2009 Blip Fest lineup & schedule -- music, films & workshops

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…

BLIP FESTIVAL: REFORMAT THE PLANET trailer from 2 Player Productions on Vimeo.

The trailer features music by Nullsleep (“Salvation for a Broken Heart”, “On Target”), Martin Galway (“The Neverending Story”), and Random (“Micawber’s Moan”), all composed on classic video game consoles.

The Blip Festival Concert Schedule:

Thursday, December 17th
Doors at 7pm, Concert starts promptly at 8PM
Music Act – Visualist
Silent Requiem – JYK
failotron – Paris
Leeni – VBLANK
minusbaby – Enso
Chromix – C-Men
JDDJ3J – NO CARRIER
Albino Ghost Monkey – outpt
Eat Rabbit – Rosa

Friday, December 18th
Doors at 7pm, Concert starts promptly at 8PM
Music Act – Visualist
Disasterpeace – Enso
Starscream – JYK
Fighter X – outpt
little-scale – Rosa
I, Cactus – VBLANK
Nullsleep – Rosa/Paris
Rainbowdragoneyes – C-Men
Patric C – NO CARRIER

Saturday, December 19th
Doors at 7pm, Concert starts promptly at 8PM
Music Act – Visualist
The J. Arthur Keenes Band – Rosa / Enso
tRash cAn maN – JYK / Paris
Bubblyfish – NO CARRIER / outpt
The Hunters – n/a
glomag – C-Men / VBLANK
Bit Shifter – outpt / Enso
David Sugar – NO CARRIER / VBLANK
Psilodump – Paris / C-Men

Title: “Film Screening – Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet”
Date: Friday, December 18th, 1pm-3pm
Location: Main Room, The Bell House
Price: $5 at the door
Description: ‘Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet’ is a feature length documentary which delves into the movement known as ChipTunes, 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 ChipTune idiom descend upon Manhattan to pen a new chapter in the history of electronic music.

Title: “A_SID Synth Workshop: A usb/serial controllable chip based C64 SID chip emulator”
Date: Friday, December 18th, 2pm-5pm
Location: Front Lounge, The Bell House
Price: $65 (includes all materials and necessary tools)
Description: Workshop participants will build and learn to program their own version of Christoph Haberer’s open-source Atmel based C64 SID chip emulator. This is a very good emulation of the MOS 6581 with the difference of very simple serial control from your laptop, computer or microcontroller.
The first hour will be spent learning about basic electronics communication and building the kit.
The second hour will be spent learning basic programming methods and simple ways to start.
The third hour will be an indepth look at the underbelly of the MOS 6581 chip, how it is controlled by the C64 and other computers, and how music can be made by directly addressing the chip.
* * * *
This is a “beginner’s” electronics and programming workshop. There will be no soldering, and no understanding of electronics or programming is necessary. A basic understanding of music is helpful. A laptop and 1/8″ headphones are required.
Participants will leave the workshop with a working usb controllable breadboard A_SID Synth, and the knowledge to begin using it.
* * * *

Title: “Film Screening – Reformat the Planet 1.5 and Curated Music Videos from 2 Player Productions “
Date: Saturday, December 19th, 2pm
Location: Front Lounge, The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY
Price: Free
Description: Shot by 2 Player Productions, the same crew behind the Blip Festival DVDs, the 40-minute Reformat the Planet 1.5 covers New York City’s Pulsewave concerts, “the growth of the chip music scene in Philadelphia, and the arrival of the next generation of chip musicians to the 8-bit scene.” The 2 Player Production crew will be on hand for the screening and will be showing many of the videos they have shot and edited over the years at chiptune shows.

Title: “From Classic Sound Chips to Virtual Instruments with David Viens of Plogue”
Date: Saturday, December 19th, 2pm
Location: Front Lounge, The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY
Price: Free
Description: We will be covering hardware analysis of sound generating IC’s of the late 70’s and early 80’s in terms of spectra, pitch/amplitude ranges and precision. Also looking at the development of a common synthesis model to accurately revive them for use in the context of today’s Digital Audio Workstations. see http://www.plogue.com for examples of our work.

Title: “Open source solutions for live visuals – presented by Don Miller / NO CARRIER”
Date: Saturday, December 19th, 3pm
Location: Front Lounge, The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY
Price: Free / Presentational
Description: In this hour long workshop Don Miller (NO CARRIER) will lead participants through different open source software solutions for creating live visuals using the Nintendo Entertainment System. Using glitchNES, galleryNES, and two new programs to be released exclusively during this workshop, Miller will show just how versatile the NES can be as a tool for live visual performance. In addition to software, hardware mixing and presentation will be discussed. Although not required, attendees are encouraged to bring a PC computer to participate.