Nanoloop

Nanoloop is a sequencer program which allows to control the Game Boy's built-in sound generators through a minimalistic graphical interface. Being a stepsequencer, it plays a pattern of 16 1/16 notes in an endless loop, while notes can be set, edited and deleted. There are four channels which are controlled indepentently. Each channel's patterns can be saved to file slots in nanoloop's onboard flash memory and are then available for mixing new combinations or song arrangement.

The idea of nanoloop is to simplify the stepsequencer concept as far as possible while still keeping -and hopefully increasing- the gamesome, addictve character of loop-based music creation. Despite the simple design and usage, it allows to create complex structures. There are no pre-set sounds, instead, raw components are tweaked and arranged in a building blocks fashion.

Nanoloop is available in two types:

• Version 1 for the original Game Boy models (including DMG, GBP, GBC, GBA, GBA SP)

• Version 2 for Game Boy Advance (including GBA, GBA SP, GB micro, DS, DS lite)

Nanoloop 1 uses the console's simple built-in sound-generators, resulting in the typical rough and clear bleeps & noises as known from video games of the 8-bit era.

Nanoloop 2 extends this basic set through a custom software-synthesizer with filters, FM-synthesis and polyphony, allowing for more smooth tones as well as more noisy ones. Version 2 also provides some additional convenient functions which make operation even simpler.

Price : EU65 for 2.3 Cart & EU58 for 1.3 Cart (Not including shipping)

Info at : http://www.nanoloop.com

CCH @ Rantai Art Event 29-31 August

Event : Rantai Art, Jaya One
Date : 29-31 August 2008

We were thankful that Colourama's organizer invited us to join as Colourama road show at Rantai Art Event although we need to pay for the rent of the booth.
Powerful performance by all the performers, all the people flocked in to see what we doing, tutorial and demo done, and Wendy's is a great place to eat.
Mikrochip no.32 covered Merdeka Song and all the people sing along...

Photo by : Faisal Aziz

Chiptune by Wikipedia definition

A chiptune, or chip music, is music written in sound formats where all the sounds are synthesized in realtime by a computer or video game console sound chip, instead of using sample-based synthesis. The "golden age" of chiptunes was the mid 1980s to early 1990s, when such sound chips were the most common method for creating music on computers. Chiptunes are closely related to video game music, which often featured chiptunes out of necessity. The term has also been recently applied to more recent compositions that attempt to recreate the chiptune sound for purely aesthetic reasons, albeit with more complex technology.

Early computer sound chips had only simple tone and noise generators with few channels, imposing limitations on both the complexity of the sounds they could produce and the number of notes that could be played at once. In their desire to create a more complex arrangement than what the medium apparently allowed, composers developed creative approaches when developing their own electronic sounds and scores, employing a diversity of both methods of sound synthesis, such as pulse width modulation and wavetable synthesis, and compositional techniques, such as a liberal use of arpeggiation. The resultant chiptunes sometimes seem harsh or squeaky to the unaccustomed listener.

Modern computers can play a variety of chiptune formats through the use of emulators and platform-specific plugins for media players. Depending on the nature of hardware being emulated, 100% accuracy in software may not be available. The commonly used MOS Technology SID chip, for example, has a multi-mode filter including analog circuits whose characteristics are only mathematically estimated in emulation libraries.[1][dubious – discuss]

The chip scene is far from dead with "compos" being held, groups releasing music disks and with the cracktro/demo scene. New tracker tools are making chip sounds available to less techy musicians. For example, Little Sound DJ for the Nintendo Game Boy has an interface designed for use in a live environment and features MIDI synchronization. The NES platform has the Midines, a cartridge that turns the system into a full blown hardware MIDI controlled Synthesizer. On the DOS platform, Fast Tracker is one of the most famous chiptune makers because of the ability to create hand-drawn samples with the mouse.

Full description : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiptune

CCH @ UiTM, Shah Alam

Event : UiTM Shah Alam Business School Rockout
Date : 2nd & 3rd August 2008

Nothing to tell about, except poor management by the event organizer. And for the first time JW86 perform with us.

Wayfar MidiNES, from midi to NES

Midines is a hardware / cartridge interface (game) that enables MIDI control of the 8bit NES sound chip. Midines allows the 8bit NES to join the ranks along side other retro gear in the professional MIDI recording studio. NesFX is a retro graphic visualization that is seeded by the incoming MIDI sound data, and is included with Midines.

Midines is crafted via modifying 8bit Nintendo game cartridges, cleaning / stripping the original cases, removing the original game CIC chip and installing the Midines 1.1 circuitboard.

Midines is a independently authored, non-Nintendo licensed hardware interface that enables MIDI access to the 8bit NES sound chip, allowing integration of the NES into your MIDI recording studio.

Midines provides full access to the 2x Pulse, Tri, Noise and DMC (sample) channels. Including access to sweep, duty, volume and length sound registers. The sound routine is not dependent on the vertical screen refresh rate (vblank) allowing high speed MIDI CC modulation of all parameters.

Price Retail : US$89 (Not including shipping)

Info at : http://www.wayfar.net

CCH @ Independent Soiree

Event : Independent Soiree, Bukit Jelutong
Date : Still Cannot Remember

It was the first introduction CCH to the public. Renting small booth outside big gig, showing off all the gadget on the table, no proper schedule, free access entering the gig, hot school girl passing by and it was a very hot day at somewhere in Bukit Jelutong.
It was also first time Bit The Medusa performed in Malaysia... accompanied with their guitarist friend, Galih.

FAMITRACKER, create chiptune in your PC for FREE!!!

FamiTracker is a free windows tracker for producing music for the NES/Famicom-systems. The interface is based on MadTracker and should be easy to use if you've been using trackers before. One of the features is NSF-file exporting. That allows music created in this tracker to be played on the real hardware, or even for for use in your own NES-applications.

Some other features:

• Full real-time emulation of all channels
• Internal PCM to DPCM-sample converter
• MIDI input devices are supported
• NTSC & PAL modes are both supported

Download it at : http://famitracker.shoodot.net/

CCH @ Aimen's birthday party

Event : Aimen's birthday party

Date : Cannot Remember
Performer : Koreg Syndicate, Moronbeat, Mikrochip No.32 & My Empty Battery

It was one of the first time we all met and perform together. Before this we all knew each other through myspace only. The idea came across the organizer (Aimen) when he cannot afford band or performance as he is on tight budget. So he gather around all the speaker from Chippy house and invited his own band (Koreg Syndicate), his classmate Moronbeat and both Klang's Chiptuners..
All the chiptuners still using laptop as their music instrument at that time. The performance was great although there is not so many people at that time, it was raining.
It was a great time for us, as we learn alot of new thing from each other...

Chip Chip Hurray!!

ChipChip Hurray!!is 1st malaysian chiptune community. consist of local and neighbour musician who sharing a common love for classic videogames and an approach to music which reflected this obsession. it is also to support friendship and exchanging of information between musician.
ChipChip Hurray!! bringing concept of maximizing musicality with a very minimal equipment.
Our love for the audio/visual aesthetics of early videogame consoles and homecomputers continues to provide us with the drive to push the medium to its very limits, and then see just how much further we can go after that ... you know, just for fun.

Photo by : Khairul Idham Hamdan