Shnabubula's Incredible Discography is All Available on Bandcamp

Shnabubula (Samuel Ascher-Weiss) of NYC is hands-down one of my favourite artists ever. Seriously, I think the guy is incapable of producing music I won't immediately love. I first discovered his work through the game music remix scene, as well as his chiptune work using video game "sound fonts" as instruments in the SNESology project. But, he writes and performs a lot of creative, original work too! I thought I had a handle on what was out there so far, but this month he surprised me by uploading a ton of previous work to his Bandcamp site.

Want to snag 13 albums worth of some of the greatest chiptune / piano / electronic / experimental / progressive / funk / jazz you'll ever hear, for free? Read on!

PROTODOME Releases New EP: CHIPFUNK

We've got two bits of cool news regarding U.K.-based chiptune artist Blake "PROTODOME" Troise, today! The first: he's released a nifty little EP, CHIPFUNK. The second: his previous album, BLUESHIFT, is now available to download for free!

RushJet1 Puts One Last Album "Out There" for 2013

In the mood to cap off the year with some retro NES bleeps and bloops? Chiptune artist extraordinaire RushJet1, known for tons of quality Mega Man re-imaginings as well as original works like Forgotten Music, has just the thing. His latest, Out There, just released today! Here's the concept, from the album's Bandcamp page:

Ever wondered what it's like in outer space? Ever wondered whether there's life on other planets out there? In RushJet1's second 8bitpeoples release, humans venture into space to find out and begin colonizing other planets. All is not well, though, as war ensues over control of a newly-found abandoned alien planet with advanced technology. What will the fate of the human race be? Recorded straight from the NES, these tunes were specifically written with the hardware in mind.

Head on over to RushJet1's album page before the remaining grains of 2013 slip through your fingers! Or, if you can't make it until next year, no problem -- the music is all available to listen to online for free, or download at any price you deem fair.

Examiner.com News, Holiday Music!

Just thought I'd share, I have recently been hired to write for Examiner.com. I'll be covering video game stories there, so please check it out!

My first story is about some albums of fun, game-themed holiday music that I think anyone can enjoy -- especially if you're partial to old-school 8-bit sounds. You can read the story right here, or click the individual album links below:


8-bit Christmas (Rush Coil)

8-Bit Jesus (Doctor Octoroc)

Wintertunes (Various Artists)

The 8bits of Christmas (The 8bitpeoples)

X'Mas Collections Music from Square Enix (Various Artists)

Music Monday: Shnabubula's NES JAMS

I listen to a lot of fan remixes and arrangements, especially those coming out of Overclocked Remix, but there aren't a great deal of remix artists that I actually recognize by name. "Shnabubula" (Samuel Ascher-Weiss) is a name I knew I had seen a lot of, but I didn't really know his style or works from the name alone. After discovering his latest solo album, NES JAMS, however -- I'll be paying a lot more attention.

NES JAMS is a combination piano and chiptune collection, presenting creative interpretations of music from classic NES games like Double Dragon, Zelda, Mega Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Castlevania, to name a few. While there are a range of tones and styles at work, it generally hugs pretty closely to jazz and progressive ideals with an impressively frantic energy. I love it. I feel like this album was made for me.

The whole thing can be enjoyed, for free, on the album's release page, or it can by purchased for download at whatever price and format one chooses (I'm not sure if there is even a set minimum).