstar wrote:

Chiptune labels aren't record labels really.

I think the only reason to release on a label is that /some/ of them apply a certain level of quality control on what they release, so your music doesn't get lost in a sea of shitty releases. That's not true of all labels however. Your music stands a marginally better chance of being discovered by random people if it's on a label that's well known, but that's not exactly verifiable data.

Otherwise, I think the "promotion" part is utter bullshit. 99% of labels will make a facebook post, a CMO post, a twitter post, and maybe a small youtube video for your release. Beyond that, nothing that exciting. All of these things, you can do by yourself in a matter of minutes. You can make your own print-on-demand CDs on Kunaki. You can manage your own Bandcamp page. You can spam your releases on every freaking chiptune facebook groups, etc etc.

In a way, chiptune labels have adapted to what chiptune artists are: hobbyists. They don't "sign" you up on a proper release contract, with schedules and budgets and whatnot. They "hire" any old chap who calls himself a "mastering engineer" and pay him 20$ to put your song through one of Ozone's preset. It's a very mom and pop affaire, because there's no need for anything more serious because 99% of the scene is composed of people who are doing it for fun. Nobody makes a decent living out of chiptune albums, and that's not going to change anytime soon.

So... to answer the original quesiton: any label will accept submissions even when they say they don't. If your demo is short enough and easy to access online, they're always going to at least scroll through the songs quickly. If your stuff is stellar, you'll get a positive answer. Just remember that your shit needs to stand out from the rest. Stay humble when you get rejected.

My advice however, is to DIY the shit out of it and release on your own. Make your presence known. Collaborate with people. Be part of the scene. Spam the groups. Be active. That's way more promotion than you'll ever get from any netlabel.

Yeah, good points. I've given up on sending my minimal stuff to chip labels, and may even give up on sending it to non-chip labels.. it just doesn't seem marketable in its current state. I'll just keep releasing it quietly on bandcamp for now; that way I can make it as repetitive and long-form as I want, without someone at a label telling me I need to edit my tracks.
It seems fitting with the aesthetic to have a minimalist release format as well. Uploaded to bandcamp, posted on facebook, maybe posted here but that's about it.
Anyway, my youtube videos have had more plays than my albums.. maybe that's the way forward for this stuff..?

On the other hand, I've been in contact with Perelandra for my main Pselodux project, and while they're small, they're very responsive and provide just the right amount of feedback I need. I'm currently working on a super complex prog album for them, hopefully done by the end of the year big_smile

210

(329 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

There's also a basic diagram on the nanoloop site. I think oliver also said that due to this version being mono, it can output a sync pulse on one channel of the audio out.. That'd be very handy for PO sync!

Actually, I wonder if it's possible, then, to put a sync pulse on the audio out *and* the link port, to use it as a master for two devices without a splitter..?

211

(329 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

yikes

I am irrationally excited

this is gonna make such an impact on the chip scene, at least I hope so

that sync box is adorable! Would be great to sync more than two copies of nanoloop.

I really don't understand the point of it.. if you have to essentially implement a tap tempo feature in order to actually process a sync pulse, isn't that inconvenient/inefficient?

I'm actually kinda tempted to just get rid of the op-1 and maybe get something with real MIDI in/out like the Novation Circuit. As good as the op-1 is for lazy couch sound design sessions, it's really not very convenient to use with other devices, without a laptop in between..

It's a conspiracy!

Nope, nanoloop only supports half-speed sync as master (according to the manual anyway, I haven't tried nanoloop as slave!).

If only the OP-1 supported sync *input*.. it's got the mic input, I don't see how it couldn't be implemented!

Nice one!

Apparently, the new beta OP-1 OS supports pocket operator sync via the headphone out (sync pulse goes to tip of plug). Unfortunately though, it's that silly half-step sync scheme (seriously why did anyone ever think this was a good idea)..

Wellll, if I wanted to do something like that I'd just use my monomachine big_smile
The point of nanoloop for me is being able to tweak a sequence/sound design on the fly—chucking it into a sampler can have its own tweakability but not in the same way imo!

But yeah, this thread inspired me to get the DS out again and bust out some 1x nanoloop 2.7 jams big_smile

ah yeah cool, I didn't even really think of using the pi as a host but that might be a good idea.

My current project is to make a replica of the nanoloop sequencer (and synthesis engine, to a certain extent) in pd.. so really I probably won't have to sync nanoloop to anything.. especially since I'm becoming better at using nanoloop 2 by itself or synced with another copy.

Good stuff! I've conceded defeat here and have decided to go for a raspberry pi based solution. The pi can re-route USB-MIDI connections via terminal commands; granted I haven't actually tested to see if it works, but if it doesn't, I've been playing around in pd for a couple of months and think I might be able to come up with a more robust solution.. plus maybe include some sequencing magic for the op-1 big_smile

bitpusher2600 wrote:

Nanoloop on iOS is fantastic and worth way more than its cost (in my opinion) for making all sorts of different styles of electronic music once you learn the many ins and outs of the software and realize just how much you can really do

Interesting. I feel this way about nanoloop 2; with it I've managed to make stuff that sounds like it was made on high-end digital synths. My nanoloop tracks sit nicely in a playlist with my monomachine tracks—in fact, the few times I've synced the two, it's been difficult to tell which machine is which.

woo!

222

(329 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

GLOOMS wrote:

Lol noyzbot he means to sync analog ! tongue not to another gba . We just gotta wait for that prime mono cart . Then cross sync with some 2.7.9 and we got a deadly arsenal of sync !

nah, I did also mean 2x nanoloop sync!

but yes, nanoloop mono is gonna be amazing. 2x nanoloop 2 synced with 1x nanoloop mono with a reverb send on the mixer, yesss time for some wicked minimal acid

DS Lite is pretty much the same as the original DS, from my experience (not much). The only minor issue with the DS Lite is that the GBA cart sticks out the bottom rather than sitting flush like on the original. It's a shame, because other than that (and the lack of a link port, of course), the Lite is perfect.

224

(329 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

yeah 2.0.1 seems cool (that was the 8 channel one, right?) but without sync it's not much use!