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"

photos by Leia Jospe

Photographer Leia Jospe accompanied Anamanaguchi on a trip to Japan where they played Tokyo's own version of the Blip Festival along with Nullsleep and others. Her pictures from that October event are in this post (the above-pictured kitty included). Her pics from the most recent NYC version of the fest are HERE.

Anamanaguchi are currently on the road with BATHS, though they are not on the bill of the NYC show which happens at Bowery Ballroom tonight (12/2) with BATHS, Dinosaur Feathers, and Ki:Theory. Tickets are still on sale. Updated tour dates with more Blip Tokyo pictures, below....

Continue reading "Anamanaguchi played Blip Fest in Tokyo (pics), playing shows w/ BATHS (who plays NYC tonight)"

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"

photos by Leia Jospe

Super Mash bros

Silent Barn will host a day of "music, comic books, video games and non institutional learning" SATURDAY (2/5) starting at 2PM. It's a multi-media event called OKEVERYTHING. The first part of the day is FREE and will kick off with discussion on video games and gaming design before shifting to comic book production. Right around 7PM is when the music will kick off, and when revellers will have to pay the $10 entrance fee to catch an 8-bit heavy lineup headlined by Anamanaguchi with The J. Arthur Keenes Band, Nullsleep, Starscream, and George & Jonathan.

Anamanaguchi recently supported Super Mash Brothers at Irving Plaza on January 22nd. Pictures from that show, and full details on the OKEVERYTHING show are below.

Continue reading "Anamanaguchi opened for Super Mash Brothers @ Irving Plaza (pics), playing video game & comic book party Saturday"

photos by Leia Jospe

THE SHOWPAPER 42ND ST GALLERY (which opened in October) is located at 217 East 42nd St @ 3rd Ave in Midtown, Manhattan - out of Todd P's normal territory, but Todd P-affiliated nonetheless. They recently hosted a show with Nullsleep and George & Jonathan. Pictures from that, with a listing of some more upcoming events at the space (including the So So Glos show we just mentioned), below...

Continue reading "Showpaper 42nd St. Gallery hosted Nullsleep & George & Jonathan (pics), has more shows coming"

photos by Leia Jospe

Dubbed, "Dump.fm - IRHell", this party was a "SUPER SPOOKY TRANS-NATIONAL HALLOWEEN PARTY" that took place on Saturday night, October 30th, at 319 Scholes in Brooklyn while another party took place at U.F.O.ria in Mexico City, and they were "connected through dump.fm." The posted lineups were:

Brooklyn Performances by -- Anamanaguchi - Brenmar - Nullsleep - Physical Therapy - Jon Lynn (Unsolved Mysteries) - Laurel Halo - BLISSED OUT - Magick Mountain - DJ Brother Ladypantz - MIRRORGATE - Flash Porno - ELEVATORMAN Mexico City Performances by -- GATEKEEPER - DoubleDigits - Ñaka Ñaka †‡† - DAMAGE

Leia was there for 8bit artists Nullsleep and Anamanaguchi who didn't go on until around 5am which could explain why everyone in the pictures looks like they're half asleep, or maybe it's just the special k. The sort-of-awkward set of pictures continues below....

Continue reading "Nullsleep & Anamanaguchi played a Halloween party (pics) "

REFORMAT THE PLANET is a feature length documentary which delves into the movement known as chip tunes, a vibrant underground scene based around creating new, original music using old video game hardware. Familiar devices such as the Nintendo Game Boy and Nintendo Entertainment System are pushed in new directions with startling results.

Using New York as a microcosm for a larger global movement, "Reformat the Planet" maps out the genesis of the first annual Blip Festival, a four day celebration of over 30 international artists exploring the untapped potential of low-bit video game consoles. With floor-stomping rhythms and fist-waving melodies, trailblazers of the chip tune idiom descend upon Manhattan to pen a new chapter in the history of electronic music.

That's the description of a documentary about the Blip Festival which is taking place again this year at The Bell House in Brooklyn. There are nightly concerts Thursday, December 17 - Saturday December 19th, as well as workshops, art installations, and film screenings. Advanced tickets are on sale. One of the film screenings is in fact "Reformat the Planet". That movie's trailer and the full Blip Fest schedule, below...

Continue reading "2009 Blip Fest lineup & schedule -- music, films & workshops "

From 11 in the morning to 10 at night, musicians of all ages, creeds, and musical persuasions -- from hip hop to opera, Latin jazz to punk rock -- perform on streets, sidewalks, stoops, plazas, cemeteries, parks and gardens. From high school bands to marquee names, Make Music New York is open to anyone who wants to take part, enjoyed by everyone who wants to attend.

This year's citywide Make Music New York fest is set for Sunday, June 21st (the longest day of the year). It'll be the third year for the event - after June 21, 2007 and June 21, 2008. If you would like to take part - either as an artist or a location (that an artist can play), make sure to sign up now. We'll publish updated lineup and schedule information as it becomes available.

Brooklyn band Cheeseburger played the event outdoors on Bedford Ave. last year, and chiptune guy Nullsleep played in 2007. Videos from those two performances below...

Continue reading "Make Music NY returns on June 21, 2009 - sign up now"

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 "

01. Parenthetical Girls - If it's a time for Christmas (2:46)
02. Ween - Silent Night (1:40)
03. Andrew Dost (Anathallo) - Yeah, I Know, It's Christmastime (2:04)
04. The National Splits - Let's Wrap Each Other (2:15)
05. Louis Armstrong - Santa Claus Blues (2:51)
06. Scott Allen (Thunderbirds are Now) - Winters Wonderland (3:50)
07. The Knife - Christmas Reindeer (7:11)
08. Melt Banana - White Christmas (1:42)
09. Thick Pigeon - Jingle Bell Rock (1:30)
10. Steven Garvey - Dreidle, Dreidle, Dreidle (1:11)
11. nullsleep - silent night (2:25)
12. Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire - Santa Claus (3:26)
13. Holly Golightly - Christmas Tree's On Fire (2:54)
14. Deerhoof - xmas tree (2:30)
15. Palace Songs (Will Oldham) - Christmastime in the Mountains (1:30)
16. Woody Guthrie - Hanukkah Dance [Alternate Take] (1:24)

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I know it's too early for this, but inspiration hit, so I went with it. Download, support the artists, enjoy, and happy holidays (Thanksgiving or whatever).