Today’s Sounds: DJ Finish Him

Record:

DJ Finish Him They Bleed Pixels on the Dancefloor (Shaun Hatton)

Even though the bleeps and bloops of classic 8-bit chiptunery have had an undeniable effect on the current generation of pop music, and famed video game composers such as Koji Kondo (Super Mario, Legend of Zelda) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) are finally getting their rightful due as master craftsmen, we’ve yet to see a video game soundtrack cross over into the mainstream (besides perhaps Portal’s “Alive”) immediately upon release.

It’ll happen eventually, and although They Bleed Pixels on the Dancefloor, the NES-era inspired score to the cartoonishly violent H.P. Lovecraft-inspired platform indie game They Bleed Pixels (available Aug. 29 on Steam for PC’s), won’t be the one to break the glass ceiling, this sprawling assemblage of chiptune bangers is worth listening to regardless of whether you intend on trying the game. In truth, so far I’ve consumed this 54-track collection (counting edits) solely as an unaccompanied piece of music.

Toronto-based producer Shaun Hatton has a few other pseudonyms and projects worth gabbing about, but as DJ Finish Him, he’s seemingly given himself a few restrictions. Although not everything on They Bleed Pixels on the Dancefloor is a straightforward chiptune action track, you can easily picture in what gaming context these songs could work. “Rebellion” could fit in a side-scrolling beat ’em up like Streets of Rage, “Fantombs” was made for cave spelunking, and I could practically feel the ninja stars grazing my head while listening to “Voracity.” Mostly though, They Bleed Pixels on the Dancefloor makes me pine for Bionic Commando.

Over the course of the soundtrack, the chiptune sound gives way to a more robust palette of orchestral instrumentation, making the collection a slightly uneven listen from start to finish (although there isn’t a weak facet per se). It’s video game music, but I think people are familiar enough with classic gaming themes these days that listening to something of this type can be done with or without a controller in hand.

Check it out at http://djfinishhim.bandcamp.com/.
 

Track:

Generationals, “Lucky Numbers”

Sounds like this New Orleans act ate 1983, fed their shit through a laptop and prettied up the scene with some glitter and ice cream. Eat it.
 
Generationals – “Lucky Numbers” by forcefieldpr
 

Video:

Moonface, “I’m Not the Phoenix Yet”

We’ve mentioned Divine Fits a million times, but the first post-Wolf Parade project out of the gate was Spencer Krug’s Moonface, a spin-off of his previous side-band Sunset Rubdown. From the upcoming album With Sinai: Heartbreaking Bravery (a collab with Finnish band Sinai), here’s a workout video. Kind of.