# Bitpop > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitpop > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bitpop.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitpop > Source revision: 1341417653 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Music genre}} {{distinguish|Britpop}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Bitpop | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[Chiptune](/source/Chiptune)|[synthpop](/source/synthpop)|[electropop](/source/electropop)|[electronica](/source/electronica)|[new wave](/source/New_wave_music)|[video game music](/source/video_game_music)}} | cultural_origins = 1990s – 2000s (decade), United States, Australia, Japan, and Europe | instruments = {{hlist|Synthesizer|vocals|bass|[sound chip](/source/sound_chip)|personal computer|[electronic drums](/source/electronic_drums)}} | other_topics = {{hlist|[Kawaii future bass](/source/Future_bass)|[Nintendocore](/source/Nintendocore)}} }} '''Bitpop''' is a type of [electronic music](/source/electronic_music) and subgenre of [chiptune](/source/chiptune) music, where at least part of the music is made using the [sound chip](/source/sound_chip)s of [8-bit](/source/History_of_video_game_consoles_(third_generation)) (or [16-bit](/source/History_of_video_game_consoles_(fourth_generation))) computers and [video game console](/source/video_game_console)s. ==Characteristics== thumb|An example of "bitpop" music that uses 8-bit sounds and modern production software Among systems used include the [Atari 8-bit computers](/source/Atari_8-bit_computers), [Commodore 64](/source/Commodore_64), [Nintendo Entertainment System](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System), and [Amiga](/source/Amiga).[https://www.allmusic.com/style/chiptunes-ma0000012235 Chiptunes Music Genre Overview|AllMusic] The sounds produced from these systems can be combined to any degree with traditional [instruments](/source/Musical_instrument), such as guitar and drums, modern synthesizers and [drum machine](/source/drum_machine)s, or vocals and sound effects.[https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/chiptunes-ma0000012235/artists Chiptunes Music Artists|AllMusic] Bitpop uses a mixture of old and new equipment often resulting in a sound which is unlike [chiptune](/source/chiptune) although containing 8-bit sourced sounds. For example, a bitpop production may be composed almost entirely of 8-bit sounds but with a live vocal or overlaid live guitars. Conversely, a bitpop production may be composed almost entirely of live vocals and instruments but feature a bassline or lead melody provided by an 8-bit device.{{cite web|url=http://www.bitpop.co.uk/what-is-bitpop/|title=What is Bitpop?|website=www.bitpop.co.uk|access-date=April 29, 2010|archive-date=August 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801070552/http://www.bitpop.co.uk/what-is-bitpop/|url-status=dead}}[http://www.djallergy.com/DJLRG/Bitpop/index.html The Rise of Bitpop] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827204413/http://www.djallergy.com/DJLRG/Bitpop/index.html |date=August 27, 2008 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.bitpop.co.uk/listen-to-bitpop/|title=Listen to Bitpop|website=www.bitpop.co.uk}} ==History== One of the pioneers of bitpop music were [Welle:Erdball](/source/Welle%3AErdball), with their heavy use of [Commodore 64](/source/Commodore_64) for their first album in 1992. Being a German-speaking group not using the term bitpop and who don't travel by plane, they remained popular among people listening to [industrial music](/source/industrial_music) or [electroclash](/source/electroclash). Bitpop music began gaining popularity towards the end of the 1990s. The first [electroclash](/source/electroclash) record, [I-F](/source/I-F)'s "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1997), has been described as "burbling electro in a vocodered homage to [Atari-era](/source/Golden_age_of_arcade_video_games) hi-jinks,"{{Citation |last=D. Lynskey |title=Out with the old, in with the older |journal=Guardian.co.uk |date=March 22, 2002 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/22/shopping.artsfeatures2?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015225802/http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/22/shopping.artsfeatures2 |archive-date=October 15, 2014 |url-status=dead }} particularly ''[Space Invaders](/source/Space_Invaders)''.{{cite web|title=I-f – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass|date=September 22, 1998 |url=http://www.discogs.com/I-f-Space-Invaders-Are-Smoking-Grass/release/19460|publisher=[Discogs](/source/Discogs)|access-date=May 25, 2012}} The [Beastie Boys](/source/Beastie_Boys) outer-space sci-fi themed album [Hello Nasty](/source/Hello_Nasty) (1998), included, among other potentially influencing tracks, the distinctively video game sound themed original composition track [UNITE](/source/Hello_Nasty); garnering mainstream recognition years ahead of the popular video game tune genre and movement. The [trance](/source/trance_music) song "[Kernkraft 400](/source/Kernkraft_400)" (1999), often played at sports events worldwide, was a remix of a [chiptune](/source/chiptune) song written by [David Whittaker](/source/David_Whittaker_(video_game_composer)) called "Stardust" for the 1984 Commodore 64 [computer game](/source/PC_game) ''[Lazy Jones](/source/Lazy_Jones)''. In 2003, [Malcolm McLaren](/source/Malcolm_McLaren) wrote an article on bitpop and chip music. It also noted a planned release in that style by McLaren.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/mclaren.html|title=8-Bit Punk|magazine=Wired}} By the mid-2000s, 8-bit chip music began being incorporated in mainstream pop music, used by acts such as [Beck](/source/Beck) (for example, the 2005 song "[Girl](/source/Girl_(Beck_song))"), [The Killers](/source/The_Killers) (for example, the 2004 song "[On Top](/source/Hot_Fuss)"), and particularly [The Postal Service](/source/The_Postal_Service) in many of their songs. The MIDI-style and [FM synthesis](/source/FM_synthesis) of early game music composers such as [Hiroshi Kawaguchi](/source/Hiroshi_Kawaguchi_(composer)) also began gaining popularity.{{cite web|last=Shaw |first=Jeff |title=Music of the 8-bit variety makes a comeback |url=http://niagara-gazette.com/music/x681717382/Music-of-the-8-bit-variety-makes-a-comeback |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712032335/http://niagara-gazette.com/music/x681717382/Music-of-the-8-bit-variety-makes-a-comeback |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |work=[Niagara Gazette](/source/Niagara_Gazette) |access-date=May 7, 2012 |date=May 25, 2006 }} In 2003, the [J-pop](/source/J-pop) girl group [Perfume](/source/Perfume_(Japanese_band)),{{cite web | url=http://www.nintendo-gamer.net/2012/03/06/japans-chiptune-heroes/3/ | title=Japan's chiptune heroes | work=[Nintendo Gamer](/source/Nintendo_Gamer) | date=March 6, 2012 | access-date=June 20, 2012 | author=Daniel Robson}}{{dead link|date=March 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bounce.com/article/article.php/4045/ALL/|title=Perfume Interview|publisher=bounce.com|date=February 7, 2008|access-date=June 2, 2009|language = ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209084048/http://www.bounce.com/article/article.php/4045/ALL/|archive-date=December 9, 2008}} ([https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20081209084048%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.bounce.com%2Farticle%2Farticle.php%2F4045%2FALL%2F English translation]) along with producer [Yasutaka Nakata](/source/Yasutaka_Nakata), began producing music combining chiptunes with [synthpop](/source/synthpop) and [electro house](/source/electro_house); their breakthrough came in 2007 with ''[Game](/source/Game_(Perfume_album))'', which led to other Japanese female artists using a similar electronic style, including [Aira Mitsuki](/source/Aira_Mitsuki), [immi](/source/immi), [Mizca](/source/Masami_Mitsuoka), [SAWA](/source/Sawa_(singer)), [Saori@destiny](/source/Saori_at_Destiny), and [Sweet Vacation](/source/Sweet_Vacation).{{cite web | title=Perfume～サマソニの快挙！！ | date=August 20, 2007| url=http://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/205887/|publisher=All About テクノポップ|language = ja}} Since the 2000s, 8-bit chiptune sounds, or "video game beats", have been used by a number of mainstream pop artists. Examples in the Western world include artists such as [Kesha](/source/Kesha){{cite news|last=Miklewski|first=Michael|title=Music in Video Games: From 8-bit to Symphonies|url=http://www.thebottomlineonline.org/music-in-video-games-1.2660649#.T951YbVYv8l|access-date=June 18, 2012|newspaper=The Bottom Line|date=October 20, 2011|agency=[Frostburg State University](/source/Frostburg_State_University)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214091201/http://www.thebottomlineonline.org/music-in-video-games-1.2660649#.T951YbVYv8l|archive-date=December 14, 2013}} (most notably in "[Tik Tok](/source/Tik_Tok_(song))", the [best-selling single](/source/List_of_best-selling_singles_worldwide) of 2010{{cite web|url=http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/dmr2011.html|title=IFPI publishes Digital Music Report 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110221105915/http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/dmr2011.html|archive-date=February 21, 2011|date=January 20, 2011|location=London}}), [Robyn](/source/Robyn), [Snoop Dogg](/source/Snoop_Dogg),{{cite web|title=Robyn: Body Talk, Pt. 2|publisher=Puls Music|date=September 10, 2010|url=https://www.puls.no/16375.html|access-date=July 21, 2012}} ([https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.puls.no%2F16375.html&sl=no&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8 Translation]) [Eminem](/source/Eminem) (for example, "[Hellbound](/source/Hellbound_(song))"), [Nelly Furtado](/source/Nelly_Furtado), and [Timbaland](/source/Timbaland) (see [Timbaland plagiarism controversy](/source/Timbaland_plagiarism_controversy)). The influence of video game sounds can also be heard in contemporary British [electronica](/source/electronica) music by artists such as [Dizzee Rascal](/source/Dizzee_Rascal) and [Kieran Hebden](/source/Kieran_Hebden).{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=John|title=Back to the future: Yellow Magic Orchestra helped usher in electronica – and they may just have invented hip-hop, too|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/04/electronicmusic.filmandmusic11|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|access-date=May 25, 2011|date=July 4, 2008}} [Grime](/source/Grime_(music)) music in particular samples [sawtooth wave](/source/sawtooth_wave) sounds from video games which were popular in [East London](/source/East_(London_sub_region)).{{cite book|title=Mediapolis: popular culture and the city|year=2006|publisher=010 Publishers|isbn=90-6450-628-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCxd_AC-2-QC&pg=PA106|author=Alex de Jong, Marc Schuilenburg|access-date=July 30, 2011|page=106}} [Dubstep](/source/Dubstep) producers have also been influenced by video game chiptunes, particularly the work of [Yuzo Koshiro](/source/Yuzo_Koshiro).{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=Eddy|title=Ikonika interview: Producer and DJ, Ikonika had an incredible 2010|url=http://www.timeoutdoha.com/nightlife/features/20343-ikonika-interview|work=[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(company))|access-date=August 5, 2011|date=January 11, 2011}}{{cite web|title=Recording Under the Influence: Ikonika|url=http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2010/04/21/recording-under-the-influence-ikonika-on-streets-of-rage-dalis-film-buddy-and-why-kode9s-wrong-about-numbers/|work=Self-Titled Magazine|access-date=August 5, 2011|date=April 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003194434/http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2010/04/21/recording-under-the-influence-ikonika-on-streets-of-rage-dalis-film-buddy-and-why-kode9s-wrong-about-numbers/|archive-date=October 3, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=Eddy|title=Ikonika interview: Dubstep has taken the world by storm over the past 12 months|url=http://www.timeoutdubai.com/nightlife/features/20425-ikonika-interview|work=[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(company))|access-date=August 6, 2011|date=January 18, 2011}} In 2010, a [BBC](/source/BBC) article stated that the "sights and sounds of [old-school games](/source/Retrogaming)" (naming ''[Frogger](/source/Frogger)'' and ''[Donkey Kong](/source/Donkey_Kong)'' as examples) are "now becoming a part of mainstream music and culture."{{cite web|last=Knowles|first=Jamillah|title=How computer games are creating new art and music|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10260769|publisher=BBC|access-date=August 27, 2011|date=June 9, 2010}} ==See also== *[Circuit bending](/source/Circuit_bending) *[List of electronic music genres](/source/List_of_electronic_music_genres) *[Music Macro Language](/source/Music_Macro_Language) *[SIDstation](/source/SIDstation) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.last.fm/tag/bitpop Last.FM Bitpop Tag] *[http://www.bleepstreet.com/ Bleepstreet Records] *[https://www.8bitpeoples.com/ 8 Bit Peoples] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070210232153/http://8bitcollective.com/ 8 Bit Collective] *[http://www.bitpop.co.uk/ Bitpop] {{Chiptune-footer}} {{nerd music}} {{Music of Japan}} Category:20th-century music genres Category:21st-century music genres Category:Pop music genres Category:Chiptune Category:1990s in music Category:2000s in music Category:2010s in music Category:2020s in music --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bitpop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitpop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitpop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.