The Rise of Bitpop
By Lewis Fitzjohn (DJ Allergy) 2007
In this document, I will be looking at the recent musical movement known as Bitpop. I shall explore Its origins, the artists and the technology used, in order to ascertain how and why it has become a popular genre and an underground music scene.
I. What is Bitpop?
It seems that there are many different degrees at which people define the genre and the various other genres surrounding it. As these words are relatively new in origin, it makes them very difficult to define, as one may read and hear them used with different intended definitions. What I can say with some certainty is that the word bitpop is a genre title that describes a movement of artists that use 8-bit games consoles from the 1980’s and 90’s (or samples from them) in new ways to create musical and sometimes visual compositions and experiences. This is achieved through a combination of circuit bending (the practice of adding electrical contacts to a circuit board in order to change it’s circuitry) and software development. As Mike Rosenthal (Arts director of The Tank NYC) puts it “These people grew up with these toys and are now taking them apart” (Blip Festival / Press Information). The ambiguity arises when you find people composing music either using emulators to create their sound, or exporting genuine chip sounds into samplers or music production programs and combining them with non chip sounds. To some of the more die-hard chip composers, this would defy the purpose, and would therefore be exempt from the genre title of bitpop “A lot of people on the scene have a purist mentality when it comes to this specific genre. Like the c64 demo scene, they take pride in the fact that they’re able to push a console’s sound chip further than was thought possible” (8-Bit Betty 2007) Some of these deviations however become extremely difficult to pin down when the area of postproduction is brought into question. Many of the Chiptune remixes are considered to be exempt, as they are tracked and mastered in music production programs such as Protools or Logic. If this were the case, where would chip music be placed if it was being put through a compressor or a certain amplifier to create a distinctive sound? These ambiguities are not yet defined by one rule or another. Nor do I believe that these small details will ever be truly separated. After all, it is the multitude of opinions from the audience that defines the genre.
One thing is definite out of this however. Without this adaptation, bitpop would never have become as strong and popular as it is today. Artists such as The Postal Service who (with only one album and one B side EP), are relatively new on the scene, use 8-bit sounds in combination with more recent drum samples and live vocals. Bands such as these have in recent days served to make the underground scene of bitpop more acknowledged by the public, and possibly more accessible too. Other artists such as 8-Bit Betty, and Anamanaguchi who are listed in online encyclopaedias as examples of bitpop artists, consider themselves to deviate too far from the origins and therefore be exempt from the genre title. I believe that these deviations are what separate Bitpop from its origins, pieces of music described as Chiptunes.Origins
Bitpop is a relatively new genre of music. It is very difficult to tell exactly where and when the genre was formed, but it’s age can be put into perspective. Josh Davis (AKA Bit Shifter) and Jeremiah Johnson (Nullsleep) are among those thought to have founded the genre, and are still performing today at 34 and 26 years of age. This genre (like all musical genres) is a development from others. Bitpop however, separates its self out from previous genres in that it has developed from music outside the CD and radio market. Bitpop its self is a sub genre within the wider area of Chiptunes. Also known as Chip Music or Micro music, Chiptunes are sequenced compositions where microchips within a computer generate synthesized sounds and tones in real-time. Chip Tunes are well known for being used in the 1980s and 90s to accompany computer games. The pursuit of creating automatically generated music from a computer program has existed since computer technology was in its early stages. Even before the arrival of home computers have projects been undertaken to follow this pursuit.
I. Early Chip Music
The earliest example of microchip produced music I can find, is when the CSIRAC (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer) first made a sequenced melody with an on board synthesizer chip in 1951 (CSIRAC / The University of Melbourne’s Official Website). Unfortunately, no audio recording of this music was ever made, but there has been a reconstruction of the sound made at a later date by three of the original CSIR team members, Ron Bowles (engineer), John Spencer (Programmer) and Jurij (George) Semkiw (engineer). This sound was recorded and placed on the university of Melbourne’s website (CSIRAC / The University of Melbourne’s Reconstruction). They had very strict rules regarding the accuracy of the reconstruction, using difference tolerances of under and around 1%. The sound of the reconstruction plays a monophonic melody using a very grainy sounding oscillator. Also certain notes have what sounds like tuning beats over them, giving them a quite harsh and rough quality, whereas other notes are relatively pure in tone.
Since then, there was little potential in the field of chip music until the arrival of the altair 8800 in 1975. This was the first home PC which came as a kit to be constructed by the users. It had no keyboard, video output or even sound output. The user would enter information via switches, and results would be displayed through a series of LED’s on the front panel. On its release, the Altair 8800 made history when it played music from a homemade basic program. Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple computers) and Steve Doppier from the “Homebrew Computer Club” in California were able to do this by writing a BASIC program that generated RF interference to interrupt a radio next to the computer so that it played the Beatles song “The Fool in the Hill”. This was a breakthrough in the world of computing, as it demonstrated for the first time ever that programming was available to the public, and at an affordable price.
Since then, chiptunes have existed throughout the evolution of digital entertainment. We’ve heard them in video games ranging from the Commodore 64 (1981) right up to the Nintendo Wii (2006). They have also accompanied arcade boards and fruit machines in amusement arcades, as well as existing in portable devices, from the Nintendo Gameboy (1989) and ranging up to modern day mobile phones.II. The C64 Demo Scene
The sound sets from synthesizer chips of early computer devices have in many cases, been creatively reserved for corporate programmers, and mostly for those privileged enough to have been games developers in the 1980’s and 90’s. In light of this, there have been movements toward developing software and modifying hardware to create publicly owned compositions and instruments. The C64 demo scene is the earliest example of this. This movement started in the mid 80’s when Charles Deenen created compilations of music that would be ran on a C64 as a program. After this, the Dutch groups 1001 Crew and The Judges, created their own “demos” (as they are called) that display visuals and play music. These programs were created often as non-interactive experiences that were designed to stretch the limits of what is possible on the C64. This scene developed into teams of musicians, graphic designers and programmers creating demos to be shown at large gatherings in Venlo in the Netherlands and other locations around Europe. At this period, music had to be coded as there was no software available to give the user enough control over the sound chip to fulfil the requirements of the scene. Those who called themselves musicians in this scene also had to possess professional level computing abilities.
The Appeal
Many of us recognise the blips and beeps of old games consoles. Music from games such as Tetris and Mario has become well recognized amongst the public. It seems bizarre at first that people would listen to these sounds at home or in their car as music. Surprisingly though this seems to be the case. So what is it about Bitpop that captures the audience, and why do artists choose to compose in this genre? As part of my research, I interviewed the following artists and asked them these very questions. 8-bit, 8 bit Weapon, 8 bit Betty, Firebrand Boy, Tugboat and The Depreciation Guild.
I. The Audience
Who is the audience, and what attracts them to Bitpop? There definitely seems to be a nostalgic element to those currently in their twenties and thirties, “We are the Nintendo generation. Everyone remembers playing Atari or Nintendo. Even if they didn’t have a console, or didn’t play it for as many hours as other people, video games were such a phenomena that they inspired magazines, movies, cartoons, clothing, etc.” (8 Bit Betty). Computer games were so unavoidable for this generation’s youths, that it seems everyone in this generation is familiar with them whether they were gamers or not. Due to the nature of the sounds used in bitpop, there is a certain unique aesthetic to the sound that is highly reminiscent of early computer games and to anyone who is familiar with them, cannot be interpreted in any other way.
This recognition is also an international one and is not reliant on language, “play the mario theme for kids in 20 different countries and they’ll all tell you where it came from.” (8-bit). This means that Bitpop performances will capture a larger, multicultural audience, and no matter how relatively obtuse the people, they will have something to relate to “if you played Atari and some kid in Russia played the same game, you totally bond over this weird shared experience.” (8-Bit). This also carries significance in that it brings fans of the genre together, to form good atmospheres as a performance context.
Due to the increase in popularity of computer games, one is no longer viewed as a “geek” if they are compulsive users of technology or big video gamers, as almost everyone is firmly wired in these days. This has meant that becoming a pseudo geek is now in fashion as it holds an “I was here first” prestige about it. As With the recent rise in Indie music, it has become evident that this fashion is firmly in place. Indie icons can be seen all over the media dressing and marketing themselves with this image. “The ultrahip dress like nerds, and listen to nerdy music.” (8 Bit Betty). So Chiptunes and Bitpop to the marketers and the audience are the ultimate celebration of all that it is to be a geek “Chiptune popularity could be considered an extension of this “hip to be square” phenomena.” (8 Bit Betty). Fashion is an important factor within the world of popular music. “music has always been a bridge between art and fashion” (McLaren 2003). Much like the clothing we wear, the type of music one listens to in modern culture is often considered a statement or representation of ones personality and individuality. Being involved in the Bitpop scene, could therefore be a statement to show that one has embraced the rise of technology from the outset.
There have been producers and artists also who have been actively promoting this musical style to the public. Malcom McLaren (the man behind the Sex Pistols) is currently looking at the world of chiptunes describing it as “a new kind of folk music for the digital age.” (Wired Magazine). Beck released the album Guero in 2005 which contains chiptune sounds in some of the tracks. As a multi genre musician, Beck made no conscious effort to enter the scene market of Bitpop (Yahoo Music / Dust to Dust) however as an internationally famous artist, his influence spreads far. This has become an entrance to the genre for many who are captured in these mainstream markets.
The Internet has also played a major part in promoting Bitpop. The record label 8bitpeoples is firmly grounded online. It’s homepage acts as a huge hyperlink nerve to all things bitpop. It is advertised with a link to it whenever you are on a site related to the genre, and once there it contains links to various other places on the Internet. It also contains information about all the artists on its label along with previews of music, making it much easier to get caught by the genre.
Another big website that has facilitated Bitpop’s popularity is the Swiss site, Micromusic.net. This is a community and radio station online, and a travelling festival offline. It features it’s own radio player, chat rooms, forums and music downloads. It the project began in 1998 under the name “Futurelab”, and the website was launched in 1999. It’s creators; Gino Esposto and Michael Burkhardt are Chiptune artists themselves and are clearly doing all within their power to spread the sound of bitpop as far as they can take it. Their site, now has around 3000 members who can use the site to broadcast their chip music, and advertise their gigs and records. Their festivals have toured around Berlin, Basel, München, London, San Francisco, zürich and Hamburg.
Myspace has also acted as a major factor in promoting Bitpop. It’s through here that I was able to contact many of the artists that I did. It’s common knowledge these days that Myspace is a very effective networking tool where people worldwide can advertise and communicate. Bitpop and Chiptune artists, like most contemporary bands have their own spaces here capturing even more people.
II. The Artists
Why do artists compose music in this genre? It would appear that the appeal for the audience differs somewhat to that of the composers. The artists spoken to all seemed to be big video games players in their youth, though nostalgia however was seldom an element whilst explaining why they made music of this type.
It seems as though much of Bitpop is about adding modern electronic music influences to the 8-bit sound sets such as drum & bass, breakbeat and braindance (from the likes of Aphex twin, Squarepusher and The Prodigy) as a kind of post modern way of glorifying old game music “I had heard a Bomberman remix a long time ago that got me thinking about how cool it would have been playing Nintendo if the music had breakcore influences.” (8 Bit Betty). In a creative sense, this is a way of expanding the capabilities of the original machines, which is a pursuit that has existed since the beginning of the C64 demo scene.
One of the major factors that need be addressed at this point is that of restriction. In this day and age of advanced technology, one is limited merely by their imagination. The problem with that concept is that creatively, one can become somewhat overwhelmed when facing such a vast amount of possibilities. Artists throughout history have been known to restrict themselves as a means of inspiration, in attempts to make themselves more prolific. Chiptunes are another means of achieving this. Given the technical abilities of the hardware, the original chips are heavily restricting. The synthesizer chips inside early games consoles and other chiptune creating devices often have limited polyphony and only a small range of oscillators “I enjoy the creative challenge of writing songs that sound really lush and full on hardware that is normally seen as providing the exact opposite sound.” (The Depreciation Guild). The Nintendo Gameboy for example only has two monophonic square wave channels, one monophonic customisable oscillator channel and one white noise channel. The original games of these consoles had to use these channels for both sound and music, making it even more of a challenge for the composers and programmers. Dealing with this has become not only a reason why chip composition is practiced, but also the very technical makeup and characteristic of the finished products “Some solutions to compositional problems (such as rapid arpeggiation instead of playing chords, or quickly oscillating between two notes an octave apart to make something sound fatter) have become so standard that they’ve almost become a defining stylistic element of the genre.” (8-Bit Betty). Without these solutions, the bitpop sound would be non-existent, as it was the pursuit to make music that was computer efficient that resulted in many of the sounds that are associated with computer games.
Bitpop however is not necessarily held back by the same restrictions of 8 bit games composers. If for example someone is using a single Gameboy to make music, they would not have to worry about sound effects interrupting the sound channels. They would also be free to use wider ranges of equipment. Unlike Chiptunes, creating a piece of music in the genre of bitpop may involve any methods, so long as the finished product sounds appropriate to the scene.
Chip music (bitpop in particular) is also relatively easy to produce at home, as is it all midi controlled. This means that with only a midi keyboard and a standard home computer can one emulate the blips and beeping sounds required. Because of this, the number of composing and performing artists found within the genre is much larger. Also, as bitpop is created via a digital medium, many of those artists, promote themselves online. The software available also makes chip composing relatively easy and accessible to all, so that creating chip music is no longer reserved for the technological elites.
Since conducting this research, I’ve downloaded and tried out various pieces of chip music producing software (www.DJAllergy.com/DJLRG/Micro.html). There is definitely something very addictive about it. Personally, I find introducing complex wiring like that which you would find in a modern electro track quite appealing, which goes back to the point of modernising old sounds. Although all of the reasons I have mentioned above (in response to the artist’s appeal) I can totally understand and find them somewhat reflected in myself with regards to writing music in the genre of Bitpop.
The Technology
The current chip music scene is heavily focused on developing the software and tools for the artists to use. Music making software for the early games PCs (like the Amiga 500+ and C64) have been commercially developed and released within the era of those machines (80’s – 90’s). Along with this, small groups and individuals have unofficially developed many tools at their homes to access games console sound chips (like Nintendo’s NES and Gameboy for example). The main objective of a chip tune engineer is to unlock the sounds of a device’s sound chip so that they may be accessed as a sound module of some kind with sequencer control. This problem has been tackled in many different ways, from the development of software, to the surgical extraction of the sound chips to be put into other devices. With each development in this market, a step is made towards unlocking these sounds to the public and breaking the reservation of chip tune creation for the technological elites only. Thus the movement of bitpop grows and becomes more recognized as a result.
I. The Commodore 64
One of the most significant pieces of hardware in the chiptune scene has been the Commodore 64’s SID (The 6581 Sound Interface Device) chip. The SID (created by bob Yannes) is an on board synthesizer chip for the C64 and was very much as popular when it was released as it is now. In January 1982, at the Winter CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Las Vegas, the Commodore 64 was prototyped alongside the Apple II and (IBM’s latest PC) the 5150 with a noticeable difference in the sounds they produced. The Apple II and the 5150 with their simple monophonic beeps were dwarfed by the C64’s MOS 6581 (the original name of the SID) which Bob Yannes describes as a “synthesizer on a chip”. This chip was designed as a multi purpose sound chip that would be used for synthesizers. Although Yannes found he had more tan enough demand for the SID from the production of the Commodore 64.
in 1985 the software development company “COMPUTE!” Released a program called SIDplayer. With the use of this music playing and editing software, the general public were able to manipulate the sounds of the SID chip for the first time. In the same year, Ellen Kaufman posted a large collection of songs created using SIDplayer on the Delphi online service. The amount of music created in less than a year, was completely overwhelming Kaufman stated, “I naively thought we would be able to number all of the SIDplayer songs. I was wrong.” (C64 / COMPUTE’s SIDPlayer) It seems through this, that the public’s pursuit for creating digital music was vary large even from the outset of digital home composing, much larger than initially anticipated by the software developers.
The official and unofficial development of software and hardware has continued to the present day for the C64, with popular modern programs such as Polly Tracker (a sound and music sequencing program) being updated and re-released today. Many of the programs available for chip music creation are open source. This means that the source code for the program has been released to the public, so that anyone can update it to fix problems or expand the program. On the hardware side, we are now seeing devices that contain the genuine SID, extracted from the original C64’s. The HardSID Quattro PCI card is a good example of this. Ironically, the old SID chips are being installed onto PCI add on cards for the once dwarfed, now all-powerful Mac’s and PC’s. Reflexaudio are currently converting the already available HardSID in Europe to an American and British format card. This contains four SID chips to be used as on board synthesizers for a Mac or PC. They announce that it will be released as a mass-produced item shortly.II. The Gameboy
The initial release of the Gameboy (like most games consoles) featured no official music making programs. The development of such programs has been quite a recent one. However, the aspect of the chiptune tools going portable has been an extremely significant factor for the development of Bitpop.
One of the most significant pieces of work that have facilitated the genres of both bitpop and chiptunes has been a program called “Little Sound DJ” This was developed for the Nintendo Gameboy by Johan Kotlinski at his home in 2000, and is a completely unofficial creation (what is known as a homebrewed cartridge). It contains a sequencer that gives you access to the 4-bit sound chip by drawing your waveforms, an arpegiator which allows the illusion of more than 4 tracks (the gameboy’s maximum polyphony), and a digitizer for providing speech as well as a sample library of digital sounds taken from various drum machines. Interestingly Joan never anticipated the shockwave that was to follow the creation of his piece of software “I wanted some portable music platform since I was commuting a lot.”.
The artist Bit Shifter uses two copies of this program and two Gameboys attached to a cross fading mixer (much like the ones that are used to mix vinyl). He claims that using the gameboy for him now has become the most effective way for him to transfer the ideas in his head out into reality. (Blip Festival / Press Videos) There is an earlier example of music producing software for the Gameboy called Nanoloop. Oliver Wittchow developed this piece of software in 1998. It works as a step sequencer for the game boy and so requires some live interaction in order to structure music.III. Midi Interfaces
There have been many devices and programs created that allow a user to control the sound chips of games consoles as MIDI sound modules. This means that one can effectively access a library of different sounds from a games console’s sound chip directly, and play them using a MIDI input device such as a keyboard or electronic drum kit. An example of such a device/program would be the MIDINES cartridge made by XLK for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This is a cartridge for the NES of the same format of its standard games. Differing to the games however, the MIDINES has two leads coming out of it’s top with standard MIDI din plugs on the ends which are used for “MIDI In” and “MIDI Out”. This ability to insert a MIDI controller device into a games console opens up whole new prospects for both the live performance and recordings of bitpop. The band Mr Pacman are a 3 piece that use MIDI controlled games consoles to create their sound, which they control using MIDI Keyboards, Guitars, Keyboard/Guitars, Drum kits and Drum pads. Because of the MIDI interfacing devices for games consoles, they are able to perform as any other band, and still retain their chiptune sound. This means that chiptune live acts such as these can create live performances that are viewed as a band, rather than a DJ surrounded by technical gear as other bitpop acts would appear. This is an important factor regarding the popularity of bitpop as it shows that as a genre of music, it can be spread in very much the same way as any other.
IV. Emulation
To match or surpass, typically through imitation.
One of the more recent factors in the world of bitpop has been the introduction of emulation software. An emulator program is a computer code translator that enables foreign formats to run in a given platform. This occurs in many different ways to aid the creation of bitpop for the home computer.
The simplest form of emulation today that can be used to create bitpop is through a method of direct console emulation. This is where a program runs to create an environment whereby games for the emulated format can be opened as files that have been extracted (dumped) from a cartridge’s Read Only Memory chip as an accurate copy. These files are known as ROM Images (or ROM’s). So as a common example, one could use a Gameboy emulator to run a ROM of Little Sound DJ on a PC or Macintosh platform. Both the emulators and ROM’s are easily available in abundance online. Making this a common practice given the rarity of real music producing software for games consoles.
It’s only been since the era of Windows 95 that home computers have been technically capable of performing the task of emulating even some of the earliest games consoles. The original emulators were not full and had many errors, Console developers have never to this day released any information regarding source code or the detailed technical specifications required to create a full, bug free emulator. This meant that the emulators of today had to be reverse engineered by amateur home programmers in order to have reached the competent level that they are at today.
Another form of emulation that takes place in order to create bitpop is the replication of the sounds that are created from games consoles in soft synthesizers. Through wave analysis, the particular technical details of the sounds produced by games consoles can be discovered. These properties can then be re-created in synthesizers. The most common console emulating soft synthesizers available are in the form of VST instruments (Virtual Studio Technology) these are usually MIDI controlled software instruments that run alongside a host program. The host sends MIDI commands to the VST from either a MIDI keyboard or sequencer. The VST then plays back through audio channels provided by the host. Emulation of this type can be performed using hard synthesizers also. After all, the tones produced from games consoles are very basic and easy to replicate. Though that does depend on ones accuracy tolerances.
Any emulated music is not included in the description of Chiptunes, as it is completely contrary to its intended nature. This is but another demonstration of the difference between Bitpop and Chiptunes. These methods would be used only for the purposes of creating Bitpop, and not to stretch the capabilities of the early machines. The exception to this is when one emulates a console and creates music files that in theory would work on the original console. This would still not be considered a Chiptune however until the transfer to the original machine was made.
Conclusion
Before I did any research into Chiptunes, I didn’t know what to make of it all. I found it hard to comprehend that there was a whole scene of artists, fans and events dedicated to the Gameboy alone and I thought that nostalgia was the only factor in the appeal of bitpop. However, after doing research into the area, I’ve come to realise that although nostalgia plays a big part in the appeal of the genre, there are certainly other aspects to consider. Underneath the beeps and blips lies a huge counter culture of musicians, programmers, engineers and fans, who have shared the experience of the rise in technology in their youth.
There are many aspects that contribute towards explaining the popularity of Bitpop. Its origins are firmly grounded, from the pursuit for computer generated composition that quickly evolved into underground Chiptune performances and parties. This combined with the current rise in publicly used technology has created a trend, which marketers, publishers and promoters are currently addressing.
Technological advancements conducted mostly at peoples homes have made Chip music creation less difficult and time consuming, which allowed for a higher growth rate of the initial Chiptune scene. Industrial production of devices has arrived more recently, which has made Chip music creation much more accessible to the public, further breaking down the separation between musicians and the technological elites.
The timing of the rise in Bitpop is paralleled with the generation of youths who grew up alongside home technology. The majority of artists within the genre played computer games as youths and saw the evolution of technology take place at a time when they were learning the most. This means that the people of this generation have been actively researching and keeping up-to-date with the technological advancements as and when they occurred. Also, being part of this generation seems to be a large factor in determining the motivation to write chiptunes.
A question arises therefore regarding Bitpop’s future. Is it merely filling a gap in the market right now, or will it be accepted as a timeless art form? There are some who believe that the reference to computer games and the nostalgia are the main factors keeping bitpop alive (Flat Four Radio, ep.4, 2004). So it’s inability to separate it’s self from early computer game music, leaves bitpop as nothing more than a novelty. On the other hand many of the artists believe that the restrictive nature of chiptunes justify it as a valid form of art music.
Bitpop however is a genre of music that doesn’t necessarily carry the same technological restrictions as chiptunes. Bitpop follows a phase of fashion, and therefore only has to capture a certain market in order to be accepted within the genre. All that really matters within bitpop is the sound, no matter how it is created or produced. The addition of lyrics and other foreign source instruments is common within the genre today, which shows that chip music has now developed into a new form of chiptune inspired music. The sounds of chip music also appear as subtle details all around modern pop music, showing that the style has left it’s mark, perhaps to return another day.
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References
Altair 8800
The Virtual Altair Museum.
http://www.virtualaltair.com/
A resource for information and history about the Altair 8800Blip Festival
Official Homepage
http://blipfestival.org/
A Bit Pop festival held in Manhattan arts space “The Tank”. This website contains links to reviews and articles as well as details and links about the artists.Press Information
http://blipfestival.org/press.php
This section of the site contains video interviews of some artists and staff.Yahoo Music
Dust to Dust
http://music.yahoo.com/read/interview/18129661
Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo Music Interviews Beck Hansen about his latest album GueroCSIRAC
The University of Melbourne’s Official Website http://www.csse.unimelb.edu.au/dept/about/csirac/
The University of Melbourne’s Reconstruction
http://www.csse.unimelb.edu.au/dept/about/csirac/music/reconstruction.html
Here you can listen to a reconstruction of the music played by the CSIRAC, The earliest computer processed synthesizer.C64
Official Commodore homepage
http://www.commodore.ca/products/c64/commodore_64.htm
A complete history of the Commodore 64.Create Digital Music
http://createdigitalmusic.com/?p=538
Peter Krin (journalist) reports on the HardSID Quattro PCI card. A PC and Mac add on that produces sound from Commodore 64 sound chips.COMPUTE’s SIDPlayer
http://sidplayer.org/
A complete history of the first music creation program for the C64 SIDplayer.The C64 Scene Database
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/
A useful resource for information and contacts within the C64 demo sceneLittle Sound DJ
Official Homepage
http://www.littlesounddj.com/lsd/
Little Sound Dj Wiki
http://wiki.littlesounddj.com/FrontPage
A database of information around the program
Private Communication with Joan Kotlinshi 11-04-07 – 14-04-07
Micromusic
http://www.micromusic.net/
an online community and information resource about all things bitpop and chiptunes. Here I have acquired membership which I used to start forum discussions and find the contact information of artists.Weird Magazine
8-Bit Punk
Malcolm Mclaren talks of his experience with Bitpop.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/mclaren.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=
Malcolm Mclaren talks of his experience with Bitpop.Bitpop Artists
Private Communication with the following Artists 2007
8-Bit
8-Bit Betty
8-Bit Weapon
The Depreciation Guild
Firebrand Boy
Tugboat