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Discover bytebeat. A new genre of algorithmic music has been developed by demoscene coder viznut, a.k.a. PwP. Sharing genes with chiptunes and facilitated by bitwise operators, bytebeats are decidedly non-traditional music created by short, programmatic formulas. Read about computationally minimal art, the aesthetic that spawned bytebeat. Try your hand at composing (some helpful examples). Read an explanation of how the formulas work. A few more pieces.
posted by I've wasted my life on Jan 23, 2012 - 47 comments

MAX CAPACITY Dwells In The Videodrome. "Not so long ago, last summer to be precise, we featured MAX CAPACITY in an illustrated selection of the best 8-bit inspired pixel artists. Already at the time, the American artist stood out from the lot because of his instinctive and primal approach to digital material." Max's work is spread out across the Internet: on Tumblr, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube, and his own webspace... [more inside]
posted by codacorolla on Sep 28, 2011 - 1 comment

8bitpeoples is an artist collective focusing on the sounds and images that came with early computing and video gaming, specifically chiptunes, or music made either with actual vintage hardware (like using a GameBoy and LSDJ) or with software emulators. [more inside]
posted by curious nu on Sep 4, 2011 - 28 comments

Videogame players die a thousand deaths, complete with appropriately nostalgic soundtrack. [via BB]
posted by bayani on Apr 14, 2011 - 32 comments

TheNintendoDrummer plays drums over Nintendo music. Totally Rad. Castlevania 2. Ghosts and Goblins. Ninja Gaiden 2. Mega Man 9.
posted by Sticherbeast on Oct 14, 2010 - 20 comments

The Creator's Project unleashes The Eclectic Method’s (previously) latest video, Super Mario Mashup onto the world with a bonus genre-exploding montage and Q&A trying to put it all together.
posted by The Whelk on Aug 31, 2010 - 8 comments

Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka brings together ten other people also named Hirokazu Tanaka, and they all sing a song about being named Hirokazu Tanaka.
You may know Hip Tanaka's other work already--he's one of the original chiptuners, having written the score for many popular Nintendo video games throughout the 1980's: [ Earthbound • 2 • 3 | Mother | Metroid (live) • 2 • 3 | Super Mario Land • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 | Tetris (arr.) | Balloon Fight | Fire Emblem | Kid Icarus ]
10-min Youtube (in French) which features his more famous works with accompanying gameplay • Interview • Interview • Bio
posted by not_on_display on Mar 18, 2010 - 19 comments

Blip Festival happened just this weekend in Brooklyn. Chiptune geek, but couldn’t make it? The YouTube videos are starting to appear. Here's an internet approximation of the festival. If you just want a quick overview, a prepared playlist. [via]. [more inside]
posted by edbles on Dec 23, 2009 - 20 comments

Lori Samsel's Get in the Van (trailer, gallery, testimonials) is a space out masterpiece 25 minute greenscreen live-action/animation/puppet exercise video set to chiptune electronic music by Desert Planet, 8bitpeoples Twilight Electric, Plasticflesh, and others that will take your dimension to another dimension. The entire video in all its blown out seziure inducing over the top eye candy beep boop beep glory can be downloaded (550meg .avi, divx codec) from archive.org. [more inside]
posted by psychobum on Aug 13, 2009 - 8 comments

"In a hotel room in Florida during the summer of 2008, we were given an exciting preview of a "Nintendo Mixtape" by burgeoning rap group, No Question? As we listened, we felt like Mario must have felt during his first ingestion of a fire flower. In other words, we knew immediately that this was some good shiz." [more inside]
posted by kableh on Aug 11, 2009 - 58 comments

"Once upon a time there was a game that nobody ever played, sitting on the floor in the back room of an empty arcade. The game was full of life and strife, mega-monsters and robot fights. We Are The Strange was the title. Now meet the players who live inside, idle." The story of filmmaker M dot Strange and his solo indie masterpiece, We Are The Strange. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Apr 9, 2009 - 5 comments

8-bit Jesus is a free CD of Christmas classics, done in 8-bit style by the fantastic Doctor Octoroc. [via]
posted by patr1ck on Dec 25, 2008 - 10 comments

There is a small but very dedicated and enthusiastic group of people around the world making music with Nintendo Game Boys and other cheap electronic gadgetry. While many of them are consciously fitting their low-bit sonics into relatively straightforward and predictable dance-oriented forms, some others are taking a rather more whimsical and less predictable approach. One such favorite of mine is the utterly charming, Tokyo-based henna dress. Then there's her alter ego, beta dress. Then there's her 3rd alter ego, CAMEBOY (of GGG) . [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 4, 2008 - 21 comments