Revenge of the Nerds With Chiptunes
In high school, most students belonged to a group defined by a common interest and attitude. There were the jocks, the rich kids, the pretty girls, the musicians and the nerds. The jocks always dated the pretty girls, while the musicians were popular with everyone. The nerds, on the other hand, with their chess club and computer games, were outcasts.
But it seems that the tables have turned and now being a nerd is cool. Nerd culture has taken off all over the world, including here in Indonesia. The thick glasses that once earned nerds the nickname “four eyes” and lunchtime beatings have become fashionable. Reading manga, collecting quirky toys and playing computer games are now trendy.
And a nerdy form of music has also developed in this subculture, which is slowly making its way into the mainstream. Indonesia, make way for the Chiptune Revolution.
Chiptune, or 8-bit, artists make their music from video-game consoles, most of which were produced between the late 1970s and the ’90s, from the Commodore 64 and Atari 800 to the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Megadrive and, of course, the Nintendo Game Boy.
“The music was originally created back then to support the games,” said local chiptune artist Abim. And for those who grew up during the home-console boom, chiptunes evoke a sense of nostalgia.
“The 8-bit sound happened by accident,” Abim said, “because of the limited capabilities those consoles at the time had. It turns out that those sounds are now cool.”
While groups such as Japan’s YMCK and Nullsleep of the United States are finding an international following, Indonesia is not doing to badly in the world of chiptunes. Along with Jaka Abiburda, a k a JW86, Abim created an event called Pesta Mikro (Micro Party) in 2007, which helped move the phenomenon into the mainstream. Many local acts came out of Pesta Mikro, including Cacat Nada, Pickney and Local Drug Store.
With the Internet, chiptune artists have been able to gain immediate international exposure. “MySpace introduced many Indonesian artists to YMCK, Covox and those other popular guys,” said Dimas Theodora from Local Drug Store.
While a few artists — both international and local — perform with their bulky consoles on the stage, others merely produce and perform chiptunes on notebook computers.
Still, the most popular shows tend to be the ones where the musicians use old joysticks and floor pads to jump around on to produce the sounds. Semarang’s Rico Julian, a k a Hellostereo!, is one such act. “I like the authenticity of performing that way,” he said.
But Rico finds that playing large consoles on the stage is too difficult, so he uses the smaller Game Boy.
Dimas said that using consoles is Local Drug Store’s preference because of the challenges it brings. Adding to the nostalgic element of its shows, Local Drug Store often includes retro visuals created by fellow chiptune group Stand by Emulator.
Indonesia’s chiptune scene is in its embryonic phase: At this point, most acts are mimicking the sounds of international groups.
Abim said: “You can tell when an artist is from Japan, America or elsewhere because the sound is more original.”
Rico concurs: “There is just not enough exploration with most new artists here. A lot of them just use the sound as a gimmick.”
Takeshi Yokemura from YMCK wants to see a greater appreciation of chiptunes. “People seem to be attracted to the 8-bit sound out of curiosity and nostalgia,” he said. “We have to get people interested in the fascinating sound itself.”
With more events like Pesta Mikro and collectives such as the Indonesian Chiptune Community springing up, chiptunes will inevitably hit the mainstream here, and like any trend, introduce both mediocre and brilliant artists.
“There’s going to be a time when the mix of local traditions and chiptunes is perfected,” Abim said.
And if that is the case, and these nerds make it big, they will truly have found their ultimate revenge.
(Marcel Thee)
Originally Published in The Jakarta Globe June 10, 2009
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