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Category
Chip Music
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Chip Music, Doujin, Featured, Game Music, Indie Music
3rd Annual OSVOSTOTY 2011 Awards: Winners and Runners-Up Announced
The smoke has finally cleared, and we can finally announce our winners and runners-up for our 3rd annual Original Sound Version Original Soundtrack of the Year 2011 Awards. As always, there are a few surprises, and while I know some editors are still passionately clinging to their given favorite, I think that points to the amazing quality and variety of music that was released in 2011. This year in particular saw a number of new franchises and sequels that went in radically different directions, and I think the music accurately reflects this fresh and exploratory direction.
While nearly all of our winners and runners-up are included after the jump, we’re reserving our Composer of the Year award for an individual post that will come at a later date, as we did last year. So don’t freak out when you don’t see the winner of that category announced. Aside from that, enjoy, and please feel free to comment with your top picks for the year, including those that didn’t make our list of nominees.
On that note, I just want to say congratulations to all of our winners and nominees. We had a lot of debate among the staff, even about the list of nominees themselves, again pointing to the caliber of music released this year.
Enjoy! (more…)
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Chip Music, Doujin, Featured, Game Music
3rd Annual OSVOSTOTY Awards: 2011 Nominees Announced
It’s one of the most wonderful times of year here at OSV. With 2011 finally done and wrapped up, we’ve been reflecting on all the amazing music that last year saw, and we’ve been excited to get our list of nominees prepared. It was a tough task as usual (try to get any two people to agree on the best of anything, much less half a dozen people!), but we’re happy with what we’ve come up with. We’ve changed some of the categories from our 2010 awards to reflect the site’s focus on game music throughout 2011, but we hope that you’ll still enjoy some surprises in the list as well.
Join us after the jump for our official OSVOSTOTY (Original Sound Version Original Soundtrack of the Year) Award nominees for 2011, and please feel free to chime in and let us know some of your favorite releases of 2011 as well. Watch for our picks for winner and runner-ups for each category in the coming weeks!
Hit the jump to see this year’s nominees. (more…)
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Chip Music, Game Music
A Soundtrack For Your New Life: SoulEye’s “Adventure”
So there’s this guy, Magnus Pålsson. He’s from Sweden, and he’s pretty excellent. And you probably know of him, even if that name doesn’t look familiar.
His online handle is SoulEye, and he wrote the music for VVVVVV, one of the best chip-ish soundtracks in the past few years, which helped the indie/retro movement explode onto XBL and Steam.
As you might expect, the writer of such awesome music is not content to rest on the laurels of one soundtrack. In “Adventure,” SoulEye offers up a whole mixture of tracks. New original works, music for the soundtrack to rhythm game Pulsen (which includes some reworked VVVVVV themes), new tracks for VVVVVV (2.0 and 3DS exclusive music), B-sides and arrangements he’s had released on other soundtracks, and even some covers of other peoples’ work. It’s all kinds of stuff put into one amazing adventure.
After the jump, you’ll see the best way to almost die and why this music is perfect for that kind of activity. You’ll also get my take on this album. (more…)
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Chip Music
Is Chipocrite’s “Hit and Run” Hit-Or-Miss?
I saw Paul “Chipocrite” Weinstein multiple times at MAGFest X. He’s part of a chip-ish collaborative band called AutoScroll (it’s Chipocrite + Animal Style). He’s also a new/touring member with Cheap Dinosaurs. But my favorite experience with this man was seeing him perform his solo set live at the Saturday noon chiptune show. It was so good that I decided to pick up a physical copy of his album “Hit and Run” (released last year) even though I had the digital version already (note the digital version has two bonus tracks not found on the CD).
After seeing the live show, I figured it was about time I spoke up about Chipocrite’s album of chippy goodness on OSV. So, here goes. After the jump, that is. (more…)
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Chip Music, Game Music
Turtle Power: A_Rival’s TMNT 2012 EP Hits Bandcamp
We’ve already told you how impressed we were with A_Rival’s 3:30 AM performance at MAGFest X earlier this month. He somehow managed to pack a room full of people with his previously-unannounced performance so early in the morning, and by the end of his set he had nearly everyone on stage jumping up and down and pumping their fists with his heavy 8-bit/electro remix of the TMNT theme.
For those who weren’t there (shame on you!), A_Rival has fortunately decided to release the TMNT 2012 EP featuring this excellent remix alongside a short rap about wanting to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle when he grows up. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s available via his Bandcamp page with name your own price. I know I have strong memories from that magical morning, but I still think it’s worth checking out and throwing a few bucks his way.
Let us know what you think of A_Rival’s antics and his TMNT remix.
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Chip Music, Game Music
MAGFest X Chiptune Concerts: Too Many To Name!
Oh man, I’m still beat from MAGFest X. We’ve written about a ton of music so far, but we still have three days of chiptune concerts to cover! The noon-time chiptune concerts featured three artists apiece with a “secret chiptune concert” (which was blatantly listed on the schedule) that featured even more on the final night. Acts including Disasterpeace, Knife City, virt, and others performed along with special guests at the secret concert.
Patrick and I have double-teamed the coverage of all the performances for your reading pleasure, and of course we have more photos from Emi Spicer.
Hit the jump for more. (more…)
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Chip Music, Game Music
Hidden Gem: Kulor’s Alter Ego Original Soundtrack
Ubiktune has quickly become the most versatile and fresh chip music label currently in operation, with each month bringing something new and exciting on the table, presented in sleek, fully imagined music albums with a consistent flow and pacing as they strive to supply the eager ears with the very best that today’s chip musicians have to offer. From their groundbreaking Equilibrium to the official soundtrack release of Bloodrayne: Betrayal, 2011 has truly been the year of Ubiktune.
Now that we are nearing the end of 2011, it’s time to play the year out with a playful and charming album that brings us to a close on the wonderful year that it has been. That album is Kulor’s, real name Richard Armijo, Alter Ego, a new and quirky fun puzzler for the NES, originally developed for the ZX Spectrum. Kulor had to deal with the limitations of the classic system, having only 9kb of memory and no ability to change the duty cycle of the instrument except at the very beginning of each song, along with no effects or volume column. The newcomer rose to the challenge and created a full and rich soundtrack, reminiscent of calmer sides of Follin and Alberto González. Despite being his first album, Kulor already manages to create a unique sound for himself, firmly seated within the recognizable video game music framing that longtime gamers and newly christened chiptune fans should be able to enjoy Alter Ego’s cheerful beats.
The artwork is done by the inspiring British artist Rufus Blacklock, and the game itself can be found for free for ZX Spectrum, NES and Windows 7 Phones.
Alter Ego Original Soundtrack can of course be downloaded at Ubiktune.
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Chip Music
Danimal Cannon’s Chip Music Debut Begins at the ‘Roots,’ Ascends To The Stratosphere (Review)
Around this time last year, I was sitting at my desk, jaw agape, listening to an early recording sent by the inimitable Dan Behrens, lead guitarist of VG cover bands Armcannon and Metroid Metal. It was maybe the 2nd song I’d seen him write under his Danimal Cannon moniker with LSDJ, the popular homebrew tracker for Game Boy that he had begun using in earnest just 2 months prior.
What I was hearing, however, sounded like the work of a hardened veteran, chock full of masterfully measured dynamics, thoughtfully programmed software instruments and complex, melodic arrangements that could have been played by a 4-piece prog metal band if they didn’t sound so damn good on a Game Boy.
Now, a year later, I’m similarly stunned by a full-length release that’s staggering in both length and variety, where guitar solos (born of both plucked strings and pulsewaves) soar over a bassline bedrock and into picturesque landscapes of micro-processed progressive, math rock and heavy metal anthem. Combine that with a smattering of live instrumentals and guest appearances from the likes of keyboard virtuoso Shnabubula and you’ve got one hell of a debut chip music album.
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Chip Music, Demoscene, Game Music, Indie Music
The Economizer: This Black Friday Special Can’t Be Beat!
Yeah, see those 17 albums above? You can have all of them for only $10.
And if you don’t like the bottom seven (or you already own most of them), the first two rows (that’s 10 albums) you can get for a mere $1!!
Of course you can (and should, if at all possible) give more. But in the same format as the Humble Indie Bundle, the Indie Music Bundle site is giving you tons of content for an extremely small amount of money. Do not miss this sale. It’s one day only, that most unholy consumer’s holiday, Black Friday.
We’ve covered many of the albums above in previous reviews, and many of them reviewed favorably. There’s no reason not to grab this. We have Minecraft, Binding of Isaac, Ravenmark, Tree of Knowledge, and so much more in the sale. Crap, they even got Jimmy Hinson’s “Impostor Nostalgia” album. Get it. Get all the music. Now.
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Chip Music
Burning Up Inside: George & Jonathan Show Off Their ‘Beautiful Lifestyle’
Last year, chiptune electrodance duo George & Jonathan floored us with The Best Music, a scrumptious collage of party-down funk and endearing synth silliness which effortlessly won our votes for #1 chip music album of 2010. With a bonus Christmas EP and incredible performances at MAGFest and Silent Barn, G&J are holding down their stellar track record with the release of their highly anticipated second LP, Beautiful Lifestyle. We hope you’ve been practicing your finger waggle.
Lifestyle takes G&J in some really splendid new directions without sacrificing any of the duo’s previously established swagger. Carnival-style synth leads are sandwiched between massive, wobbly drops in the fittingly titled “Dubstep Daycare,” while basslines both funky and fierce give an immense bounce to “Hissy Snake Popout” amid rocketing arpeggios and ridiculous samples — the ones that you forgot you loved only because the 80′s was so long ago (“YUMP!” “OW!”). If rainbows and tenderness is more your style, “Unicorns Forever” and “One Hundred Lifetimes” sound like they could be the opening and closing themes to a My Little Pony videogame. And I mean that in the best way possible.
In short, fans of The Best Music will not be the least bit disappointed. And if you’re a first time George & Jonathan listener, Beautiful Lifestyle is as good an introduction as any to this unique and unapologetically goofy team of fun-loving music bros. Check the player below for a full listen, and get the whole thing on Bandcamp for only $5.
Buy: George & Jonathan – Beautiful Lifestyle (MP3/FLAC)
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Chip Music
Cheap Dinosaurs Have A New Album, And You Can Plant It
Photo: Emi Spicer
Fans of chiptune prog rock outfit Cheap Dinosaurs have no doubt been gritting their teeth in anticipation of an official release from the esteemed super-group, which contains members of Chromelodeon, Animal Style and Brown Recluse. Now, after an extremely limited physical release back in 2009, it’s finally here: From singalong favorites (familiar to those who have seen the group play at MAGFest) like “Tagalog” and “Stroll” to the surprising polyrhythms and crooning ambience of lesser-known tracks like “Cup” and “Beech,” Cheap Dinosaur’s debut sports 9 synth-heavy progressive jams that twist like the limbs of a tree branch and itch like poison oak.
Which is just as well, because the album’s packaging is full of seeds, letting you grow some plants of your own. In collaboration Philadelphia-based “trans-digital” record label Data Garden, Cheap Dinosaurs’ debut release can be planted into the ground to sprout actual flowers. Just copy down the download code from the back and plant the screen-printed package into a thin layer of soil. With just a few weeks and some TLC, you’ll have blue lobelias blooming from your biodegradable music purchase. Listen below, and check out Data Garden for more eco-friendly releases.
Buy/Download: Cheap Dinosaurs – Cheap Dinosaurs (MP3/FLAC, Seed Paper)
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Chip Music
Catch Noise Channel, a New Radio Program Featuring Chiptunes
Schnabubula, Supercomuter, George & Jonathan, Starscream, YMCK, Anamanaguchi, Bud Melvin, virt, minusbaby, Sabrepulse, Rushjet, Bit Shifter, and Nullsleep. Yes, it’s a rather impressive list of artists, and you can now hear these and many others on Noise Channel, a new radio show hosted by Kristi “TrueStar” Kaufman dedicated to chiptunes over on Arecibo Radio on Thursday nights between 10:00 – 11:00 PM EST.
With our own resident chiptune artist, Joshua “ZenAlbatross” Koppstein on staff, I’ve been meaning to get more into the chip music scene, and this provides a pretty easy way to do it. In addition to playing the best music (see what I did there?), Jake Kaufman acts as the show’s producer and also takes questions about chip music and how to make it.
Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think. We’ll be tuning in as well! And feel free to follow the show on Twitter at @NoiseChanRadio.
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Editor-in-ChiefJayson NapolitanoAssociate EditorsAudun SorlieGideon Dabi Joshua Kopstein |
ContributorsCarl LarsonChris Ling Connary Fagen Justin Pfeiffer Kai Ohler Kunal Majmudar Patrick Gann Shota Nakama Wes Chung |
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