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Pixel Perfect - Deluge Chiptune

2

20 years ago, me and a friend had a one-hit-wonder project called Local, which was heavily inspired by retro video game music.

It's weird that more time has passed since then, than had passed between playing games as a kid and making music as a young adult. I'm not even sure 'chiptune' was even a word in 2000.

Anyway, now and again I'm still drawn to making music with those influences. I wish I had the time and confidence to pitch my music to indie game studios. Until then, I've put my latest batch on Bandcamp.

It was fun making it with my Deluge, a totally different experience to composing with a tracker. I hope somebody has fun listening to it.

Pixel Perfect by Alder Dice

Comments

  • 1
    HeptagenHeptagen Posts: 277
    edited February 2022

    That was a lot of fun to listen through! Thank you for sharing and showing the capabilities of the deluge as a chiptune machine. Very well done ;)

    Post edited by Heptagen on
  • 1
    semarsemar Posts: 31

    Woah ! Nice chiptunes here - well done ! I got a flashback to the 80's ;-)

    Really good Alder_Dice, both thumbs up !!!

    Keep on,
    Sergio

  • 0
    Alder_DiceAlder_Dice UKBeta Tester Posts: 128

    Thanks @Heptagen and @semar - that's really kind of you both. And I'm glad you got some enjoyment from it. I try not to indulge in nostalgia too much, but there's something about that aesthetic that I keep returning to every few years.

  • 1
    semarsemar Posts: 31
    edited February 2022

    Just out of curiosity.. I see you have modified some sound - in a really good way I should add - but also, to obtain that "arpeggiator" effect ( which I can hear for example starting at the second 8 and after ), you may have put some notes on the sequencer, and then let them play at an high speed, right ? And sampled the result as a new sound, right ?

    Post edited by semar on
  • 1
    Alder_DiceAlder_Dice UKBeta Tester Posts: 128

    Thanks for your interest @semar

    To be honest, I made most of the tracks about a year ago, so I don't remember all the techniques I used.

    But I'm pretty sure I just used the Deluge's arpeggiator on a monophonic synth part at a high speed and played some chords. Your way of doing it would be fun, but I like the option to have deep modulation. The key to that Commodore 64 sound is to modulate the pulse width while doing rapid arpeggios.

    A lot of the melodic and bass parts use the Commodore 64 folder from AKWF's single cycle waveform pack. Some of them (and a lot of the percussion/FX) are just straight samples from C64, NES and Gameboy (the Gameboy sounds came from my own unit - sampled way back in about 2001. Who knows how many times I have copied that folder between machines!)

    Thanks again Sergio. It's really cool that somebody is interested in my music.

  • 0
    tingeltingel Hamburg / GermanyPosts: 43

    ahoi @Alder_Dice - thanks a lot for your music! i pretty enjoy discovering it right now :) ... actually the idea for that commodore 64 sound - modulate the pulse width while doing rapid arpeggios - sounds pretty cool but i don´t really understand how to do that... would you like to explain it to me, that would be sooo sweet! *

  • 0
    semarsemar Posts: 31

    @tingel said:
    ahoi @Alder_Dice - thanks a lot for your music! i pretty enjoy discovering it right now :) ... actually the idea for that commodore 64 sound - modulate the pulse width while doing rapid arpeggios - sounds pretty cool but i don´t really understand how to do that... would you like to explain it to me, that would be sooo sweet! *

    I second that ! If you could share a short video to show your creativity live, using that C64 sounds as tingel mentioned, would be great !

    It would be nice
    Alter_Dice !

    Yes I did it ! I did a rime !!! In english !!! Sorry, I could not resist ;-)

  • 0
    tingeltingel Hamburg / GermanyPosts: 43

    great dear dice, o that´s a deal!

    • after you showed me, i will kneel
      to play that sound in video,
      looking forward a lot, dear - jo hohoho ;)
  • 0
    semarsemar Posts: 31

    @tingel said:
    great dear dice, o that´s a deal!

    • after you showed me, i will kneel
      to play that sound in video,
      looking forward a lot, dear - jo hohoho ;)

    LOL !

  • 1
    Alder_DiceAlder_Dice UKBeta Tester Posts: 128

    @tingel and @semar

    Your rhymes gave me a big smile
    A video might take a while
    (My hands are quite shaky and my camera is flaky)
    I could share an XML file?

  • 1
    semarsemar Posts: 31

    A file would be very ok
    if you share us the way
    how really could we use it
    to make music from every bit

  • 1
    tingeltingel Hamburg / GermanyPosts: 43

    Semar just joined our poetic gym,
    And totally, I am with him
    With a file you´d gave our ChiptuneChoir
    The perfect potion c64-sounds-fire! :smiley:

  • 0
    tingeltingel Hamburg / GermanyPosts: 43

    alder dice, i hope your well,
    and still waiting on that xml ;)

  • 0
    Alder_DiceAlder_Dice UKBeta Tester Posts: 128

    @semar @tingel

    Some life events happened
    And caused a delay
    Here's that arpeggio
    To brighten your day

    https://mega.nz/file/0sggRYqT#DiljOllJU6wJ7GMFE8I7z0TfJ1lyDppqgL8rRowNlSA

  • 0
    tingeltingel Hamburg / GermanyPosts: 43

    Alder, no Problem,
    Main Thing´s you´re alive!
    I´m happy ´bout your present,
    Which in I´ll take a deep dive ;)

    <3

  • 0
    semarsemar Posts: 31
    edited October 2022

    @Alder_Dice,
    that's vey nice
    thank you - really - for the file
    Now I'll be really busy - for a while :-)

    Post edited by semar on
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