The Dirtywave M8 has been gestating in the mind of chipmusican and technologist Tim Lamb, aka Trash80, for more than a decade now. Branching out of past projects like his Arduinoboy midi add-on for LSDJ, the YM2149 synth project, and his max4live synthesizers Betawave and Blittersynth

Taking a queue from handheld trackers popularized in projects like LittleSoundDJ and LittleGPtracker, the device aims to solve so of the biggest frustration with those units, namely sound quality, synthesis methods, and interfacing the hardware with modern music-making equipment, and starting today; you can preorder the unit in the first production batch (after a successful pilot launch last fall). Is this a pricey extravagance for chipmusic fans, or is it a serious production powerhouse? TCTD ordered a unit last fall and watched the development process until today’s launch, so let us dive into its features and use.

Specs

These units are shipping with the following features:

Sequencer Specifications

• 8 Monophonic Tracks/Voices
• 255 Patterns/Phrases & chains
• 256 Instrument Tables for advanced modulation
• 128 Instruments per song
• Song Arranger with Live mode
• Instantaneous song recall
• Full MIDI input & Output support

Instruments & Effects

• Wavsynth – Classic console & computer chip emulation.
• Macrosynth – Based on Mutable Instruments Braids
• FM – 4 OP 12 algorithm with feedback per operator.
• Sampler – 8/16/24 bit mono and full stereo wav format.
• MIDI Instruments with 10 user definable CCs.
• Global reverb, chorus, delay and a master bus limiter.
• Sample recording and song rendering/bouncing.
• No sample memory or length limitation.

Hardware Specifications

• 3.5mm TRS MIDI (Type A or Type B) input and output.
• Stereo audio input and Headphone/main output
• USB MIDI and Audio compliant
• SDHC Micro SD slot for storage
• 1200mAh USB rechargeable battery – up to 6 hours use.
• High quality 2.8″ IPS display with capacitive touch
• Dimensions: 96mm x 133mm x 18~20mm

Despite the form factor, this is NOT a Gameboy; check out this #m8tracker tag for a wide variety of musical styles and synthesis methods. This stacks up very favorably to similarly priced options like the Polyend Tracker, The Novation grooveboxes, or even something left-field like running a desktop tracker on a Surface Pro, or using an iPad.

Shifting some bits

With the generous variety of input options, you can incorporate lots of different ways in an existing setup. Having USB connectivity is a huge boon, especially for monitoring and streaming the output to modern devices like your desktop. Some tools utilize USB to stream the device’s audio and visuals to a browser so that you can use your fancy computer display in the studio. If savvy, you can use the developer-provided Touchdesigner template to do whatever strikes your fancy.

You can even run the device on barebones teensy hardware, using the provided headless firmware, if you are inclined to try before you buy a bit more affordably.

Example use cases

Big sound in a tiny machine

Using the device feels free, having been using LSDJ since 2003. The nice chonky keys, and size of the unit feel great and can be used one or two-handed, which comes in handy when trying to use the unit with other devices. You can place the unit on a table top and crab hand queue chains in live mode no problem.

One difference from previous attempts in this genre is most of the commands are relative. This means that you tell the tracker what value to take the sound to, versus just setting the destination. This was hard to get used to for me, but it is such a brilliant way to program in effect slides and create lots of movement in your sequences. True heads will be psyched to hear there are a lot of tables in this.

Performance-wise, the device handled use and abuse very well. The included synthesis types sound great, particularly the Macrosynth based on Mutable Instruments Braids and the more recently added FM synth. The included effects are also lush and very useful. You can even render stems from your desktop and stream them from disk, leading to funny meta scenarios like rendering entire multitrack chiptune songs and playing them with modern drum machines samples and Metasynth sounds at sample-accurate timing. Four Gameboy tracks and four tracks of Dubstep style wave basses are coming right up.

On OSX and Windows, some clicks can be heard on the USB, but luckily the m8 has also added stereo mix and multitrack song bounce on the unit. In my usage, I’ve been using USB for monitoring during DAW sequencing and then rendering the track for mixdown. You can also sample directly to the unit, which makes up for the hassle of having to physically remove the SD card to transfer stuff from the m8 to a computer.

Midi control is super flexible, and assigning a mixer controller to the device is great fun. You can even assign the touchscreen to any parameter for Kaoss style XY pad fun in a pinch.

Hardware scenes versus music scenes

One of the early criticism of the early M8 Beta launch was that didn’t do a great job of getting these preproduction units into the hands of more diverse creators. To me, this felt less by design and more an error of omission, with news and updates occurring mostly off the internet behind a Patreon and in a well-moderated Discord server. To the groups that tend to feel comfortable in these spaces, it is supported and well attended. Still, to newcomers or outsiders to the product, it can feel a little insular and gatekept behind prior knowledge of music scene technology.

Efforts are being made to address this, with efforts like a weekly Twitch stream, and Community provided docs while deep, are still uneven, missing features like the relatively newer stuff like rendering and the FM synth.

The high-to-chiptune-scene price of the units may be off-putting for new users, but the headless version is a nice entry-level price for people wanting to get into the scene. Having availability at all should do more to create a richer tapestry of diverse voices in the burgeoning m8 scene. As it stands right now, there isn’t really a scene to speak of other than ownership and technique comparison.

As the user base grows, time will tell if that will result in a genre-defining sound that comes out of these units because it definitely has its own vibe. Here’s hoping it’s something worthy of the hardware.

A pint-sized powerhouse

To people striving for a hybrid setup of using tools like LSDJ with mainstream electronic music gear, the M8 almost seems too good to be true. The music that comes out of these units really stretches the limit of what you’d call chipmusic, but having THAT INTERFACE in the service of whatever music the author wants to make can only lead to great stuff.

If you can swing it, getting one should be a top priority.

Preorder Today

Announcing a new archive project at TCTD, PULSEWAVE///RIP. 15 years ago today, I started the first of many many monthly chiptune events in NYC, leading to things like The Blip Festival and many sister events in cities throughout the world. After such a long time, a lot of the content has fallen off the internet. This project seeks to be a place to recap past events, collect missing content, and provide a place for curators, artists, and fans to write and interrogate memories and feelings from this community. Have a story? Let us know!

We are kicking things off with the story of how Pulsewave started, and the entire first concert. These pages will be living documents, updated as new media comes to light. Enjoy the ride!

Made in Goattracker Stereo for Commodore 64, with some effects.

Art by Francoise Gamma (Videogramo)
francoisegamma.computersclub.org

Mastered by Dominique Pelletier

Option to buy with 8 completely unrelated Stickers

8cm x 8cm, vinyl, laminated.

Internet Era
Chantal, my friends silly cat
Friends
???
Goldfinch
Mystic Hand
Faces
Louise

7 by Jellica, 1 by Francoise Gamma (Videogramo)

Relatively speaking, I do not have to review albums. Whatever I say about an album immediately goes out the window when you, the reading, click the embed above and become the listener. In the old version of the blog, I was fastidious and prompt in posting stuff I like as it became available because I was excited for and wanted to do my part to help spread the wave of discovery. Since the blog ended, I thought a lot about the labor involved in this, and sometimes even the anxiety it brings and decided to do things a bit differently this go around.

First of all, a disclaimer. Jellica gave me a download code. I love his work and would’ve posted this otherwise, but I greatly appreciate the gesture, as it was something that never caught on as an idea at the old TCTD. I will gladly listen to anything people send me but reserve the right to not post about it, and only ask that you please don’t take it as a judgment call. I will tweet a lot more and blog a lot less in this go of the blog, and hope that is enough for people.

Ok, so what about this release? If you are unfamiliar Jellica has always been on the periphery of the Commodore64 style, owing more allegiance to spacesynth visionaries like Klaus Schultz or Tangerine Dream than Hubbard or the Demoscene. This is a compliment, as the c64 sid chip tends to be both rich from a chiptune sound palette design perspective, and limited in melodic voicing (having only three voices, and a shared analog filter). This really lends itself to the sounds on this release, as the interplay of these two realities paints a sound that is at times baroque and futuristic, claustrophobic and expansive.

The accompanying artwork on the physical side is gorgeous, both in the colors and simplicity of the designs. The artwork by Videogrammo and Jellica evoke classic bbs graphics, something even more retro than most retro pixel art I can describe them, but simply look at them:

If you cannot view these, I have described them as best as I can in the alt text, something I intend going forward.

Finally, I want to call out the gorgeous mastering by Dominique Pelletier, in her hands, there is cohesiveness and fullness to the sound that makes you forget this is an incredible archaic sound chip and believe this is a lost synthesizer classic. Really top-notch stuff.

My job as a reviewer is to get you to simply press play and let the reader decide for themselves. I don’t have any expectations beyond that for these types of reviews and hope that if I only do that, for long enough, then each release profiled here will be regarded as interesting and as noteworthy as I believe there are. I’m sure the methodology of these posts will evolve as my thinking on TCTD’s return does, but I thank you for coming along the journey.

A long-awaited new release from Brooklyn-based sound artist Bubblyfish, featuring mastering from Dino Lionetti from supergroup Cheap Dinosaurs. Six-tracks of pensive Gameboy bangers. Oh yea, TCTD is back.

Ten new songs from Pulselooper on the Brazilian label, Chippanze. And some remixes from TCTD staffers B.Leo and Peter Swimm to boot!

Direct Link

Inspired by top-40 country music, a new VoiceLive 3 pedal and the Piggy Tracker TURNTNES compo sample pack from Doomcloud, please enjoy this 4-song EP of pure country music.

CHIPMUSIC IS NOT A GENRE!

Direct link:

ovenrake got booked to provide some beats for a hip hop night in Seattle. The freestyles were hot – talent was dripping from the ceiling to the floor. Alas no picturesque DJ + MC pairing was formed that night but that was no reason to give up. Spoonicorn pounced on the secret driptape 2 mix and breathed a new form of life into these tracks. If you were a fan of the first driptape and you’re wondering “what the f? this isn’t a mixtape, where’ my mixtape??” Settle down! it’ll happen, these tracks were just so hot y’know?

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=789513989 size=large bgcol=333333 linkcol=0f91ff tracklist=false artwork=none]

Direct link: https://datafruits.bandcamp.com/album/driptape-vol-2-feat-spoonicorn

I promised to use TCTD as a spam enginine for relevant projects, and here is a doozy.

What is LA Game Space?

LA Game Space is a nonpro?t center for video game art, design, and research, where people of all backgrounds can discover the potential of games together. The Space supports four core activities: Exhibitions, Talks/Workshops, the Artist Residency, and Research Labs. Everyone worldwide may freely participate in our events via live-streaming and archived recordings.

You can donate here:

Make LA Game Space possible—Best Game Bundle Ever for $15! by LA Game Space — Kickstarter.

And for a limited time you can donate directly here and get rare NES cart albums from:
NO CARRIER, BATSLY ADAMS, ENSO, ALEX MAUER, ANIMAL STYLE, AND PHLOGISTON!
http://donate.lagamespace.org/

We now resume our regular retirement.

BLackEr than yOur Dad | dummydrome.

Wow. Retirement break for this insane comp.

Digital Album
Immediate download of 41-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
Buy Now $15 USD or more
Data DVD Version
READ ALL OF THIS BY CLICKING MORE
Shipping to US+Canada is included in the price. Add one dollar for int’l orders.
DVD version includes:
– Full compilation in both MP3 and WAV format
– art files by Minusbaby
– Bonus modules / files:
— 2 famitracker files from Baron Knoxburry and Zan- Zan-Zawa-Veia
— 4 nsf files from Alex Mauer, Baron Knoxburry, Heosphoros and MisfitChris
— 1 octamed mod from CCDM
— 1 LSDJ Player ROM, which includes the tracks from BSK, … more

V/A – Handheld Heroes Volume One | Handheld Heroes.