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“ENTER BIT” Special Interview: Chiptune Nostalgia ~Chip Tanaka × TORIENA~
ENTER BIT開催 特別インタビュー対談 チップチューンノスタルジー Chip Tanaka × TORIENA
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Takakura : When did the chiptunes come to be called as such?
Tanaka: I think it was sometime around 1999, this Game Boy music sequencer called nanoloop came out, and I want to say it was around then. Though it’s not just Game Boy music that’s referred to as chip music, but pretty much any music that came from old game and PC hardware. You’re not asking when the first actual chiptunes were created, right?!
TORIENA: And not just game consoles, but like the old ATARI computers or Cubase 2.0 music software—they produce chip music too. Though I think the “chiptunes” term didn’t really become widespread until after video games grew in popularity.
Tanaka: I suppose the word itself doesn’t really have a deep meaning to it, but when I first heard the word “chiptune”, I thought it was immediately easy to understand.
– Coming back to Tanaka-san, what do you think of this concept of chip music breaking free from its nostalgia-fueled roots?
Tanaka : Right now we’re still in the midst of it, really, which is why I think it’s considered nostalgic for some. The first generation of people to experience gaming are in their 30s now, so to them it’s nostalgic because it was the music they listened to growing up during their childhood. But at some point as time progresses, nobody’s going to view it as “nostalgic” anymore. Maybe in the future, they’ll talk about “game consoles” which produced these sounds called “square waves” in ancient times. Well, I’m not sure how it’ll be described, but my point is nobody looks back on the past and thinks “Remember back before knives when we used stones to carve?” with a deep sense of nostalgia.
– I can’t argue with you there (laughs). So in other words, chip music is at a turning point?
TORIENA: I think so. I also think we’re still in the midst of it. I’m 22 years old right now, and the Game Boy Color was popular during my first or second year of elementary school. I feel a little nostalgic about those years, but at the same time, it feels awkward to me that NES and Game Boy related things are pushed as “classic retro products” to the current generation. That generation doesn’t feel any nostalgia toward this stuff at all. So because of that, if we’re to connect chip music to the next generation, it either needs to be packaged as something new, or we have to find some hook to make it enjoyable in spite of its rough edges, otherwise I don’t think there will be much interest in making new chip music going forward.
– Thank you very much. For our last question, with chip music being at its turning point, what do you each hope to achieve in the future?
TORIENA: VJing and music videos are simple examples, but I think chip music can be easily linked with visuals. I’ve been considering incorporating fashion, too, and I believe there are plenty of other hidden possibilities as well. The potential for expanding both chip music and 8-bit culture is infinite, really, and I think it would be interesting if I could do something new by combining visuals and audio into media art.
Tanaka : Since I compose Pokémon music and other vocal tracks and such, I’m probably not in a good position to talk purely in terms of chip music, but… I feel that music in general has a hard side, where it’s important to achieve a certain level of popularity, but it also has a soft side where you’re able to exchange a certain “something” with others through your music. So I guess it’s about how far I can go towards making the music I want to make in this kind of environment. My hope is that I can continue to experience the pure joys and struggles of creating music and to be able to bring it to people in whatever forms possible.
Related links
TORIENA official site : http://www.toriena.net/
Chip Tanaka official site : http://www.hirokazutanaka.com/
Takakura Kazuki official site : http://takakurakazuki.com/
Translated by Jamie Koide
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