Just one of many highlights from last night's awesome @nullsleep.bsky.social show at @wonderville.nyc. @minusbaby.bsky.social toasting over Nullsleep's mutant jungle. ๐ฅ๐ฅ Such a fun night, full of great music and great people. ๐ค๐
BOUNDARY EP OUT NOW + MERCH DROP
HARDWEAR FOR APPROACHING THE EVENT HORIZON OF RAVE SEMIOTICS
โBoundaryโ on digital / cassette ๐ถ
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โPLUR ANNIHILATIONโ T-Shirt ๐
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โBorn to Trackโ Long Sleeve ๐
BANG THESE TUNES!!
THRASH THESE THREADS!!
GET THEM HERE โคต๏ธ
nullsleep.bandcamp.com
PLURโ๏ธ๐
there's a thing I like to call "load-bearing assumptions", that you don't notice until they're suddenly gone (e.g the air you breath has oxygen in it).
the post-ww2 order is a load-bearing assumption for basically the entirety of american life. trump took a sledgehammer to it in the last 90 days.
Presented in the quoted thread is A Brief Guide to the Wild, Expansive, Seemingly Infinite Discography of Bit Shifter, for those seeking a little guidance.
โWhat I want,โ you say, โis music thatโs dancefloor-friendly, but sounds like a pissed-off R2-D2.โ Boy, you are not going to believe this. Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 2's abstract dance music once prompted a showgoer to remark "I didn't know Game Boys could sound like that!" Try โScience City Zero.โ
Or maybe you're not sure quite what you want โ and that's OK! We offer a grab-bag cross-section of Bit Shifter material, in the form of Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 1, which boasts tuneful innocence, abstract beats, and indulgent covers. Case in point: Kraftwerkโs โAntenna,โ Game Boy style.
Or perhaps you prefer expansive, moody, even disagreeable music, at turns melancholy and furious, all improbably performed on a child's toy & lent a thunderous sheen by audio warlock @lukechaos.bsky.social . We've got you covered โ the 2018 album Closed System Blues. Give โThe New Normalโ a spin.
You're someone who likes innocent, yet scrappy tunes, but also likes weird, noisy, beat-driven soundchip experiments. "Where can I turn," I hear you say. Why, my debut album, the regrettably-titled Lifeโs A Bit Shifter, of course. Here, try โMarch Of The Nucleotides (mRNA Mix).โ
If shameless Game Boy powerpop is your thing, Information Chase is a good place to start. But here at B.S.H.Q. we pride ourselves on a diversity of offerings. For instance โ
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FYI โ this being Bandcamp Friday, I wanted to mention that in celebration of last week's 20th anniversary of Information Chase ๐, everything in my Bandcamp discography is still set as pay-what-you-want. ๐๐๐ Thanks to everyone who's ever given my tracks a spin. ๐
bit-shifter.bandcamp.com
Hahaha! That gig was so fun, and such a privilege. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. ๐ Wasn't that cartridge's first time doing that to me! Don't know what it has against me. ๐
!! ๐๐๐๐
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Thank you so much Doc! This is high praise coming from you. ๐
Happy 20th Anniversary (โ๏ธ) to an absolute classic โ still sounds as good today as the day it was released.
Screenshot of Bit Shifter's Bandcamp discography, featuring five releases -- Lifeโs A Bit Shifter, Information Chase, Closed System Blues, Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 1, and Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 2
PPS: in celebration of Information Chase's 20th anniversary, I've set everything in my Bandcamp discography to pay-what-you-want. Thank you to everyone who's been along for any portion of this strange and wonderful ride. ๐
bit-shifter.bandcamp.com
Jeremiah / Nullsleep & I, posing for a photo in Chicago. Photo by Liz McLean Knight.
Jeremiah & I hanging with VORC mastermind and chiptune superstar Hally.
And I want to say thank you in particular to Jeremiah / @nullsleep.bsky.social, for giving this music a home and an audience on 8bitpeoples, for always supporting my music, and for being a true friend and fantastic companion in 20+ years of chiptune adventures. ๐คโค๏ธ
Thumbnail graphic like the one used on the 8bitpeoples website in early 2006, with the cover art from the Bit Shifter EP Information Chase, in a pixelated faux-jewel-case border.
Three different physical format editions of Information Chase -- a 3" mini-CDR, a 5-inch clear-substrate CDR, and two pressings of 12" vinyl.
Happy 20th birthday to Information Chase, and thank you to everyone who's ever enjoyed this li'l EP in any form, physical or digital. ๐ PS: I may have some exciting further news to announce on this subject. Stay tunedโฆ!
๐ ON THIS DAY in 2006 โข 20 years ago! ๐ฎ @8bitpeoples.bsky.social releases Information Chase, 6 mp3s of chiptune powerpop. It's since come out on CD & vinyl, & I've performed its songs to audiences who have loudly sung along, despite there being no words. What could be more heartwarming than that? ๐
There is more than one moment on this VS release that has haunted me ever since I first heard it.
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Happy 2nd anniversary to Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 2, part of an ongoing release series collecting wayward non-album tracks. This volume offers abstract Game Boy dancefloor bangers, plus 2 pop covers for kicks. Some of my favorite stuff I've ever done.
bit-shifter.bandcamp.com/album/malada...
They kidnapped a five year old child
And if I'm being entirely honest โ to me, it is genuinely emotionally moving to hear these tracks performed this way. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you, James Lam. ๐
If you're a fan of Information Chase & have found yourself thinking โOK but what if it were a metal album,โ boy do I have the link for you. A few years ago, sublimely talented guitarist James Lam posted a metal version of the entire EP. I will shamelessly admit that I listen to this all the time.
Iโm old enough to remember when winning the FIFA Peace Prize used to mean something.
This was such a fun show. Huge thanks to @bitcrushed.bsky.social for getting video. ๐
This was such a fun show. Thanks so much for documenting! ๐๐
You can find this track, and others of a similar vein & of a similar era, on Maladaptive Strategies Vol. 2
bit-shifter.bandcamp.com/album/malada...
This is what made nanoloop magical to me โ it was was full of the thrill of discovery. It was incredibly fun to pick up the Game Boy, mess around for a while, and before too long, boom โ weird dance music
Reminiscing about โScience City Zeroโ (2003) ยท My approach to this track was atypical for me: fire up nanoloop with no preconceived idea, play around, see what comes out. The results were fascinating to me because they were so different from anything Iโd made in other tools.
youtu.be/DX_3BJSkGVY
