« Demonstration | Main | Curious »

January 11, 2009

8static

I went to 8static last night. It’s a local series of chiptuning or 8-bit/Game Boy music concerts. It was at a yoga studio, of all places, a few blocks away which turned out to be a really good venue. I really like this stuff! The sounds these musicians start with are familiar and strangely comforting which is not surprising given their origins. After being fed through layers of distortion and amplified to near-deafening levels, though, they become hair-raising and abrasive, just the kind of sound that I love. (They dispensed free earplugs at the door!) Its coarseness and really fast tempos make it almost compulsively danceable. The fast-moving video projections at these shows are kind of disorienting, too. There is also the weird sight of musicians hunched over, intently playing these tiny plastic objects in their hands who are being observed by an audience hunched over their phones, texting and taking pictures.

There were four acts: three solo performers and a trio (two guitars and a bass with preset tracks, I think). They were all very good but the headliner, 8GB, from Argentina, was so good that I nearly forgot the others had even played. (There are pictures above and a 30 second sample below, both thanks to my iPhone.) He seemed mostly to manipulate beats and had less melody that the others but more variety overall.The sound was utterly compelling and he was obviously having a great time making it. The otherwise weirdly passive crowd was a swirl of motion during his set but thinned considerably by the end of his generous 75 minutes. It’s not surprising. As much as I like this music, it’s assaultive, and exhausting to listen to. Unfortunately, a small technical problem, causing him to turn the volume down for a few seconds, removed some of the drama from first noticing that his final song was a cover of Kraftwerk’s classic ”The Robots” (Note to promoters: The sound man should be at the board while the band is playing.)

Anamanaguchi who preceded 8GB were really good and entertaining but their songs had a sameness that was ultimately tiresome. Also, they are the only 8-bit band I’ve heard who seem to need a singer. None of them have singing, at least none of the eight “bands” I’ve seen, but Anamanaguchi’s pop stylings (and appearance) seemed to be screaming for a front man. Call me old-fashioned.

Anyway, Check them all out And come to next month’s show. Their sites are all reachable though the 8static web site. The second performer, Animal Style, urged the audience to download his music for FREE here.

Se you at the next show on February 7th!

Technorati Tags: 8GB, 8static, anahanaguchi, animal style, chiptuning, game boy, music, philadelphia, rhinostrich

Posted by HighStrungLoner in Music at 8:43 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.thehighstrungloner.com/cgi-bin/mt4/mt-tb.cgi/2007

Comments

Post a comment