A few months ago, I decided I wanted to start making electronic music. On an impulse, I went online and ordered a Theremin, an electronic instrument that creates sounds based on the manipulation of radio waves. The instrument ran me about $500. Flash forward three months later, and I’ve barely touched the thing (hidden pun there… you get it?). For all that, I could have just ordered a much cheaper instrument, like a $4.95 used classic Nintendo GameBoy.
Wait a minute… a GameBoy? As a musical instrument? That’s crazy talk… or is it? Not according to Bit Shifter and Nullsleep, two New York musicians who coined the GameBoy music movement and dubbed it “chiptune.” These artists and many other like-minded individuals use antiquated video game technology to create futuristic sounds and effects. Beginning tonight at 8pm at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York, Blip Festival will celebrate chiptune music and art, and the night will ultimately culminate in a dance party explosion. Now in its fourth year, the event promises to be larger than ever.
Blip Festival is a brainchild of a collective called 8BitPeoples, a group who banded together to support the video game music movement. Perhaps the most well known of the group are Bit Shifter and Nullsleep, who came together not only to form the collective, but also to create Blip Festival. As two of the most popular artists in the movement, they’ve been profiled in Wired, NPR and Fuse TV.
The festival offers the chance for up and coming artists to mingle with the leaders of the movement. It will feature not only music and visual arts displays, but also workshops, film screenings and open mike events, which will be open to all attendees.
For years, video games and gaming culture have woven their way into all types of art. For example, take the graffiti artist Space Invader, known for his public art displays that come directly from , you guessed it , the 1978 video game classic, Space Invaders. Or, on the music front, take Video Games Live, a live theatrical performance of music from classic video games, which has toured internationally. Anyone who remembers Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be only mildly surprised to learn about rumors that the music on the game was composed by none other than the legend himself, Michael Jackson. So, it should come as no surprise at all that the electronic music that accompanies classic video games has spawned a culture all its own.
In 2006, the first Blip Festival celebrated the rise of the chiptune movement. The festival highlighted electronic music and art created using video game sound effects and visuals. Rather than using traditional instruments, artists use video game consoles such as Nintendo GameBoys and Commodore 64s, resulting in post-punk sounds and a special breed of aesthetics.
In 2007, Mike Rosenthal of The Tank, an arts organization co-sponsoring the event this year as it has in the past, described Blip Festival as “Woodstock” for chiptune artists. Maybe, but maybe it’s more poppy, upbeat and electronically sound than Woodstock – plus it occurs more than once every 35 years.
This year, attendees can look forward to watching performances by seasoned pros, as well as up-and-comers such as Starscream, a duo who, although probably too young to remember the release of the original Nintendo GameBoy, aren’t thwarted from using one to create music with the accompaniment of live drums.
Sounds from Blip Festival artists are available at www.8bitpeoples.com and www.blipfestival.org. People interested in attending the festival, which begins tonight and runs through the early hours of Sunday morning, may purchase a day pass for $15, or a weekend pass for $40. A full schedule of events is available at www.blipfestival.org/2009/schedule. The website also contains more information about the artists and festival updates.
I still have that Theremin, and I probably have enough loose change to round up at least $5 for a used GameBoy. Feel free to email me if you’d like to start a band.
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