Artists
peeR - In between studying music in Brussels and composing for all manner of special events, Pierre Slinckx found the time to perfect his technique with LSDJ and Nanoloop and in the process created some of the most stunning chipmusic in history. Despite gaining a cult status with tracks like Starchip Troopeers and My Game Boy Is Happy, he disappeared into internet anonymity; however after this short hiatus he was somehow encouraged to record Dances for S18, a release which pushes the Game Boy (or Game Boys; he uses two at a time) further than any release beforehand. Since then he's made his first live appearances at chipmusic events and continues to write music.
M-.-n - The man behind the legendary Little Piggy Tracker (a tracker for GP2X/GP32 of his own device), Brussels-based M-.-n (a.k.a. Marc Nostromo) is an artist taking chipmusic into completely new territory through both his software and his music. Following a spate of high-profile compilation appearances and his appearance at Blip Festival '08, 8bitpeoples released a compilation of some of his Game Boy tracks, the fantastic 'Disco Dust' (2008), proving him to be one of the most talented trackers working with 8-bit hardware as well as a pioneer of alternative techniques. Stylistically M-.-n takes the sound of dancefloor electro and mashes it up with harsh noise to create the instantly recognisable yet impossible to imitate 'discodirt' sound. Using the awesome power of LGPT, M-.-n's tracks show there is still a great deal of life left in the chiptune scene yet.
Pontonius - An incredibly overlooked artist today, Pontonius (real name Pontus Olsson) is nonetheless someone whose work many will unknowingly be familiar with, as well as single handedly inspiring many others to actually start making chipmusic themselves. An incredibly experienced musician - the Pontonius name was invented in 1996, when he was already composing on the C64 and Amiga - Pontus has been responsible for some truly excellent tracks (such as the legendary 'Intelligent Technology' and '7000 Angstrom'), several self-released EPs, and - perhaps most famously - PooBoy, a Game Boy sound emulator which shows just how accurately the sound of original hardware can be recreated on modern computers. One of the forebears of chipmusic as we know it today, Pontonius' electro-disco tracks are not to be missed.
Steve - Founder of S18, and the master of Casiotone rave music from Bromley, England. His self-titled debut EP for Kittenrock (2008) attracted a cult following in the chipmusic scene. Fusing disparate elements from his youth - the SNES, FM synthesis, cheap toy keyboards - with kicking electro beats and distinctive melodies, Steve's sound is unique but at the same time accessible and danceable. In January 2009, his second EP 'Firing Speed Rainbows' was released on S18. Developing the sound of his debut, the EP furthered his reputation as a forward-thinking chipmusic artist, and also signified the arrival of both S18 and Steve on CD. His growing live status has brought him to events all over Europe, including the AV Social at the British Film Institute and the Numusic Festival in Stavanger, Norway, while he has been praised by everyone from Jamie Lidell to Ceephax.