Seattle-based producer Graz has just uploaded a new album, Ravepunk, onto his Bandcamp page, in the form of a highly energetic collection of chiptune-oriented swayers. But what makes the eight track compilation especially interesting is the familiar yet unexpected technology that it was produced with.
On his daily bus commutes to and from work for nearly a year, Graz used the LSDJ program (or Little Sound DJ) on a Nintendo Gameboy to painstakingly program out many full-length tracks. From complex percussion to optimistic, overlapping melodies, the songs become only more enjoyable and unbelievable when you realize what the task of using LDSJ really entails.
“All songs produced between November 2014 and September 2015 primarily on public transportation. All sounds (excluding track 03) created using LSDJ on a Nintendo Gameboy DMG-01.”
The program itself is extremely intimidating on first glance, despite the learning curve being described by the official site as “slight.” It includes a full sequencer, drawable waveforms, a subtractive synthesizer, programmable speech functions, drum machine samples and much more. With some persistence and practice, it seems that the sky’s the limit.
If you own a Gameboy and feel like giving the program a try, click here to find all the important information you need for set up, production and pre-made patches; and purchase LSDJ here. You can also scroll to the bottom of the page to witness the program in action (although not by Graz himself).
In the meantime, listen below to Ravepunk.
Source: Dance Music Northwest
