VIDEO: Are you familiar with 8bit music?

Matt Hawkins Contributing Writer, Video Games

You know that guitar, in the back corner of your closest, collecting dust? And that old Game Boy in the bottom of some drawer somewhere? They’re both the same thing: musical instruments.

I believe I’ve mentioned the wonderful world of chiptunes a few times already, but it’s a new year, so why not another? Here we have the latest video from 8 Bit Weapon…

Once again, chiptunes is a classification of music in which hardware that was primarily designed to operate video games, generally the classic stuff, is used as music instruments. Often its performed live on stage, so you basically have dudes rocking out to the sounds of Game Boys, which are stand ins to guitars, drums, etc. Though sometimes, traditional instruments are inserted, to add flavor to the sound.

Not surprisingly, in addition to the audio having a very nostalgic quality, so does everything else that’s attached, especially on the visual level. Here we have yet another music video, from the band Upside Down Cake, and also via Kotaku…

Back to these old game consoles being used as music making machines; these kids, they just don’t go on stage, slapping buttons on their Game Boys. They need specialized tools, like cartridges that taps into the audio producing properties of the device. So in that sense, they simply turn said machines into synthesizers and the like, via custom created software.

But there’s also a good deal of hardware hacking involved. One of the best, and most recent examples, was highlighted by Joystiq a few weeks back. Meet cTrix and his gATARI2600…

What'd you think of this?

Cast My Vote

Other Stories You Might LIke

comment on this story

blog comments powered by Disqus