Chiptunes are a hard medium to utilize
efficiently. It takes a careful ear to make something sound faux
retro and not become a scrambled mess. Anamanaguchi is the master of
the chip tune medium. But what about the others around. How are they?
Well today on Lost In The Music, I am taking a listen from a
collaboration album called Chiptunes=Win and their debut album.
First off, I have to say that the sheer
number of songs on this album is impressive. But does it fall into
the trap of being quantity over quality. For the most part no as a
good 90% of the album is solidly produced with BR1GHT PR1MATE, Ben
Landis (Of Adventure in Pixels fame) and PROTODOME being the best of
the group. The other producers are good and some do need practice to
perfect their craft.
After listening to this album a couple
of times, I think my favourite track on this album would be BR1GHT
PR1MATE's rendition of Sexy and I Know it. I found this a bit ironic
because I cannot stand the original song as I am not too fond of
regular club or dance music, yet I enjoy this track. Perhaps it is
because it reminds me of the The World Ends With You soundtrack.
BR1GHT PR1MATE's version is obvious nothing more then a chiptune
version of the original track with slightly different lyrics. With
this song I could imagine Neku and his friends running around Shibuya
playing the Reapers Game.
I think my only major problem with the
album is that it is too big for a debut album. The songs are good but
there are too many songs that you can't really enjoy them all in one
sitting. Had they divided the album up into three parts and released
them over the course of a few months, then I would not have an issue
with it. But it is the fact that they released so many songs on one
album, that it is incredibly overwhelming.
Normally I enjoy long albums, but not
with Chiptunes. As good as they are, Chiptunes can easily become
obnoxious if you are listening to them for long periods of time. That
is why I feel that having 51 songs is a bad idea for a start. By the
time you get to the middle of the album you have become bored with
the music that you cannot enjoy it.
Of course there are some performers who
can subvert that, but they are few and far between.
Other then the previous complaint, how
is the debut album from Chiptunes=Win? For a collaboration effort,
it's not too bad. While not all songs on list are perfect, it is a
solid album to listen to. This group is defiantly passionate about
the music they make. There is room for improvement, but if these guys
practice their craft then there is no doubt that these guys can be
chiptune stars.
You can grab Chiptunes=Win off of their
bandcamp page.
This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the
music.
Well that's just like, your opinion, man. Granted it's a lot of tracks and I often listen to it over more than one sitting, but it is all quality chip music and a pleasure to feast upon. Yes, the cover song by Br1ght Pr1mate is good. Here are my favorite tracks from the album:
ReplyDelete-the 1st track (I can't type that name lol but it's awesome and a perfect way to kickstart the album!)
-Breakthrough - Such a happy, bubbly tune that I never grow tired of and wow what a climax!
-Can't Stop Us - Staccato heaven! Pumps me up and I just want to jump up and down every time I hear it.
-PixeLove - Smooth and seductive. It grinds and it flows. I can fap to this.
-The Lunar Whale - Mother of god, it's fucking Danimal Cannon and he tears it up on this track! The melody that kicks in at the 2 minute mark is so damn catchy!
-Elevation - So chill. The bleeps and bloops merge perfectly with the electric guitar.
-TITAN motherfucking 2!! - This song builds and builds to face melting levels, fuuuarrrk it's so badass, definitely in my top 5 tracks of the album!
-Three-stage - This song feels like you are embarking on an epic quest in a fully realized NES world, it's amazing.
-COLUMBIA - Holy shit. 2001: A Chip Odyssey. You are blasting off into space in this song while silently meditating at the same time. Simply awe inspiring.
-Dusk Runner - Dat melody! The way that the notes transpose into one another is orgasmic. I'm just jealous I didn't make the song, but it's such a pleasure to listen to!
And finally, the ultimate cherry on top and the perfect way to end the album: FOUR COLOR HERO - Words cannot even describe the triumphant, valiant and nostalgic feelings that this song evokes. Simple yet intricate, it is just the perfect chiptune composition. I have listened to this track on repeat for half an hour before. At the current moment, it is the song that I'd like to be played at my funeral as they lower me into the dirt.
I know that's a lot of favorites, but hey it's out of 51 tracks and they're all great! Give it some more time, I know it took me a couple months to get familiarized with it all because it admittedly has a large scope. So, yeah. Opinions.