My 25 Favorite Chiptunes, Part 5

Part Five of Five

No. 5: My Little Ponies by Radix

Classic Radix, and a joy to listen to. "My Little Ponies" includes a flawless melody, excellent composition, and a transition to die for--and all this with a mere four channels and 27 kilobytes. One of my favorite tracker modules for sure.

No. 4: We Can See Our Breath by Brother Android

Brother Android's "October November December" is extremely heavy on the atmosphere, but thankfully, the songwriting doesn't suffer as a result. Described by the artist as "an album about the winter time," it's quite a thoughtful, coherent, and unique collection of tunes. The second track, "We Can See Our Breath," is a solid highlight, featuring lots of precise drum work, slow-burning sine waves, and interesting mixing. Nice outro too.

No. 3: When I'm Gone by Reborn.nsf

Noisy and urgent, "When I'm Gone" still has a nice charm to it after all these years. You probably won't hear another quirky, melodic burst quite like this one.

No. 2: Recovery by Fearofdark

Written for a Ubiktune compilation in 2011, and inspired by the tragic events in Japan that happened in the same year, "Recovery" might be the most effectively emotional chiptune I've ever heard. Masterfully written and incredibly sad, it more than lives up to what the title implies: a long, hard road to recovery from some tragedy, filled with both melancholy and hope. If you have friends who don't think chip music can be much more than catchy bleeps or nerdy nostalgia, show them this song.

No. 1: Rainy Summerdays by Radix

Despite the fact that, as a whole, this list isn't organized from least-to-most favorite, I've reserved the top spot for this one. "Rainy Summerdays" is my favorite chiptune of all time, and it pretty much sums up why I like chip music. When I interviewed him back in 2010, Radix explained, "[It] was composed on a rainy day in '95 on Amiga. Good times! '93-95 was the highlight of the demoscene for me." Good times, indeed.

My 25 Favorite Chiptunes, Part 4

Part Four of Five

No. 10: Yoghurt Factory by Radix

I guess it's pretty hard not to like this song. Another top-tier, feel-good classic by the master himself, "Yoghurt Factory" is a bundle of pure happiness squeezed into 14 kilobytes. I first discovered it through a game called Seiklus--which, interestingly enough, is also the game that got me into chip music in the first place.

No. 9: Lemonade by Bubu

Bubu is an excellent composer. Turn him loose with a copy of LSDJ and he'll come back with awesome, high-energy anthems like Lemonade. From his solid LP called "The Daydream Elevator," this is definitely a favorite of mine. Absolutely worth a look.

No. 8: Repeat by Andrio

I mentioned at the beginning of these articles that the list is in no special order, but if it was, Andrio's "Repeat" would be very close to the top. Beautifully written and executed, this is one of the best chiptunes I've ever heard. It's also worth noting that Andrew was apparently just 16 when he wrote it, which is pretty remarkable.

No. 7: Jet Alone by Covox

Released in 2007 on the "Infiltrator" EP, this hard-driving cut from Covox's "low-orbit wolf cannon" has a pretty nice non-dubstep drop going for it. The final track on the EP is probably more recognizable for most people, but "Jet Alone" is where it's at. Pretty distinctive intro, too.

No. 6: Pennies / Fuelship (Live) by Syphus

What it must have been like to see this one performed live. Brendan broke out his keytar to make the 2008 Blip Festival that much more memorable. After the contemplative intro, "Fuelship" explodes with incredible melodies and harmonic work. Amiga chip music has rarely sounded this intense.