Tastemakers Magazine
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Remember those countless hours spent trying to collect every single ring in Sonic the Hedgehog? Or the endless musical combinations of Link’s ocarina in The Legend of Zelda? While the pain and frustrations of not being able to complete your Power Stars collection in Super Mario 64 still linger (Curse you, Rainbow Ride level!), another revival of these games is occurring. The music of old school video games is making a comeback and inspiring the sound of indie rock bands today.
8-bit, or chiptune music as it is more regularly called, has seen a spike in popularity in the past few years. What started off as a small group of musicians creating songs using old computer systems has morphed into a scene where live bands play to large crowds of fans. 8-bit music is commonly composed using sound interface device chips (or SID chips) from old video game consoles, such as the Commodore 64 and Atari Video Computer System. The advent of the Internet in the late 1980s and early 90s helped those composing music to connect with each other and expand the genre.
One of the most popular chiptune bands around today, 8-Bit Weapon, formed around 1999. The band started with remixes of old Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System game music, graduating to composition of their own original tunes. Seth Sternberger, primary composer and vocalist for the band recalled, “We needed something to stand out, and the SID chip (from the C64 system) was our answer. Other chips from systems like N.E.S., Atari, Apple II, etc. followed over the years. Our sound was always intended to be more or less a hybrid of 8-bit sounds and other instruments. Though most of the music we’ve been making the last ten years has been mostly chip based, there are drum machines, vintage synthesizers, and even live drums thrown in too.” The band use an impressive array of devices sprawled across the stage including an Atari 2600, midi N.E.S., Game Boys, Apple IIc and a Commodore 64 running customized music software that allows the members to play it live on stage like a piano. More traditional instruments, for instance, guitars, banjo, glockenspiel and vocoder are combined with the technology on stage to create a blend of modern, electronic dance music.
Much of the older technology employed by chiptune bands has either stopped being made or become incredibly expensive. Most musicians are forced to scour eBay for the devices they need to craft new tunes. Bands such as 8-Bit Weapon have been helping with their own contributions to encouraging new composers in the scene. In April 2009 Sony Creative Software released a loop and sample library from the band that is free to download from their website. The loops and samples from old video game devices are made available license/royalty free and are a great starting point for those looking to create their own 8-bit compositions. Creating original music varies greatly from simply remixing old N.E.S. tunes:
“With recording our own music, it’s creating every single note from scratch and building the arrangement as a whole.” explains Sternberger. We may start with an N.E.S. bass line, then record a C64 chord, then add an Apple II lead part, building each layer until the section is complete. A lot more work goes into writing your own music versus mixing someone else’s track.”
“We usually think of what kind of style and pace we want for a new song. Then, we make a scratch drum beat based on the pace and style of song we want to do. We noodle around a bit with different instruments for bass lines and melodies until we get a vibe of something. If we don’t feel some sort of emotional connection to the music, we scrap it and start all over.”
The growth of the genre has been steadily rising since 2000. Video game music has secured a place in popular culture, and scores from The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. are recognizable to a wide audience. Composers of these scores are considered as serious, talented musicians these days, instead of programmers sitting behind a computer screen. Well-regarded classical groups have performed pieces from these games to sold out audiences at large venues. The prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra hosted an evening of music from Final Fantasy at Symphony Hall in October. Tours such as Video Games Live have been developed to reach out to fans across the United States enabling them to see their favorite game scores performed live by an orchestra.
Indie rock has started to embrace 8-bit bands as well. Anamanaguchi, one of the most popular chiptune bands today, have seen a huge surge in popularity in the past two years. The band describe their sound as, “loud, fast music with a hacked N.E.S. from 1985.” The quartet recently opened for indie-pop band Ra Ra Riot in New York City, and have garnered attention from music blogs Pitchfork, La Blogotheque, Stereogum, and publications such as The Onion’s A.V. Club, The Village Voice and The Verge. In the past year they have also been commissioned to write the score for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, based on the popular graphic novel series and subsequent movie.
For Peter Berkman, guitarist for Anamanaguchi, the recording process varied greatly from the usual studio routine. “It was a really different process for us, for the first time really 3 out of 4 of us were writing music. For me though, I just wrote whatever I was feeling first thing and it seemed to work out perfectly, the Scott Pilgrim universe is a perfect match for our music, so it was really easy for me,” Berkman recalled. The soundtrack, released in August, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band, who cite Weezer and The Beach Boys as musical inspirations, have managed to widen their audience from simply fans of gaming to music lovers in general who enjoy their chip-influenced sound.
The embracing of gaming culture by the mainstream has certainly helped bring 8-bit to the attention of audiences who may otherwise never have heard it. 8-Bit Weapon’s Seth Sternberger expresses enthusiasm for the growing popularity of the genre, noting, “It’s a really interesting time to be doing this stuff. It’s the real revenge of the nerds. Nerd interests are now more mainstream, more accepted. It seems like more people are seeking us out than ever before. It’s pretty amazing really!” As chiptune bands become more of a fixture at live shows, you should not be surprised to see an old Super Nintendo system among a group’s gear as they set up on stage.
