DOWNLOAD: http://www.fractalspin.com/hihat09

KRISTOV: http://www.highpassradio.com

One of the premiere Game Boy-wielding 8Bit electronic musicians in the world is Josh Davis aka Bit Shifter, and subVariant and Front 312 are excited to have him perform at Ai Lounge on Halloween. Having played over 100 live shows armed with only two Nintendo Game Boys, and two home-brew aftermarket music programs, he has a dedicated following and has been known to ignite dance floors with his high energy live performances.

Bitshifter-”The World Has Turned and Left Me Here” (Weezer cover) by quantazelle

Tom Loftus of MSNBC.com says of Bit Shifter’s performance,“[B]y the time Davis jumped to his rave-up ‘Parapersona Crash,’ the walls started to shake and what little hesitation the audience may have had over dancing to a kiddy toy’s ‘bleeps’ and ‘bloops’ vanished.”

“We booked him …and I still think it’s the most people that have been in the Tank at one time–hundreds and hundreds of people…” says Mike Rosenthal, Artistic Director of The Tank in NYC. “ Bitshifter just rocked the place–just blew us all away.”

Josh Davis says of the 8bit sound, “This is a really distinctive sound-set that anyone of our generation will have most likely been exposed to during childhood and as a consequence of that it became hardwired into our aesthetic sensibilities….but it was always off-limits creatively. So, people who grew up with 8bit and 16bit video game consoles–if they were musicians, they were able to dabble in just about *anything* else….”

Liz Revision of subVariant will open by digitally spinning minimal tech-house, glitch, and IDM; Mr. Automatic from Front 312 brings electro, new wave, and acid house; and Onefiftyone from Chicago Workgroup plays nudisco.

Bit Shifter explores high-energy, low-bit music composed and performed on a Nintendo Game Boy. The result is an unapologetically fun foray into an evocative and distinctive sound-set, executed on a console generally misperceived as being technically limited. Made possibly by two home-brew Game Boy music-making programs, Nanoloop and Little Sound DJ, Bit Shifter’s music adopts and subverts the playfulness inherent in the familiar Game Boy sound-set, repurposing it into the service of novel idioms. Based in New York City, Bit Shifter has performed over one hundred shows worldwide, having recently circumnavigated the planet in a 20-date world tour with fellow chiptune compatriot Nullsleep.

subVariant is a Chicago-based record label and events production company known for its both its innovative electronic music releases and creative packaging, as well as its edgy and boundary-pushing live events and music showcases.  Front 312 has been promoting an eclectic night in Chicago for over a year featuring house, electro, new wave and industrial at Liar’s Club, although individually its members have been churning away in various underground electronic realms, and have collected a diverse group of dedicated followers. Together subV and 312 bring their diverse crowds together to experience Halloween in a cool downtown location with an excellent, creative and diverse lineup unique in Chicago for Halloween.

Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 presale at http://www.fractalspin.com/bitshifter, or $17 day off with an RSVP to http://chicago.going.com/bitshifter.

The first 30 people with presale tickets will get a free surprise treat bag featuring cool stuff from local businesses and online shops.

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Ai Lounge is at 358 W. Ontario, Downtown Chicago. The night runs from 10pm – 3am. A late night sushi menu is also available, as is $10 valet parking.

Bit Shifter interview

AUDIO: “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here” vocal track from Bitshifter (Weezer Cover)
http://subvariant.com/media/Bitshifter-04TheWorldHasTurnedAndLeftMeHere.mp3

AUDIO: “Activation Theme” by Bitshifter (Original Instrumental)
http://www.8bitpeoples.com/mp3/get/370/8bp059-02-bit_shifter-activation_theme.mp3

VIDEO: “Bitshifter Interview”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BifjWTFAvMU

TEXT: “Interview with Bitshifter” (Longer, more technical interview)
http://www.chaoscontrol.com/?article=bitshifter

GOING (DISCOUNT LINK): http://chicago.going.com/bitshifter
PRESALE TIX: http://www.fractalspin.com/bitshifter

subVariant: http://www.subvariant.com
Liz Revision: http://www.lizrevision.com

Adam Jensen closing out the party to a bunch of wild screaming dancers

Photos from the Exception AM / ER Release Party

Thanks to everyone who came out and got crazy at the Exception AM & Exception ER release party in Chicago. Liz Revision played a DJ set of tracks off of both releases early in the night and slowly eased the crowd into the party vibe that would take hold during Andrew Kevin’s set, further ramp up during Sevron’s set of mostly-house, and then get crazy during Adam Jensen’s (Silentcorp) killer performance that closed out the night, but not before we had breakdancing. Yes, breakdancing. You couldn’t have asked for a better crowd or better sets from the DJs.

Thanks also to the talented producers who contributed tracks to the “Music to relieve your hangover” concept–you guys kick ass.

EPROMs are erasable, programmable read-only memory chips in a ceramic DIP package with a window that alllows a UV light to shine through to the the innards and erase the memory to gear it up for its next usage. It also has the advantage of being awfully pretty in a cool, modern, brown casing, perfect for girls who are fans of the minimal designs showcased in Dwell and Wallpaper magazines.

Catch us in the Village [cool stuff to buy n' experience] at Minitek. If you place an order between September 9 and 15 we’ll send it out on the 16th. Woot!

About the fest:

new york’s electronic music + innovation festival! minitek is going to be slightly different from other festivals you know, even very different at times.

first of all because the festival combines two aspects: electronic music and innovation. while it seems pretty straight forward at first, you’ll see soon that we’re going to explore innovation not only in respect to music but also to other forms of art, science and technology.

for the first minitek, we’ve been lucky to get support from some of the most exciting electronic music talents from around the world. alongside the most sought-after artists who have a solid following in the US, you will hear top acts from abroad whose US debuts have been eagerly awaited for years and you’ll discover young emerging artists that are currently gaining tremendous momentum, some of which are home-grown new york locals.

we know that the genre of “electronic music” covers many other facets that you won’t find on minitek’s lineup, like progressive or drum’n’bass for instance. we chose the term because most artists can’t possibly be reduced to one single genre, and it leaves room for interpretation and development.

as for the innovation aspect of minitek, we wanted to bring some of the most ingenious projects and inventions from all around the world off the internet and right to your doorstep. we selected a range of experimental art and technology installations that you can discover and try out in the innovation pavillion during the day. and during the night, visual artists will fill the walls with their most unconventional projections.

also, we will introduce new consumer technologies that have never been applied in a festival context – such as RFID wristbands, which will make your festival experience so much more convenient, with a smidgen of surprise around each corner.

an integral part of minitek is the village, which will serve as an exhibition area for a range of creative industry players. we invited music technology companies to demonstrate their novelty products and softwares that will change the way music is created, and local as well as international record labels will let you come across their newest releases and freshly signed artists.

all in all, we wanted minitek to be an experience; present sounds you haven’t heard and ideas you didn’t even know existed. a playground of sorts, in a city we love.

Peter Kirn from Create Digital Music pointed to an article reviewing their Make> / CDM / Etsy night in Brooklyn and remarked that the author’s coinage of the term “nerdster” was one he could get behind.

Last night, on the not-so-anonymous urging of a PR company that represents Make magazine, I went to “Handmade Music” at Etsy Labs in downtown Brooklyn…

On handmade music night, super-nerds, artists, and the edgy, in-the-know, 20-something crowd converge on the Etsy labs, drawn by promises of newly-invented instruments, techno music, and free pizza…

(more…)

Laptop jockeys and synth-slingers have a harder time getting gigs in a club world ruled by rock. Here’s a nice article over at Createdigitalmusic.com that has ten tips on how to get booked for a live PA in a club or a bar.

Getting Booked:10 Basic Tips for Getting Live Electronic Music Gigs

Here’s another one over at LivePA on more of the technical elements of getting started:

Livepa: Where Electronic Music Comes Alive

Here’s also a good, related article:
Getting Publicity: Start With a Good Name for Your Project