Merry Chipmas!

If you’re anything like me, you have a love-hate relationship with Christmas songs. Sure they might fill you with a warm and fuzzy sense of nostalgia, but at the same time most of them are so badly done and played ad infinitum that they also fill you with sweet, murderous rage. This is why I love holiday songs done in a completely different genre than I am used to hearing them.

One of my favorite genres that hasn’t really broken into the mainstream yet is Chip Music, where all the music is written using sound formats and equipment from vintage gaming computers and consoles. The resulting tunes sound like the music from classic games such as Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but there are many artists pushing the boundaries of what can be done with this limited palette. Many have albums available for free download at the website 8 Bit Peoples.

My pixelated art uses the visual equivalent of this palette, so I have a natural affinity for this style. This also makes me a good fit for any design projects relevant to this genre. Hint, hint. I have two such projects currently going on at the moment. The first is a compilation of holiday Chip Tunes (by such artists as Doctor Octoroc, 8-Bit Weapon, and ComputeHer) for a well-known video game publisher, that I cannot divulge at the moment (but I can tell you it’s brought to you by the same guys who put together the annual I Am 8-Bit exhibition.) But when I can I will post that info and pics here. The second is for an upcoming album of holiday Chip Tunes by Doctor Octoroc, titled “8-Bit Jesus”. You can read more about it and download the first half of the album for free on his blog. The site traffic has been very heavy as of lately, so if you can’t grab it there, you can download it from me here:

Download 8-Bit Jesus

The artwork you see above is something the good Doctor put together, but he has asked me to design new album artwork for the expected December 20th release of the full-length album. Stay tuned for that, and the other top secret project I am finishing up.