Do you find yourself missing
the good old days when you’d sit in front of the TV wasting away time and brain
cells playing your Nintendo? If you’re
an old-school gamer, you probably miss the 8-bit music playing in the
background while you were saving princesses or shooting aliens.
Ash Eskrett, better known as
Sabrepulse, is a video game music producer who has recorded several tracks for
a number of today’s handheld games. Known as one of the pioneers of the chip-tunes music genre, this
producer has finally made his music available for commercial purchase via iTunes.
Famicom Connection (aptly
named after the ancient Nintendo gaming console) is his latest album to be released on iTunes and was
actually recorded in 2005.
This album has a collection
of over twenty varying songs, but the approach is analogous, featuring 8-bit
effects and wickedly high bpms (all elements of the genre). If you’re not
into electronic music or video games, the tracks may sound all too similar.
The trick is not to listen to
all of Famicom Connection in one go
or the tracks will wash over you like background music in a video game,
something that you should avoid since this album has several gems.
‘Ocean Bay’
utilises little vocals and a whole range of effects to create a summery beach
feel, which it does excellently: you’ll be looking for your bathing suit and
flip flops in no time.
The track ‘Dot Matrix Hero’
manages to incite the feeling of being at the circus and dreaming in bed at the
same time. With constantly changing bpms and effects, this song will fill you
with a heavy measure of 8-bit nostalgia.
‘I <3 Voltage’ starts off
slow and picks up the pace almost instantly, producing predictable, catchy
melodies that you won’t be able to stop clapping or nodding your head to.
Borrowing certain happy
hardcore and drum n’ bass elements, this album can only be described as feel-good
music. Trust us, you’ll have a hard time frowning when listening– just make sure
that you know what you’re getting yourself into; or you’ll hate it.
