Thrift-store electronics collide with dancefloor sensibilities as Blip Festival makes its long-awaited return to New York City. Produced by 8bitpeoples in association with The Tank and Live Nation, the Blip Festival 2012 finds Manhattan once again at the center of the chipmusic universe. From May 25-27, musicians and visualists from all corners of the globe assemble at the Gramercy Theatre to perform astonishing music & motion graphics, produced on & inspired by early-generation home computers and gaming consoles.

With six years and ten international editions under its belt, Blip Festival brings together shining examples of the global chipmusic underground -- performers conscripting devices like the Commodore 64, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy, and the Sega Genesis into the service of music spanning every conceivable style, with results that are shockingly futuristic. Rounding out the event's three nights of explosive live performances will be supplementary daytime programming including workshops, how-tos, presentations and screenings -- offering a glimpse into exactly how it's all achieved, and perhaps even inspiring some 2013 Blip Festival performers-to-be.

For those of you not heading out of town Memorial Day Weekend, the 2012 Blip Festival happens May 25 - 27 at the Gramercy Theatre. Tickets (individual or three-day passes) are on sale now. Full schedule is below.

In related news, Blip Fest regulars Starscream are changing (some might say transforming) their name to Infinity Shred. Starscream play their final show under the old name on Saturday (5/12) at Shea Stadium. Says the band:

Due to unfortunate legal circumstances this will be the last show we ever play as STARSCREAM! We'd rather turn this bad news in to a fun time though so let's have a great party! Our new name is INFINITY SHRED and this will also be the release party for our first EP under that name.

The show also features Idiot Glee, and the Strongbros Crew. They will then make their debut as Infinity Shred at the Blip Fest on Sunday, May 27.

Speaking of Idiot Glee, the Kentucky artist who is playing with Starscream Saturday is in town for more than just one show. As previously mentioned, he also plays Public Assembly tonight (5/11) with Nick Diamond of Islands/Unicorns.

Full Blip Festival schedule is below.

Continue reading "2012 Blip Festival schedule posted; Idiot Glee is here; Starscream playing Shea Stadium, changing name to Infinity Shred"

Daedelus at a BV SXSW day party (more by Tim Griffin)

We are curious, just like you. Because of this, we decided to bring those that inspire, move, and challenge us together to write, make, perform, and teach.

Musicians and artists huddled together to learn and share the secrets of computers. How to make them do the things we dream, how to control them to do those things, and hopefully stumble across some happy accidents along the way.

So join us for a time of sharing, learning, and experimenting in creating computer programs and designing control interfaces for audio and video performances. Let us rejoice in all things open source!

As you can tell by the description above, the In/Out Fest, which goes down in Brooklyn from 11/11-11/13, is primarily concerned with the collision of music and technology.

Workshops will take place at Death By Audio from 11/11 - 11/13, while showcases will be spread across two days at Knitting Factory -- 11/11 and 11/12.

11/11 will see a headlining performance from Daedelus with Comandante Zero, Ander, n0izmkr, PROGRAMS, tehn, and Sarah Dahnke/Round Tuit Dance Project, while 11/12 will see Bit Shifter with Super Mario Brothers 2, Island Dweller, Ivan Franco, Figure Zero, Smomid, Portable Sunsets, and Christopher Willits. Tickets are available in both single day increments (Friday, Saturday) or two day pass form (select two day pass at either of the previous links). In addition, you can help support the festival by donation.

In/Out is not to be confused with the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival which happens this weekend too and with some of the same artists.

More details on the festival, including the flyer and a video, are below...

Continue reading "In/Out Digital Arts Festival in Brooklyn this weekend (workshops, shows, Daedelus, Bit Shifter & more)"

photos by Leia Jospe

Nullsleep

This year's Blip Festival was thrown at Eyebeam on New York City's West Side by a collective of chip musicians called 8bitpeoples, with help from NYC nonprofit The Tank.

Many of those who play chiptunes--music made through the sound chips of old video game hardware--have long resented the tight correlation between their music scene and video gamers. If that seems implausible at first, think of it this way: They're using the hardware as an instrument to create original electronic music that they hope everyone can enjoy, but the video gamey sound often leads to the misinterpretation that they're making "video game music", or that gamers are the only ones who can participate.

It seemed as if the surliness has relaxed. It's similar to the same kind of diversification that's been taking place in the gaming scene--the softening of divisions between types of players as the audience broadens--and this year's event welcomed gamers, musicians, hardware junkies interested in making new art with circuits, and music fans from the chip-savvy to the casual culturists. [Kotaku]

This year's Blip Festival took place from May 19-21 at Manhattan's Eyebeam. Pictures from all three days continue below...

Continue reading "Blip Fest 2011 in pics"

Peelander-Z at The Studio in January (more by Leia Jospe)

Welcome home Peelander-Z! The NYC band is finally home after an extended tour with Anamanaguchi that kicked off at SXSW and ended on April 30th. And though the tour is over, the band is ALREADY back out on the road, playing Newark, Delaware tonight and a hometown show back at The Studio at Webster Hall Saturday (5/7) with Hard Nips and Friends. Tickets for that one are still available (and, update: we're giving away a pair on Facebook).

Anamanaguchi has a new NYC show on their calendar too, which they say "is gonna be AWESOME. we're gonna have: JAMS // VISUALS // STROBES // UNICORNBROS DOING SECURITY // FURBIES // RAINBOWS // W33D420 // OK." Bowery Presents may have to give some of their staff a night off to make way for those UNICORNBROS, because Anamanaguchi are talking about a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 7/22. Tickets are on sale.

You don't need to wait that link to see Anamanaguchi though. The band will play day one of this year's Blip Festival, the annual three day festival in celebration of "low-bit video games and home computers". This year's fest takes place at Manhattan's Eyebeam (540 West 21st Street) from May 19-21. Tickets are on sale with 3-day and 1-day options available. The full lineup is listed below. It includes Tristan Perich, Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, Starscream and many more.

Anamanaguchi, Starscream and Peelander-Z played a show together at the Studio at Webster Hall back in January. Check out the pics.

Hard Nips, who play with Peelander on Saturday, are also scheduled to support Quintron & Miss Pussycat with Super Nice Bros and X-ray Eyeballs on May 28th at 285 Kent. Friends, who also play with Peelander Saturday, play 285 Kent soon too, with Dan Deacon.

All tour dates, the Blip lineup and some videos below.

Continue reading "Blip Festival coming, Anamanguchi announce shows, Peelander-Z play one this weekend (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Nullsleep - Fearless Flight (MP3)

Archaic game and home computer hardware is recast into the unlikely role of musical instrument and motion graphics workstation in the BLIP FESTIVAL 2008, a four-day event showcasing nearly 40 musicians and visual artists occupying the international low-res cutting edge. The Blip Festival takes place DECEMBER 4--7, 2008 at The Bell House, and is presented by Manhattan art organization THE TANK and NYC artist collective 8BITPEOPLES.

Highlighting the chipmusic phenomenon and its related disciplines, the festival aims to showcase emerging creative niches involving the use of legacy video game & home computer hardware as modern artistic instrumentation. Devices such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Nintendo Game Boy and others are repurposed into the service of original, low-res, high-impact electronic music and visuals -- sidestepping game culture and instead exploring the technology's untapped potential and distinctive intrinsic character.

The Blip Festival assembles nearly 40 practitioners selected from the chipmusic movement's expansive global underground, taking care to represent as many as possible of the genre's surprisingly diverse styles, geographical and technical scenes, communities, and traditions. The festival's concert program will be supplemented by daytime events to be announced, including workshops, presentations, and screenings. The Blip Festival's intended result is to provide a cross-section of a movement currently in explosive flux, teeming with artistic exploration, and poised at the cusp of global awareness.

Performers include the notorious Bit Shifter and Nullsleep who also appears on my 2007 Christmas mix and who just released a new free EP. The full schedule and lineup, along with ticket info., is listed at Blip's site. A promo video and list of all artists (who do you recommend?) is below...

Continue reading "Blip Festival 2008 - Dec 4-7 @ the Bell House in Brooklyn "