If you're in New York over the next few days, head straight for the Blip Festival at the Eyebeam Gallery in Chelsea. It's a four day music and multimedia event, featuring 40 performers from around the world who use hacked vintage games hardware to make delicious chiptunes. Commodore 64, Atari 2600, NES and Game Boy will all figure and there are presentations and workshops for interested newbies.
The New York Times has a short feature on the event:
...in an era of microgenres and techno-enthusiasts, it should come as no surprise that there is a worldwide audience for music played on a Commodore 64. Last year Mr. Johnson, who performs under the name Nullsleep, and his fellow chiptune artist Joshua Davis, a k a Bit Shifter, went on a month-and-a-half-long, 20-stop world tour. And starting tomorrow they will welcome hundreds of expected fans to kick off the second annual Blip Festival, billed as the planet's largest gathering of chiptune aficionados.
Of course, you don't have to go all the way to North America to check out the chiptune scene. You can see the likes of the ZX Spectrum Orchestra, The Lost Levels and Sabrepulse in the UK. Also, as I mentioned recently, Cory Arcangel, who hacks old arcade games to create new art installations, is exhibiting at the Spacex gallery in Exeter from December 15 to February 23.
