04.12.2006

8-Bit Biografie US


An 8-Bit tribute to the music of KRAFTWERK
Releasedate in Germany: 02.02.2007

"People grew up immersed in this stuff - that 8-bit, blippy sound speaks to them on a deep level. It's taking back a pure and total part of our childhood and turning it into something crazy and new" - Mike Rosenthal, artistic director, Blip Festival, NYC in XLR8R magazine, November 2006

A labor of love, many years in the making, Astralwerks is pleased to present a various artist covers compilation, featuring interpretations of classic Kraftwerk songs, arranged primarily on lo-bit handheld gaming devices, vintage video game consoles and obsolete 8 bit home computers, revered for the rich and distinctive sound of their lo-bit microchips. This video game-influenced branch of electronic music sometimes referred to as 'chiptune', 'bitpop' or just '8-bit', has developed a flourishing international live scene, and is one of the first new genres of music to use the internet to its fullest advantage, with the advent of home-brewed synth cartridges and hacker influenced musical tools.

As one of the New York chip artists Glomag said in a 2004 Art Forum interview, "We've made Kraftwerk's phrase 'I'm the operator with my Pocket Calculator' more apt than ever".
Conceived and compiled by long-time electronic artist and 8-bit composer Jeremy Kolosine (a.k.a. Receptors), the 8-BIT OPERATORS collection features some of the top 8-bit artists from North America, South America and Europe, a selection of the best musical innovators, and several of the inventors themselves.

A 12" single (and digital download equivalent) will precede the CD launch and will feature Glomag's exclusive 8-Bit Operators' mega-mix version of "Pocket Calculator" (featuring 0x7f, Bit Shifter, Bubblyfish, firestARTer, Hey Kid Nice Robot, Ladybug, M-.-n, Nullsleep, Psilodump, Random, Sidabitball, and David E Sugar) plus an exclusive version of "The Robots" by L.A.'s 8-BIT.

Tracklisting:

01. Bacalao - The Robots (Die Roboter) - Switzerland
02. Glomag - Pocket Calculator - USA
03. Covox - Computer Love - Sweden
04. Role Model - Showroom Dummies - Sweden
05. Nullsleep - The Model - USA
06. David E. Sugar - Radioactivity - UK
07. Oliver Wittchow - Kristallo - Germany
08. 8-Bit Weapon - Spacelab - USA
09. firestARTer - Computer World (Computerwelt) - Germany
10. Neotericz - Electric Café - Argentina
11. Receptors - Trans-Europe Express - USA
12. Herbert Weixelbaum - Tanzmusik - Austria
13. Bubblyfish - It's More Fun To Compute - USA
14. Bit Shifter - Antenna - USA
15. gwEm and Counter Reset - The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine) - UK

Official Websites at: www.8BitOperators.com and www.myspace.com/8bitoperators

ABOUT THE OPERATORS

8-Bit Weapon: The brainchild of Seth Sternberger, 8-Bit Weapon has performed across two continents with an arsenal that includes early 8-bit home computers, handheld gaming devices,
hybrid lo-fi acoustic-electric drums, and an assortment of other vintage and toy synthesizers.
www.8bitweapon.com
Bacalao: From Switzerland, he is one of the remix darlings of the international micromusic and
chipmusic scene with releases and collaborations on the likes of Germany's Retinascan label.
www.bacalao.ch
Bit Shifter: One of a tight NYC group of handheld game device chippers, having been in the thick of it since the beginning of the scene. Bit Shifter and his releases have been favorably mentioned in the likes of Rolling Stone and Wired magazines. http://bit.shifter.net
Bubblyfish: She is an originator of the NYC 8-bit scene. Bubblyfish is a Korean born, classically
trained musician who fell in love with the classic handheld game device sound. Bubblyfish has
performed worldwide and released a string of finely constructed chipmusic compositions.
www.bubblyfish.com
Covox: With his energetic live set and infectious melodies, Covox is one of the kings of the flourishing Stockholm scene. He debuted with a 7" vinyl EP on the Swedish label Rebel Pet Set and has since played in Belgium, Italy and Switzerland with tours in Japan, Holland, United States and Germany. His vinyl and CD releases are purist chip perfection. www.covox.net
firestARTer: From Wuppertal, Germany. Wonderful classic 8-bit sound composer, and inventor of an array of indespensible midi-controllers for lo-bit handheld, console and home computer music devices. His sounds and arrangements are both innovative and infectious. www.firestarter-music.de
Glomag: One of the original handheld lo-bit artists and well-spoken representative of the NYC and the international scene. He has been featured in 8-bit articles in magazines such as Wired & Art Forum. His music is featured in the award winning internet series This Spartan Life. Glomag hasalso released music under the name Glorified Magnified and has collaborated with Don Was and Tom Morello. www.glomag.com
gwEm and Counter Reset: From London, UK. gwEm is renowned for his great live shows often featuring lo-bit microchip Kraftwerk covers and for helping head up the London Micromusic HQ. gwEm utilizes an array of 8-bit classic home computers, driven by his own music tracking tools and programs. This track also features London's rapper/drummer extraordinaire Counter Reset. www.preromanbritain.com / gwem, www.micromusic.net
Neotericz: From Buenos Aires, Neotericz embodies the positivity conveyed by game-influenced
music. Through experimentation with a sense of humor he creates a scene especially for his 8-bit
friends with his GainLad netlabel, and is also a revered presence in the electro dance scene in
Buenos Aires. www.neotericz.com, www.gainlad.com
Nullsleep: The NYC chip music innovator who runs the 8-BitPeoples label featuring many of the
international scene's microstars. He is also the writer of the useful online LittleSoundDJ music
tracking tool walk-thru that has helped many on their way to making beautiful music on their lobit
handheld devices. His Depeche Mode megamix is already a classic in the chiptune world.
www.8bitpeoples.com
Receptors: Receptors is Jeremy Kolosine, born in London, who currently runs the
ReceptorsMusic lo-bit record label from the Blue Ridge mountains of southwestern Virginia. He is
an active chip musician, utilizing mostly lo-bit handheld, console and 8-bit home computer sound
chips, and has performed mostly in NYC. He founded the early electropunk group Futurisk, and
has also released music as Ksine and with the group Shakespace. He has had a string of vinyl and CD releases. www.receptorsmusic.com, www.8bitoperators.com
Role Model: The musical pseudonym of Johan Kotlinski from Stockholm. As the inventor of the
LSDJ (LittleSoundDJ) music tracking cartridge for classic handheld gaming devices, he helped
create a new genre of music. Role Model has had many groundbreaking releases on innovative
labels such as Retinascan and 8-Bit Peoples. www.rebelpetset.com, www.littlesounddj.com
David E. Sugar: From London, David brings a flavor of traditional songmanship to the lo-bit
game-pop scene. His instrumentals are intense and bafflingly programmed, while his acoustic
guitar/vocal/handheld set is a spirited electro-Elvis hybrid. He can also be found heading the
London Micromusic HQ. www.davidsugar.com
Herbert Weixelbaum: One of the originators of the early Vienna 8-bit/ handheld scene, Herbert
was originally a guitarist who became interested in drum machines, synths and sequencers. His
sounds and melodies often push the game sounds to their limits. He also performs with duo505
and lo-bit group Dot.matrix. www.herbertweixelbaum.com
Oliver Wittchow: Reportedly, while in school in Berlin, Oliver created the Nanoloop cartridge for
music creation on classic 4-bit and 8-bit handheld devices. The intuitive interface and new and
addictive way of composing and creating synths from scratch in this firmware program created an
underground buzz that got musicians from all walks programming on their old handheld game
devices. www.nanoloop.com