A chiptune arrangement of the theme from "The Mandalorian" using both the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Gameboy's sound chips.

By using both systems, extensive pitch changes and stereo effects were implemented to give a fuller sound stage and proper number of voices that one or the other system alone could not accomplish.

The Mandalorian (Main Theme Chiptune Cover)

A chiptune arrangement of the theme from "The Book of Boba Fett" using both the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Gameboy's sound chips.

By using both systems, extensive pitch changes and stereo effects were implemented to give a fuller sound stage and proper number of voices that one or the other system alone could not accomplish.

The Book of Boba Fett (Main Theme Chiptune Cover)

A remix of the opening theme from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in an 80's inspired style. It's not meant to be any particular genre (although it most closely resembles new wave)but it certainly sounds like it was created with synths from that era. This is just me having some fun with stock plugins in FL Studio instead of my usual hardware-based chip-tune tracks.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Theme (80's Remix)

A remix of the opening theme from "Star Trek: Voyager" in an 80's inspired style. It's not meant to be any particular genre (although it most closely resembles new wave)but it certainly sounds like it was created with synths from that era. This is just me having some fun with stock plugins in FL Studio instead of my usual hardware-based chip-tune tracks.

Star Trek: Voyager Theme (80's Remix)

Check out the Kickstarter to fund the full album being pressed to vinyl record: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/c-change-a-chiptune-tribute-to-beck

An arrangement of "Paper Tiger" by Beck from the album "Sea Change", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

Paper Tiger by Beck (NES + DMG Arrangement)

Check out the Kickstarter to fund the full album being pressed to vinyl record: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/c-change-a-chiptune-tribute-to-beck

An arrangement of "Sunday Sun" by Beck from the album "Sea Change", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

Sunday Sun by Beck (NES + DMG Arrangement)

Check out the Kickstarter to fund the full album being pressed to vinyl record and get notified when it launches: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/illi-nes-a-chiptune-tribute-to-sufjan-stevens?ref=6d0zy0

An arrangement of "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!" by Sufjan Stevens from the album "Illinois", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

Come On! Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens (NES + DMG Arrangement)

Download the full album: https://doctoroctoroc.bandcamp.com/album/chipside

An arrangement of "White Woman's Instagram" by Bo Burnham from the comedy special "Inside", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

Chipside

White Woman's Instagram by Bo Burnham (NES + DMG Arrangement)

An arrangement of the Christmas classic "We Three Kings" in the general style of Nintendo games made by Konami.

We Three Konami

An arrangement of the Christmas classic "12 Days of Christmas" in the style of the Nintendo game "Mega Man 2".

8 Days Of Master Robots

An arrangement of the Christmas classic "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" in the style of the Nintendo game "Ninja Gaiden".

Ryu The Red Nosed Ninja

Check out the Kickstarter to fund the full album being pressed to vinyl record and get notified when it launches (link in my bio - if the link is broken, search 'illi-nes' on Kickstarter).

An arrangement of "Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah!" by Sufjan Stevens from the album "Illinois", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

Go! Chicago! Go! Yeah! by Sufjan Stevens (NES + DMG Arrangement)

Check out the Kickstarter to fund the full album being pressed to vinyl record and get notified when it launches: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/illi-nes-a-chiptune-tribute-to-sufjan-stevens?ref=9ysbpo

An arrangement of "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" by Sufjan Stevens from the album "Illinois", using only a Nintendo (NES) and a Gameboy (DMG).

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound stage.

The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us! by Sufjan Stevens (NES + DMG Arrangement)

A collection of chip-tune covers of various Death Cab For Cutie tracks spanning their entire catalogue from 1999 to the present using the RP2A03 sound chip inside of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Midi compositions including note data, pitch bends, channel volume changes and a variety of other custom Midi CC signals (duty cycle, note length, volume envelope, sample loop, etc.)are sent to the chip via Tascam US122mkII midi interface and MidiNES cartridge to recreate familiar melodies and backing parts in all of their retro analog synth glory. The goal is to push the limits of the NES sound generation to recreate the overall feeling of each track while adding some personality reminiscent of classic 8-bit video game soundtracks.

The RP2A03 sound chip has five monophonic (one note at a time) channels: two pulse, a triangle, noise and DPCM (low quality sample). This provides a good variety of sounds for such a simple sound chip but also creates challenges in many ways.

 - The pulse channels have the most flexibility when it comes to volume changes and sound, usually being used for leads and harmony but the low end range is limited with a#3 being lowest note able to be generated. Regardless, the low end, when the range and key of the composition allow, can still produce tight bass lines with volume fade and a number of different sounds by changing the pulse width, and are utilized intermittently with the triangle to provide fuller sounding compositions.

 - The triangle has much better low end and is commonly used for bass lines but lacks volume control. For this reason, the triangle will occasionally be utilized as a lead or backing part rather than a bass line where more 'punch' is desired.

 - The noise channel is essentially a random noise generator that sounds like radio static at different frequencies but when used creatively can create sharp sounding snares, high-hats, crash cymbals and kick drums in sequence. By forgoing longer notes and resorting to 1/4 step or shorter spans, the monophonic nature of the sound chip can be creatively subverted to have multiple frequencies seemingly played simultaneously. This is accomplished by alternating between these much shorter notes on multiple frequencies (arpeggiation) at speeds swift enough to fool the listener into thinking each intermittent line of notes is a solid one. In addition, this particular arrangement means that manual volume envelopes need not be drawn but rather the note velocities of each short note can be assigned to reflect the fade, echo and sizzle of various drum types - this works because the noise channel has a very subtle attack and therefore multiple shorter notes placed in sequence will sound similar to a single, long, solid note.

 - The DPCM channel is great for supplemental percussion but the low bitrate results in muddier sounds that are often best utilized in tandem with the noise channel for a cleaner drum kit sound. The specific sample set being utilized came loaded on the MidiNES cart but includes a good variety of kicks, snares, crashes, hats and other percussion instruments such as toms. These are most useful as creating a tom sound with the noise channel alone is not ideal.

The combination of these five channels to create interesting tracks is nothing short of a balance of creative use and technical consideration but I very much enjoy working within the limitations and pushing them to see what's possible.

NES Cart For Katie

The District Sleeps Alone (The Postal Service - Give Up)

Bixby Canyon Bridge (Narrow Stairs)

What Sarah Said (Plans)

Title and Registration (Transatlanticism)

Steadier Footing (The Photo Album)

Company Calls (We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes)

Title Track (We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes)

An arrangement of the Kano song "Another Life" that I created for a friend for his birthday using the RP2A03's sound chip inside of the Nintendo Entertainment System. He recently discovered 'Italo Disco' and quickly became obsessed with the genre, watching massively long playlists of various artists over the course of a week and feeling the need to show everyone he knows as a result. I was, of course, one of those people so I decided to give my favorite song from the genre (one of the only ones I could tolerate, if I'm being perfectly honest) the MidiNES treatment. I created this over the course of three hours.

Original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zQd6xiGAUo

Another Chip

Another Life (Kano Cover)

A few chip-tune arrangements of the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES using the RP2A03's sound chip inside of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I often wondered what certain games would be like if they had been released later on in the NES lifespan when programmers were better acquainted with the system. These remixes are very close to the original tracks but utilize the noise channel to better effect and implement pitch bends, volume changes, and other parameters that were not present in the original tracks.

Midi compositions including note data, pitch bends, channel volume changes and a variety of other custom Midi CC signals (duty cycle, note length, volume envelope, sample loop, etc.)are sent to the chip via Tascam US122mkII midi interface and MidiNES cartridge to recreate the melodies and backing parts in the same retro analog synth glory. The goal is to push the limits of the NES sound generation to points that the original composers could not.

VG Remix

Game Over (Super Mario Bros. Remix)

Death (Super Mario Bros. Remix)

Star Power (Super Mario Bros. Remix)

Theme (Super Mario Bros. Remix)

Get the full album on Bandcamp or pre-order the vinyl!

http://www.doctoroctoroc.com/in-the-rp2a-over-the-sea/index.php

An arrangement of "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel from my upcoming album using the RP2A03 sound chip inside of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the album will be pressed to clear vinyl record complete with a gatefold jacket, black poly-lined inner sleeve, double-sided album insert and a protective outer poly bag! The goal with the album is to push the limits of the NES sound generation to recreate the overall feeling of each track on the original record while adding some personality reminiscent of classic 8-bit video game soundtracks.

The album is titled "In The RP2A Over The Sea".

The RP2A03 sound chip has five monophonic (one note at a time) channels: two pulse, a triangle, noise and DPCM (low quality sample). This provides a good variety of sounds for such a simple sound chip but also creates challenges in many ways.

- The pulse channels have the most flexibility when it comes to volume changes and sound, usually being used for leads and harmony but the low end range is limited with a#3 being lowest note able to be generated. Regardless, the low end, when the range and key of the composition allow, can still produce tight bass lines with volume fade and a number of different sounds by changing the pulse width, and are utilized intermittently with the triangle to provide fuller sounding compositions.

- The triangle has much better low end and is commonly used for bass lines but lacks volume control. For this reason, the triangle will occasionally be utilized as a lead or backing part rather than a bass line where more 'punch' is desired.

- The noise channel is essentially a random noise generator that sounds like radio static at different frequencies but when used creatively can create sharp sounding snares, high-hats, crash cymbals and kick drums in sequence. By forgoing longer notes and resorting to 1/4 step or shorter spans, the monophonic nature of the sound chip can be creatively subverted to have multiple frequencies seemingly played simultaneously. This is accomplished by alternating between these much shorter notes on multiple frequencies (arpeggiation) at speeds swift enough to fool the listener into thinking each intermittent line of notes is a solid one. In addition, this particular arrangement means that manual volume envelopes need not be drawn but rather the note velocities of each short note can be assigned to reflect the fade, echo and sizzle of various drum types - this works because the noise channel has a very subtle attack and therefore multiple shorter notes placed in sequence will sound similar to a single, long, solid note.

- The DPCM channel is great for supplemental percussion but the low bitrate results in muddier sounds that are often best utilized in tandem with the noise channel for a cleaner drum kit sound. The specific sample set being utilized came loaded on the MidiNES cart but includes a good variety of kicks, snares, crashes, hats and other percussion instruments such as toms. These are most useful as creating a tom sound with the noise channel alone is not ideal.

The combination of these five channels to create interesting tracks is nothing short of a balance of creative use and technical consideration but I very much enjoy working within the limitations and pushing them to see what's possible.

In The RP2A Over The Sea (NES Arrangement)

An arrangement of "Starting Over" by The Crystal Method, from their 2004 "Legion of Boom" album, using only the five monophonic channels on the Nintendo Entertainment System's sound chip.

Starting Over by The Crystal Method (NES Arrangement)

An arrangement of "Black Sheep" as sung by Brie Larson (written by Metric), from "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World", using only the four monophonic channels on the Nintendo Gameboy's (DMG) sound chip.

Having primarily composed/arranged for the NES previously, a lot of the techniques translated well while others didn't. Pitch bend was trickier but since the Gameboy has stereo sound, I played a lot with that separation in many parts. I also love the versatility of the WAV channel (instead of the TRI channel found on the NES), which affords the ability to change volume, pan, and 16 different shapes from triangle to square to saw.

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my pro-sound modded DMG so I recorded the track from a stock one and cleanup the track up after the fact. It sounds comparable but not quite as good as a clean, direct audio output.

Black Sheep by Metric from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (DMG Arrangement)

An arrangement of "Money Runner" by the Italo Disco band Scotch using both the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Gameboy's sound chips.

By using both systems, extensive pitch changes and stereo effects were implemented to give a proper dance/club feel like only music from the Italo Disco scene could.

Money Runner by Scotch (NES + DMG Arrangement)

An arrangement of Danny Elfman's "This Is Halloween" piece scored for "The Nightmare Before Christmas" using only the five monophonic channels on the Nintendo Entertainment System's sound chip.

You might be wondering why it starts out like with the "Legend of Zelda" theme - during the month of October, I created a pixel art animation of a different mythical creature every day and posted it to my Instagram. Each was drawn with the color palette and in the style of the sprites from the original Legend of Zelda for the NES so I decided at the end I would put them all into an animation together and created this track to go along with it. Rather than simply tack on the "This Is Halloween" portion of a new track to a recording of the LoZ title theme, I recreated it - this is evident due to this track being a few half-steps above the original composition (in the same key as the original Elfman piece).

https://www.instagram.com/doctoroctoroc

This Is Halloween by Danny Elfman (NES Arrangement)

Visit the Kickstarter to get notified when the campaign to press the album to vinyl goes live!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/soft-bits-in-tribute-to-the-flaming-lips-0

An arrangement of "Race For The Prize" by The Flaming Lips using both the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Gameboy's sound chips.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the haphazard instrumentation and fill the sound space as closely to the original as possible.

This is the first cut of this track - the full album is available now on Kickstarter!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/soft-bits-in-tribute-to-the-flaming-lips?ref=5lx663

Soft Bits In

Race For The Prize by The Flaming Lips (NES + DMG Arrangement)

Visit the Kickstarter to get notified when the campaign to press the album to vinyl goes live!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/soft-bits-in-tribute-to-the-flaming-lips-0

An arrangement of "Waitin' for a Superman" by The Flaming Lips using both the Nintendo Entertainment System and original Gameboy's sound chips.

By using both systems, extensive volume/pitch/duty changes and stereo separation were implemented to recreate the feel of the original track and fill the sound space as closely to the original as possible.

This is from the final cut of the album available now through Kickstarter!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctoroctoroc/soft-bits-in-tribute-to-the-flaming-lips?ref=5lx663

DoctorOctoroc

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