“Believe in yourself. Believe in your own potential for greatness. Believe that you can change the world. It is something that is within each of us.”
– Evan Tanner 1971-2008
Created 11/29/08. This blog is a 100% independent blog that is not run by, sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with any other web site, organization, corporation, or entity. All views & opinions expressed in the blog are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any other person or organization. All rights reserved. For entertainment purposes only.
All predictions for sports or MMA events made by the author are also for entertainment and fantasy sports game purposes only and should not be used as the basis for any real-life betting/wagering.
Popular remixer Peter W, who has been a frequent contributor of tunes since his debut in summer ’07 and the 2008 Newcomer Of The Year winner in the annual Remix64 Awards, has also put out some really good C64 & arcade-themed remix songs. One of my favorites is based on the popular Konami 80s arcade/NES shooter “Nemesis”, which old-school US gamers like myself know as the game’s original US/Japan title-“Gradius”. For this version the original music is covered with additions of arcade machine sound effects at the very beginning and end of the song, even ending with the classic “Game Over”. This tune today is Peter W with “Nemesis (The Arcade Remix)”:
This is one of 20 songs (actually, now 21-a few hours after this post he uploaded a new remix to RKO) by Peter W and one of over 2600 songs you can download for FREE at RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
For more about Peter W including his previously released tracks and samples of work-in-progress tracks and more, visit his official website (in English): http://peterw.ziphoid.com/
Richard Joseph, one of the greatest SID composers ever and a legend of the early days of the scene and C64 music, died 3 years ago yesterday, he was 53. Today’s selection is another of my favorites and one originally composed by Joseph, this is “Cauldron 2-I Am A Pumpkin Man” remixed by trauma:
This is one of 4 songs by trauma and one of over 2600 songs you can download for FREE at RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
And for those wondering, RKO currently has 20 remixes of pieces originally composed by Richard Joseph.
DJ Skitz, always referred to as “Meeeester Skeeetz!” by Boz, is a veteran of the scene who’s been cranking out remixes for just over 6 years now. Based in England, he’s also an amateur DJ/producer who mainly does C64 & Amiga remixes. While I’m not a big fan of his he has done a couple of tunes I like, especially when he incorporates what some call “The Speeds Of Three” into his tunes. Such as this one today, I looked it up after hearing it a few times on SLAY Radio and it’s a good song. This is “Draconus Main Title (Speeds Of Three Remix)” by DJ Skitz, originally composed by Adam Gilmore…but before listening, heed this advice you’ll hear in the song: “Put your helmet on, we’ll be reaching speeds of three!”
This is one of 17 songs by DJ Skitz and one of over 2600 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
For more about DJ Skitz, check out his official website at the link below (in English): http://www.djskitz.com/news.php
You can also listen to his radio show, Saturday Night Warmup, LIVE most Saturdays from 18:00-21:00 Universal Slay Radio Time (GMT +1, or Noon-3 PM ET) on SLAY Radio (slayradio.org). You can download previous episodes on SLAY Radio’s website or subscribe to their RSS feed and get archived episodes as soon as they become available (usually 30-45 minutes after the show ends).
And now, for all those lovers of the real thing…here’s an Original SID. This is a true chiptune, composed using only the original hardware-no mods, emulators, etc. just like you’d hear in the original games. This is the full version of “Turbo Outrun”, composed by Jeroen Tel/Maniacs Of Noise and released by US Gold/Probe in 1989 and recorded by the SOASC= project:
This is one of over 150,000 C64 SIDs you can listen to and download for FREE at SOASC-Stone Oakvalley’s Authentic SID Collection-at the following website: http://www.6581-8580.com/
(Disclaimer: This song was recorded by the SOASC= project and the copyright for the music material is the original composers property. This file is hosted on the SOASC= website)
Although DHS was a C64 remixer first and foremost, he actually did an Amiga tune way back in 2003. It’s a pretty good one and also shows some of the differences in how tunes come out with Amiga sound chips compared to Commodore 64 chips (even though the Amiga was a Commodore system). So here is “Apidya Subtune1 (Infected Edit)” by DHS of TSW, originally composed by Chris Hulsbeck:
You can download this song for FREE at AmigaRemix (amigaremix.com) by clicking the link below: http://amigaremix.com/remixes/search/DHS
Click on the song title to download it to your PC.
This is one of over 600 songs that you can download for FREE on AmigaRemix, no registration required.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on AmigaRemix are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
Sonic Wanderer, aka that bloke who walks around being a bit noisy sometimes (according to Boz on SLAY Radio), is a former remixer who became very popular on the scene for his unique style and great tunes he produced from 2000-2006. Although it appears he is no longer active, he’s still popular today and his tunes still get a lot of playtime, today I’ll share one of my favorite works from him. This is “Parallax (Wanderized)” by Sonic Wanderer, originally composed by Martin Galway:
This is one of 25 songs by Sonic Wanderer and one of over 2600 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
Sonic Wanderer does have a website but it appears to have been abandoned a while ago. Fortunately he left his music page up with access to all his prior works. You can access it at the link below (in English): http://www.sonicwanderer.com/music/
Romeo Knight is a porn star name if there ever was one. But it’s also the stage name (his real name is Eike Steffen) of a former Amiga & scene music composer who has quite a fan following for his great works and has since been touring with a few bands in Europe. He contributed several tracks to RKO and today I’ll share one of my favorites of his. This is Romeo Knight with his remix of “Future Shock”, originally composed by Neil Baldwin (Demon):
This is one of 13 songs by Romeo Knight and one of over 2600 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
For more about Romeo Knight, visit his official website (in English) at the link below: http://www.romeoknight.net
Note that the site apparently has not been updated since August 2009 and some parts of the site aren’t accessible (yet), but you likely can download some of his older works there.
You can also find 2 of his songs on the album “Syntax Era: Remix 64, Vol. 3”, available on iTunes and Amazon MP3 in the US and worldwide on C64Audio.com.
I’m not exactly sure how much there is to The St. Albans Rob Hubbard Fan Club, except for their having done their own remixes of a handful of Rob Hubbard’s classic C64 compositions. Today’s tune is one of my favorites by them, a surprisingly good one at that-here is the Fan Club with their version of Rob Hubbard’s “Ace 2”:
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of 6 songs by The St. Albans Rob Hubbard Fan Club and one of over 2600 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
So-called Megamixes are very popular on the scene, usually 5-10 minute compilations that features bits & pieces of at least 3-4 different chiptunes. Today’s is one such, it’s Scorpion aka Scorpion Of Passion!! with “1996 Mega-Mix”:
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of 2 songs by Scorpion and one of over 2500 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
The composer has a website listed on RKO but the page either doesn’t exist or, at this time, doesn’t work. Clicking on the related link at RKO only took me to a Not Found page.
This Is BeeZerk, Mr. Bee-Zerk zerk zerk zerk zerk zerk…that’s supposed to be a fading-out echo, kinda hard to recreate in text, but you’ll hear it in today’s chiptune by the very popular BeeZerk. This is one of his more popular remixes called “I Love Bees”, originally composed by Balázs Bócsa (Angee):
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of 12 songs by BeeZerk and one of over 2500 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
Another of the very popular chiptunes on the scene, especially among fans and listeners, is “Plastic Pop”. The versions I’ve heard range from interesting to funny to downright grating, and there’s quite a variety in styles of the remixes-I’ve heard versions that sound like hip-hop with computer vocals at one point (cool), fast-paced “happy hardcore” (fun) and slow tear-inducing love ballad (can’t stand it) among others. Today my choice is the middle one, here is “Plastic Pop”, composed by Tomas Danko, arranged/remixed here by blasterNOX:
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of 2 songs by blasterNOX and one of over 2500 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
For more on blasterNOX, visit his/their website at the following address (but be advised that it’s written in Hungarian or whatever language they speak in Hungary…it’s not English): http://www.rave.hu/
Although the C64 gets the most attention on the scene, it’s not the only game in town. A close #2 would probably be the C64’s sibling, the Commodore Amiga. Today a couple of Amiga tunes, these are a pair or remixes of the song “GODS”, both remixed by PowerTrace, originally composed by Nation 12:
First up, a remix titled “The DJ Rocks The Planet (GODS)”, which is a slower BPM (tempo/speed) with some nice female vocals (not 100% sure who the singer is but I believe she’s Kate Lesing):
Second, “GODS (HardCopy)”, a shorter remix with no vocals but a faster tempo:
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Name”. Within a few seconds you should be prompted to save the file to your PC (it does not play automatically, if you want to play it you need to use an audio player on your PC. These files should play in Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer and Winamp among others).
These are just two of over 600 songs you can download for FREE on AmigaRemix, no registration required.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on AmigaRemix are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
PowerTrace, based in Sweden, also remixes songs under the name Kent Wallden. For more about him and more of his works and other projects visit his official website (in English): http://trace.ziphoid.com/
He also has, at this time, 8 songs available for download on RKO (Remix.Kwed.Org).
The second one I’m sharing today is actually one I should’ve done first…originally submitted to RKO in May 2004, this very popular remix of the Chris Hulsbeck tune “Giana Sisters”, one of the most popular (and most remixed) tunes on the scene, is not only kick-ass sounding but it’s a tribute of sorts to the composers and arrangers/remixers of the scene. Pre-2005 anyway given when the song was done. This is one of my favorites (it’s my #2 favorite among Giana Sisters remixes behind only Machinae Supremacy’s “The Great Giana Sisters”) and is worth listening to over & over. Here is DHS of TSW (The SoundWavers) feat. Makke (aka Makke Gooooooooood!) with “Giana Sisters (Keep Da Scene Alive)”:
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of over 2500 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: Per their own disclaimer/fine print, all songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable. They generally are submitted by the composers/arrangers/remixers themselves)
For more from TSW, check out their official website (in English & Italian): http://demichelis.it/site/
Sadly, it appears to no longer be updated as it seems they went their separate ways in April 2009.
Now that I’ve found a way to be able to add/link to audio files for free without uploading and paying to do so (to directly upload audio files to my blog from my PC I have to pay $20 a year) I’m going to try something new: To further my efforts to help “Keep The Scene Alive” I will be linking to, occasionally, a chiptune/C64 Remix song I really like. Don’t write these off as simple blips & bleeps from videogames, these are remixed songs that sound really awesome if you give them a chance! For the first one, I’ve chosen one called “Hardcore Hubbard Mix”, arranged by Jogeir Lilljedahl, originally composed by Rob Hubbard. The song was submitted to RKO in May 2002. This mix features samples of a number of Hubbard works including what currently is my favorite chiptune-Lightforce. Click the play button in the player below to listen:
You can download this song for FREE at RKO (Remix.Kwed.Org) via the following link: http://remix.kwed.org/index.php?search=Hardcore+Hubbard+Mix
Once you arrive at this page, click on the song name under “Title”. The song will load and begin playing in a few seconds. Click on “File” > “Save Page As…” to save the MP3 (this assumes you’re using Firefox).
This is one of over 2500 songs you can listen to and download for FREE on RKO, no registration required. There is one catch though: To keep bandwidth costs reasonable there is a limit of 50 downloads per IP per hour (a download is when you listen to a song even if you don’t save it to your PC). But unless you’re only listening to a few seconds of a song before going to another one, not really a problem.
(Disclaimer: All songs on RKO are assumed to be freely distributable as they generally are uploaded by the composers themselves)
I’ve been meaning to do some more music reviews lately, and now that I’ve been sampling a lot of “scene/C64 remix” music lately I’ll start introducing you to more. I’ll start here with the first of the albums by noted performer/remixer/arranger Reyn Ouwehand and his first album, Nexus 6581. Have a look…
DCRage's Rants, Thoughts, & Other Stuff 