Recommended house/techno

Recommendation of 8-bit: A collection of classic chiptune tracks

music writerKOH-1
Started working as a music writer as a side job while employed at a record shop, and for over 18 years I’ve contributed to music magazines, disc guide books, mooks, and web media. As a writer my main field is Western music, but as a listener for over 35 years, I always try to keep my curiosity alive with the motto “I like what I like.” I have experience playing in bands, where I was a bassist who handled songwriting and composition. Instruments I’ve played include bass, guitar, and piano. I began studying English in my mid-40s and continue to do so today.

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!

Recommendation of 8-Bit: A Collection of Chiptune Masterpieces (41–50)

Reformat The PlanetBit Shifter

Bit Shifter: “Reformat The Planet”

Reformat The PlanetBit Shifter

It’s a fun, upbeat track.

Its charm lies in how it builds excitement with a minimal number of sounds, and the casually inserted visuals in the video even depict a mixer in a pixel-art style.

If you search for the artist—who faithfully captures foundational chiptune with just a few sounds—and go to the top result, you can watch a video of them really getting into it live.

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By Your SideS.H.E

she – By Your Side

By Your SideS.H.E

It’s a rare chiptune track that includes vocals.

The sections with vocals use more conventional tones, but the instrumental parts are the real highlight for chiptune fans, which is hard to describe.

As a song, you could say it’s electronic music seasoned with a touch of chiptune.

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In conclusion

If you dive deeper into chiptune with the image of it as a genre made from the blippy sounds of classic games, you’ll soon realize there are actually many sounds that fuse with various genres like electronica, rock, and even punk.

Beyond the primitive chiptune made solely with limited notes and hardware, why not experience the depth of chiptune as a musical genre with vast potential?