Recommendation of 8-bit: A collection of classic chiptune tracks
Have you heard of chiptune, a music genre with a rather cute-sounding name?
It’s a general term for music created using sound chips found in personal computers and home game consoles from the 1980s—like the Famicom (NES) and Game Boy—characterized by its bleepy, electronic tones.
That said, a wide range of music has emerged that employs chiptune techniques, making it a fascinating genre that defies easy categorization.
In this article, we’ll showcase classic tracks from representative chiptune artists from a variety of perspectives.
If you’ve only recently become interested in chiptune, be sure to check it out!
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Recommendation of 8-Bit: A Compilation of Chiptune Masterpieces (1–10)
Rock My EmotionsKitsune²
Founded in 2007 by Dave Remmler, a Canadian composer who is also a graphic designer, the electronic music label LapFox Trax is known for releasing many tracks that are popular not only in the chiptune scene but also as source material for MAD videos.
Under his alias Kitsune², he releases works focused on chiptune, and the track featured here, Rock My Emotions, is one of his signature pieces.
Included on the 2009 album Squaredance, Rock My Emotions has gained significant popularity, with the original audio on YouTube surpassing 1.78 million views.
Many creators on Nico Nico Douga have used it as material for MAD videos, and it seems there are quite a few people who discovered the song through those rather than the original.
The original track is a highly polished, refined chiptune with a somewhat bittersweet melody that evokes the charm of classic game sounds.
If you’re a fan of Nico Nico Douga and similar platforms, you might have heard this song without realizing it was the original.
MEOWAnamanaguchi
Even the band name Anamanaguchi, with its oddly intriguing sound, piques your curiosity.
They’re an American group that, while following a typical rock-band format, plays chiptune using the sounds of the NES and Game Boy—consoles known in Japan as the Famicom and Game Boy.
They enjoy strong popularity in Japan as well, having performed there, and their collaboration with Hatsune Miku, the track “Miku,” has racked up over 37 million views on YouTube.
The song featured here is “MEOW,” released in January 2013.
Their irresistibly upbeat instrumental music—bursting with playfulness yet packed with rock dynamism—reflects not only classic game-music influences but also the Shibuya-kei scene and the work of Yasutaka Nakata.
One listen and you might just get hooked! The music video, filled with mysterious Japanese phrases, is also a must-see, so be sure to enjoy it along with the track.
I Am A Fuckoka RaverUSK
The title certainly packs a punch, but this is the title track from the 2010 EP “I Am A Fuckoka Raver” by USK, an 8-bit music composer based in Saiin, Kyoto.
Originally a fan of rock and punk who played bass, USK discovered techno in the 2000s, later encountered chiptune, and began crafting hardcore chiptune using a sound-modded Game Boy.
Coupled with his intense live performances, he has drawn worldwide attention.
With a release on the venerable label 8bitpeoples under his belt, USK stands as both a key figure in the scene and a singular, solitary presence.
You can get a sense of his individuality by listening to this classic track: even amid breakcore-like chaos, you can hear the retro, charming melodies unique to chiptune—a brilliant touch.
Recommendation of 8-Bit: A Collection of Chiptune Masterpieces (11–20)
Overlapping SpiralSaitone
Saitone, a Japanese artist, is a musician active in the domestic chiptune and electronica scenes.
While producing tracks using devices like the Game Boy, he also actively works on remixes, so some of you may have seen his name in credits.
From his classic 2008 release Overlapping Spiral, today I’d like to introduce the track Overlapping Spiral, which also received a music video.
According to Saitone, his style—what he calls “chiptro-nica”—showcases its strengths to the fullest here, skillfully fusing chiptune elements with electronica methodologies.
It’s a sound that should resonate even with club music fans who aren’t particularly into chiptune.
SAMURAISakamoto Kyōju
“Professor Sakamoto” is quite a bold stage name, but the artist—real name Kentaro Sakamoto—is a musician born in 1980.
During his time at Kyoto University, he was the same year as Kenichi Maeyamada, a.k.a.
Hyadain, though they were in different departments.
Professor Sakamoto, who studied piano from childhood and has perfect pitch, is best known for his uniquely original style: he wears a mask topped with a Famicom (NES), and performs the game music from cartridges inserted into that Famicom as chiptune.
He has pursued a variety of projects beyond chiptune, such as forming the unit “Sakamoto Kyodai” with Miu Sakamoto.
From his 2011 original album “SKMT,” let me introduce the opening track and gem, “SAMURAI.” Its Famicom-like beeps-and-boops and subtly nostalgic melody are captivating, and if you listen closely, the danceable bassline is seriously cool, giving it excellent quality as dance music as well.
It’s recommended even for those who might feel a bit hesitant about pure chiptune!
Killer PillerGoto80
Goto80, a pioneering figure in chiptune from Sweden.
Born in 1981 and whose real name is Anders Carlsson, Goto80 is a veteran who has been active since the 1990s.
From the early 2000s, he introduced chiptune to a wide audience and was quick to perform live using the Game Boy music production software Little Sound Dj, establishing himself as a truly trailblazing artist.
Prolific and not limited to chiptune, Goto80 has released various forms of electronic music.
The track featured here, Killer Piller, appears on the 2007 EP Zyndabox and is a popular chiptune on streaming platforms.
It also opens the 2014 compilation 0407.
From its nostalgic intro, the track launches into a relentless, ultra-fast, beeping beat—perfect for the dance floor, and great as background music for driving or working out!
Computer Game “Circus Theme”Yellow Magic Orchestra
There are various theories about the origins of chiptune, but the presence of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Japanese electronic music group renowned worldwide, is indispensable when discussing the history of retro video game music that inspired chiptune.
The opening track of their landmark self-titled 1978 debut album, “Computer Game ‘Theme from The Circus’,” is, according to some, regarded as a proto-chiptune classic.
It’s under two minutes long and functions like an introduction leading into the subsequent masterpiece “Firecracker,” but its innovative recreation of sounds from the then-popular arcade game Circus using synthesizers has been highly praised, and it’s even said to have effectively introduced the very idea of “video game music” to the public.
While it isn’t a pure chiptune, it’s worth knowing that pieces like this were being made decades ago when you trace the history back.