Goto80

Last updated
Goto80
Goto80 (Brussels 2006).jpg
Goto80 performing in 2006
Background information
Birth nameAnders Carlsson
Also known asExtraboy, Johnny Location, Tomas Delin, GotoET, Susanne, Gordon Strombola, 4D Man, Crystal Master
Born (1981-02-09) 9 February 1981 (age 41)
Origin Varberg, Sweden
Genres Chipmusic, glitch, skweee, electro
Years active1992–present
LabelsChipflip, Bleepstreet, 8bitpeoples
Website www.goto80.com

Goto80 (born Anders Carlsson, 9 February 1981) is a Swedish music artist and researcher. He has been described as one of the key players between glitch and chipmusic, as well as an active demoscener. [1] At the turn of the millennium he was one of the first to bring chipmusic to a wider audience, and was also an early adopter of live Game Boy music. [2] He has an extensive back catalogue of free music – often open source  – with a wide span of musical influences. [3] He currently[ when? ] focuses on research and art, and maintains a number of blogs and labels such as Chipflip and the text-mode tumblr.

Contents

Career

Music

Goto80 released his first music in the demoscene in 1993, at the age of 12. [4] He founded the group Hack n' Trade and released his music for free in demos and on BBSs. The style seems to have been predominantly rave and electronica. [5] His first live performances was with the pop group HT in 1998. [6]

The first formal Goto80-release was the cassette Lo Fi Mono Festival in 2000. [7] The following year he made one of the first Gameboy live performances with LSDj together with Role Model. [8] His Papaya EP was released the same year, combining pop, dub, vocoders and calypso. This led to some media attention, and him opening the Hultsfred Festival. He was also working regularly with famous demoscene groups like Fairlight and Triad. In 2002, he co-founded the band Superdöner to play a form of 8-bit punk rock. [9] The following year he moved to Melbourne where he began to incorporate modern tools such as Renoise into his music making.

Goto80 released his debut album Commodore Grooves in 2005. [10] The same year he was selected as artist of the year at the Microdisko Chipmusic Awards, and was later one of three nominees for all-time C64-composer at Commodore's official 25-year celebration. [11] [12]

In 2007, Goto80 made one release every month and performed once a week. [13] The following year he tried to release one song every day together with Dan Brännvall at internet2008.se. [14] This established him further as one of the top 8-bit acts. [15] His next release, Breakfast (2009) has been listed as one of the top-10 chip songs of all time. [16] Following this poppy song, he started to focus on darker sounds, often improvised completely on Commodore 64. [17] One BBC review described his music as microscopic bursts and stutters of atonal sound on which he eventually lays down some beautiful descending bass tones. [18]

Among his aliases, Extraboy seems to be the most productive one. Extraboy appeared on record for the first time in 2002 with a remix of Tim Koch. [19] Other aliases include Johnny Location, Tomas Delin, GotoET, Susanne, Gordon Strombola, 4D Man, and Crystal Master. He has appeared in groups such as the synth pop duo HT (1995), the EBM-band Damitu Kuerpo (1997), the punk group Superdöner (2002), Goto88 and the Sunshine Band (2007), and the electro duo Kommando Knorr (2009). [20]

Research

Goto80 has been called a demoscene historian. [21] His main research topics are chipmusic, textmode graphics, and the demoscene. He published his first text in the book From Pac Man to Pop Music in 2008, where he described chipmusic as a medium and form. [22] Carlsson received his master in Media and Communication in 2010 with his thesis Power Users and Retro Puppets – a Critical Study of the Methods and Motivations in Chipmusic. [23]

Other published texts include a history of demoscene music for Rhizome.org [24] and Future Potentials of ASCII Art together with A. Bill Miller.

Art

His art works are often focused on live performances (2SLEEP1, Gotozilla, Punk Potemkin, Data Jam) or computer violence (HT Gold, Polybius, 44422435 To Nowhere). He has worked together with artists such as Raquel Meyers, Jossystem, Otro, Videogramo, Entter, Rosa Menkman, Shojono Tomo, and Jacob Remin. [25] Since 2011, he has been focusing on textmode aesthetics together with Raquel Meyers. In 2012, they claimed to be the first to make a performance using only PETSCII-based graphics and music software. [26]

Music distribution

Following the practices of the demoscene, Goto80 releases most of his music for free. By 2007, he had 1000 songs online. [27] In the same year, he left Myspace and later criticized fellow musicians for trying to be present on too many Internet platforms, advising them to use their own distribution channels instead. [28] He is vaguely connected with hacking and piracy, having performed at Pirate Bay parties like Spectrial and in several hackerspaces.

His early C64-songs were distributed as executable files and not recordings, and they sounded different every time they looped. In the netlabel context, he made low bitrate releases such as Copyslave (2004) and also mixed his music together into a megamix with Monkeywarning (2002). More recently, Open Funk Sores (2007) was an audiovisual open source release in MOD and MP3 for web and PSP.

Cherry CD (2011) was released in an envelope and distributed as a form of mail art. Acid Burger (2011) was a mini-DVD inside a cheese burger. [29] 2SLEEP1 (2011) is a collection of audiovisual performances in textmode, but was only available as streaming video. [30] All these releases were made together with Raquel Meyers.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

EPs

Remixes

Goto80 has contributed to several famous remix compilations such as 8bits of Christmas (2003) and Wanna Hld Yr Handheld (2009). In the 1990s, Goto80 did many tongue-in-cheek remixes based on 1980s pop culture. This can be heard in Lo Fi Mono Festival and Papaya EP where he covered music from Yazoo, Kikki Danielsson, The Incredible Hulk, Megaman, Depeche Mode, Barbapapa, etcetera. In 2002 he released Italo Megamix for C64, with remixes of Miko Mission, Scotch, Laserdance and others.

In 2007, he made a C64-version of Deep Throat together with Role Model. The full movie was converted into chunky pixel graphics, which was streamed from the C64 datasette in realtime. [31] He has also remixed more contemporary artists, such as Monster Zoku Onsomb, Icarus, Tim Koch, Psilodump, Damn! and Best Fwends.

Related Research Articles

Chiptune Style of synthesized electronic music

Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The term is commonly used to refer to tracker format music which intentionally sounds similar to older PSG-created music, as well as music that combines PSG sounds with modern musical styles. It has been described as "an interpretation of many genres" since any existing song can be arranged in a chiptune style defined more by choice of instrument and timbre than specific style elements.

Demoscene Computer art subculture

The demoscene is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off programming, visual art, and musical skills. Demos and other demoscene productions are shared at festivals known as demoparties, voted on by those who attend and released online.

Future Crew

Future Crew was a Finnish demogroup that created PC demos and software, active mostly between 1987 and 1994.

MOS Technology 6581 MOS Technology sound chip

The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers. It was one of the first sound chips of its kind to be included in a home computer prior to the digital sound revolution.

Commodore 64 demos

The Commodore 64 (C64) demos are demonstrations of what can be done to push the limits of the Commodore 64 computer, made by programmers, musicians and artists.

Tristar and Red Sector Incorporated (TRSI) is a demogroup which formed in 1990. It came about from the longest-running cooperation in scene history. RSI existed from 1985, before being joined by the "T" later on. Evolving from the Commodore 64 to the Amiga and later to PC and various game console platforms - like the PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo - and set-ups like Arduino, Android or Blu-ray, TRSI released a number of digital productions, dedicated to experimenting in phreaking or network alteration. Its members were spread around the world and still contribute to computer scene art and code after more than 27 years of history.

Jeroen Tel Musical artist

Jeroen Godfried Tel, also known as WAVE, is a Dutch composer. He is best known for numerous computer game tunes he wrote in the 1980s and early 1990s for the Commodore 64. His most popular compositions appear in the following Commodore 64 games: Combat Crazy, Cybernoid, Cybernoid II, Dan Dare 3, Eliminator, Hawkeye, Myth: History in the Making, Nighthunter, Robocop 3, Rubicon, and Supremacy.

8 Bit Weapon

8 Bit Weapon is an American chiptune music band formed in Ventura County, California, by Seth and Michelle Sternberger. It was originally created by Seth Sternberger around 1998. Its instruments consists primarily of old 8-bit and 16-bit computers such as the Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga 500, and the Apple II, as well as game consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Atari 2600, and an Intellivision synthesizer.

The Judges was a Dutch Commodore 64 group from Roosendaal known for being one of the earliest dedicated demogroups. The Judges released several demos for the Commodore 64 home computer between the years 1986 - 1988. Groups such as The Judges are regarded as early pioneers of what came to be known as the demoscene.

Russell Lieblich was a game designer, programmer and musician who first came to prominence for his music for Activision and Intellivision games, as well as doing the Commodore 64 (C64) music translation of one of LucasArts first titles, Ballblazer. He graduated with a Master's Degree in Music from UC San Diego.

"Papaya Coconut" is a song, written by Ingela Forsman and Lasse Holm. It was recorded with lyrics in Swedish by Kikki Danielsson on her 1986 album Papaya Coconut, and is one of her most famous recordings. The lyrics are about travelling from the Earth's colder places to its hotter places. The song was a Svensktoppen #1 hit, being at the chart for 12 weeks from January 11-March 29, 1987.

The 2007 dance-pop song "Do It" performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado features elements plagiarized from "Acidjazzed Evening", a chiptune-style track composed by the Finnish demoscene artist Janne Suni. Timbaland, "Do It"'s producer, admitted to sampling Suni's work, but did not believe his usage constituted "stealing", calling the allegations "ridiculous". Although users had noted the similarities between the two tracks on Finnish demoscene forums in July 2006, the Timbaland plagiarism controversy attracted mainstream attention in January 2007, when Internet users posted videos to YouTube alleging Timbaland had plagiarized Suni's work. Soon afterwards, the controversy attracted the attention of the Finnish news portal eDome, and the MTV and Rolling Stone websites, who all published articles detailing the events of the controversy. "Do It" was released as the fifth North American single from Loose on July 24, 2007.

<i>8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk</i> 2007 studio album by 8-Bit Operators

8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk was released in 2007 by the group 8-Bit Operators on Kraftwerk's US label Astralwerks and EMI Records worldwide. It features cover versions of Kraftwerk songs by several prominent chiptune artists. Inspiration for the project as quoted by Jeremy Kolosine "Well the first thing that comes to my mind when I saw a gameboy show was Kraftwerk's Computer World Tour from 1981, where four of them played various handheld devices during the song 'Pocket Calculator'. Plus it came up in a print from a Glomag quote, and an 8 Bit Weapon April Fool's joke that backfired.." This Kraftwerk covers compilation was somewhat unusual in the fact that Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter selected the final track line-up, "So Jeremy was a little nervous when meeting Kraftwerk's Ralf Hütter after a concert by the group in New York last year. He passed along to him a sample of the compilation. Later Hutter said he enjoyed it and even offered some editing suggestions" In a subsequent interview, when asked about the 8-Bit Operators release, Ralf Hütter responded, "It is mind stimulating, the minimum/maximum coming from sound levels and thoughts and ideas. Like Autobahn and Trans-Europe Express are very basic and elementary ideas, but they offer a pattern or concept for improvisation."

Blip Festival Chiptune music festival

The Blip Festival was a festival that celebrated chiptune music with musical performances, workshops, and screenings of movies. It was held annually starting in 2006 in New York City. In recent years, there have been international versions of Blip Festival held in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The festival is curated and organized by 8bitpeoples, one of the foremost labels in the chiptune scene, as well as local arts organization The Tank. The New York festival has switched venues several times, beginning in 2006 at 15 Nassau Street in Manhattan, then moving to Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in 2007, and then being held in Brooklyn at The Bell House in 2008 and 2009. It went back to Eyebeam in 2011 and then the Gramercy Theatre in 2012.

X (demoparty) Dutch demoscene party

X is a Dutch demoscene party held in Someren, organized by the demoscene groups Success & The Ruling Company (SCS*TRC), Xenon, and Silicon Ltd. With about 250 visitors, it is the world's largest Commodore 64 demoscene party, attracting demosceners from around the world.

Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families is a musical project of Sydney based Game Boy music composer and performer Thomas Gilmore, who began writing music with the Nintendo Game Boy in 2007. Shortly after in 2008, Gilmore and Dot.AY from Brisbane started a blog documenting and promoting Australian chipmusic called GameBoyAustralia. In early 2011, Gilmore and Eugene Davoren-Britton launched a vinyl-only chipmusic label called Sounds Legit. The name for Gilmore's project was inspired by the A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible webcomic of a similar title. Gilmore currently performs live vocals in a hardcore punk style that transcends the regular boundaries of chipmusic, to form a style of music that Gilmore calls "chipunk". In March 2016, after a period of silence from the act, a live band manifestation of Ten Thousand Free Men & Their Families played at Square Sounds Festival Melbourne.

Glitch art Practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes

Glitch art is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes by either corrupting digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. Glitches appear in visual art such as the film A Colour Box (1935) by Len Lye, the video sculpture TV Magnet (1965) by Nam June Paik and more contemporary work such as Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK Plasma Screen Burn (2007) by Cory Arcangel.

Mark Knight, also known as TDK and Madfiddler, is a British musician, video game music composer and sound designer. He started out writing chiptune and module file music in the Amiga demoscene, and began his games industry career as a composer in 1992. He continued until 2000 when he moved to sound design, and since 2014 has had a split role as a sound designer and composer.

Matthew Simmonds, also known as 4mat or 4-Mat, is a British electronic musician, sound designer, and video game composer best known for his chiptunes written in tracker software. He began his career in the demoscene of the early 1990s composing on the Amiga.

Aleksi Eeben Finnish composer and programmer (born 1976)

Aleksi Eeben, born Antti Aleksi Mikkonen, is a Finnish composer, sound designer, musician and programmer. He is best known for his musical contributions to the demoscene under the alias Heatbeat, where he has composed hundreds of modules using music tracker software and developed his own tools. He has also composed for video games, and was employed as a sound designer at Nokia between 2002 and 2015, creating many ringtones and sounds. His brother is Konsta Mikkonen, also a demoscene musician and dance producer known under the alias Muffler.

References

  1. Menkman, Rosa The Glitch Moment(um). Institute of Network Cultures, 2011, p. 65, ISBN   978-90-816021-6-7
  2. Quaranta, Domenico (ed) Playlist – Playing Games, Music, Art, Mediateca Expandida, 2009, p.36
  3. "Zero Music Magazine - Recension". March 25, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25.
  4. "Goto 80 interview pt 1". Truechiptilldeath.com. June 29, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. "Goto1993 release at Floppyswop" (ZIP). Floppyswop.co.uk.
  6. "Live shows". Goto80.com.
  7. "Lo Fi Mono Festival". Goto80.com.
  8. "Little Computer People 2001". Goto80.com.
  9. "Superdöner". Discogs.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  10. "Indiegames: The Glitch Aesthetic of Goto80 and Raquel Meyers". Indiegames.com. 3 December 2010.
  11. "Demoscene Documentary Series, Episode 7 The Music Episode". World News.
  12. "Commodore Gaming and Digitale Kultur announce Commodore Scene Lifetime Achievement Award Winners" (PDF). Digitalekultur.org. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  13. "live shows". Goto80.com.
  14. "Archived copy". www.internet2008.se. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "8bit Power, Barcelona – Miniguide". Miniguide Barcelona.
  16. "Archived copy". www.sentireascoltare.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. "prosthetic knowledge". Prostheticknowledge.tumblr.com.
  18. Power, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of Icarus - Sylt Remixes". Bbc.co.uk.
  19. "Extraboy". Discogs.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  20. "promo | GOTO8O". Goto80.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  21. Maher, Jimmy The Future Was Here – The Commodore Amiga, MIT Press, 2012, p. 202
  22. Collins, Karen From Pac Man to Pop Music, Ashgate, 2008.
  23. "Carlsson, Anders Power Users and Retro Puppets: A Critical Study of the Methods and Motivations in Chipmusic, MA thesis". Lund University. 2010.
  24. "Rhizome: A Micro History of Demoscene Music". Rhizome.org.
  25. "Artfarts". Goto80.com.
  26. "BIT Brus, Raquel Meyers". Raquelmeyers.com.
  27. "True Chip Till Death: Goto80 interview part 2". Truechiptilldeath.com.
  28. "Musicians Are Spammers". Chipflip.wordpress.com. 2012-02-01.
  29. "Archived copy". acidburger.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. "New-Aesthetic: 2SLEEP1". New-aesthetic.tmblr.com.
  31. "CSDb: Deep Throat". Csdb.dk.