December 2011
15 posts
November 2011
20 posts
Hey, friends! Website updates are nearly complete! :)
Please note that http://www.partytimehexcellent.com no longer automatically directs to this blog. The URL for this blog is http://partytimehexcellent.tumblr.com.
http://www.partytimehexcellent.com now features selected works, media links, and past and upcoming events. You can access these links from the sidebar.
tl;dr version: Blog is still here.
I'll fill your ask! How did you start doing visuals for live shows? Also, did you network, or already knew people before hand when you started to do them live?
Ooh, more distraction! <3 (Speaking of, did you get the message I dropped in your Ask a while back?)
When I first started coding for the NES, I was just hoping to make games. The idea of turning that work into live visuals came later. My first performance connections were through the Austin Museum of Digital Art, where I had been volunteering for about a year prior to doing visuals. My first live show was an AMODA show, where I did visuals for Random. I’m too shy to schmooze, but after that I did start making friends at chiptune shows and putting together this Tumblr. I’ve been lucky to meet so many talented and supportive people that way! :)
OK, now that the Ask box is empty, I have to stop procrastinating and get back to work :(.
any advice for someone who wants to start doing visuals?
Oh, Anonymous! It’s you again! Good to hear from you. This is such a broad question, so it’s hard to answer. Do you want to know how to make the visuals? Or do you want to learn how to perform them live? Or…? In any case, I think a lot of visualists start off by making music videos to get a feel for pacing, what’s visually interesting, etc. without having the associated challenges of performing live.
Do you know if there are any good chiptune-making apps on the App Store?
I don’t have an iPhone, so I rarely have a need to look at the App Store. However, Anonymous, you should look at the YMCK app because YMCK is awesome.
Holy crap, MicroD's Prime is out today!
The day has come! 11/11/11 marks the release of Prime, by Texas chiptuner extraordinaire MicroD. Here’s his description of the album:
Prime began as a concept that would challenge me to write more songs in odd time signatures. The idea to write a series of songs in prime number time signatures ultimately became Prime parts I through IV. Part I in 3/4 time, Part II in 5/4 time, Part III in 7/4 time, and Part IV in 11/4 time with a medley to bring it all together for the finish.
Of course, it couldn’t stop there… Orange patterns on the cover artwork (designed by Party Time! Hexcellent!) appear only on the prime repetitions, and tempos within the montage have only prime beats per minute.
This was an ambitious project and I’m really happy with the end result! As an added incentive, I have recorded and remastered some tunes that were previously exclusive to various compilations I contributed to and released them together for the first time. This includes Rebound, Sixty Second Shakes, Niner and Frostbitten Dub. Closing out the record is another brand new song titled Fist.bmp that ends it all on a fun note.
Download it or buy the CD and let me know what you think!
These limited edition CDs look incredibly awesome! I can’t wait to get mine in the mail. The album is really nice. This, like his previous releases, is reminiscent of a classic 8-bit soundtrack—a dash of Konami here, a pinch of Capcom there—while still maintaining the freshness of a new release. While I can appreciate artists who take classic consoles in different musical directions, I also really like this more nostalgic approach when it’s executed as well as this album is. Anyway, check it out, y’all!
