Take 8-bit gadgets (old computers, handheld games, Nintendos, etc), record those blips and bleeps, and string ‘em together to make sweet, sweet music — and you’ve got the genre known as bitpop. Or chiptune. Or, simply enough, 8-bit. The bitpop world owes a debt to the original bleepers — krautrockers Kraftwerk — and now a collection of artists repay the debt with a covers compilation called 8-Bit Operators. Great idea, surprisingly awesome in sound. Listen at MySpace. (Start with “Pocket Calculator.”) No surprise that the tracklist features a bunch of Computer World, but there’s earlier stuff, too. Spot the Super Mario sample, and we’ll send you a crate of old NES and Gameboy games. You deserve ‘em.
8-Bit Operators is out 2/6/07 on Astralwerks.
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First post again! Is this a dream? It’s a glorious day!
In Pocket Calculator, isn’t that the noise Mario makes when he spins with the yellow cape on?
spacelab also sounds like it has the noise from the legend of zelda when you are low on hearts.
the sounds generally aren’t recorded from video games (although this might happen occasionally). in most cases the synth engines inside the machines themselves are manipulated either though a homemade process, or a handful of bootleg cartridges (like ‘little sound dj’ for the gameboy).
yeah! this is real, guys!
no crystal castle shit here!
pure 8-bit energy in this marvellous album!..
btw, new chippy track by one of the Operators…
http://stash.alonetone.com/mp3/4192/Bacalao-I_mStillAlive.mp3
yeah! this is real, guys!
no crystal castle shit here!
pure 8-bit energy in this marvellous album!..
btw, new chippy track by one of the Operators…
http://stash.alonetone.com/mp3/4192/Bacalao-I_mStillAlive.mp3