I thought this may be of interest to some people. I wrote the lead music feature for the February edition of the University of Strathclyde's newspaper on chipmusic. It features some excerpts of interviews with Firebrand Boy, Edward Shallow and Comptroller about the Scottish scene and on chipmusic in general.
Chipmusic: Ditch Your Preconceptions by Garry Lee
Strathclyde Telegraph Newspaper - February 2011
While it’s true that Scotland has an extremely varied and interesting array of bands from the likes of post-rock giants Mogwai to indie-sweethearts Belle & Sebastian, there is a relatively new music scene that demands your attention. Chipmusic (or chiptune) is a method of creating of music using vintage games consoles such as the Nintendo Game Boy or the Commodore 64. While I am using the term ‘scene’, this is a group of individuals defined by an aesthetic and an approach, but not a singular sound. In short, chipmusic has the ability to be all things to all people, and to cater to the fans across a wide range of genres. Scotland has a range of talented artists worth mentioning. Arguably the most successful of all Scottish acts is Philip Cunningham, otherwise known as Firebrand Boy, a former BA Applied Music student from our very own University of Strathclyde. Firebrand Boy is best known for producing high energy, happy and intelligent dance music in songs like Sugar Saviour and Spring Republic, but would be a discredit not to mention his more recent experimental work on the ‘Glasgow EP’ in the vein of artists like Mum and Sufjan Stevens. I caught up with Philip to ask him of his own personal experience with chipmusic: “When I started making this sort of music, I didn’t know of anyone doing the same thing in Scotland. In some respects, I was quite pleasantly oblivious to the context of it all. Having more Scottish based chip musicians has its benefits, though. I remember distributing some Goto80 CDs to local shops in Greenock and Glasgow. A year or so later, there were three avid Goto80 fans talking to me in a pub in Greenock. That pretty much sums up my experience, there are always going to be people, even in small Scottish towns, that our musical niche will appeal to“.
Another notable artist is Edward Shallow. Edward primarily uses a Nintendo Game Boy to create masterfully intricate soundscapes and often combines his live work with visualizations and installation. He is also an advocate of busking and outdoor performance in general as a way of spreading the word about his own music, and about the existence of chipmusic in Scotland. His 2010 album ‘Utter Mess’ really tests the very limits of what one would expect to be possible on a 15+ year old video games console, and appropriately showcases a musical ability well beyond his years. When asked what was different about artists involved in chipmusic in comparison with other genres, he replied “artists actually talk and support each other in chipmusic“. It was apparent from my conversations with Philip and Edward that beyond the music, there is also a sense of community and belonging to something felt by the artists involved.
The last artist I will mention is Michael Cox aka Comptroller. His music is the most accessible of the three artists featured in this article. His commitment to writing melodic music in a myriad of styles aptly showcases his virtuosity with all things chip. He was also the organiser of Ultrachip, the first two-day festival of its kind in Scotland during the Edinburgh Festival. Showcasing 15 acts across Saturday and Sunday, the show was a huge success and has since even led to an online compilation featuring all of the artists that played the festival called ‘Ultrachip vs. Forest Closure’. The album is a 15 track digital download with all proceeds going to The Forest Café, the venue space where the show was held that is sadly facing closure. When asked about the significance of the event, Michael said “I think Ultrachip was significant in that it made the country feel a bit smaller, and made it feel more possible for UK chip artists to unite and come together with a larger goal in mind”. I asked what he would say to convince newcomers to go and listen to these artists for themselves; he said “I’d try to convey the genuine enthusiasm and excitement that the scene and its followers and participants carry, and the range of different styles of music the artists produce. It’s important to get across the fact that it’s not just repetitive bleep-bloop videogame music – there are a range of platforms being used in different ways”.
The mentality of the artists that took part in the festival could be likened to early punk music in the sense that anyone interested in creating chipmusic can be a part of it, and follow-up events like Hard Chips in Aberdeen have featured new artists that have emerged since these types of events have begun to take place. It’s rare to come across a group of artists not in competition with each other, but instead trading ideas, techniques and secrets, and encouraging new participants to play shows.
Over the past five years, there have been many of these artists producing these sounds right under our noses. For fans of dance music, and unusual music in general, I urge you to go to the link below where there has been an online article set up at the Strathclyde Telegraph website featuring streams of the work of all of the artists featured in this article, and links to where you can learn more about chipmusic. It was through my own curiosity that I became involved, and I’ve come across some of the most talented and under-rated composers. Ditch your pre-conceptions. Go experience chipmusic first-hand today.
http://www.firebrandboy.bandcamp.com
http://www.edwardshallow.bandcamp.com
http://www.comptroller.bandcamp.com
