Anamanaguchi - [USA]

Anamanaguchi's latest album is a worthwhile listen not only for bitpop and chiptune enthusiasts, but for anyone who's into EDM and instrumental rock as well.

Crying - Beyond the Fleeting Gales

Crying delivers one of the most triumphant, diverse, and instrumentally intricate rock records I've heard this year.

Floor Baba - Gamewave

Ohio producer Floor Baba pulls together video game music, club, and jazz-fusion influences for this colorful debut album of his. Anthony's expanded thoughts:

Anamanaguchi -「Pop It (feat. meesh彡☆)」

New York chiptune outfit Anamanaguchi are gearing up for another album cycle in 2015, and the title of this forthcoming release will be [USA].

While many automatically think of 8-bit music when the name Anamanaguchi comes up, the band's last full-length touched down on a variety of genres: Japanese pop, electro house, power pop.

This new track sits firmly in electropop territory, featuring candy-coated synthesizers, a funky groove, and almost shamelessly bubblegum lyrics from guest vocalist meesh.

While not the eccentric and instant hit "Meow" was, "Pop It" is an incredibly fun tease for this upcoming album. Also, MARNIE THE DOG appears at the end of this video.

NMESH - Welcome To Warp Zone! (Tiny Mix Tapes 4​-​Hour Video Game Mix)

Welcome to Warp Zone! [via Tiny Mix Tapes]

NMESH, the alias of Kentuckian electronic music producer and ex-drummer Alex Koenig, is committed to the concept of the "guest mix" to an almost unhealthy extent. Consider the above 4-and-a-half-hour-long, 10 "world" conceptual mix he created for Tiny Mix Tapes.

With the tagline, “TINY MIX TAPES HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY NINJAS. ARE YOU A BAD ENOUGH DUDE TO SAVE TINY MIX TAPES?” clearly this is not the product of a sane mind. This is the work of a person who has spent way too much time with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Ryu Hayabusa. Basically, Koenig's my kind of guy and Welcome to Warp Zone! is the musical event of the year in my book. If you too feel keen to listen to 4 and a half hours of retro-virtual inanity, tune in above and enjoy!

I Am Your Destruction - Self-Titled

The new IAYD record brings together 8-bit synth timbres and with the kinds of "drops" popular in present-day EDM.

Crying - Get Olde / Second Wind

I don’t know whether the point with Crying’s sound is to send people on a uniquely nostalgic trip back to the 90s, provide the weirdest backdrop for vocalist Elaiza Santos, or even a secret mission to get the world head banging to the Mario theme tune--but whatever it is, it’s working. Get Olde / Second Wind is a double EP from the lovable three-piece group and will hopefully be a project that might get them the recognition they deserve. Although slightly repetitive and contained in some places, the fast-paced, electric, 8-bit pop sound props up the faint melodic vocals in a tightly woven, energetic package. Just don’t get too into Crying in a public place, people might give you looks.

- Fin Worrall

IAYD - TBBR003

I Am Your Destruction is an Austin, TX-based electronic music project that's just released its first full-length, which I think it self-titled. TBBR003 is just the catalog number from Thebasebit Recordings, I'm pretty sure. Title aside, this is a pretty fun album. It combines the blood-pumping drops and builds of modern EDM with the bright and glitchy grime of 8-bit music.

With the exception of a few artists, I typically find chiptune music to be a little limited. I mean, you have a multitude of artists here agreeing to center their music around 8-bit sounds, some working exclusively within that sound set. However, with IAYD, that is very much not the case. These tracks simultaneously worship at the chiptune altar, and look to bend the rules set by predecessors. Enjoy!