We really don't give chiptune artists or the micromusic scene the amount of attention they deserve here at DS Fanboy; to remedy that distressing fault, this week's installment of The DS Life turns your ears towards the clicks, pops, and wheezes of chiptune musician Maru's circuit-bent toys and Game Boy systems, low-tech instruments working in concert to sing a high-tech song.
There's something noble about a young geek unpacking a collection of obsolete handhelds and modified appliances, plugging them into each other, and putting on a humble sidewalk performance in downtown Fukuoka, Japan. Already dark, street lamps and shop windows light the show. A small crowd gathers around the electronic music buzzing out his doddering speakers while he sits on the concrete, Indian-style, head nodding to the beat and slipping over waves of noise.
The song Maru plays in the latter half of the video we've embedded above is "Insane Youth," a six-minute piece that speeds around you like a world shot in time-lapse, minutes flickering away with each frame, passing cars appearing only as ghosts with their trailing, titian eyes. The song takes you from uncertainty to urgency in its first minute and a half, testing you with its fuzzy hum before picking up its pace and volume.
Maru and USK are both currently making their way through Europe, traveling with the Chiptune Alliance Tour. These shows are probably much bigger productions than their street corner performances, but we imagine the songs are still every bit as personal.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-12-2007 @ 9:12PM
Dickwolf said...
great little piece, I'd love to see more of these!
even some articles focusing on some of the cool software would be cool, too! thanks!
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9-13-2007 @ 3:45AM
hobofood said...
I'm going to see them in Oslo next week. I can't wait.
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