(April 2010) CHIPTUNES are somewhat of an acquired taste in the world of electronic music. Music made only from the sound chips found in old video game consoles might seem odd, but for some it is the preferred way to produce music. Alex Mauer has been creating chiptunes for almost 15 years now, creating alternate universes with his music in a style sometimes referred to as “fake believe.” He is a purist within the genre and most of the music he creates is in the form of soundtracks to video games that never existed. One of his recent albums, Blast, was inspired by childhood drawings and recordings of a game he imagined when he was a child. Mauer is one of the most original and creative chiptune musicians, and recently he sat down with me to talk about his inspiration, his work, and his plans for the future.
Igloo :: So, to start off, how did you get started composing chiptunes?
Alex Mauer :: When I was 12 my cousin was sleeping over my house, and he showed me some demo-scene music on his walkman. This was in 1995, but I got my own computer in 1996 and that’s when I started making tracker music myself. I used scream tracker 3 first… then a few months later I switched to impulse tracker.
Igloo :: What sort of music did you try to make at first?
AM :: At first I was mainly just mimicking other modules I had heard, including music by 4mat and h0llyw00d, 2 chiptune musicians from the Amiga scene.
Igloo :: So essentially, you were trying to replicate the music you had heard through your cousin.
AM :: Yes… I was producing around one song a day for the first half year of having access to trackers. Most of them weren’t very good.
Igloo :: Still, that’s pretty prolific. When did you start considering your music in a broader context than experimentation?
AM :: Well, I’d say none of my music was very serious until 2005. That’s when I found out there were trackers that could do NSF files (NES Sound Format) and that there was a way to replay the music on a real NES. That motivated me to really get serious about chiptunes.
Igloo :: So were you inspired by 8bitpeoples or any other parts of the chiptune scene in particular?
AM :: I wouldn’t say I was inspired by 8bitpeoples. I was inspired more by the creators of Nerdtracker and Famitracker, two trackers for the NES. I have an interesting story about 8bitpeoples, actually; I tried to send them some demo material to possibly get a release or some affiliation with them in 2005. Maybe I didn’t go about it the right way, or something, but the fact that I got no response whatsoever made me pretty angry. So, my first NES album recorded from the NES was titled Eat People, as in, Eat Bit People, which was sort of an attack without being too obvious.
Igloo :: So was that your first “serious” release? Or were there others for other systems before that?
AM :: Eat People was my first serious release. I had messed around with Goat Tracker for Commodore 64 before that, but I didn’t release any of that music in album or EP form.
Igloo :: But then one year later 8bitpeoples released Blast. Do you think there’s been a change in the focus of the chip scene since then?
AM :: Well, yeah, 8bitpeoples released Blast in 2006, but my friend Shawn Phase spoke with Nullsleep about releasing Blast in 2005, and we got beyond our differences. I waited it out until 2006 for them to release it. I wouldn’t say there’s been change in the focus, but the chip scene has gotten much larger since 2005 for sure.
Igloo :: Most of your music seems to be much more focused on creating a feeling of nostalgia for old VG soundtracks. Do you think this is necessarily the focus of the scene today? How do you think your music fits in?
AM :: I’d say most of the music today is partially about nostalgia… but I think the music which gets the most attention right now is the performance oriented music, which is mostly dance music. I don’t really fit in with that. I do focus on nostalgia above all, but I do try to learn new things as I make new music.
Igloo :: So for that kind of music it’s more about nostalgia solely through the use of old sound chips, not specifically trying to recreate video game music?
AM :: Yes. Most of the others are using nostalgia only through the timbre of sound, not the composition. I like the idea of making music that you could mistake for being from a game from your childhood or a false memory.
Igloo :: Is that why you choose to release some albums on NES cartridges?
AM :: Well, I thought of that idea right away. If I was going to be making music that was meant to sound like it was played on a Nintendo, why not just make a cartridge that plays back as an album, instead of CD or vinyl? The cartridges never would have been possible without the help of “No-carrier,” the guy who programmed the cartridges. I don’t think I would have attempted to make a cartridge album if I hadn’t met someone who told me he could code it.
Igloo :: You played at Blip Festival. If you distance yourself from the production side of the chip scene, how involved are you with the chip scene in terms of live performances?
AM :: I rarely do live shows. It seems like a lot of people who do shows don’t really care what they’re doing as long as they get peoples’ attention and hype up the crowd. I’m the total opposite. I care way too much about whether or not I’m going to mess up. I’m not a very good keyboard player but I don’t feel comfortable standing in front of a mixer and just twisting knobs or faders. So, even though I’m not good at playing keys, I feel like if I did anything else I’d be faking the performance. The whole experience isn’t too enjoyable for me – I try not to do it unless I’d be passing up a once in a lifetime experience like playing Blip Festival.
Igloo :: Right, it’s still sort of a grey area for electronic music what constitutes a performance. What do you think of chip musicians like the Deprecitation Guild and Anamanaguchi who are branching off from the scene? Do you think chiptunes have crossover potential? Or would you even be interested in that?
AM :: I’m not really interested in chiptunes crossing into the mainstream, but it wouldn’t bother me if they did as long as it didn’t misrepresent what is going on in the chip scene. I think Anamanaguchi is good… but I’d rather see them put their guitars down and just hit play on the NES controller and stand there. (Laughs.) Not that they aren’t good or anything, it’s just that I’d rather be able to hear the NES by itself. Personally, if I was really good at playing, I’d rather make some nerd in the back of the room happy than get the whole room jumping up and down.
Igloo :: But do you think the focus of the chip scene should be as purist as possible, or do you think more chip musicians should focus on creating VG music as well?
AM :: I think the chip scene should be diverse, with certain artists focusing on different things. The artists I listen to the most are ones who are either really good composers or are purist as possible. I do like music which sounds more like VG music.
Igloo :: Yeah. How does that vision of chip music relate to Pause?
AM :: Well, Pause was formed by Disasterpeace and Phlogiston. Both of those guys are really into VGM, progressive rock, and emotions other than “jump up and down.” I was lucky to be asked to get involved early on.
Igloo :: What’s your role in Pause?
AM :: I don’t do anything for Pause other than create music and release it through the label. I have helped with creating some album art for compilations and other releases besides my own. I’m sort of exclusive with Pause now at this point. I feel that most of what Pause releases is exactly the kind of music I want to be listening to, so for me I’d say it’s where I want to be.
Igloo :: That’s great. Any plans for a successor to 9999 or Vegavox II in the near future?
AM :: I have a lot of plans for a bunch of different albums and too many plans. I think the next thing you’ll hear from me is either another Blast or a Game Boy cartridge.
Igloo :: Will it be in the same vein as your old releases?
AM :: Well, the next Blast won’t feature any old clips from my childhood recordings, unlike the first two. The Game Boy cart will be similar to my NES carts, but with much less emphasis on the artwork. I’m not sure which will come first.
Igloo :: Oh, yeah did you have the concept of Blast and do the artwork when you were little?
AM :: When I was a kid, I used to create artwork and music for game ideas I had. None of them were very original, but Blast was basically an idea that mixed Final Fight with Bionic Commando. The fact that I saved that stuff and brought it back all those years later is where it becomes cool.
Igloo :: Well, I have time for one last question. What video game soundtracks were most inspired by?
AM :: My favorite game soundtracks. (Pauses). As far as FM based music goes, my favorite soundtrack is Final Fight, the arcade version. My favorite Pulsewave-based game soundtrack is Mega Man 5. An honorable mention is definitely Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I would say my music doesn’t sound like any single soundtrack but sort of like everything mixed together, with my own personal character added.
9999 is out now on Pause. [Purchase]
