It’s less about computer geekery and more about consumer geekery: video games, sci-fi and so on, but features a rapping Seth Green and cameos by Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) and Stan Lee.
Demos came about as a sort of “visual graffiti” that preceded video games that had been cracked (had their DRM removed) by a team or person who wanted to visually show off their artistic side as well as their technical prowess. In the early days, computing capabilities and space were severely limited and that required a certain finesse to create something amazing using very limited means. That meant that the music and animations created in this format required creativity as well as algorithmic magic, and physical parties sprung up way before the internet as a way to share files and knowledge and to compete and inspire each other. Demoscene: The Art of the Algorithm is a well-crafted documentary that narrates the history of the demoscene and demoparties, and captures the essence of the modern-day scene.
LINKS
Nectarine is a demoscene portal that’s still updated with demos
Pixeljoint Pixel Art Resources
Keygenmuysic.net Download .mod files ripped from demos or keygens / cracks. Requires a .mod player like one of the apps on Modplug.com
Keygen Music Jukebox Listen to demoscene / keygen music without need for a .mod player
Trackers are the original old school way to compose music on computers, using hexadecimal to assign effects and notes. Impulse Tracker was the one I used on DOS, but there are modern day equivalents like Sunvox and Psycle.
It’s the last few days to fund a futuristic role playing game that I contributed one of my Quantazelle to the promotional video. Here’s part of what I wrote over on my Quantazelle site:
“Always / Never / Now” is a storytelling game adventure that’s somewhere between James Bond and William Gibson in its action and intrigue. There’s a the street samurai with the metal legs and the one-time-professional bodyguard with the metal arms to the the cat burglar with the reckless guile, in over his head. Always/Never/Now translates these characters into ready-to-play action heroes on a mission that stands to change their dystopian future forever.
The designer, Will Hindmarch, an old friend, asked me for a track to use for the promotional video that was kind of “something befitting international espionage, action-adventure, and slickly classy near-future dystopias,” so I recommended Unlawful Furniture.
Here’s a cool chiptune + pixel art video featuring beer, the German language, robots, and snorkeling cows, snorkeling cows and a host of other surreal bits.
This 8-bit trip to bavaria captures the spirit of retro video-games and our Gameboy plays authentic Oktoberfest drinking music
The so-called ‘Wiesn’ in Munich is the biggest beer festival in the world and in this music-video you could join the CUBIES travelling there.
Goldfish – We Come Together (OFFICIAL) from Goldfish live on Vimeo.
An amusing 8bit / retro take on the latest single from Goldfish.
subVariant is planning to release a free-to-download collection called Frequencity featuring quality songs from regional musicians. All electronic music genres are welcome.
subVariant will also release an original t-shirt design in the theme of “Chicago Electronic Music” when the compilation is officially released.
Ready to submit? Read more and do it now!
The deadline for submissions is Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 8pm.
On June 4th, 2011 is the 4th Annual Experimental Garage Sale! This craft fair focuses on circuit bending and DIY musical instruments at the Experimental Sound Studio space with 12 sellers who will have plenty circuit bent devices, un-bent toys, electronic parts, kits, experimental instruments, contact microphones, guitar pedals, art, and more. The sale will begin rain or shine at 12:00 PM and last until 6:00 PM.
Here’s the Facebook Event page.
Here is a great television special about British synthpop & synthesizers in the late 70s and early 80s produced by BBC Four. Some of the talking heads are from members of Joy Division, Human League, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, OMD Gary Numan (who has Asberger’s by the way) and more.
thanks, Glen Stefani!
Genki Sudo / “World Order” <-- Google this guy, he's nuts! (In a good way)
Here’s a cool mini-documentary on the Roland TB-303, by Nate Harrison, the same guy who did the Amen Break documentary.
via Michael O’Shea