Thursday 19 May 2011

Blip Festival returns to NYC for fifth anniversary event


Strangely enough, there was no 2010 edition of North America's premiere chiptune event, the Blip Festival. Instead, Tokyo and Scandinavia played hosts to Nullsleep, Bit Shifter and friends; as well as tons of invited artists, both local and foreign. This year, curators 8bitpeoples didn't want to skip NYC again and they sure didn't want to wait until December either. In fact, the 2011 NYC edition starts tonight, May 19th.

Can't attend? WMFU's got you covered with a full live webcast. Nowhere near being there in person but it's possibly the next best thing. Actually their Accu-Playlist promises to be updated with photos and have a realtime comments board. They will also have guest DJ XC3N hosting and playing his music between artists so it could be a great alternative experience.

In related news, there's a nice flashback article with Rainbowdragoneyes reminiscing about his 2009 set. Also if you're planning on visiting Tokyo later this year, Blip Festival will once again hold an event on October 22 and 23 2011. Full details about the 2011 NYC edition follow:

// HERE IT COMES
No stopping it now — BLIP FESTIVAL NEW YORK 2011 touches ground this THURSDAY, kicking off three nights of pulse-pounding chipmusic and dazzling motion graphics served up by 30 of the world's most talented representatives of the global chipmusic underground.

// TWO NEWLY-ANNOUNCED DAYTIME PROGRAMS
In addition to the Blip 2011 NESDEV workshop, we're pleased to announce two new programs: Dissonance and Consonance: Harmonic Analysis and Discussion of Chip Music and its Many Forms (presented by Joey Mariano a.k.a. Animal Style), and Atari 2600 Music Composition (presented by cTrix). For full details and ticket links, visit:

// THE BLIP FESTIVAL GALLERY
Taking Blip Festival’s spirit of "obsolescence as the beginning" into the realm of visual art, a nightly screening will be presented by artists who are bringing new life to the technology and aesthetics of our recent past. Curated by Lindsay Howard; includes work and premieres by Sterling Crispin, Alexandra Gorczynski and Nicolas Sassoon.

// OFFICIAL AFTERPARTIES + CLOSING PARTY
If 24 sets of live chipmusic aren't enough for you, three nightly afterparties (courtesy of our friends Babycastles) and a not-to-be-missed closing party (courtesy of our friends Cheese'N'Beer and Noise Channel) round out the official Blip Festival event program. For specifics, visit:

// FESTIVAL PASSES SOLD OUT
Admission is still available for individual nights, whether via advance tickets or at the door. But be advised that Blip Festival events have been known to hit capacity in the past, so delay at your own risk.

// CAN'T BE THERE IN PERSON?
We're happy once again to be partnering with WFMU, who will be webcasting the event's audio live via WFMU.org. Nothing's quite like hearing chipmusic live, loud & in person, but if you can't make it, WFMU's got you covered.

// WANT TO HELP?
If you're interested in being part of our volunteer staff, we'd love to have you — let us know at contact@blipfestival.org.

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