Sup ChipWINners and welcome back for another round of Quickshots! This time around, I’ve got 3 incredible albums that blur the line between traditional chiptune and EDM a la Sabrepulse or Aivi and Surasshu! So if you’re looking for something that can satisfy multiple musical cravings, stick around, as I take the time to review albums by Starship Amazing, Emforay and Lonemoon!

20XX by Starship Amazing

20XX by Starship Amazing

Kicking things off in high style is the latest offering by Starship Amazing. This duo based out of Anchorage has been making electronic music together for about six years, and it seems that in the midst of all the Fest hype that’s still going strong that they dropped a two track EP under the radar! Fortunately, I managed to get myself some extra time off after MAGFest so I was able to stumble across this gem and let me tell you, this definitely justifies lounging around at home online! Guiding us through a demon-infested hellscape of a future (their words, not mine) the two track EP starts off with “20XX UNLOCK NEW FORMS”. The track opens with intense sine waves, sick hi hats, and claps that let you know these guys aren’t fooling around. As soon as the kicks and snares join in the fray and the beat drops, what gets blasted into your ears is a sound that comes across as a love child between George and Jonathan and Aivi and Surasshu!

That sound carries through not only throughout “NEW FORMS” but also carries into the second track “20XX MORE HEXES MORE SPELLS”. However, what should be noted is that while the first track sounds more George and Jonathan, this second track is def more Aivi and Surasshu. It’s got a flow that’s much more mellow and drums that are much more syncopated, creating a sound that def sounds like it would be at home in an episode of Steven Universe.

Both tracks are thoroughly enjoyable but the EP ends much too quickly for my liking. A damn shame, because I would love to have more music like this on my player. That said, going based off this EP alone, I have a request for Starship Amazing: please, I implore you to put in an application so you can play MAGFest 14! You definitely have what it takes to rock that main stage and I would love to see and hear you guys do your thing live next year!

Fave Track: 20XX NEW HEXES NEW SPELLS

Price: Free (pay what you will)

Bang for Buck: 5/5

Replay Value: 4.9/5

Overall Grade: 4.9/5

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Lifeup by Emforay

Lifeup by Emforay

Up next is one of two albums that I was very uncertain if I should include in this article because while they certainly are awesome, they don’t sound as traditionally chiptune as stuff I would normally cover. But then I remembered that letting myself fall into a purest attitude is as stupid as anyone who uses the term fakebit, so I went ahead and included them! Hailing from Pataskala, Ohio, Emforay has released an album that’s one of the more varied I’ve heard from the scene in a while. Producing a sound that’s equal parts Toni Leys, DJ Cutman and Petriform, Emforay is capable of shifting from atmospheric and introspective to straight up big hall banger in a snap! Whether its the surprisingly Owl City sounding opening track “Body Language”, the party starting “New Territory” or the kick ass pop rock sound of “Reality”, Emforay consistently pumps out jams that keep the party going while splicing in moments of quiet reflection, as well.

This gets shown off best between two of the last three tracks on the album, “Wander” and “Hang in There”. “Wander” is a slightly more upbeat track than “Hang in There”, sporting a compositional style that’s reminiscent of some of Aivi and Surasshu’s Steven Universe work. It creates a dreamy experience one can actually feel comfortable ending the album on if Emforay didn’t have other plans. This sensation of somnambulism gets followed up by a more somber, introspective tone with a series of haunting piano chords and extended notes from a string section in “Hang in There” before building up to a more hopeful, steady beat and groove in the song. The whole experience is very reminiscent of some of Moby’s work off of “Play” and is something I applaud Emforay for doing, as it’s been a while since I’ve heard someone compose in this fashion.

However, I think it should be noted that what may be the best listening experience on the album is the last track: “Victory”. The song starts off with a series of haunting, vocodized vocals, heavy drums and imposing orchestration that feels like the song is the embodiment of anything but a victory, reminding me very much of a final boss battle in an RPG. Then, out of nowhere, the song does an almost abrupt transition with the help of some hard hitting guitar riffs which leads to a beat drop that feels like Daigo pulling out a come from behind victory in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike! The song hits the gut hard like a corkscrew punch followed up by a Dempsey Roll and it’s exhilarating as hell! To say I love the song is an understatement, as it is a testament to Emforay’s talent!

“Lifeup” is an album that’s a bit on the steeper end when compared to what I usually review for the column, but if you have the money to spare, I cannot recommend buying the album enough! Emforay is young (only 19), gifted, brimming with energy, and deserves to have a bigger following! The kid can make my eardrums bleed any day with what he produces!

Fave Track: Victory

Price: $9

Bang for Buck: 4.5/5

Replay Value: 4.9/5

Overall Grade: 4.9/5

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Amaranth by LoneMoon

Amaranth by LoneMoon

Hailing from Oklahoma City, Lonemoon is a producer whose work is also quite diverse but feels more subdued than Emforay’s. While he’s certainly also capable of a fair amount of wubs and super sines, Emforay also seems to have a stronger affinity for neo soul, r&b and chiptune than Emforay does. The effect is an album that, even at it’s most party, reminds me a great deal of artists known more for their remixes than their original work. Artists such as RAC, Dntel, or Kessian come to mind immediately. In particular, Dntel’s remix of “Japanese Gum” by Her Space Holiday is a song that keeps scraping at the front door of my conscious as I listen to the early tracks on Amaranth. This feeling is most prominent while listening to “Broken Cartridge” as both share a very similar, spacey, brooding, yet groovy vibe.

The somewhat sullen tone is broken up by the next three tracks, as they start to show off LoneMoon’s ability to craft music that feels most at home on the dance floor of a small, intimate club. While wubs are are well and good, I’m more about groove and subtle funk, and “From Me To You” has both in spades. I absolutely love this, because it becomes abundantly clear that “From Me To You” is the kind of song you grind to slowly, which chiptune desperately needs more of.

After “From Me To You” the second half of the album kicks off in high fashion, as it features both incredible solo work from LoneMoon, but it as showcases the talent of several guests artists who deserve mentioning, as well. QUEST! helps bring the wubs in the banger that is “Chronicle”. Azuria Sky brings her gentle, aqueous vocal style to “Pastime”, singing of lost love while LoneMoon brings an mix of chillstep and neosoul to a song that’s vaguely reminiscent of Bondax’s remix of “You Know You Like It” by AlunaGeorge that is absolutely luscious. SeizeTheBeat helps LoneMoon make a gorgeous homage to trance with “Petal”, taking me back to my highschool days when I would rock out to remixes of songs like Kiss and Airwave by Airscape and Rank 1/Dutch Force in art class. Visceral helps make a song that easily belongs in a back alley with competing dance crews going at it in “Collision” while Dasta helps conclude the album with the spirit churning, heart thumping “Still Waiting”: a song that invokes imagery of sitting by a windowsill while watching the world pass by during a summer shower.

Overall, the album is solid, and while I’d like to hear LoneMoon open up some more and possibly hear an album that consists of more bangers, I have to admit, I’m very happy to have come across this gem. Not only did I get exposed to work that featured artists I’m familiar with (namely Azuria Sky) but it was refreshing to have an album that was as subdued and chill as this one. I definitely am looking forward to hearing more from him and hope he continues to craft chill music I can groove to any time, any where.

Fave Track: From Me To You

Price: $7

Bang for Buck: 4.7/5

Replay Value: 4.9/5

Overall Grade: 4.9/5

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Well folks, that’s it for this month’s round of Quick Shots. Don’t forget to follow the artists featured in this article for more of their latest happenings on your preferred social media platform. Also, keep checking back in with us on the blog as we cover more amazing albums, events, and general chiptune hype. Last but not least, if you or someone you know is chiptune artist looking to get more recognition, don’t be shy! Share your work with us on Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook and if we like it, it may just be featured in one of our articles! You never know when senpai will notice you, so keep doing what you do, and know that even if your album doesn’t get covered in an article, that Kuma loves you!

Love, Peace and Happiness to you all til next time!

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