To be honest I'm not convinced that the majority of people are intelligent/nerdy enough to care whether interesting sounds can be made with old video game consoles...

4mat's right too - I don't think the chipmusic 'scene' has done a very good job at building a credible reputation in the alternative music press (not that that matters right...? I'm still going to listen to Zeta Force and Tree of Knowledge and love every second of it, so fuck the hipsters), and indeed the very fact artists associated with the chipmusic 'scene' rarely collaborate with non-chipmusic artists/labels/promoters/etc. (successful exceptions - Quarta330 on Hyperdub, Bodenstandig 2000 on Rephlex, gwEm on Shitkatapult etc) means this '8bit covers!!' attitude is to be expected.

82

(5 replies, posted in Constructive Criticism)

This is marvellous! I don't know why you posted this in constructive criticism, this is a much more professional track than a lot of renowned chipmusic. The only thing I might say in that regard is that 6.50 *might* be a bit long for some people but I didn't find it repetitive and it's good for mixing, so that doesn't bother me!

I adore 808 State/Drexciya/early Rephlex/R&S/Warp/etc and I feel like this track owes a lot to that kind of early 90s melodic techno. If you're into that style in chipmusic, you should check out Touchboy and dare I say it my own stuff.

83

(8 replies, posted in General Discussion)

chunter wrote:
Saskrotch wrote:

in b4 donna summer tribute comp

COMPO END

Yes!

Can't forget this one though...

INSANE lineup. Have a good one!

85

(97 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

nitro2k01 wrote:
Stevens wrote:

?

It was used in Sega Master System, (in some games) and the NES VRC7 chip is a derivative of it.

Ah! I really should have made myself clear - I meant if any Game Boy cartridges had used the Game Boy's ''fifth sound channel'', though I really like the Blake Stone MIDI music video you posted, hadn't seen/heard that before!

Also didn't know until this post that Lagrange Point wasn't the only game to include the VRC7, if Tiny Toon Adventures did too (despite not actually using it). Strange!

86

(97 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Stevens wrote:

Did any games make use of it?

?

No-one did it like the SNES composers. Wonderfully sad harmonies topped off with creepy early 90s distant harmonica/detuned orchestra hits/flutes/bells/etc.




88

(97 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)

Did any games make use of it?

89

(9 replies, posted in Other Hardware)

akira^8GB wrote:
Xuriik wrote:

There was someone here on the forums with a broken one looking to get it fixed

That was Steve and yeah, he is looking to fix his.

Indeed it was...I've actually ended up ordering another one off Ebay which should be in the post.

I was incredibly lucky with my first one - I impulsively searched 'Philips PMC' and ended up getting one for £14 (p&p included) because the listing was for a 'rare Philips PMC composer', meaning anyone searching for 'PMC100' (its actual name) would have missed it. It was boxed and in mint condition, with the headphones and stickers and everything...then, after using it on some recordings with my band, stuck an adaptor at the wrong polarity through it, and my local repair shop charged me to tinker with it only to give me some vague 'there are too many broken components' excuse, which didn't make sense to me, but whatever.

The 100 sounds are pretty simplistic (though charming in the way that only budget 80s FM gear can be) and would be easily recreated with most basic FM gear from the period. Here's some info someone who claims to have worked for Philips posted on Music Thing

Hi! My name is Bill Hewlett. Interesting to see that people still find my product interesting! I worked for Philips in the Netherlands for may years and I was responsible for this product concept, developing the business and marketing plans and obtaining funding from Philips for this project. It was based on a music cartridge application for MSX home computers (remember them?!) - I was confident that for the same price (99 pound retail) I could develop a complete music composer that would incorporate a cassette recorder for recording data and musical compositions. It was designed by Philips Industrical Design (thanks Gavin!), engineered by Richard Watts Associates (Lindsay was lead engineer) based on a Yamaha FM sound chip, and I had the unit manufactured independently in China. We sold around 50 thousand products worldwide (Spain was a big market) before Philips pulled the plug. Yamaha liked the idea so much they went on to produce a similar (cut-down) product.

I found programming it surprisingly intuitive but it's limited for composition since it's all accompaniment/lead/etc. I used it (and hope to use one again) to record single parts for a nice quick FM flavour. I haven't really explored the tape thing but that would be perfect for a lo-fi FM powered punk band or something.

I love my Philips PMC100. I managed to pick it up very cheaply and in amazing condition. I messed up big time the other day and ran an adaptor through it, at the right voltage...but the wrong polarity. The PMC100 is a kind of strange FM composer with an in-built tape player that one can record onto. Here's a picture (not of mine, but it looks exactly the same):

I've taken it to an electrics place near here but they haven't a clue how to handle one of these. If you do (and preferably are based in the UK - but don't be afraid to chip in if not, I am very keen to find someone who knows about these and I'm willing to look further afield if I have to), then reply to this post, send me a private message or email me at stevenosurname[at]gmail[dot]com.

If you have one of these that you don't want (or don't want as much as me), then I will buy it for a very reasonable price. Again, feel free to get in contact here or via email.

91

(13 replies, posted in Past Events)

Dope as fuck!!

Probably the best chipmusic set I've seen since Syphus at Bleep London back in 2009. Could have listened to Atari classics all night!

Unfortunately I'm not sure I'll be able to stay for very much of it, but since I'm in the area beforehand anyway, I'll be seeing you there!

This is going to be amazing!! E.R.O. is always a top rave up!

There are admittedly loads of 'underrated artist' threads, but - probably because of the language barrier - there seem to be a whole host of really fantastic Japanese chipmusic composers (many using MML...!) who don't get much press in the Western chipmusic community. I'm 95% sure there isn't already a thread on this topic, so it's about time the spotlight went to them.

Lazerbeat is almost certainly the authority on this but to get the ball rolling here are the artists that I was forwarded that inspired me to start this thread:

Tappy - amazing guy who makes tracks for a variety of platforms. I love the one called 'opm_303_not_owned' especially.

Dong - he contributed a track to the wonderful Soundshock FM Funk compilation on Ubiktune; here are some other tracks of his.

If this wasn't on during uni term time...bound to be amazing, hopefully some of the amazing less well known guys who've played recent Cheapbeats will be rocking this!