Browsing Tag

Chiptune

Wrap yourself up in nasir mf.’s latest exhilaratingly illusory single, twine

Posted on 31 August 2023

After contorting genres to his creative whim and distorting soundscapes beyond previously conceived limits while still maintaining exhilarating earworm appeal, the Brooklyn-based independent artist and DJ, nasir mf., arrived at the epiphany that music is as boundless as the artist orchestrating it. His latest single, twine, is the ultimate manifestation of his limitlessness.

By evading the hallmarks of the perfect pop track and arriving at a far more decadently illusory sonic place via his experimentalism, nasir mf. created a portal of hyper-surreal escapism with twine. The chiptune-EDM-pop amalgam twists with every progressive turn to ensure your senses are electrifyingly heightened while you’re experiencing the ambient melodicism evolve into hardstyle momentum.

This is far from the first time we’ve found ourselves obsessed about the Brooklyn icon’s ingenuity, and something tells us he’s got plenty left in the tank to arrest us with.

twine hit the airwaves on August 22; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jazz meets chiptune in Samuel Weaver’s latest score, Saviour Complex

Posted on 28 August 2023

With touches of House of Fun by the Madness grooving through the polyphonic funk of the jazz & chiptune amalgam, the UK-based artist Samuel Weaver concocted a superfluously ingenuity-driven score for the standout single in his debut album, Telechora!

Hitting play on Saviour Complex may be moderately akin to an acid trip due to the artist’s tendency to delve into sonic novelty despite his discernible composition and instrumental talents, but the euphoria-instilled vibrancy of the soundscape will lift you higher than any tab of acid ever could.

Given that intellectualism oozes from every progression, especially when the dissonance of sufferers with saviour complexes starts to manifest in the funk, at 17 years old, the composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has the music industry at his prodigal feet.

Saviour Complex charged in on its white knight syndrome on August 19th; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kilabear sang the blasé trap blues in his melodic hit, IDC

Posted on 3 August 2023

The 18-year-old Baltimore-born Gettysburg, PA-raised rap artist, Kilabear, has proven to be one of the most dynamic trap artists in the game since he started releasing his music in 2019. Whether he’s creating adrenalizing high-octane hook-filled hits or getting mellow with his euphonically polyphonic keys & synths, one thing remains a constant – his determination to make each of his projects visceral and emotion-driven.

His standout single, IDC, from his 2022 LP, 101, is an immersive synthesis of blissfully toned chiptune melodies and honeyed harmonies arranged in a sharp killer cadence. While Kilabear signs the blasé trap blues, he invites his listener into a world of escapism, which stems from his tendency to use music as an outlet and sanctuary.

After losing his dad when he was two years old and being passed from domestic pillar to post as his family contended with financial issues, he’s experienced the extreme lows that give him a razor-sharp sense of resonant empathy, which is just one of the reasons why his fans can’t get enough of his relatable, raw, and melancholic tracks.

Stream & purchase IDC on Apple Music or add the track to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Break the day the right way with SnoZ’s tranquillity transcending electronica score, Morning

Posted on 10 July 2023

Finding the perfect balance between tranquillity and enlivening energy, SnoZ scored the ultimate playlist staple to spin when you want to break the day the right way; your morning commutes will never be the same again.

The transcendent tones and ambient textures elevate the vibrantly strident tempo in ‘Morning’, which features on the three-track single, Day, allowing the instrumental soundscape to unravel as the ultimate soundtrack to your transition from exploring your subconscious to embracing waking reality.

The innovation in the chiptune/house crossover in the mix is the ultimate testament to SnoZ’s originality. It’s only a matter of time before his tracks are at the front and centre of editorial electronica playlists.

Morning is available to stream on Spotify. For more ways to listen, visit the artist’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Escape down the rabbit hole with In Search Of’s symphonic rock opera single, Tea Party

Posted on 10 July 2023

If you thought that Tim Burton’s take on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland was surreal, brace yourself before going down the rabbit hole with the chiptune/symphonic rock opera of an LP, Alice and the Wonderland, by the aural eccentrics, In Search Of.

With symphonic scores that stampede in the same vein as FalKKonE, hyper pop hooks and a little bit of honkytonk flair for good measure, the standout single, Tea Party, is pure exhilarant insanity.

The Tale of In Search Of becomes all the more endearing upon learning the LA-hailing duo is a father and daughter duo, comprising Michael Raitzin and his daughter, Michelle Ray, who has accumulated over 3.5 million streams on Spotify with her velveteen vocal lines and ability to spin a story so viscerally that In Search Of reach the pinnacle of escapism music.

In our dystopic new reality where madness is a sure sign of sanity, there has never been a better time to jump on the hype of the peddlers of obscurity, In Search Of.

Stream the debut LP from In Search Of on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sean Grinsell rocks psych and blues into his intense symphonic single, Rogue.

Posted on 31 July 2021
Sean Grinsell

Up and coming artist Sean Grinsell rocked psych and blues into his upcoming experimental single, Rogue. The doomy, scuzzy track carries the intense symphonic feel of FalKKonE along with licks of frenetic rock n roll that make the Black Keys sound as tame as Maroon 5.

The dramatic and edgy instrumental score is absorbing from start to finish; midway through the extended single, there’s a switch to chiptune style electronica before Grinsell shows his 50s rock n roll stripes once more. Any true fan of artful aural experimentalism will want to experience Rogue for themselves.

Rogue is the first song of five to be released from the EP, R is for Redemption, due for release on all major platforms from August 20th, 2021.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chiptune meets classical in Mr. Tyler Larson’s Flight of the Bumble Bee (Arcade Version)

Posted on 16 July 2021

Rimsky-Korsakov’s original score, Flight of the Bumble Bee, was imagined for a full symphonic orchestra; Mr. Tyler Larson inventively reimagined it through arcade sounds and vintage synths.

In this unexpected collision of chiptune and classical, the flurrying notes swathe you in 80s nostalgia while the dizzying pace of the intermittent bleeps leaves you utterly arrested. I have heard Flight of the Bumble Bee covered many times before, but this theatrically digital rendition is easily one of the most inventive.

Flight of the Bumble Bee (Arcade Version) released on July 1st. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tremantis – Better Think 2wice: Angsty Electronic Alt-Rock

Posted on 24 April 2021

Any fans of Fidlar’s angstily playful garage indie rock style will want to get acquainted with Tremantis’ electronic alt-rock track, ‘Better Think 2wice’.

With elements of Beastie Boys-style hip-hop-infused into the mix along with Mindless Self Indulgence-Esque synth-driven breakdowns and 8-bit chiptune influences, Better Think 2wice is for anyone who wants to hear nothing but unadulterated expression in their alt-rock tracks.

The LA-based powerhouse formed in 2017; since then, they’ve racked up 400k streams on their most popular bluesy indie track, ‘Hey Me’, and there’s plenty more in the pipeline. Tremantis will be releasing a new track every month throughout 2021 and something tells me that you’ll want them on your radar for their live dates.

Better Think 2wice is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fake-Bit Rebel gave chiptune the melodic touch in their latest indie single, ‘Stolen Summer’.

Posted on 15 April 2021

Chiptune may not be your first choice of genre to delve into when looking for melodic and evocative tracks, but Fake-Bit Rebel with their latest single, ‘Stolen Summer’, may be set to change that.

Behind the choppy full-bodied lo-fi guitar, you’ll hear the indistinguishable beeps and boops which could only have transpired from 8-bit. When the two seemingly contrasting textures merge under the indie power-pop vocals, Stolen Summer becomes a track worth holding a lighter in the air for. Remember when that was a thing?

Given the track title, you can guess what Stolen Summer lyrically tackles, but what it doesn’t do is warn you how hard it hits emotionally. To give you an idea, it parallels what you’ll feel if you hit play on Third Eye Blind or Taking Back Sunday.

Stolen Summer is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Explord Leaves Us Wanting ‘More’

Posted on 26 February 2021

Busting out of Missouri, the US Midwest isn’t perhaps the first place you think of as the home of kicking glitchhop, but here with ‘More’ presaging his new EP ‘Exposure’, composer/producer Logan S – a.k.a. Explord – has pretty much knocked it out of the park.

Dubsteppy, dark in places yet chilled and laid-back, ‘More’s sparsely instrumented with an excellent repeated female vocal motif and reverb-soaked drums punctuating the sequenced electronica. It sounds in moments like an old-school chiptune piece, or maybe incidental music from 90’s arcade games; think Ridge Racer or Outrun, rain-soaked streets and night-time neon mixed with the Glitch Mob, Pegboard Lights, or KOAN Sound.

You can check out ‘More’, and Explord’s new EP, on Spotify, or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes