Monday Night Game G8 One Day L8

Sorry Rebo, no Pac Man this week, I'm collecting a bunch of niftiness and make'n a special out of it, so woot woot!

1st and foremost, an interview...



Tonight's interview is with Nick Perrin of 8-bit Philharmonic. He's a beatbox'n (though no fan of hip-hop) 8-Bit-hoven who mixes classical intellect with Nintendo class. He's learning to draw manga, thinks music theory is way overrated, and enjoys drink'n liquor str8 when the plan is to get drunk (apparently years of taste-bud-destruction have made it easy). Check his page at www.myspace.com/8bitphilharmonic

My favorite song - "The Belmont Legend" (Castlevania)

*-* When did you form your band?

Some time over a year ago. I had just got into university and there was this videogame shop in the town where I found a whole slew of NES cartridges for sale. I took a list of them and downloaded ROMs to see if any were worth buying to play on my NES clone. This one game, Destination Earthstar, had a catchy main theme that got stuck in my head (the game itself was terrible). While recollecting this theme one day, and probably inspired by Video Games Live, I imagined it as an orchestral piece. I swiftly headed back to my computer and started working on an orchestral adaptation of the repetetive little loop from Destination Earthstar, and when it was done, I liked what I had done so much that I decided to begin a whole project of remaking 8-bit tunes into symphonic pieces. Thus 8-bit Philharmonic was born.

*-* What University did you go to?

I'm currently at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. Throughout my whole life I've been terrible at school, just in general. Always had problems, and it's still the case in university. And I don't just mean it casually like most people say it, I mean actual academic failures and whatnot. Luckily, the more music-related courses I get to do each year, the better I seem to do. In first year of university I thought I was going to study English since I had enjoyed writing so much in high school and won the creative writing award and all that jazz... but by the end of that first year, I had spent more time learning about, listening to and composing music, that it was obvious what I should switch to start studying. Let's not forget that was also when I formed 8-bit Philharmonic ... All the support from fans made the decision easier :D

*-* What is your music background? Band members?

8-bit Philharmonic is just one guy and some powerful virtual orchestral instruments. I'm Nick Perrin, the arranger behind it all.
My musical background consists of a few years playing trombone, teaching myself piano and listening to lots and lots of film and classical music. In fact, when I started 8-bit Philharmonic and released the first bunch of tracks, I had almost zero music theory knowledge. Everything I had just set out to learn myself, even ear training. Not until this year have I taken a course in music theory. Of course, by that point I had learned almost all that was taught in the course via the internet.

*-* How do you describe your music to people?

"Symphonic arrangements of traditional Japanese classics" XD
I explain it more in depth after they've had a listen. Unless those people are gamers or VGM fans, in which case I gush about it right away.

*-* What does your name mean?

8-bit Philharmonic: A "philharmonic" is a music lover, or a way to reference an orchestra. Coming up with this name when I started this project was a no-brainer. I love 8-bit, and "my orchestra" plays it. Case closed!

*-* Wat got you to make this music and not a "regular" band?

What got me to make this music - and this might sound cheesy - is the sheer brilliance of so many 8-bit works of NES games. There is so much music tucked away in hundreds of titles with nameless composers, so much that is ignored and looked down upon just because it's "beeps and bloops", but the music itself is awesome. Since the NES had limited sound hardware, the tunes could only ever have three notes playing at once. The composers then were forced to be creative BECAUSE of the limits. What came out of that are some of the best pieces of music in videogame history.

So, when I would listen to these pieces, after a while I stopped hearing the 8-bit piece itself, and I began to hear a greater, more complex and full and engaging piece, the full potential of what could be built on and expanded from the pre-existing rhythmic and harmonic structure. Essentially I wanted people to listen to the music, say "this is amazing" then find out that it came from an 8-bit chiptune. Mainly I knew that there was music lost to time and breaking consoles and I wanted to recreate its power.

I didn't need to start a regular band because I already compose a lot of stuff. Thing is, arranging 8-bit pieces actually made me capable of writing my own orchestral pieces. Before that, anything orchestral I did was garbage. Now it's the genre I mainly compose in.

*-* What's stopping you from performing live?

Performing live for me is impossible... until I can afford to rent an orchestra haha. Otherwise the show would be pretty boring, a guy on stage with a CD player going "okay so does anyone here remember that obscure but awesome 8-bit track from when you were kids? I made it into a symphony! Like that guy Mozart! No? No one...?" That's really all there is to it, unless I can figure out a way to make an interesting live show with other musicians out of it. Performing live is something I love to do, I'm a beatboxer. I've done big shows, little shows, shows with an acapella group, etc. so getting up on stage and entertaining the crowd is not the issue - I just don't have a van big enough to kidnap the whole Toronto Symphony Orchestra yet.



I wouldn't mind collaborating with some musicians in a VGM-related band who play live though.

*-* Who or what are your influences?

My influences, for this project at least, are a slew of classical and film music composers. Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Alkan, Howard Shore, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Dario Marianelli and more.

Lest we forget the many 8-bit composers of yesteryear, them too. Problem is they were often credited only with short nicknames so I couldn't possibly name them all.

*-* "...for this project"?

There is of course the 8-bit project, Daedatheus, mentioned in the final words (http://www.myspace.com/daedatheus ). There was also a "progressive symphonic post-black metal" (quoted from someone on a forum ages ago attempting to put it in a genre) one-man band called "Haunted Era", which was one of my first musical projects ever. You can find some of that music at http://www.myspace.com/hauntedera .

At one point in high school I worked with a friend on a prog-rock-electro-funk-whatever project, another genre-defying band called "xNTP". The name represents the Myers-Briggs typology tests. I'm ENTP, he's INTP, thus the "x" in front of "NTP." In the end it just turned out like some good old rockin' videogame music. We never really took it anywhere but the music still exists, check it out at http://www.myspace.com/xntp .

In terms of everything else, I work on music for amateur films and games where I can. The thing about being a musician is that in this day and age, the music industry is so different from what it used to be. The internet is almost entirely to blame - your music career starts as soon as you start being a musician. I may be studying in university but it's only for a degree, life experience, and music study. My music career has already begun and it's something I'll be working at during and after university until I can make a living from it!

*-* What do you use to make your music?

In terms of software, I use Logic Audio, EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold Pro XP, izotope oZone 3, and Sound Forge. My hardware is basically my computer, an M-Audio Audiophile 192 audio interface, and a pair of Yorkville YSM-1P's for monitoring. The monitors are fairly new though so I don't think any of the current tracks on the Myspace were made on them.

*-* What's your favorite game system?

My favourite game system? I should probably answer NES to coincide with my music, but really, either the SNES or the N64. Too many great and groundbreaking titles on each. To this day I still play Smash Bros 64 (you can play it online! challenge me to a game sometime and I'll whoop you). Most of my favourite gaming experiences have been on PC though, admittedly.

*-* What is and what was your favorite games? Why?

My favourite game right now, at this moment, is definitely Shadow of the Colossus. This is a game that sounded so ideal to me that I bought it a few months ago and I don't even have a PS2. I just didn't want it to disappear from the shelves before I could grab it. I borrowed a friend's PS2 and played through it.

The game is so utterly beautiful and does things with its storytelling that ONLY videogames can do, finally illustrating another step in the evolution of videogames as an artform. The soundtrack by Koh Otani is also incredible and gets repeated listens from me on a regular basis. I highly recommend this masterpiece of a game, but know that you're getting into a very artsy experience that requires patience and an appreciation of the subtle.

Plans for a movie of this game have been announced but it's being written by the guy who did the new Chun Li movie, so I'm not holding out much hope haha.

*-* Name ten songs on your "iPod"?

Actually I have a Creative Zen touch from like 4 years ago, and it's still going strong. 10 songs you might hear on it if you pressed "random":

Artist - Song
Borknagar - The Presence is Ominous
Rahzel & Kenny Muhammad - The Four Elements (I'm a beatboxer!)
Biosphere - Green Reflections
Revived Power - Koh Otani
3rd Piano Concerto - Rachmaninoff
Dreams of Triumph (remake of "Beginning") - Konami & Michiru Yamane
Some OCRemix track :)
Anduril - Howard Shore
Joy Inside my Tears - Stevie Wonder
Firebird Suite - Stravinsky

*-* Any last words?

Everyone out there who appreciates, remixes, or writes 8-bit music - keep the stuff going strong! There is so much excellent art in those old grey cartridges, renew it and present it to as many as you can.

I've tried my hand at writing 8-bit, doing my best to emulate the styles of true 8-bit games. Check it out at www.myspace.com/daedatheus . Unlike 8-bit Philharmonic, I don't plan to take the 8-bit project anywhere really, it's just for fun. But who knows what might happen.

Also - 2 albums to come from 8-bit Philharmonic in the future include a symphonic album and a megaman string quartet compilation. Stay tuned!

Keep it 8-bit,
Nick

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He's got two songs ("Hard working Moles are Good Moles" and "The End.") on a SUPER MARIO RPG compilation album "Heavy Troopa is Ready to Launch!" from gamemusic4all.com.

"This compilation is a tribute and celebration of the amazing and wonderful game Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars. this is a three disc album that recreates nearly all the songs and scenes from the 1996 Nintendo/Squaresoft game. There are many amazing and diverse artists and bands lending their skill to commemorate this pinnacle of video game entertainment . . ."

Album covers -





I can has the album for free? Actually, YES! It's free to download! Go here - http://gamemusic4all.com/heavytroopa.html

Nick, thank you for yer time, and keep kick'n some Smash Bros ass!

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Upon ravishing and raping the internet for some 8 Bit criteria, I've stumbled upon a documentary I'm rather eager to see. It's an 8 Bit documentary (fitting isn't it?) that completely fell under my radar. I'm ashamed of myself.



As the site (www.8bitmovie.com) reads -

"8 BIT is a hybrid documentary examining the influence of video games on contemporary culture.

A mélange of a rocumentary, art expose and a culture-critical investigation, 8 BIT ties together seemingly disconnected phenomena like the 80’s demo scene, chiptune music and contemporary artists using machinima and modified games.

Produced in NYC, LA, Paris and Tokyo, 8 BIT brings a global perspective on the new artistic approaches of the DIY generation which grew up playing Atari and Commodore 64.

Some of the artists featured in 8 BIT include Cory Arcangel, Bit Shifter, Bodenstandig 2000, Bubblyfish, Mary Flanagan, Alex Galloway, Glomag, Paul Johnson, John Klima, Johan Kotlinski, Nullsleep, Joe McKay, Tom Moody, Akiko Sakaizumi, Eddo Stern, TEAMTENDO, Treewave and Carlo Zanni.

With the help of media critic Ed Halter and new media curator and writer Christiane Paul, these very recent artistic strategies are put in the historical context of modernist and postmodernist discourse and examined as potential examples of a transition into fresh, uncharted territory.

8 BIT insists that in the 21st century Game-Boy rock, machinima and game theory belong together and share a common root: the digital heritage of Generation X. "

As soon as I get my grimy little hands on it, legally or not so, I will post a review. Here's the trailer for now...

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78mZVgLye5Q

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Next! All about MANIAC MANSION!



In 1987, Lucasfilm Games (now known as LucasArts) released a Commodore 64 classic that to this day is still a favorite among gamers (and a pioneer to modern gameplay) video game legend. It introduced multiple endings, multiple user selected characters with multiple attributes (There were seven characters, Dave you played as by default, and your choice of 6 others, each with their own skills. Dave Miller, Michael F. Stoppe, Syd, Bernard Bernoulli, Wendy, Razor (sexxy punk chic <3), and Jeff Woodie) and critical clues contained in numerous cut scenes. SCUMM, or "Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion", was a game engine created for and named after Maniac Mansion by LucasArts. The kick ass part about it... it was used for ten years after the fact to make 13 other original LucasArts titles, epic.



The plot summary is as follows -

"It has been twenty years, to the day, since a mysterious purple meteor came hurtling out of the sky and made a large crater in the front lawn of a huge Victorian-era mansion belonging to the Edison family. Dr. Fred, his wife Nurse Edna, and their son Edward "Weird Ed" Edison were reclusive people who left the house very rarely, but the meteor's arrival brought about a strange change in Dr. Fred and the family were seen even less, and even their mansion has fallen into disrepair. Lately, patients from the local hospital have begun to disappear without trace.

Now, a local teenage cheerleader, Sandy Pantz, has been kidnapped. Dave Miller, her boyfriend, saw her being carried off to the Edison's mansion and has gathered a few of his college pals on a rescue mission to invade the mansion and save Sandy. The player could select the friends from a group of six, and the game would play somewhat differently depending on which friends were selected. The game was a parody of the horror B-movie genre, featuring a secret lab, disembodied tentacles, and an evil mastermind."



Deeeeelicious! Shit, they even had a tv show based of it. You remember? Back in 1990?
It aired for 3 years, 3 whole seasons! Ya baby! (Why so excited? Nostalgic win? YES.)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CutaNxxS8N8

Hahahahhahah, while I'm posting videos, check this old-school 8 Bit GamePro tv show with a Maniac Mansion mention. Miss those days????? Me too. HOLY CRAP, Treasure Master?!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msJ_ynFvcTA

There have been a number of references throughout the years in other various games, even in Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (remember the random ass Charles the Plant?) Also, do you recall the Purple Tentacle in the hidden bonus stage from the SNES version of Zombies Ate My Neighbors? That's from Maniac Mansion. Even in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure, Purple Meteor appears on a shelf in the office of Indiana Jones.

There's a fan release from 2004 called Maniac Mansion Deluxe, which runs under Windows. They enhanced graphics and music, even fixed some bugs and did some changes (such as a slightly harder puzzle to remove the paint blotch on the fourth floor, if you'd played the game, you'll know what I'm talking about) Get it here - http://www.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=detail&id=401



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That's all I feel like typing for now. Maybe I'll post l8er this week out of boredom... or to post the stuff I miss placed on my computer that was going to be here this week. We'll see.

And STILL...