Countdown to Blip Festival 2009
It’s spreading. Slowly but surely, it’s infecting all of us. Can you feel it? No, not that weird rash on your inner thigh. That’s gross. In fact, you should probably get that checked out. I’m talking about Blip Fever, a highly metaphorical sickness I’ve made up for the purposes of this blog. Symptoms include dancing uncontrollably at random, vivid pixelated dreams and listening to this on repeat while laying in the fetal position in an empty corner of your bedroom. Okay, that last part was totally unrelated, but it doesn’t change the fact that Blip Festival is less than 2 weeks away and needless to say, things are getting pretty gosh-darn exciting.
Psilodump, Patric Catani, glomag and Eat Rabbit have filled the remaining spaces in the lineup, giving us a grand total of 32 performers at this year’s lo-fi festivities. And thanks to nearly 100 devoted supporters, this year’s Blip Festival has been fully funded through a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, exceeding their $5,000 goal within a matter of days.
If you’re new to this sort of thing, here’s a brief history lesson: The chipmusic movement started in the late 90’s when a small handful of programmers began creating and performing music using the sound chips found in obsolete videogame consoles and computer hardware. Catalyzed by the distribution of homebrew software that makes these manipulations possible, chipmusic has catapulted itself out of basements and onto the stage, with hundreds of artists now incorporating 8-bit hardware into live musical performances. Now in its 4th year, Blip Fest is at the forefront of this movement, and continues to impress audiences time and time again.
This is the one event that truly encapsulates what chipmusic is all about. Whether you’re a veteran of the scene or just discovering what chipmusic is by reading this post, it’s definitely worth your while to journey to The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY on December 17th–19th and see what all the fuss is about. Check BlipFestival.org to find more info and buy tickets.
